Hamas Mega-Attack Planned Through Gaza Terror Tunnels

Hamas had apparently been preparing a murderous assault on Israeli civilian targets for the coming Jewish New Year Holiday, Rosh Hashanah, which begins on September 24, according anonymous sources in the Israeli security services, as reported today by the Israeli daily Maariv.

The Hamas plan consisted of what was to be a surprise attack in which 200 fighters would be dispatched through each of dozens of tunnels dug by Hamas under the border from Gaza to Israel, and seize kibbutzim and other communities while killing and kidnapping Israeli civilians.

Israeli soldiers already frustrated a surprise assault by Hamas through one tunnel from Gaza into the Eshkol district of Israel on July 19. The Hamas fighters escaped back into the tunnel, but the clash cost the lives of two Israel Defense Force [IDF] troops.

An IDF paratrooper officer emerges from a Hamas cross-border tunnel that his unit discovered, July 20, 2014. (Image source: IDF)

Israel has reportedly discovered at least 30 tunnels, and has destroyed several of them by employing bulldozers. IDF excavation of the tunnels has resulted in the seizure of tons of Hamas supplies, as well as the discovery of plans for future operations. Clearly, the network of tunnels -- using hundreds of tons of concrete that might otherwise have been used by the Palestinians for building homes, shopping malls, parks, schools, hospitals and libraries -- indicates that Hamas had been preparing for an ongoing conflict for at least a year. According to the reports, each tunnel has arteries, veins, offshoots, and offshoots of the offshoots in intricate and complex arrangements. As one Israeli spokesman said, "There are two Gazas, one above ground and one below ground: an underground terrorist city."

Rosh Hashanah Resolutions For The Entire World

From Aish.com some New Years Resolutions that the World has made.

Rosh Hashanah is not just the New Year for the Jewish people. It’s the New Year for the entire world. As a result, I, The World, have taken some time to reflect on the past year, and would like to improve myself, and make some resolutions for the year to come. So what follows are some of the Rosh Hashanah Resolutions that I made for myself – The Entire World.

I Will Not Call Hassan Rouhani a Moderate

This year, I promise not to pretend that Iran isn’t pursuing nuclear weapons. I resolve not to call the new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani a “moderate” because he only occasionally talks about destroying Israel as opposed to talking about it every time there’s a microphone in his face like the previous guy. You have to understand though – it’s really tempting. He looks so nice and he smiles a lot, and military intervention would create a spike in world oil prices…but I won’t do it. OK, I will try my best. Come on, I’m not Houdini.

I Will Increase Acts of Loving Kindness

The only way The World is going to get better is if we all pitch in and increase acts of loving kindness. That could mean giving charity, visiting the sick, helping a friend in need, anything really. And the most admirable acts of loving kindness are those we perform for perfect strangers or people we don’t even get along with. For example, who remembers Tony Hayward, former CEO of British Petroleum who presided over the world’s largest oil spill back in 2010 and said that the amount of oil was “relatively tiny” adding, “You know, I’d like my life back”? Well this year for Rosh Hashanah I am going to bake Tony a honey cake. And I won’t even make any jokes referencing the fact that I will be baking the cake with apple sauce instead of oil. I won’t do it. That’s just the kind of World that I am.

I Will Stop Saying the Settlements are the Main Obstacle to Middle East Peace

OK, let me get this straight: a Jewish Israeli – let’s call him Dudu, legally buys a plot of undeveloped desert land, makes a few trips to Home Depot, moves in with his wife and 4 year old twins Shirah and Shiya and he is the main obstacle to Middle East peace? Oh, and Dudu cannot legally buy a home in Saudi Arabia or Iran or most Arab countries, but an Arab citizen of let’s say Nazareth can purchase property anywhere he wants in Israel. Some explain this to me? You know, this resolution is similar to my “saving more money for retirement” resolution that I make every year. It’s so simple and it makes so much sense, yet I never do it.

I Will Try to Cut Down on the Extreme Weather

I know that the increased floods, heat spells, hurricanes and melting polar ice caps have been annoying. Trust me, I’ve gotten an ear full from every major insurance company – not to mention the Island Nation of Maldives who are predicted to be underwater in 50 years. Those guys are really not happy. But you people have to do your part too. Controlling the weather is not as easy as it looks, you know. It’s kind of an art, really, and carbon emissions are very distracting for me. They totally throw me off my game. They’re like giving Picasso a box of Crayons. So I’ll do what I can about the weather, but you have to pitch in. Just sayin.

I Will Invest in More Israeli Start-ups

In 2013 alone Intel bought Israeli start-up Omek for $50 Million AOL acquired Adapt.tv for $405 million, IBM bought Trusteer for nearly $1 Billion, Google bought Waze for $1.1 Billion and Warren Buffett bought out Iscar for another $2 Billion. This year I will definitely invest in more Israeli start-ups so next year I can start cruisin’ in my new private jet. Wait, that’s not good for my carbon emissions resolution is it? Whatever, private jets are awesome – it’s totally worth it.

I Will Not Name Any More Arab Uprisings after Pleasant Seasons

What in the name of Mecca is going on in Egypt and Syria? Flashback: Who remembers when the media was falling all over itself, praising these revolutions as the dawn of a new Middle Eastern civilization? Now I don’t want to say I told you so, because that’s not the type of World that I am, but I was always against naming this “movement” after one of Mother Nature’s most pleasant seasons. Don’t get me wrong, spring is a beautiful time when we take picnics and go on bike rides and eat salad. But spring doesn’t last forever. The next thing you know, it’s hot and humid and you are irritable and the homeless guy on the subway is sweating all over you. So basically what I am saying is that right now Egypt and Syria are a sweaty homeless man. Let’s all deal with him appropriately.

I Will Call My Bubbie More Often

Yes The World has a Bubbie. She likes phone calls just like your Bubbie and makes a killer noddle pudding. I do call her, but what can I say – The World is busy. I know Bubbie, that’s no excuse.

And Finally…Odds and Ends

This year I will stop:

…biting my nails
…eating red meat
…stalking people on Twitter
…and watching the Real Housewives of Orange County (such a guilty pleasure)

A great Kugel recipe:

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 60 Minutes
Total Time: 75 Minutes
Servings: 15
Kosher Key: Dairy

You will need:

large pot, food processor or blender, 9x13 baking dish

Ingredients

1 cup raisins (optional)
12 oz wide egg noodles
6 large eggs
1 lb sour cream (2 cups)
8 oz cottage cheese (1 cup)
8 oz cream cheese, softened (1 cup)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 tsp salt
Cinnamon and sugar for dusting
Nonstick cooking oil spray

Place a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Cover the raisins with hot water and let them soak to plump while you prepare the other ingredients.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles to the pot, bring back to a boil, and let them cook till tender (not overly soft), about 5 minutes. Drain and return the cooked noodles to the pot.

In a food processor or blender, mix together the eggs, sour cream, cottage cheese, cream cheese, sugar, melted butter, and salt.

Drain the raisins and pat dry. Stir them into the noodles.

Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking oil. Pour the noodle mixture into the dish.

Top the kugel by sprinkling generously with sugar and lightly with cinnamon. Alternatively, you can use your favorite kugel topping (streusel, crushed graham crackers, cornflakes, etc.).

Bake the kugel for about 60 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking, till the center of the kugel is set and the tips of the noodles turn golden brown. Remove from the oven.

Let the kugel rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing. Kugel can be served warm or cold.

 L'shanah tovah tikatev v'taihatem

May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year

One Day---Tribal Update From Latma

With Rosh Hashanah right before the Sabbath, everything has to be programed days before.  Here is a little gem I found from The Tribe.

New Year's Greetings from Latma

L'Shana Tova!

L'Shana Tova

Rosh Hashanah 5772

The festival of Rosh Hashanah--the name means "Head of the Year"--is observed for two days beginning on Tishrei 1, the first day of the Jewish year. It is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and their first actions toward the realization of mankind's role in G-d's world.

Rosh Hashanah thus emphasizes the special relationship between G-d and humanity: our dependence upon G-d as our creator and sustainer, and G-d's dependence upon us as the ones who make His presence known and felt in His world. Each year on Rosh Hashanah, "all inhabitants of the world pass before G-d like a flock of sheep," and it is decreed in the heavenly court, "who shall live, and who shall die... who shall be impoverished, and who shall be enriched; who shall fall and who shall rise." But this is also the day we proclaim G-d King of the Universe.

The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the shofar, the ram's horn, which also represents the trumpet blast of a people's coronation of their king. The cry of the shofar is also a call to repentance; for Rosh Hashanah is also the anniversary of man's first sin and his repentance thereof, and serves as the first of the "Ten Days of Repentance" which culminate in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Another significance of the shofar is to recall the Binding of Isaac which also occurred on Rosh Hashanah, in which a ram took Isaac's place as an offering to G-d; we evoke Abraham's readiness to sacrifice his son and plead that the merit of his deed should stand by us as we pray for a year of life, health and prosperity. Altogether, we listen to 100 shofar blasts over the course of the Rosh Hashanah service.

Additional Rosh Hashanah observances include: a) Eating a piece of apple dipped in honey to symbolize our desire for a sweet year, and other special foods symbolic of the new year's blessings. b) Blessing one another with the words Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim, "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year." c) Tashlich, a special prayer said near a body of water (an ocean, river, pond, etc.) in evocation of the verse, "And You shall cast their sins into the depths of the sea." And as with every major Jewish holiday, after candlelighting and prayers we recite Kiddush and make a blessing on the Challah.

Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim

"May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."