My Merkava

Ah, it finally came. 


My new wall hanging of a Merkava IV tank. 


This is a large 47×36 photo print on aluminum and weights about 8 pounds. 


I have it hanging proudly in my home.


To me, this is absolutely beautiful.  


And did I say, I love it!  😉


(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Am Yisrael Chai!

I love the Merkava IV, Israel’s main battle tank. 


The shape, the versatility, the power! 


Complete fighting awesomeness. 


The new “Merkava IV Barak” (scheduled for deployment in 2021) will even have artificial intelligence (AI) for advanced battle management systems. 


I wish we had the Merkava during the Holocaust and could’ve given the Nazi bastards what they rightfully deserved. 

 

Never again! 😉


(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

To Bear Eternal Witness

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called, “To Bear Eternal Witness.”

I just finished reading a most gut-wrenching book, Auschwitz: A Doctor’s Eyewitness Account by Dr. Miklos Nyiszli. I came across this book after learning that my wife’s grandmother had been selected by Dr. Josef Mengele (may his name be forever cursed) for torturous experiments at the Auschwitz concentration camp during the Holocaust. This New York Times Bestseller is a vivid eyewitness account by a Jewish forensic pathologist, who worked directly for Dr. Mengele, and tells of the unspeakable cruelty and horrors at Auschwitz, the largest Nazi death camp vastly accounting toward the twelve million people exterminated by the Nazis, six million of them Jews.


From my experience, once you pick up this book, you cannot put it down until you finish it completely, and I urge everyone to make this a must-read, especially as there will soon be no more Holocaust survivors to tell us, in-person, the hell that they lived through.

(Free Photo of Kyklon B Poison Gas via Pixabay)

The Tavor

Love my new keychain with the Tavor.


It’s the latest Assault Rifle by Israel Weapon Industries.


The short stock makes this very versatile yet it packs a hell lot of fire power.


Good reminder for me of “Never again!” 😉


(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal, and thank you to my son-in-law for the thoughtful gift)

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called, “Actions Speak Louder Than Words.”

When we see wrong and evil in this world, we have a duty to stand up and speak out with truth and integrity, to be a good influence and guide things for the better, and even to repair the world (“Tikkun Olam”)…Words are perhaps a good start, but also, “words are cheap.” The way to really judge someone is less by their words, and far more so by their actual deeds. Moreover, sometimes words aren’t enough and we need to not just say something, but do something! As Edmund Burke stated, “The only thing necessary for triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” It’s great to speak out when we see wrong, but more than that we have to be willing, when necessary, to act out–to do something.


As Jews, we need to be ready, willing, and able to stand up for what is right in the never ending war of good over evil in this world–regardless of silver or lead, G-d forbid–with our words and with our deeds.

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Celebrating With Security

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called, “Celebrating With Security.”

Take a look around you at the new security measures and people risking their lives for yours and your family. Take a moment to thank them. But also, recognize that the security isn’t there just for show, it’s there because the hatred and threats have tangibly increased along with the ever present means to carry them out. It is critical that we continue our vigilance and the strengthening of our security measures, because those that hate us for who we are and for our faith are not going away, and unfortunately, they may even continue to grow in numbers and resolve. However, none of us should live in fear and be forced to stay away from our religious institutions, our Torah study, and prayer, but rather to the contrary, we need to stand up strongly–in defiance and in faith!


While I don’t know what specific security measures we will see next Rosh Hashanah, I can say with almost absolute certainty that it will be more and not less and that you should definitely be taking notice.

(Image by Robert-Owen-Wahl from Pixabay)

Boycott Airbnb

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called, “Free, Free Israel.”

While the Palestinians continue to terrorize Israelis not only with barrages of rockets, terror tunnels, vehicular rammings, shootings, stabbings, and suicide bombings, but also with their advocacy and pressure for a Boycott, Divestiture, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against us. Companies like Airbnb are actually falling for it and joining the terrorists against U.S. ally and friend, the democratic State of Israel.

It’s time for Jewish people all over the world to demand “Free, Free Israel” and “End the terrorism!”

(Source Photo: here with attribution to Pixabay)

Never Forget # Never Again

Please see my new article in Times of Israel


As much as we have to remember the horrors of the Holocaust and how so-called, human beings can descend into the depth of evilness inflicting hell against their fellow man, it is most critical to ensure it never happens again. 


But remembering can be extremely painful, especially for the next generation that perhaps wants to forget all the terrible tragedy and for everything to be seemingly “normal” again. 


But in the ageless war of good over evil, we must continuously fight to defend a peaceful and secure future for us and our children. 


(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

A Holocaust Bar-Mitzvah

Little Boy Holocaust.jpeg

So there was a bar-mitzvah in synagogue today. 


It was very memorable, I think not only for the young man and his family, but for many of the congregants–and frankly, it brought me to tears.


The family was from the Israeli embassy, and they did something that I had never seen before. 


When the father got up with his wife and son at the pulpit to speak, he didn’t talk about how great his son was.


Instead he spoke about a young boy from the Holocaust who never made it to his bar-mitzvah.


The father told of the just 12-year old that lived in Europe and was murdered by the Nazis in the Jewish genocide that killed 6,000,000!


The father presented a certificate from the Remember Us program with the name and information of the murdered boy to his son. 


The message of this father and Israeli official on his son’s bar-mitzvah was very clear–Never again!


Never again–the hate, prejudice, discrimination, and murder of Jews just because they are Jews.


The people that were murdered by the evil Nazis and other hating bigots throughout history showed no mercy towards G-d’s creatures–in fact, quite the contrary–they relished in the absolute torture and killing of each and every one.


Never again, is not just a phrase, but it is a determination and a commitment to be a “light unto nations” not to forget how some can fall under the evil influence and not to allow it to happen again that people engage in the most outrageous and vile atrocities against their fellow man. 


Unfortunately these days, hate and bigotry comes in many colors, races, genders, orientations, and affiliations–and the haters may often pretend–like the Nazis did as the “Aryan Nation”–that they are superior, better, and even righteous in their (evil) cause. 


However, we have to know better–we have to be able to discern good from evil–raise up good over evil–and fight for good to win against evil. 


It is not just a single battle, but a long intergenerational war, and one that will be won.


G-d Almighty will most assuredly see to it that those who hate on and perform the vilest of deeds against their fellow man, they will end up paying the ultimate price not only with their rotting flesh, but with the eternal burning of their sickening souls. 😉


(Source Photo: here with attribution to the Holocaust Education and Archive Research Team–HEART)