Disgusted at Obama

According to Arutz Sheva today:

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama's campaign seems to have purposely leaked the contents of the note that he placed in the Kotel, web magazine Israel Insider wrote Tuesday. While Israel's Hebrew newspaper Maariv came under fire for publishing the note, "it now appears that Maariv had collaborated with the Obama campaign in getting the 'private' prayer, with its 'modest' supplication to the Lord, out to the public, buffing his Christian credentials and showing his "humility," the web magazine said.

Last Friday, on the morrow of Obama's visit to the Kotel, Maariv published a close-up picture of the note written by Obama to G-d, supposedly after a yeshiva boy took it from the crack between the Kotel stones in which Obama deposited it. Maariv's competitor Yediot Acharonot slammed the paper for violating Obama's privacy.

Filched or released for publication?
In a statement issued following the public outcry over the leak, Maariv said that "Barack Obama's note was approved for publication in the international media even before he put it in the Kotel, a short time after he wrote it at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem." A third newspaper, Haaretz, quoted Maariv as saying that "Obama submitted a copy of the note to media outlets when he left his hotel in Jerusalem."

Based on these statements by Maariv, Israel Insider concluded that the Obama campaign "managed the event brilliantly, if deceptively, getting the double benefit of appearing to be victimized by the invasive Israeli press and prayer-thieving Jew while at the same time leaking out his humble Christian plea to the Lord." The report noted that by the week's end, "a (relatively) slick video appeared on [public video website] YouTube that blended Obama's Western Wall prayer with various church scenes, crosses aplenty, a dove of peace, and a soundtrack based on Amazing Grace. The video closes with a "vote" button and an invitation to visit the official campaign website."

Apparently unaware that the leaking of the note was coordinated by the Obama campaign and Maariv, Kotel Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitz called the publication a "sacrilegious action" which "deserves sharp condemnation and represents a desecration of the holy site." He stated: "Notes which are placed in the Western Wall are between the person and his Maker; Heaven forbid that one should read them or use them in any way. The custom of placing notes between the stones of the Western Wall is ancient and is used as a means of expression by a person praying to his Creator."

Maariv's editors, Doron Galezer and Ruth Yovel, are considered to be hard-core leftists. The paper said that it was "pleased" with its "journalistic accomplishment."

"In any case," Maariv added, "since Obama is not a Jew, publishing the note does not constitute an infringement on his right to privacy."

Campaign denies
An Obama campaign spokesman claimed that the campaign hadn't approved the publication of any kind of prayer note. "Prayer notes at the Wall should remain private," a campaign aide said.

Israeli Channel 2 TV reported Sunday that the note was returned to the Kotel. It showed an interview with an anonymous yeshiva student, whose face was not shown, who did not want to say how he got possession of the note and claimed that the note was filched from the Kotel by a yeshiva student as a prank.

Call for boycott
Jerusalem lawyer Shahar Alon asked Attorney General Menachem Mazuz Monday to order a police investigation into the removal and publication of Obama's note.

"By making the note public," Alon wrote to Mazuz, "Maariv violated the law protecting holy sites, several clauses in the penal code and also infringed upon the basic rights of a person's honor and freedom."

Alon also initiated a boycott of the newspaper. In a public letter, he called on all who felt that Maariv had desecrated the holiness of the Kotel to refrain from purchasing the newspaper.


And we are supposed to vote for a man who mocks the Kotel? Who thinks that our prayers to G-d is a way to get votes? If any American Jew votes for him then they should be ashamed of themselves. "The Maariv" should also be ashamed of themselves to have let this happen.

Heart breaking News Today

The bitterly contested prisoner exchange has developed into one of Israel's most riveting and painful episodes, while Hizbullah and the PA celebrate victory and renew their threat to kidnap more IDF soldiers.

The conclusion of the prisoner exchange began Tuesday night with the release of child-murderer Samir Kuntar and four of his co-terrorists, and continued through Wednesday morning with the release of the coffins of Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, all caught on camera for the nation and the world to see.

To the families of the two captured IDF soldiers, the news that their sons are dead is a tragedy, while to others in Israel the prospect of handing over alive-and-well murderers of innocent Jews in exchange for dead bodies is a travesty. For those who support terrorism, the release is being hailed as a victory for Hizbullah and the struggle to destroy Israel, coupled with an admission of defeat from the Jewish state.

As images of the coffins of Regev and Goldwasser appeared on television, cries could be heard coming from the Regev family home when they suddenly realized what they feared most: They would never see their son Eldad alive again.



Once the news he was dead began to spread, the area around the Regev residence became quickly crowded with family members and friends of Eldad, who gathered outside his home to show support for the grieving parents and to honor the memory of their loved one. The visitors began a vigil outside his Kiryat Motzkin home as they lit memorial candles for Eldad. Another vigil formed at the Goldwasser home.

Eldad Regev's aunt, Hanna, collapsed when she saw the images of her nephew's coffin, and had to be treated by paramedics who were standing by.

Shlomo Goldwasser, father of Ehud Goldwasser, had defiant words for those who killed his son. "If Hizbullah's great achievement is the release of Kuntar, who is nothing but a repulsive murderer, then I pity them."



The Regev and Goldwasser families have quietly accepted the fate of their slain sons and expressed gratitude for Israel's willingness to hand over the terrorists in order to get their boys back, dead or alive. However, there are many who have strongly opposed the swap, including top military and intelligence officials who urged Prime Minister Olmert's cabinet to reject the deal, considering it a big mistake for Israel.

Now what about Gilad Shalit?

Gilad Shalit (born 28 August 1986) is a soldier who was captured in a cross border raid on the crossing Kerem Shalom from the Gaza Strip by Palestinian militants on 25 June 2006 and has been held hostage by Hamas since.

And we mustn't forget Ron Arad

Ron Arad was born on May 5, 1958 in Israel. He is the son of Batya and the late Dov Arad, and is the oldest of their three sons. Arad, an air-force navigator in an F-4 Phantom jet, had just completed his first year of chemical engineering at The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa when he was called up for reserve duty. On October 6, 1986 Arad was captured by members of the Amal Shi’ite militia after bailing out of his crippled warplane over the Lebanese city of Sidon.

When negotiations for Arad’s release collapsed in 1988, Arad was “sold” by Amal security chief Mustafa Dirani to Iranian backed forces in Lebanon. Since that time there has been a great deal of contradictory information regarding his fate and whereabouts. Israeli intelligence sources have maintained that Arad is being held in Iran or Lebanon by Iranian backed forces.

The Iranians have never publicly admitted to holding Arad or to having any information regarding his condition or location. Over the years many foreign governments have pressured Iran on the matter. Particularly the German government has continually attempted to utilize its close relationship with Iran to broker deals for Arad’s release, but without success to date.

For years there have been rumors if he is alive or dead, the latest says that he's dead.

While it is good that our boys finally came home it is Israel's shame that the terrorists get off so lightly. Why should Israel give up so much and get little or nothing in return.

Olmert should be gotten rid of and a stronger pro Israel PM should be in office. He is a disgrace. I'm sure that the next heinous act he does will be signing away more precious Jewish land.