Theological Questions

According to the Times of India, in Syria and Iraq the ISIS Warriors (Sunnis) quiz captured Muslims to find out if they are the hated Shias with 4 questions:

4 questions ISIS rebels use to tell Sunni from Shia

1. What is your name? A quick look at an Iraqi's national identity card or passport can be a signal. Shias believe that the leadership of Islam was passed down through the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law Ali and his sons Hussain (or Hussein), Hassan and Abbas, among others. While some Sunnis and members of other Islamic groups may also have those names, ISIS would most likely associate them with the Shias.

3. Where do you live? In every city and province, even majority Sunni ones, there are enclaves that are known to be Shia. People who said they came from one of those neighborhoods would most likely be killed.

3. How do you pray? Shias and Sunnis offer prayers in slightly different ways, with Sunnis generally folding their hands or crossing their arms in front of their stomachs and Shias leaving them extended, palms resting on their thighs.
In a chilling video that appeared to have been made more than a year ago in the Anbar Province of Iraq, ISIS fighters stopped three truck drivers in the desert and asked them whether they were Sunnis or Shias. All three claimed to be Sunni. Then the questions got harder. They were asked how they performed each of the prayers: morning, midday and evening. The truck drivers disagreed on their methods, and all were shot.

4. What kind of music do you listen to? Recordings of religious songs could also be a tipoff. Similarly, even the ringtone on a person's telephone could be a clue because it might be from a Sunni or Shia religious song.-more

The Survivors Will Look Back

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A Common Enemy

The latest according to Israel National News:

ISIS in Sinai Claims Attack on Hamas in Gaza
War of the terrorist groups? ISIS claims explosives attack on Hamas military post, after threatening war; Hamas is in denial.
"Islamic State's (ISIS) threats to declare war on Hamas in Gaza after the latter began a crackdown on local Salafist groups appears to be edging to fruition, after an ISIS-affiliate in the Sinai Peninsula on Friday claimed launching two "bombs" - reportedly 82 mm mortar shells - at Hamas posts in Gaza.
Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which earlier this year swore loyalty to ISIS and changed its name to Sinai Province, claimed credit for the attack on a military post of Hamas's "military wing," the Al-Qassam Brigades in Khan Younis, located in southern Gaza."-more

View From the Middle East

The latest according to Aljazeera:

"The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah has said his fighters would expand their presence in Syria, saying the group was engaged in an existential battle against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged for the first time that his Shia group was fighting across all of Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad's government. He called specifically on his fiercest critics in Lebanon to back his intervention across the border, warning that their support for Assad's opponents would not save them from ISIL. "Today we are facing a kind of danger that is unprecedented in history, which targets humanity itself," Nasrallah said, speaking ahead of Monday's anniversary of the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon in 2000."-more

Happy Shavuot

Hag Sameah! Happy Shavuot Holiday! Sunset tomorrow , Saturday May 23, ushers in our cheese-eating holiday of Shavuot! Next Cartoon will be after the holiday, on Tuesday May 26.
Meanwhile help us build the Dry Bones Academy of Cartoon Advocacy!
click on www.igg.me/at/drybones .

Yummy Cheesy Shavuot

Saturday night, May 23 and will last until Monday evening May 25.
The food "theme" of this ancient Biblical holiday is ...CHEESE!
Yummy.
Enjoy!

Partition

In 1947, Great Britain relinquished to the UN the power to make decisions relating to the status of "Palestine". The General Assembly appointed a special committee to deal with the matter. The committee proposed partitioning the land into two states, a Jewish state and an Arab state. On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted to accept that partition plan resolution, 33 to 13. To this day, 68 years later, Not a single Arab state has accepted Israel as the Jewish State.
Join the Dry Bones Movement. Help us set up a Dry Bones Academy of Cartoon Advocacy and Activism. Help us fight antisemitism and the ignoring of the slaughter of Christians in Africa and the Middle East. Click on www.igg.me/at/drybones

Their Silence

Help the Dry Bones Battle against antisemitism and the ignoring of the plight of Christians in Africa and the Middle East.
Click on www.igg.me/at/drybones

Sunset over Europe

Today was a gorgeous, warm, beautiful day here in Israel.
Where we live is just a 15 minute walk from the beach.
You'd think that watching the beautiful sunsets over the Mediterranean would be a lovely non-political experience.

You'd be wrong.

Jerusalem Day 2015

Today's is a "Two in One" cartoon.
May 17, 2015 is Jerusalem Day, and just a few days ago the Pope "recognized" the "State of Palestine".
According to the International Business Times:

"As the Islamic State group expands its reach into Libya, the group also known as ISIS sits on the doorstep of a nation that has one of the largest Muslim populations in Europe: Italy. The militant group threatened to seize Rome in a video released this week" -more

According to Salon:

"News that the Vatican has officially recognized Palestinian statehood in a new treaty may have less of an impact on the relationship between the Holy See and Palestine than on the already fraught relationship between Pope Francis and an increasingly disgruntled Catholic and evangelical right here in the U.S."-more

For info about Yom Yerushalayim ( Jerusalem Day), Click Here.

No Expectations

About helping the Syrian war wounded: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4626448,00.html

About helping earthquake victims in Nepal: https://www.idfblog.com/blog/2015/04/27/israelinnepal/

Another Middle East Quiz

I just love doing cartoon quizzes!

Middle East Answer Man Quiz

Here's the Answer, What's the Question?

Regional Threat

The latest from the Times of Israel:

Obama plans in tatters as Saudi king, most Gulf leaders to skip summit
Only two heads of state now to attend Camp David meeting intended to assuage Arab fears over nuclear deal with Iran

"It is not just the Saudi king who will be skipping this week’s Camp David summit of US and allied Arab leaders. Most Gulf heads of state won’t be there.

US President Barack Obama had invited six Gulf kings, emirs and sultans to the presidential retreat at Camp David, seeking to shore up wavering trust while Washington negotiates with regional power Tehran. Obama’s plans now lie in tatters, with only two heads of state slated to attend the Thursday meeting.

The absences will put a damper on talks that are designed to reassure key Arab allies, and almost certainly reflect dissatisfaction among leaders of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council with Washington’s handling of Iran and what they expect to get out of the meeting."-more

"Ministers" in the New Israeli Gov't

In order to get a solid government in place, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu needs to bribe support from various political parties! And the bribes he's forced to offer is "Ministries". Leaders of his potential partners, and members of his own Likud party are demanding that he appoint them to be a "Minister" in the new gov't. So the list of government ministries is blowing up out of proportion. And each "Minister" gets a car and driver and an office and a budget , and, and... But hey, it's the Israeli system!
BTW, the modern Hebrew word for a government Minister is the old Hebrew word for a Prince.

His 10th Anniversary

"President" Abbas assumed office exactly 10 years ago today, on May 8 2005.
He had been elected to serve a 4-year term.
But the West continues to consider Mahmoud Abbas to be the Palestinian President.
Wikipedia ( which identifies Abbas as "the President of the State of Palestine" ) explains:

Mahmoud Abbas was elected to serve until 9 January 2009, but due to Palestinian internal conflict he unilaterally extended his term for another year and continues in office even half a decade after that second deadline expired. -More

Keep Counting

Today is Lag Ba'Omer; and we continue counting the days 'til the cheese-eating holiday called Shavuot. "Shavuot" is the Hebrew word for "weeks" and we're counting a week of weeks from Passover Matzos to Shavuot cheese.

Tonight's the Night!

Not sure what this holiday is all about?
Well, according to www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org:

The Torah teaches that "the Jewish people are obligated to count the days from the second night of Passover to the day before Shavu'ot - a total of exactly seven full weeks or 49 days. This period is known as the Omer, in reference to the biblical omer which meant a unit of measure. On the second day of Passover, in the days of the Temple, an omer of barley was cut down and brought to the Temple as an offering.

The counting is intended to remind us of the link between Passover, which commemorates the Exodus, and Shavu'ot, which commemorates the giving of the Torah. It reminds us that the redemption from slavery was not complete until we received the Torah. Therefore, every night, from the second night of Passover to the night before Shavu'ot, Jews recite a blessing and state the omer count, in both weeks and days. For example, on the 16th day one would say, "Today is sixteen days - which is two weeks and two days - of the Omer."

The Omer period is also a time of partial mourning in memory of a plague that killed dozens of Jewish scholars during the lifetime of Rabbi Akiba. As such, Jewish tradition prohibits weddings, parties, live music, dancing and haircuts.

The 33rd day of the Omer (the eighteenth of Iyar) is a minor holiday commemorating a break in the plague. Today it is known as Lag B'Omer - the word "Lag" is not really a word at all; it is the number 33 in Hebrew, as if you were to call the Fourth of July "IV July" (IV being 4 in Roman numerals). The mourning practices of the omer period are lifted on that date.

In modern Israel, Lag B'Omer has been reinterpreted to commemorate the Bar Kochba revolt against the Romans, leading to customs that include having large dinner celebrations and lighting bonfires. In Sephardic tradition, Lag B'Omer is also the hillula, or anniversary of death, of the great sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. In celebration of his life, every year thousands of Jews ascend Mount Meron outside the city of Safed to "eat, drink, and be merry." It is customary to throw locks of hair in bonfires as well."

And Tonight's the Night!

Privacy!

The generation gap is getting wider!

Ethnic Cleansing

Yup. Politically correct homework.

What's Next?

Is Aliyah "What's Next" for you?

Aliyah is the "coming up" (more properly the coming home) to Israel.
For contact information on making Aliyah from Baltimore or from wherever you are check out http://www.jewishagency.org/Aliyah
To find out if you are eligible for Aliyah check http://www.jewishagency.org/first-steps/program/2016
For information about the history of Aliyah click on http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Immigration/First_Aliyah.html
An organization that helps potential Aliyah seekers form North America and the UK is Nefesh B'Nefesh