Mossad Agent Captured Over Saudi Arabia
An active Arab imagination has resulted
in numerous innocent animals being executed
as “Israeli spies”
11 Dec 2019 | www.israeltoday.co.il 1-866-854-1684
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It is well known that the Mossad is respon-sible for Israel’s security outside its borders and
that the famous Israeli spy agency sometimes uses a variety of agents with different
identities to infiltrate Arab countries.
Most Mossad agents are Israelis, but often
the agency recruits spies from other countries who are
sent to infiltrate Israel’s enemies according to the particular skills the task
requires. In this case, a special agent was recruited, unlike any other in the
past.
A recent Twitter post reported on a Mossad
agent that was captured in northern Saudi Arabia. The agent, it turns out, was
a vulture. The official Saudi report determined that the “Mossad agent” was an
Israeli vulture armed with photographic and “espionage” equipment. “Heroes” of
the Saudi security forces were on their way to place him under arrest and take
the bird away for interrogation. The video shows Saudi youngsters at the scene
who say that they are not asking for any prizes for the capture, but that they
are Saudi nationals who love their homeland and the “security services” (what
else could they say as Saudi officials came to investigate). It’s not clear as
to the fate of the poor vulture, but chances are likely that he will be
executed.
شباب
من تبوك
يقبضون على
طائر من
انواع النسور
وعليه اجهزة تصوير
ومراقبة
اسرائيلية
وتم تسليمه
للجهات الامنية
بعد محاولات
من جهة خارجية
بعدم تسليمه ..
هؤلاء هم
ابناء الوطن
الشرفاء
But alas, the innocent bird is not a Mossad
agent at all, but a vulture with a tracking device attached to his body by the
Veterinary Department of Tel-Aviv University. The department is exploring the
migration of birds in the region. This is not the first time that a “Mossad
agent” has been caught in Arab countries. In fact, a few years ago another
vulture was captured in Lebanon and was immediately suspected of being part of
an Israeli attempt to spy on Hezbollah. About nine years ago, the Egyptians
caught a shark along the coast of Sinai and immediately suspected that the
Israelis had sent the fish, and spread such rumors around the region and the
world.
“They say that the Israeli Mossad has released
a lethal shark into the Red Sea in order to undermine tourism in Egypt,” the
governor of the South Sinai district, Muhammad Abd al-Fadil
Shusha, told an Egyptian news agency.
Sharks, carnivorous birds, pigeons, storks
and even squirrels are all animals that have been reported in recent years
being used by the Mossad. As strange as it may sound, many people believe these
reports, and some of the animals were actually executed as punishment for
cooperating with the “Zionist enemy.” It is clear that as most of these reports
come from Arab countries, that they are a result of an active Arab imagination
that likes to attribute any unusual activities to a Mossad conspiracy.
A lot of this hysteria stems from the
trauma inflicted by the success of Israeli spy Eli Cohen, who in the 1960s had
so successfully infiltrated Syria that he was appointed by the Syrian president
as the country’s Minister of Defense. Middle East Arabs have yet to get over
the scandal of the Cohen affair, and tend to attribute a lot of internal
problems and abnormal incidents to the Israeli spy agency.
Please
Help Us to Comfort God’s Beloved Israel:
Vision for Israel continues to provide aid to Israelis in need. Many who suffer
hardship, including Holocaust survivors, and victims of terror, receive food,
clothing and household necessities from our storehouse each week. Hospitals
catering especially to the underprivileged and elderly obtain life-saving equipment
and medical supplies, and hundreds of at-risk children are equipped with new
school packs each school year. Your financial gifts are welcome and appreciated
at:
PO Box 7743, Charlotte NC 28241
Jewish Groups Praise Trump's Measure Against
Campus Anti-Semitism
Jewish groups in December welcomed President Donald
Trump's Executive Order which will help to protect Jews on college campuses
from anti-Semitism. "Jews are indeed a nationality, and Jewish students
have faced increasingly-obvious bias on campus," said Rabbi Pesach Lerner,
President of the Coalition for Jewish Values. "The fact that it has been
thinly disguised as 'anti-Israel' activity is no excuse for bigotry, and
adopting the definition of anti-Semitism used by the State Department is the
correct response. The President deserves our thanks for doing what is right and
just," he added. The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading Jewish Human
Rights NGO, likewise welcomed the measure:
"It will
have an immediate impact on USA campuses plagued with anti-Semitic and extreme
anti-Israel acts, where many Univer-sity officials complained that the lack of
a working definition of anti-Semitism hampered efforts to deal with
anti-Semitic incidents on campus. Now, through this Executive Order, university
officials and Jewish students will be better equipped to deal with hate attacks
often associated with the anti-Israel BDS campaigns," said Rabbi Abraham
Cooper, SWC Director of Global Social Action. "More broadly, President
Trump's Executive Order sends a strong message domestically and around the
world against history's oldest hate at a time of surging anti-Semitism on both
sides of the Atlantic," Cooper added. (VFI News/Arutz-7)
Prayers are
being answered in the battle against anti-Semitism with USA President Trump's
latest measure against college anti-Semitism. Other successes this year
and last have occurred against the BDS movement which aims to delegitimize the
State of Israel. Please continue to intercede against spiraling global
anti-Semitism. www.VisionForIsrael.com
Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year is “They.”
info@AlbanyUpdate.com
According to Merriam-Webster,
the word “they” was selected “based on a 313 percent increase in look-ups on
the company’s search site” this year. Why the sudden and intense interest in
this particular pronoun? Because the word “they” is now being used as a
personal pronoun by persons who view themselves as “non-binary.”
New Yorkers have been aware of the “transgender” phenomenon (in
which a person identifies as a member of the opposite sex) for quite some time.
The “non-binary” concept also relates to gender identity; a “non-binary” person
is someone who does not identify as male or as female. “Non-binary” persons
often wish to be referred to with the pronoun “they” rather than gendered
pronouns like “he” or “she.”
Merriam-Webster states that interest in the word “they” was
fueled by various individuals, including a “non-binary” model who calls himself
Oslo Grace; a member of Congress (Rep. Pramila Jayapal) who “got emotional
while talking of her gender-nonconforming child during a House committee”; and
popular recording artist Sam Smith, an openly homosexual man who recently
claimed a “non-binary” identity and asked to be referred to as “they” rather
than “he.”
Unfortunately, Merriam-Webster has given in to this phenomenon
by redefining the word “they.” We are not about to begin to refer to a man or a
woman using gender-neutral pronouns. Instead, we will continue to stand for the
increasingly unpopular truth that human beings are not “non-binary”; rather, we
are each created male or female by a loving God.
Editor's Note: In the English language, the pronoun they
is a plural word. The gender pronouns for a male are he
or him. The gender pronouns for a female are she or her.
When there is no gender, the
correct pronoun in the English language is it. Perhaps it is the best pronoun to use when a person doesn't
want to be identified as he or she. It isn't necessary to
reinvent the English language to accommodate those with gender confusion or
gender dysphoria. And please don't hate them. They really need our prayers. RAC
Old School Liberals and
Modern Liberals
I remember the "old" days, when Liberals
used to say, "You do your thing, and I'll do my thing." Today
"Liberals" say, "I'll do my thing, and I will force you to do my
thing." They only tolerate those who agree with them. If a Conservative or
an Israeli dares to be a speaker on a college campus,
he is shouted down by these intolerant "Liberals." So much for
freedom of speech. Even worse are the so-called "progressives," who
demonstrate how "progressive" they are by their verbal (and often
physical) assaults against "Zionist Jews" or anybody who is
pro-Israel.
It's a
sick society that tries to force Christian bakers to make wedding cakes for
same-sex marriages. Medical professionals should not be forced to perform abortions
or to assist in such procedures when such people are people of faith.
Faith-based orphanages should not be forced to place children into LGBTQ homes.
It is also
wrong for tax-paying members of the faith community to be forced to support public
school systems whose goal is to indoctrinate young people instead of educating
them. School vouchers would give parents a choice of schools.
Additional
Jewish Gifts to the World
A witty host from the Jewish
podcast Unorthodox said, “You know those Christmas songs
you like? Jews wrote them. You know those movies you like? Jews made them. You
know that Messiah you have? We made him.”
www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion
Editor's Note: As the Jewish recording artist Kinky Friedman sang, "They ain't making Jews like Jesus anymore." (Kinky Friedman also made an unsuccessful run to be governor of Texas several years ago.)
$150 Billion Dollars Worth
Of Jewish Possessions Left in Arab Lands
Thousands of Jewish residents in Arab
countries were forced to flee their homes following the creation of the state
of Israel. Jewish refugees far outnumbered so-called Palestinian refugees[1]
who voluntarily left Israel decades ago - having been counseled to do so by
Arab warlords - and now clamor for the right to return by the millions and
reclaim land, houses, and Israeli citizenship. Jews, on the other hand, suffered the losses, remade their lives
and prospered in other lands, mainly in Israel who absorbed and nurtured them.
They have not been standing at Arab doors with their hands outstretched, demanding
to be let back in and compensated along with their progeny. A new report
published days ago, which was completed with the help of the National Security
Council, notes that Jews who were expelled or fled Arab nations in the late
1940s and ’50s left some $31.3 billion worth of property in Iran; $6.7 billion
in Libya; $1.4 billion in Syria; $2.6 billion in Yemen; and $700 million in
Yemen’s temporary capital of Aden.
The
parameters examined in the report include rural and urban property, businesses’
value, loss of income and potential income, and loss of communal property.”
Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel is expected to share the findings with
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in the coming weeks. news@visionforisrael.com
Paris Court
Agrees: Killer of Jewish Woman Not Responsible For His
Actions Because He Was High on Marijuana World Jewish Congress
The court
relieved Kobili Traore, 29, of criminal
responsibility for his slaying of Sarah Halimi, whom
Traore pummeled for about an hour while shouting about Allah and calling her a
demon before throwing the 60-year-old physician to her death from the window of
her third-story apartment. It did say that the killing was partly because of
anti-Semitism.
Editor's Note: Being high on marijuana, drunk on alcohol, or
unhinged by other drugs should never be used as a defense. There would be a
great temptation to deliberately "get high" before attacking someone
in a hate crime. And then use "being high" as a defense. This sets a
very bad example to the criminals. RAC
UK Study Finds Amnesty International to
Be Highly Anti-Semitic
Amnesty
International defines itself as “a global movement of millions of people
demanding human rights for all people – no matter who they are or where they
are”. However, the UK Jewish Human Rights Watch released a report this week
revealing widespread bias and racism inside the Amnesty organization. British
anti-Semitism expert David Collier of Jewish Human Rights Watch said that such
attitudes against Israel and the Jewish people are keeping the international
group from its original mission.
The new study claims that Amnesty International
has become a tool for spreading institutionalized and anti-Semitic hatred
against Israel and promoting policies consistent with the goals of the BDS
movement. According to Collier, a controversial action by India is almost
certain to receive attention. Persecuted Christians are blatantly ignored.
Attacking Israel is top of the list. Pakistan can literally make opposition
figures disappear and Amnesty International can rarely even be bothered to
yawn.
Amnesty’s activity is inherently racist.
When directed towards Israel, the cumulative obsession can clearly be labeled
anti-Semitic," he said. Collier further noted that that Amnesty knowingly
employs anti-Israel and pro-BDS activists in its activities related to the
Arab-Israeli conflict, creating a one-sided, biased narrative against Israel.
Collier claims that the organization even employs activists who openly support
terrorism against the State of Israel. The study, titled 'Amnesty International,
From Bias to Obsession,' will be reviewed by UK law enforcement agencies to see
if the organization's activities do not violate British law. Source:
Vision for Israel, PO Box 7743, Charlotte NC 28241-7743
Editor's Note: Vision
for Israel is a good source for email news. They also do wonderful charity work
for the poor and needy in Israel, including providing much needed school supplies
for children, hot meals for the elderly, and aid to Holocaust survivors. RAC
Every year, in the days leading up to Christmas,
the “Jesus was a Palestinian” talking point surfaces off- and online. Every
year, anti-Israel activists hop on this bizarre bandwagon and drive it over
historical facts.
Many
of the public figures that push this phrase are not Christian; they have no
stake in Jesus’s ethnic background. They claim he was a Palestinian because it
furthers the erasure of Jewish people’s connection to the land of Israel.
|
by Ben Mazzig JNS.org www.algemeiner.com |
The theory originated
with former Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat in 2006, and has
snowballed ever since. Today, some even argue that Jesus was the first Palestinian
“martyr.”
This year, anti-Israel BDS supporters such as Rep. Ilhan Omar,
Omar Suleiman, and Linda Sarsour have advanced this ahistorical narrative. Al Jazeera, The Independent, and even The New York Times have
published articles defending this conjecture.
The goal of the argument that “Jesus was a
Palestinian from Nazareth” is not only to erase Jewish ties to the land of
Israel, but also to depict all Jews as “white,” and in consequence, less
sympathetic to intersectional social justice movements. This April, the Times
published an article on the deep importance of Jesus’s skin color, stating
that: “Jesus, born in Bethlehem, was most likely a Palestinian man with dark
skin.”
The message is coupled with Palestinian
propaganda. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat tweeted a video titled
“Merry Palestinian Christmas” with a Palestinian saying, “Jesus was one of us.
He didn’t have blonde hair and blue eyes; he wasn’t from Kentucky. Mary too was
a Palestinian. Mary’s grandmother — a Palestinian. John the Baptist, St.
George, the apostles — all Palestinians.”
Countless Jews have dark skin. Claiming
that because Jesus was a person of color he must be
ethnically Palestinian erases countless Jews in the world today. Mizrahi Jews,
the largest ethnic group of Jews in Israel, share the same skin tone, heritage,
and birthplace as Jesus. Yet we would never be accepted as Palestinian or identify
ourselves as such.
Indeed, activists furthering the Palestinian
Jesus narrative are aware of the diversity of Israeli society and the global
Jewish community; they distort it to deny all Jewish people our indigenous
rights.
“While evidence in favor of this view is
overwhelming, activists who oppose Israel’s right to exist and deny the Jewish
people’s connection to the land — perhaps before learning where indigenous
status stems from and what it means — still have an issue with this claim, supporting
a narrative built on falsehoods that today is basically acknowledged as fact,” explains indigenous
rights activist Ryan Bellerose.
To get the movement to crush Israel welcomed
in social justice spaces where indigenous rights are valued, activists must
falsely allege Jews are not indigenous.
“Archaeology,
genealogy, and his-tory all support the Jewish claim to indigeneity,” says
Bellerose. “To say that Palestinian Arabs were the first inhabitants of the
land of Israel is problematic for actual indigenous people like the Jewish people,
the Amazigh, the Copts, the Assyrians, the Samaritans, and others who were
forcefully conquered, subsumed, and converted. It would literally be akin to
white Europeans in North America making that same claim.”
When challenged, anti-Israel advocates who
deny that the Jews are indigenous to Israel brush it off, saying that it is
ridiculous to go “that far back.”Nevertheless,
when we are going as far back to the birth of Jesus, it is essential to get the
facts straight. The simple truth is that activists are taking a relatively new
name for this region — “Palestine” — and placing it upon a far more ancient
Jewish person.
In 132 CE, the current state of Israel was
renamed “Palestina” by the Romans. They did this to
punish Jews for their largest revolt against Rome by stripping them of connection
to Jerusalem and Judea while honoring the Philistines, a foreign people who had
conquered them.
The use of even the earliest variants of
Palestine began over 100 years after the birth of Christ. The term “Palestine”
was unofficially used to describe land south of Syria by the Ottoman Empire in
the 1500s and was not popular among the people living in the region at the
time. Only after World War I did another occupying force, Britain, declare modern-day
Israel, as well as Jordan, “Palestine.” Just like the Romans, anti-Israel activists
use this term to diminish Jewish historical claims to Israel.
This is a tactic to deceive people into
thinking that since Jesus had darker skin and was from the Middle East, he
cannot be Jewish. It exploits people’s lack of knowledge about Jewish diversity;
most people in Western societies only know Jews who have lighter skin and are
usually of recent European descent. However, while all Jews are indigenous to
the land of Israel, 56 percent of
the Jewish population of Israel (over three million people) never left the
Middle East and Africa. In modern terms, all Jews were once “Mizrahi Jews.”
Therefore, if you want to give Jesus a contemporary ethnicity, it is “Mizrahi
Jew” that fits, not “Palestinian.” ....
Palestinian
Man Sells Land to Jews, and Now He’s Dead
Despite
ostensibly seeking peace, the Palestinian regime maintains what amount to
racist laws. A Palestinian man who allegedly sold property to Jewish buyers was
reported dead on December 22 at a hospital in the de facto Palestinian capital
of Ramallah.
The man, whose identity was not revealed,
was arrested in 2012 on charges of conducting “illegal” business “with the
enemy.” He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The Palestinian Authority did
not provide any details as the circumstances of his death, whether it occurred
of natural causes, or was the result of physical harm. He died before his
prison sentence ended.
Dozens of Palestinian Arabs have been kidnapped,
murdered, arrested, jailed and otherwise punished over the years for selling
property to Jews. Despite its peace treaties with Israel, the Palestinian
Authority maintains laws prohibiting real estate transactions with Jews (not
just Israelis), though it will hypocritically howl to the international
community when Israeli Jews try to avoid selling property to Arabs.
Palestinian Muslim clerics have even gone
so far as to issue fatwas against Arabs who sell to Jews, labeling them “traitors”
and “infidels.” (Fatwas often demand death to such “traitors.”)
Source:
www.israeltoday.co.il
Is
Alcoholics Anonymous
too
'Christian' for Jews?
In
Israel, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings take place in synagogues and Jewish
private homes. You are as likely to see a siddur (Jewish prayer book) as the Big
Book, A.A.'s basic text.
Nearly everywhere else, A.A. meetings usually
take place in church basements. Is the A.A. too Christian for Jews? Michael Graubart was an alcoholic and an observant Jew. He became sober
27 years ago through the benefits of A.A. membership. A.A. was his last chance
to become sober. But what's a Jewish drunk to do?
Remarkably, that week the rabbi at his synagogue
focused his sermon on a young Jewish woman going for drug and alcohol rehab. He
spoke convincingly about the value of the A.A.'s 12-step recovery.
Michael went to meet with the rabbi. He
pointed out that most of Christian beliefs are Jewish in origin. And also that the 12 steps of A.A. were unknowingly drawn from
Judaism!
During the Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur
Holy Days, Jews take stock of their lives and identify sins and behaviors that
they wish to cast away. At Tashlich, on Rosh
HaShanah afternoon, Jews symbolically cast their sins using pieced of bread
into bodies of water. In A.A., this self-examination is called the "fourth
and fifth step." Instead of casting sins into the water, people write
their sins on pieces of paper and then rip them up or burn them. Then the
people are told to ask their higher power to help them overcome their sins and
addictions, and become better people.
In Judaism, one cannot ask God for forgiveness
on Yom Kippur until one asks for forgiveness from those whom he or she has
harmed. In the A.A., those in recovery are asked to make amends with those whom
they have offended.
But what about meeting in church basements?
Judaism has the concept of pikuah nefesh, which means to save a life. If something
is going to save a life, it is permitted.
But what about the Lord's Prayer, which is
normally recited at the end of A.A. meetings? The Orthodox rabbi who spoke to
Michael Graubart said, "When you look at the
language of the Lord's Prayer, it's actually a series of Hebrew and Aramaic
prayers strung together. For example, the first line, "Our Father who art
in Heaven" is the exact equivalent of "Avinu
shebashamayim."
Next, "Hallowed be Thy name" is
the same as the first line in the Kaddish prayer, "Yit'gadol
v'yit'kadash sh'mei
raba." And so on, all the way through to the end of the prayer.
Every aspect of the A.A. 12-step programs
that "feels Christian" has it antecedents in
Jewish law and prayer. So being Jewish is no bar to recovery from alcoholism
and addiction. Alcoholics Anonymous is the most successful world-wide program
in delivering people from addiction. If you wander into a church basement for
an A.A. meeting, you will find plenty of Jews and non-Jews. (Maybe even
Messianic Jews. RAC)
Source:
www.MichaelGraubart.com
One
More Reason to Quit Pork
Two
inspectors from the federal Food Safety and Inspection filed whistleblower
complaints alleging that under new, looser inspection rules, the nation's pork
will soon be contaminated with feces, toenails, bladders, and hair.
Source:
www.TheWeek.com
One
More Reason to Quit Netflix
A
Netflix Christmas special that implies that Jesus was gay sparked fury in
Brazil, which calls for the comedy's creators to be arrested for blasphemy. The
First Temptation of Christ begins with Jesus returning home for his 30th
birthday with an effete companion, Orlando. God, who Jesus has been told is his
uncle Vittorio, is still mooning Mary, who gets caught smoking a joint. 2
million Brazilians signed a petition asking Netflix to ban the show.
Source:
www.TheWeek.com
New Decade Opens With Israel’s Population
at 9,136,000
On
31 Dec. 2019, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Israel's
population stood at 9,136,000. In the past year, Israel’s population grew
by 1.9%. Approximately 6,772,000 Israelis identify as Jews - or 74.1% of the
entire population - and 1,916,000 as Arabs - 21%. A total of 177,000 babies
were born during 2019, and 34,000 people immigrated to the country under the
Law of Return. The Jewish Israeli women's fertility rate (3.05) exceeded that
of Arab Israelis (3.04) for the first time, reported the CBS on Tuesday. In
2019, 177,000 babies were born in Israel - 74% to Jewish women and 23.2% to
Arabs. According to CBS calculations, Israel's population will top 10 million
people by the end of 2024. (VFI)
Thank you, dear Lord, for the increase of
your people in Israel during 2019. “Do good in your good pleasure to Zion;
build the walls of Jerusalem.” Ps. 51:18
Israel Breaks Its Tourism Records in 2019
Some
4.55 million tourists visited Israel in 2019, the Tourism Ministry announced on
the eve of 2020. Visitor entries increased by 11% compared to 4,120,800 in
2018. The foremost starting places for visitors were the USA (890,000), France
(338,200), Russia (296,000), Germany (268,900) and Britain (218,700). In a
whopping 51% increase from 2018, some 144,400 visitors arrived from China last
year. (VFI News)
“Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and
let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.’”
Isa. 2:3
Leviathan Natural Gas Field Starts Flowing For 2020
Leviathan
offshore natural gas field is the largest energy project in Israel's history.
Its resources began flowing on Tues. 31 Dec. 2019, hours ahead of the new
decade. Yossi Abu, CEO of Delek Drilling LP,
said, "For the first time since its establishment, Israel is now an energy
powerhouse, able to supply all its energy needs and gaining energy independence.
At the same time, we will be exporting natural gas to Israel's neighbors, Egypt
and Jordan, thus strengthening Israel's position in the region." The
Leviathan field holds some 22 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas.
The gas supply will enable Israel to phase out expensive and polluting imported
coal for generating electricity. The Leviathan site is located in the
Mediterranean Sea 77 miles west of Haifa. (VFI News)
Source
for items on this page: Vision for Israel PO Box 7743 · Charlotte, NC
28241-7743 https://vfinews.com
Israelis Coping With Addiction
The
latest national public health survey in Israel conducted among adults aged
18–65 reported that 27% of the population used cannabis and 2% other illegal
drugs in the past year, with 0.25% reporting heroin use during this period.
The most common addictions were to alcohol,
cannabis, opiates such as heroin and morphine, cocaine, and cheap stimulants.
In Israel, the attitude of the establishment and the general public has softened
somewhat in recent years regarding the approach to drug use, especially the use
of cannabis. On the legal level, the war on drugs policy continues. In
reality, however, criminal indictments and penalties have been focused on drug
dealers and less on users. In April 2019, Israel officially decriminalized the
adult use of cannabis. (VFI News)
Poverty Increases In Israel
While
Israel has enjoyed much increase in 2019, end of the year poverty figures reveal that some 2.3 million Israelis, including one million
children, live beneath the poverty line. Additionally, child poverty has
climbed by two percentage points, from 27.1% to 29.1%. Poverty among the elderly
also increased, from 17.2% to 18.8%. The report also found that nearly
one-fifth of Israelis, over 1.6 million people suffer from food insecurity, a
2-point increase over the previous year. It warned that those trends will
likely increase again this year and accused the government of “a continued policy
that forsakes a quarter of Israeli citizens and a third of its children.”
Vered Windman, executive director of the Israel National Council
for the Child, said the report showed the failure of the government’s economic
and social policies. She also blamed the lack of a functioning government over
the past year amid repeated elections. “There must be a dramatic change in
Israel’s socioeconomic policy which dooms almost one in three children to
lacking health, education, and welfare and harms their human dignity.” She
warned that such disparities “will have far-reaching social consequences in the
future.” The latest children’s poverty rates place Israel as second to the
highest in the OECD, countries with only Turkey ranking higher. The
poverty line in Israel is defined as an income of NIS 3,593 ($1,040) a month
for singles and NIS 5,750 ($1,664) for couples. The poverty crisis is
compounded by the fact that the cost of living in Israel is among the highest
of developed nations. (VFI News)
u
Please help Vision For Israel to ease the very real
hurt and distress of poverty in Israel. Strained government budgets are due in
part to Israel’s high-security needs.
Vision for Israel · PO Box 7743 · Charlotte, NC 28241-7743 HTTPS://VFINEWS.COM
Beyond
Meat
According
to the US Dept of Agriculture, the average American consumes 217 pounds of meat
per year. However, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends only 6
ounces of all protein foods, which includes eggs, beans, meat, and legumes, or
about 137 pounds per year for most adults. We all require protein for good
health. However, too much protein is also a health hazard. There is nothing
wrong with eating meat. It isn't a sin. But many of us eat far more meat than
we need, with has implications for our health and for the health of the planet.
Beyond Meat is a company that is keen to
change that equation with plant-based burgers and sausages. They look, cook,
and taste like the real thing. They are soy-free, gluten-free, non-GMO, and
pareve to boot! And they are now Rabbinically kosher! There are also many other
"meatless" meats available.
Personally, I eat meat, but with a bit of
guilty conscience. I am not opposed to eating meat. However, most of the meat
production is now on an industrial scale, with most animals being raised in
giant factory farms, in extremely crowded and unnatural environments. We have
images in our minds of Old MacDonald's farm. This is primarily from earlier
generations. Most small family farms have been driven out of business by
industrial farms. Aside from animal cruelty,
it is bad for the environment, as the animal waste from these factory farms
enter the environment. It also requires high amounts of antibiotics, as disease
can spread quickly in such crowded environments. However, as I told my
vegetarian sister, "It's not my fault that animals taste so good!"
However, now there are excellent alternatives. Even Burger King now sells
vegetarian Impossible Whoppers, which taste better than the original Whoppers!
(Burger King did a test marketing to unknowing customers, giving them
vegetarian Impossible Whoppers. They were then asked how the burgers tasted.
All agreed that they tasted great!)
Our nation's addiction to meat also
consumes huge amounts of water and resources. The water in the average swimming
pool can produce 312 beef burgers, or 60,837 Beyond Burgers.
Another alternative is bugs! Yes,
there are kosher bugs: grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets. (See
Leviticus 11:21-22.) Mizrachi Jews, and people around the world, eat bugs.
People in the West will eat God's garbage disposals such as shrimp, lobsters,
pigs, clams, etc., which are useful in cleaning the environment. But they will
turn up their noses at the idea of eating locusts and grasshoppers which eat
nice, clean plants. I ate a locust. It tasted fine! And it is much better for
the environment to eat high-protein bugs instead of factory-farm meats.
Source:
Kosher Spirit WWW.OK.ORG