May 12, 2008 Chosen Words: A newsletter for personal and spiritual growth gleaned from classic biblical and other sources that will help you enhance your day to day life. Likely the most constructive three minutes you will spend today Mark Steyn: Israel's 'doom' could also be Europe's JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: When Faith Meets Fate, Part One May 9, 2008 Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Reverence, Yes; Worship, No Mona Charen: Did Israel Drive Out the Arabs 60 Years Ago? JWisdom: Ultimate opportunities by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky May 8, 2008 Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Israel at 3,500+ Jonathan Tobin: Still Fighting the Same War Steven Plaut: How ‘nakba’ proves the fiction of a Palestinian Nation JWisdom: Taking Israel for Granted? by Rabbi Mordechai Becher May 7, 2008 Rabbi Hillel Goldberg: Israel is irrelevant to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Dion Nissenbaum: Latest Olmert scandal could derail efforts to force Israel's compromises JWisdom: My Inner Ventriloquist by Sara Yoheved Rigler May 6, 2008 Caroline B. Glick: Anti-Zionism at 60 The Kosher Gourmet By Ethel G. Hofman: In honor of Israel's 60th anniversary, the former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with a smorgasbord featuring the taste and essence of the Jewish homeland JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Jewish Deer in Nazi Headlights May 5, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Busy work Jonathan Mark: Remarkable half-century old Mike Wallace interview with Abba Eban puts current anti-Israel sentiment into perspective May 2, 2008 Rabbi Berel Wein: Rote religiosity Caroline B. Glick: Whitewashing Hamas JWisdom: Parent trap? May 1, 2008 David Zwiebel: Faith communities can learn from Orthodox Jews in stimulating private philanthropy for religious education George Friedman and Peter Zeihan of Stratfor: The Shift Toward an Israeli-Syrian Agreement JWisdom: It's time to wake up by Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis April 30, 2008 Jonathan Tobin: Pennsylvania's Democratic slugfest may leave some Jewish votes up for grabs The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Fresh herbs, sauteed veal and tiny creamer potatoes makes a light spring dinner JWisdom: How to Build a Mentch by Rabbi Mordechai Becher April 29, 2008 Daniel Pipes: Barack Obama's Muslim Childhood Joel Brinkley: On human rights, the U.N. once again strikes out JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: When The Truth is Unbelievable April 28, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q: I'm often stuck in the doctor's waiting room for hours! Doesn't he owe me something for my wasted time? Steven Emerson: New U.S. government policy advises agencies to avoid using some of the very same words that make up terror groups' names JWisdom: Why You & I Never Die: A Jewish View of Immortality, Part I by Rabbi David Aaron April 25, 2008 Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg: Schadenfreude isn't kosher for Passover --- or at any other time Rabbi Berel Wein: The secret of how the data bank of memory is transferred from one generation to the next JWisdom: Stepping Up to A Higher Spiritual Life by Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen, Part III April 24, 2008 Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: The successful failure Fred Burton and Scott Stewart of Stratfor: Placing the terrorist threat to the food supply in perspective JWisdom: Stepping Up to A Higher Spiritual Life by Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen, Part II April 23, 2008 Connie Ogle: An intricate game of a novel Jonathan Tobin: Making Sense of the 'J Street' Jive JWisdom: Stepping Up to A Higher Spiritual Life by Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen April 22, 2008 Jonathan Rosenblum: Why Israel's 'Leaven law' matters Caroline B. Glick: Obama the Savior April 18, 2008 Rabbi Harvey Belovski: Multimedia tool of antiquity Caroline B. Glick: Revealed Truths vs. revealed lies JWisdom: More than miracles by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky April 17, 2008 Rabbi Avi Shafran: Deconstructing Dayeinu Rabbi Elazar Meisels: Is innovation at the Seder a slap at tradition? JWisdom: Discovering Your Divine Mission, Part III by Rabbi David Aaron April 16, 2008 Jonathan Tobin: A Prayer for Sderot's Children Ethel G. Hofman: Sumptuous Seder JWisdom: The Divine is in the details by Rabbi Mordechai Becher April 15, 2008 Rabbi Dovid Zauderer: Let Charlton Heston Go! Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Jimma, tyranny's enabler JWisdom: Relationships: Beyond Mars & Venus, Part IV by Dr. Lisa Aiken April 14, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: The Snitching Supervisor Jonathan Tobin: Forget the Fun and Games! JWisdom: Sincerity is Valued Most by Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D. April 11, 2008 Rabbi David Gutterman: A Mystery in the Middle East Caroline B. Glick: Why Ahmadinejad smiles JWisdom: Elevated illness by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky April 10, 2008 Stratfor Intelligence Briefing by George Friedman: A Mystery in the Middle East The Kosher Gourmet By Steve Petusevsky: The spring elegance of asparagus JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: The Power of Rational Lies April 9, 2008 Michael Feldberg: An all but forgotten Colonial doctor who put his Jewish values before his life Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkel's "Everything's Relative" gets philosophical JWisdom: Four Rabbis in Bnei Brak by Rabbi Mordechai Becher April 8, 2008 Caroline Glick: Covering for the enemy Elliot B. Gertel: 'House' goes Hasidic JWisdom: Relationships: Beyond Mars & Venus, Part III by Dr. Lisa Aiken April 7, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q: I have a translating business. Recently someone asked me to translate some financial documents that are clearly forged. Should I agree? Jonathan Rosenblum : Israel is unwittingly helping to fuel the international campaign of delegitimization against it JWisdom: Matzah and leaven as a life philosophy by Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D. April 4, 2008 Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The Mystery of Suffering Caroline B. Glick: Fear of democracy JWisdom: Dirty Jews by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky April 3, 2008 Rabbi Y. Y. Rubinstein: Parents --- and the children who would be them The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Manweiler: Tempted by restaurant dressings? Don't be. Here are recipes that can be made at home, healthier! JWisdom: The importance of retaining a 'slave mentality' by Rabbi Mordechai Becher April 2, 2008 Mitch Albom: Child abuse, disguised as faith Jonathan Tobin: Unreasonable Accommodations JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith with Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Eliminating Jewish Influence over Germans March 22, 2007 J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !) Oct. 29, 2003 Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review July 26, 2004 / 8 Menachem-Av, 5764 Third longest ‘human-chain’ in history sends message to Israel's Sharon — and the world By Judy Lash Balint All they knew was that nobody was listening to their pleas. Yes, they were disorganized and no, there wasn't any funding. But now they cannot be ignored. A dispatch from the frontlines — and the heart — of the Jewish State http://www.jewishworldreview.com | At precisely 7 p.m. Sunday, more than 120,000 Israelis spread over 56 miles between Gush Katif and Jerusalem, to join hands and sing Israel's national anthem, Hatikva, or The Hope. The human chain, the third largest such event in world political history, could be seen as a desperate attempt to impress upon Israel's political leaders and those pressuring them from abroad, that public opinion regarding the so-called disengagement plan is not overwhelmingly on Arik Sharon's side. Conventional wisdom here holds that one of the reasons Prime Minister Sharon is pursuing the unilateral pullout from Gush Katif is that he is responding to public demand to disengage from the area. Today's show of strength might just give him a more balanced view. The chain, organized over the past three months, was divided into 8 parts. Each section was designated for particular communities, allowing people to know more easily where to stand. In Jerusalem, the route snaked from the western entrance to the city down the length of one of the main thoroughfares Jaffa Road, and on into the Old City, through Zion and Jaffa Gates and down to the Western Wall. At the beginning of the two hour chain, chaos reigned. Hundreds of people poured onto Jaffa Road, wearing the orange T shirts and baseball hats of the anti-disengagement campaign, or in regular clothes adorned with The People Are With Gush Katif stickers. Many carried large Israeli flags, or wore them as capes — but no one really knew what to do. This was different than the mass demonstrations that had taken place many times before at this spot near Zion Square. This time there was no platform, no speeches, no music — just the power of the people. The 500 young men designated as ushers, ran up and down the streets filled with people. They had no idea how to get the crowd to stand in place and link hands. Crowds gathered at all the major intersections along Jaffa Road, but it took more than an hour until the idea caught on to actually spread out and show their strength of numbers. "They just don't know how to do this kind of thing," bemoaned Chaim Rosenthal, a frustrated activist and immigrant from Boston. Rosenthal, a forty-something with the look of a 60s era hippie, recalled the civil disobedience of his youth. "We knew instinctively how to get these things going," he said. Down at Jaffa Gate, things were slightly more organized, with rows of flag-waving Israelis joined by large numbers of tourists and Christian visitors. At the Walll, the final stop for the chain, hundreds of people tried to figure out what to do with themselves, but in the end, things worked out. Huge silver shofars (trumpets made from rams' horns) were blown and a note was placed in the Wall by the last link in the chain a Gush Katif resident, six-year-old Yael Better, who placed her hand on the ancient stones of the Judaism's holiest spot while more than 2,000 people in the courtyard sang the Hatikva. The first person on the chain in Nissanit was her grandfather, Shamir Yitzhak, who was evacuated from the Gaza Strip when Egypt captured the area in the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948. "I don't know if it will have any influence. But we at least want to show the government that this can't be given up easily,'' said Mordechai Better, Yael's father. "It's not something that can be removed in a minute. There are three generations here.'' Also present at the Wall was bereaved father and husband David Hatuel, whose pregnant wife and four daughters were murdered in their car in Gush Katif just a few months ago. He told reporters that he was overwhelmed by the unprecedented event. "Sadly, I came alone, but the connection I felt from everyone here on erev Tisha B'Av is quite amazing. This will broadcast to everyone that we have the will to continue to pursue our lives in all parts of the land of Israel," he said. Back on Jaffa Road, the crowds swelled to five or six people deep as the 7p.m concluding hour approached. Buses and taxis continued to run down Jerusalem's main road, with many drivers honking their support to the demonstrators. Press photographers perched on the back of motorcycles and drove slowly up and down the street to capture the scene. Barbara Green and her two children dressed in Gush Katif orange were standing just west of Zion Square. The residents of Hashmonaim had returned just a few days ago from a two-year sabbatical in Seattle. "We're here because we want the government to see that people are really upset about this," Green insisted. "We can't have another Yamit," she added, referring to the deliberate destruction of a Jewish town in the Sinai in the 1980s in the interests of peace. Meanwhile, as the chain was in formation, Kassam rockets hit the community center in Neve Dekalim, the largest Gush Katif town. Six children were injured. The human chain was the first item up on the evening news, with commentators noting that this first-of-a-kind manifestation of public opinion would go down in the annals of Israeli political history. For those who stood together singing The Hope, it was the successful conclusion of yet another battle in the war to preserve Israel's integrity. Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. JWR contributor Judy Lash Balint is a Jerusalem based independent journalist and author of "Jerusalem Diaries: In Tense Times" (Click HERE to purchase. Sales help fund JWR.) Comment by clicking here.