I am a Jew

The three weeks...it's a heavy time, a time allotted to feeling the pain. During the hot, oppressive, humid, unforgiving heat of the summer, the destruction of both Temples took place. So tap in, reach deep inside, acknowledge and mourn all the afflictions and deficiencies faced by living in a broken world. People are starving, broken-hearted, hurting, angry, hateful, bitter, jaded, missing...but we should take refuge in the fact that in acknowledging these emotions, we are in fact yearning for a better day. Darkness can only be understood when being juxtaposed to the opposite...light.

I find it difficult to be in mourning right now especially since I am in Israel and have the opportunity to see first-hand the damned nation of Israel build itself up..higher and higher. Watch people coming home after 2,000 years from every corner of the world, watch the children laugh and run in the parks, completely unaware of the years of hostility. Personally I feel like celebrating, because in my eyes the temple is being rebuild already. It's a organic rebuilding, the way the sunrises in the morning, gradual, natural, and progressive.

It's not my style to post other writers, but this gave me goosebumps and I think its important to share the sentiment in Israel in light of all the negative media, human rights accusations, internal strive, etc. It is very rare that I read something that perfectly captures an image, emotion, feeling. Words are so limiting...may we all merit the day that we don't need letters to communicate with each other, just a smile will do. We are obviously on the brink of the universal redepmtion, consciousnesses are expanding. We pray every day, especially now, that the temple will be rebuild, A house of love and prayer for all people in the world...Amen Amen Amen

I am a Jew, by Dan Sporn

Our condition, in Israel, has never been better than it is now! Only The television and the media make people think that the end of the

World is near.. Only 65 years ago, Jews were brought to death like Sheep to slaughter. NO country, NO army. Only 60 years ago,

Seven Arab countries declared war on little Israel, the Jewish State, Just a few hours after it was established.

We were 650,000 Jews against the rest of the Arab world. No IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) or Air Force. We were only a

Small group of stubborn people with nowhere to go.

Remember: Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Libya and Saudi Arabia - they all attacked at once. The state that the

United Nation s "gave" us was 65% desert. We started it from Zero.

Only 41 years ago, we fought three of the strongest countries. In the Middle East, and we crushed them in the Six Day War.

Over the years we fought different coalitions of Arab countries With modern armies and with huge amounts of Russian-Soviet

Ammunition, and we still won.

Today we have a beautiful country, a powerful Army, a strong Air Force, an adequate Navy and a thriving high tech industry.

Intel, Microsoft, and IBM have all developed their businesses. Here. Our doctors have won important prizes in the medical

Development field. We turned the desert into a prosperous land. We sell oranges, flowers, and vegetables around the world.

We launched our own satellite! Three satellites at once! We Are in good company; together with the USA (280 million

Residents), Russia (220 million residents), China (1.3 Billion residents) and Europe ( France , England and Germany

35 million residents), we are one of the only countries in the World that have launched something into space!

Israel today is among the few powerful countries that have Nuclear technology & capabilities. ( We will never admit it ,

But everyone knows.)

To think that only 65 years ago we were disgraced and Hopeless.

We crawled out from the burning crematoriums of Europe . We won in all our wars. With a little bit of nothing we built

An empire. Who are Khaled Mashal (leader of Hamas) or Hassan Nasrallah (leader of Hezbollah) trying to frighten us?

They are amusing us.

As we celebrate Independence Day, let's not forget what this Holy day is all about; we overcame everything.

We overcame the Greeks,

We overcame the Romans,

We overcame the Spanish Inquisition,

We overcame the Russians pogrom,

We overcame Hitler , we overcame Germany and overcame the Holocaust,

We overcame the armies of seven countries.

Relax chevray (friends), we will overcome our current enemies.

Never mind where you look in human history. Think about it, The Jewish nation, our condition has never been better than now.

So let's lift our heads up and remember:

Never mind which country or culture tries to harm us or erase us From the world. We will still exist and persevere. Egypt ? Anyone

Know where the Egyptian empire disappeared to? The Greeks?

Alexander Macedon? The Romans? Is anyone speaking Latin

Today? The Third Reich? Did anyone hear news from them lately?

And look at us, the Bible nation – from slavery in Egypt , we are Still here, still speaking the same language.

Exactly here, exactly now.

Maybe The Arabs don't know it yet, but we are an eternal nation. All the time that we will keep our identity, we will stay eternal.

So, sorry that we are not worrying, complaining, crying, or fearing…

Business here is beseder (fine). It can definitely be much better, But it is still fine. Don't pay attention to the nonsense in the media,

They will not tell you about our festivals here in Israel or about the People that continue living, going out, meeting friends.

Yes, sometimes morale is down, so what? This is only because we Are mourning the dead while they are celebrating spilled blood.

And

This is the reason we will win after all.