Not another blog round-up...

As Part of my daily routine, I make the rounds each morning through a number of different websites, catching up on the news and views of the day, all generally related to either the Jewish People or the Jewish State.

As is evident to my regular readers, I do not have the time or energy to write posts every single day, even though, generally speaking, there is no shortage of blog-worthy material that catches my eye on any given day.

As such, I hope to add a new feature to my blog. No, I am not starting yet another blog round-up, as between Soccer Dad, SerandEz and Daled Amos (and I am sure there are others out there), that niche within the J-Blogsphere has been adequately filled.

It is my hope, on a daily basis, to post a list of articles, which I have come across that I believe to be worth a read (if not a post) - a daily Jewish / Israel affairs article round-up, if you will - IMRA style.

(If anyone has a suggestion for a catchy name for these posts, I am open to ideas).

So, without further ado, here are the choice articles for the 17th of Sivan / 13th of June:

1) Israel's image - why the all-time low? - Evelyn Gordon - Jerusalem Post

Good question. Even better answers.

2) אסור להתפלל - Nahum Schnitzer - Makor Rishon - HEBREW

A story written about the discriminatory practices carried out against religious Jews who wish to visit the Temple Mount by the State of Israel.

3) Our World: Facing down our defeatist leaders - Caroline Glick - Jerusalem Post

Two words aptly describe the Bush administration and the Olmert government's responses to the escalating war. They are respectively: appeasement and capitulation.

4) Defining Judaism down - Avi Shafran - Jerusalem Post

Are Judaism and homosexuality compatible?

5) HU star researchers take Kaye Prizes for innovation - Judy Siegel-Itzkovich - Jerusalem Post

Good news from Israel. More success stories from Jews who made Aliyah.

6) Report: Chances slim that IDF shell killed Gazans on beach - Jerusalem Post

7) PA TV falsifies video of Gaza deaths - Palestinian Media Watch

Now, why would they go and do something like that? Perhaps, because as the next article shows, not only will the world buy it, but so will we...

8) CHORUS OF HYPOCRITES [reaction to Gaza Beach incident] - IMRA - (Article by Editor Amnon Dankner, Ma'ariv, 12.6.06, p. A1,18)
[Translation provided by Israel Government Press Office]

A must read article. We are our own worst enemy.

9) 15 Qassams hit Sderot area Monday, one person lightly hurt - Amos Harel - Ha'aretz

When will the IDF take the steps to end this madness? Or, more to the point, when will the government untie the IDF's hands?

10) Analysis: Without artillery, IDF at loss - Yaakov Katz - Jerusalem Post

...In the eyes of the Israeli public, the IDF has this week appeared incompetent and weak in face of the massive downpour of Qassam rockets on the western Negev... Stopped from using artillery fire by Peretz until the completion of the investigation, the IDF has found itself at a loss of how to combat the non-stop rocket attacks... Some officers even went as far as to blame Peretz's decision to suspend artillery fire on the Gaza Strip as one of the reasons for the drastic increase in the number of Qassam attacks, claiming that there was no longer any such deterrence.

Defense Minister Peretz's response...

11) Peretz: We can deliver painful answers to Qassams - Anshel Pfeifer - Jerusalem Post

Really? And when does Defense Minister Peretz plan on walking the walk and not just talking the talk? Qassams have been raining down on Jewish communities in Israel on a daily basis for well over 4 years, I think now might be a good time.

12) Sderot's children are suffering post-traumatic stress - Eli Ashkenazi - Ha'aretz

Go figure.

13) The Region: A disturbing poll - Barry Rubin - Jerusalem Post

As if more proof was needed to show that Abu Mazen (along with Fatah and the PLO) is just as committed to the destruction of the Jewish State as is Hamas. And yet...

14) PM drafting alternative to convergence plan - Akiva Eldar - Ha'aretz

In light of the international opposition to further unilateral steps by Israel, the government has begun to draft an alternative plan that would essentially convert Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's unilateral convergence plan into a bilateral move carried out in conjunction with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

Can you say "Oslo Accords" - take 2? Yikes. It seems that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, like his predecessor, Ariel Sharon, is willing to lead the Jewish State towards the brink of national suicide (in the footsteps of Rabin and Peres) in order to solidify his legacy and place in history.

In light of the above, the following story is not surprising...

15) Prime minister's daughter in anti-Israel rally - Aaron Klein - World Net Daily

Looks like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Israel
Jewish
Judaism
Zionism