Fill 'er up and let's roll

Zion Public Radio (ZPR) was conceived on a Sabbath day in late July last year. That’s when a philanthropist came to visit me in Nashville, Tennessee. She said, “I have done my due diligence and will provide the start-up funding for Zion Public Radio.”

That meant $100,000 to $250,000.

“But first,” she continued, “you need to incorporate and get official recognition from the IRS.”

I was ecstatic. We immediately incorporated. I immediately immersed myself in completion of the IRS application for official approval. My co-founder and I made immediate plans to produce pilot programs: you-are-there interviews of Israelis in their land, their nation: Israel.

Those programs were produced. And they are awesome. There is nothing else like them on the Internet, on the radio or anywhere in the world.

But hey. Listen for yourself. Those programs are right here, on this site. (Click on the links at the top of the page.)

On 27 December 2007 Zion Public Radio was added to the IRS list of recognized nonprofits.

We were ready to roll.

I called our benefactor with the wonderful news.

“Congratulations,” she began. “And yes, I know what I told you. But I have prayed about it, and G-d has told me to put my money someplace else. My decision is final. I wish you all the best. Goodbye.”

So. ZPR is like a brand new car sitting in the driveway. It’s beautiful and paid for. Donations this year have been enough to start the engine and let it idle now and then. But not enough to put it into gear and drive it toward our destination. Not yet.

Great news: we have a business plan that will produce the long-term fuel that’s needed. All that’s needed to implement that plan is one year’s tank of gasoline.

What I mean is that we have a viable strategy to generate money needed to operate and grow, to run, Zion Public Radio. But in order to make that strategy work, we need a few dollars to get it chuggin’, pumping out the fuel we know that, with G-d’s blessing, it will produce.

Help us fill the tank. Let’s get ZPR on the road, on the air, with purpose, style and pride. This is a far, far greater thing we do than almost anything we've ever done.

You are invited: become a Charter Member of Zion Public Radio.

Just click on the icon above. It will take you to
our PayPal link where you can give by bank transfer
or credit card. You do not have to have a PayPal account.

Let's fill 'er up and let's roll!

Brian

...Have a question? Shoot me an email by clicking on this line.

HOW

Are you convinced that Israel has the right to exist—and prosper?

Are you troubled by Radical Islam's infiltration of popular media?
Are you concerned Americans don't know Israelis as real people?

Still, what can one person do? Alone, usually not much.
But if we join forces, combine resources, and share a common goal...
We can give Israelis a voice in the USA, speaking to Americans as neighbors.

Here's How:__

Zion Public Radio is an educational 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation formed
to do this very thing: produce programming that features Israelis from
every walk of life, sharing their lives, their stories, their convictions.


We have the skill, the programming and the passion.
Now we need a team that shares our passion and our dream.
Are you one of these? Then you no longer have to dream alone.

You are invited: become a Charter Member of Zion Public Radio.

Just click on the icon above. It will take you to
our PayPal link where you can give by bank transfer
or credit card. You do not have to have a PayPal account.

The dues you pay are up to G-d and you.

And the benefits are priceless.

1. You will no longer be alone in your convictions. Instead you will be a member of our team. A cause dedicated to building media platforms on which Israelis are able to share their hearts and minds and souls directly with listeners in the USA.


2. You will have priority access to ZPR's broadcasters and producers.


3. You will have access to "insider information." Things like confidential reports. Secret links to interviews not included in regular broadcasts. Invitation-only opportunities to participate in on-site interviews in Israel. Yes, in Israel.


4. You will receive behind-the-scenes and real-time correspondence. Things like personal notes from hosts and program directors. Participation in conference calls. Virtual seminars with Israeli VIPs.


5. And we will give you direct access to our guests—assuming, of course, they give us their okay. Direct access will probably take on different forms. Often it will by email. Other times there will be participation in live online forums. And sometimes face-to-face encounters.

Join the team and make it so.

Brian

...Have a question? Shoot me an email by clicking on this line.

ZPR awarded IRS exempt status!

December 27, 2007

Earlier today I called the IRS. My highest hope was that, 4 months since submission, ZPR's application for tax-exempt recognition had been assigned to a reviewer.

Well, it had. But whoever it was never called or wrote. Instead she, or he, approved it!

I spoke with IRS Agent, Ms. Griffith. In spite of an uncomfortable cold and seasonal stress, her tone was warm.

Zion Public Radio, she said, "did receive its exempt status and...should receive [its] exempt determination letter within the next two weeks."

Hallelujah!

Among other things, this means that all donations to ZPR are indisputably deductible according to IRS tax law.

Meaning your Charter Membership gifts to Zion Public Radio, an educational nonprofit, are tax deductible.

One of the easiest way to get give—and have records to prove it—is by bank transfer or by credit-debit card, in our case through PayPal. It's as simple as a click above this little icon:

Because I'm not an expert in tax-law or accounting, and because every situation is unique, you should direct any questions about your own situation to a qualified tax-accounting professional.

For all of us using the Gregorian calendar, by necessity or choice...

A Blessed New Year!

Let us make it so. Then every day exclaim,

Baruch HaShem!

(For a pdf copy of ZPR's official letter from the IRS,
Click anywhere on this line)

WHY?

In this blog you can listen to and read about our

newborn program, This Week In Jerusalem—
TWIJ, produced by Zion Public Radio,
an educational nonprofit.

But why? Why this program?
Does TWIJ have a right to life?

I propose 10 reasons why it does. What do you think?

1. Virtually all U.S. news, opinion-shows and other Western media talk about Israel. None of them focus on listening to her. As a result we've all but forgotten that news about Israel involves real people, real families.
   

   TWIJ believes it is impossible to see anyone's humanity without listening to them. That's why our commitment is to hear and understand what Israelis have to say.



2. From Fox to PBS to Britain's BBC, Western news revolves around the question, "What is in our country's best interest?"
   

   TWIJ gives Israelis a platform to address topics centered on the question, "How do these issues affect the men, women and children of Israel?"



3. Secular news, talk-shows and religious programming align themselves with various opinions about Israel.
   

   In contrast, TWIJ's top priority is building a relationship with the people of Israel by hearing what they have to say: the kind of relationship that makes allowance for very different convictions.
   
   Yes, we encounter conflicting beliefs. When we differ, those differences matter. And yes, we too have strong convictions (in case you haven't noticed☺). But take note: near the top is this one: listening to our neighbor is a moral obligation, not a moral compromise.
   



4. Mainstream secular media is rabidly PC. And today's PC is that Israel is morally responsible for Radical Islam's murderous rage. This conviction is so pervasive in the news that Israel's right to exist is regarded dubious. What the Washington Post calls Britain's New Anti-Semitism is taking root in the U.S. too.
   

   TWIJ explicitly affirms Israel's right to exist, no less than the USA or any other country, as a fully sovereign nation under G-d.
   
   

5. Radical Islam is spending petro-billions to sell its spin to Western News consumers. It...
   
   
• ...underwrites its own networks: like Iran's super-slick and scary IRIB, along with the "respectable" Al Jezerra through whom all Radical Islamic terror groups funnel threats and claims;


• ...trains and sends polished lobbyists to Washington, DC loaded with money; and


• ...educates and bankroles what might be called, Media Reps At-Large—like the super-smooth Adel al-Jubeir. Click his name; trust me, you'll recognize this guy.

TWIJ is like Tom Thumb going against these Goliaths. But we're willing. All we need, relative to them, is a slingshot and some stones (also known as Resources☺).



6. Articulate opponents of Israel get tons of air time and print space in the Western press. And the opinions they express, no matter how inconsistent or factually wrong, are enhanced by a tone, an atmosphere, of credibility.
   

   TWIJ provides a desperately needed counter-balance, broadcasting the opinions of patriotic Israelis—including a wide variety of pros and cons about all kinds of issues.
   
   

7. From the White House to the United Nations and even to the Knesset, Israel's existence and policies are measured against the shifty, blurry standards of global sensibilities. Call it the All-Arguments-Have-Equal-Moral-Merit point of view.
   

   TWIJ regards this perspective as logically absurd, and its self-righteous expressions, hypocritical. Every program we produce assumes that Israel's existence, policies and future, are measured against independent standards that never change: universal moral laws revealed in the Bible—the only holy book among all the world's religions that explicitly endows a Specific People with a Specific Land.
   
   

8. In the West and at best, Jewish people—especially citizens of Israel—are regarded odd.
   

   TWIJ looks at the Bible and concludes that all Jewish people are G-d's people in a unique way: they are the apple of his eye.
   
   

9. More often than not, Western politicians and newsmakers see their cultures' survival relative to appeasing Radical Islam. No wonder they insist that Israel make concessions to her publicly sworn enemies.
   

   TWIJ regards Israel's existence as fundamental to the West's survival. Sacrificing Israel, all at once or piece by piece, is nothing less than cutting off one's own legs in order to cure a headache.



10. Western culture takes its existence for granted, independent of the past.
    

    TWIJ recognizes that Western culture owes its existence to Israel's history and culture. And not only to Israel's past-history, but also to her current and future history.
    
    That's why, after listening to Israel, TWIJ encourages it audience to act: for our own sake, doing everything we can to ensure Israel's prosperity.
    

Does This Week In Jerusalem fill a need? Does it have a right to life? Should it grow and thrive? These 10 reasons compel us to answer, ...Yes.

But when it comes to TWIJ, it really does take a village—a community of people who share our values and our vision.

Are you part of this village, this community? If so, no matter who you are, TWIJ's viability and growth depend on your encouragement. And participation.

Share the dream. Join the team.
Become a Charter Member of Zion Public Radio.

Brian

This Week In Jerusalem is a production of ZION PUBLIC RADIO,
an educational 501(c)(3) U.S. nonprofit organization
incorporated in the State of Texas

AUDIO: Broadcast spans 2000 years

This post includes another edition of This Week In Jerusalem,

a "you-are-there" broadcast that spans 2000 years.

I don't think there's anything else like it on the radio or Internet. But what do I know? Listen for yourself—just below—and tell us what you think.

Yehuda Rapuano, an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority takes us back in time beside the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. He shows us the gates most people used to enter and ascend the holy site. And beside massive rocks thrown down by the Roman general, Titus, when he destroyed the 2nd Temple, Yehuda dips his fingers in the ash of Titus' hellish fire.

Linda Olmert is the only child of parents who survived Auschwitz. She grew up destesting Christians whom she blamed for the Holocaust. Sitting in Jerusalem's Crowne Plaza Hotel, Linda explains how she came to love people of a faith she once despised.

Avi Lipkin has written several books under the pen-name Victor Mordecai. And for good reason. They are glaring exposés of Radical Islam. But today Avi no longer hides his true identity. Why? Because he is beginning a new political party in Israel: a Jewish-Christian coalition party. Oy!

Yishai Fleisher and his wife, Malkah, explain the meaning of Yom Kippur: their dialogue is some of the best radio I've ever heard. Of course they are both broadcasters with IsraelNationalRadio.com, but it feels like we are sitting with them over dinner in their home.

LISTEN HERE...
(If one track will not stream, choose another. One of them will play!)

OR TO DOWNLOAD, click (or right-click) one of these 5 links:
(If one gives you a funky message, like "Bandwidth Exceeded," just click another site)

Click here! (Site 1)
Or here! (Site 2)
Or here! (Site 3)
Or here! (Site 4)
Or here! (Site 5)

Looking, and listening, for your thoughts,


Brian

This Week In Jerusalem is a production of ZION PUBLIC RADIO,
an educational 501(c)(3) U.S. nonprofit organization
incorporated in the State of Texas

AUDIO: Walking on the Temple Mount

The year is 5768, and together with some Jewish friends we walk atop the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City // A discussion with Rabbi Chaim Richman of the Temple Institute, sitting in his office in Jerusalem's City Center // Judaism's perspective about the times in which we live—with Yishai Fleisher of Israel National News.

It's a fascinating, you-are-there broadcast of This Week In Jerusalem.

LISTEN HERE...
(If one track will not stream, choose another. One of them will play!)

OR TO DOWNLOAD, click (or right-click) one of these 5 links:
(If one gives you a funky message, like "Bandwidth Exceeded," just click another site)

Walking on the Temple Mount: Site 1
Walking on the Temple Mount: Site 2
Walking on the Temple Mount: Site 3
Walking on the Temple Mount: Site 4
Walking on the Temple Mount: Site 5

Now, share your thoughts: post feedback!







Brian

This Week In Jerusalem is a production of ZION PUBLIC RADIO,
an educational 501(c)(3) U.S. nonprofit organization
incorporated in the State of Texas

AUDIO: On the air in Israel: hear it here!

July 12, 2007

My partner, Greg, has engineered a terrific audio introduction to the radio program we would love to start producing ASAP. Well, I think it's terrific.

But hey, listen for yourself and let us know what you think:

Click Play to hear the program demo: in Microsoft's browser, IE, click Play twice
(give it just a little time to load up from another site)

And here's an amazing thing. One week ago today I was visiting executives at Arutz Sheva: Baruch Gordon, Director of English Media for IsraelNationalNews.com and Yishai Fleisher, head of programming for IsraelNationalRadio.com, a division of IsraelNationalNews.com.

We talked about many ways our respective efforts can reinforce and help each other. One idea was the possibility of hitting a circuit of U.S. cities with "An Evening of Jewish-Christian Dialogue."

What fun, especially if we could wrap the discourse with mini-concerts featuring Jewish musicians on the front-end and the back.

Then, while visiting, Yishai invited me to join him on his show, Yishai Fleisher and friends, that same afternoon. How cool is that? Such an honor!

Here's the portion of Yishai's program on which I was his guest:

Click Play to hear Brian on-air with Yishai Fleisher: in Microsoft's IE click Play twice
(again, give it a few seconds to load up from another site)

There are two other ways you can access these mp3s. Click on the option you prefer:

1. Program Demo: Download or play inside your browser
   
2. Brian as a guest on Yishai Fleisher's program: Download or play inside your browser

Let us know what you think: post feedback! Send an email!

And if you're not aware of the unlikely path that has brought us to this point, take look at prior posts...

• Impossible: posted Monday, May 14, 2007
• Is Jesus G-d?: posted Thursday, May 31, 2007
• IJS: Israel-Jerusalem Syndrome: posted Monday, June 25, 2007
  
• Radical Islam hits home: posted Wednesday the 4th of July 2007
  

This Week In Jerusalem is a production of ZION PUBLIC RADIO,
an educational 501(c)(3) U.S. nonprofit organization
incorporated in the State of Texas

Death hits home again

For the rest of the story, see media links at the bottom of this post. I've also included a link to a photo album posted on Facebook. Thank you, Brian (on 2007.10.09 Tuesday)

Monday, October 1, 2007

Timothy and Joshua Schrauger, ages 14 and 17, were killed in a car accident on Saturday afternoon. Professionals at the scene believe their deaths were instantaneous.

The Detroit News has just posted an article with details: Deaths add to family's trials: Teens die in crash as GI brother heals. (Click on the title to see the online report.)

Timothy and Joshua are the youngest sons of my brother, Cliff, and his wife, Vicki. Their oldest son, David, is still fighting to recover from life-threatening wounds incurred last June. He is in the army and was serving in Iraq where a Humvee in which he was riding hit an IED.

Pictured Left to Right: Vicki and Cliff Schrauger, Kate (David's fiancé),
Joshua and Timothy Schrauger

You can read David's story in the post I wrote, Radical Islam hits home. That same post includes directions to the online blog of David's story. And now, as well, the first announcement of his youngest brothers' deaths.

David Schrauger's fiancé, Kate, greets him in the
Brook Army Medical Center near San Antonio, Texas

I am leaving Jerusalem tonight instead of this coming Saturday, arriving in Detroit, Michigan early Tuesday morning. Timothy and Joshua's combined funeral is Thursday afternoon, October 4.

I'm not certain, but I think the service will be held in their school's auditorium: Lake Orian High School near Pontiac, Michigan.

On a personal note, I cannot help but wonder: during this trip to Israel, starting our new program, death has struck my partner's family and my own. Greg's mother died about a week ago.

I know that my nephews' deaths are not about me. But I too have had a son die. No parent should have to go through this lifelong amputation of the soul.

And so I ask and wonder, "G-d, wasn't one Schrauger child enough? What is going on? And why? I know that you are good, but your goodness is to me an almost terrifying mystery. But. To whom else shall I turn? Who else can I fully trust with my messy, raw and wounded heart? Only you. Only you."

Standing with my horrified family, and together in the need of prayer,

Brian

Post Script on Tuesday, October 9, 2007:
Here are several links to media reports that tell the rest of this story.Each one is very well done. The last link is to a personal photo album.Thank you for your generous expressions of love expressed to all our family.

1. Two sons killed in traffic accident, October 2, 2007: Article and video reports
   
2. Things will never be the same, October 5, 2007: Article and photos
3. Farewell friends: 2 brothers remembered, October 5, 2007: Article and photos
4. Death of 2 sons only part of the story, October 7, 2007: Article
5. Schrauger family days: portraits of love and sorrow, a personal photo album
   

Program debut: from Jerusalem to you

Friday, September 28,2007

Reporting from Jerusalem...

Our first full program is complete, and you can hear it here.

There are at least a thousand reasons why this flagship effort should have failed. Three weeks in Jerusalem, with another week to go, have felt like 3 years. The time has been good. Very good, in fact.

But good doesn't equal easy. Ha! If only it were so. The spiritual-emotional intensity has often seemed overwhelming. If you'd like to get an idea why, check out the post I wrote, IJS: Israel-Jerusalem Syndrome.

And this time, like a virulent virus, IJS reached out 8,000 miles all the way to Dallas, Texas. That's where my partner in this venture, Greg Cromartie, lives. He's the engineer-producer of our effort.

His first symptom of IJS was unusual difficulty in putting the pieces together into a cohesive single program. And then his mother died. Oy vey. It was as if invisible but tangibly malicious forces were conspiring against us.

But with G-d's help we persevered.

So, listen in! And please, tell us what you think. We know the program will change a lot over the months to come.

AND NOW ... MAKING IT'S DEBUT, HEEeeer's

This Week In Jerusalem:

You are also welcome to download the show,
then play it on your iPod or computer.

Just click this link:

Rosh Hashanah in Jerusalem

Grateful for you, including your encouragement and prayers,















Brian

Presenting... Zion Public Radio

Friday, August 31, 2007

Can't believe it's been so long since my last post. It feels like I've been submerged in a kind of ectoplasmic Twilight Zone: yech. Now, at least for 7 days, I have surfaced to try and catch my breath. Then once again I plunge into a world far different from our Western U.S. homes.

Sound a bit abstruse? Sorry about that. Could be oxygen deprivation. Or maybe it's because I've aged another year! Okay, so here's a headline summary; maybe it'll clarify...

ZION PUBLIC RADIO, A NONPROFIT CORPORATION, LAUNCHED ON AUGUST 3RD

SEQUESTERED FOR 3½ WEEKS COMPLETING IRS FORM 1023

LEAVING SEPTEMBER 7 FOR ANOTHER MONTH IN ISRAEL

FOUR RADIO PROGRAMS PLANNED

Don't worry. As I write these words I'm battling the enemy of TMD (Too Much Detail). Oh the agony. Here then, for those of you who know me, are shockingly brief synopses:

ZION PUBLIC RADIO (ZPR) is the umbrella organization for our emerging radio-Internet-podcast program, This Week In Jerusalem. ZPR is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) corporation. It's structured so that, as feasible, it can produce or acquire other programs down the road.

IRS FORM 1023 is the U.S. government's application for official recognition as a 501(c)(3). The law allows new nonprofits up to 2 years before filing this lovely document, but all-in-all it seemed best to do it now and get 'er done. Meanwhile ZPR is, nonetheless, a fully registered State of Texas nonprofit corporation.

And 1 week from today I leave again for Israel. It will be my third full month there this year, most of it in Jerusalem.

My cohort in this venture is Greg Cromartie. While he is in his Texas studio and I'm about 8,000 miles away, we plan to produce 4 one-hour programs.

Why are we moving so fast? 3 major holy days are happening in Israel during these four weeks:

• Rosh Hashanah: the Jewish New Year of 5768!


• Yom Kippur: the Day of Atonement; and


• Sukkot, also known as The Feast of Booths--a full week of party-hearty time in Israel

Wow, what rich opportunities to record unique Israeli sounds and intriguing interviews.

Soon, I'm sure, ZPR will be inviting Charter Members. But more about that in another post.

Meanwhile if you haven't heard the audio clips from Israel, especially our sample program, take a listen. It's in the post called On the air in Israel: hear it here!

Click on What Do You Think at the bottom of each post. And then, well, do it! Let us know what you think. Greg and I would love to hear your thoughts.

Crazy as it often feels...here we go. Oy vey. Grateful for your encouragement,

Brian

P.S. Feel a need to read ZPR's incorporation, bylaws and/or Form 1023? Click on this line to shoot me an email with your request. I'll send links to our pdf copies.

Radical Islam hits home

Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals, capable of killing any other land animal, from rhinoceros and lions to humans.

I visited a village [just] demolished by a herd of elephants. It looked like an earthquake had hit. 20-foot palm trees were uprooted. Villagers told us the herd stood patiently by while a single male wreaked all this destruction on his own. And they knew the reason why. The herd was making a new route and were not happy at finding the village in the way.

Elephants never forgive, either.

July 4, 2007

In the USA this is Independence Day. There is a rabid elephant crashing our parades and ready to explode with something worse than fireworks. It’s time to stop pretending that it isn’t there.

***********************

17 days ago my brother’s oldest son was riding in a Humvee somewhere in Iraq. His name is David Schrauger. He’s 23 years old and in the U.S. Army. Riding with 3 other men, the Humvee hit an IED.

SPC David Schrauger, Pre-IED injuries

I heard about it here, in Jerusalem. Almost immediately after David was wounded he spoke with his dad by phone. He expressed a number of I-love-you messages.

For a long time information was sketchy. David had a spinal injury, two shattered arms, a damaged knee and shrapnel wounds from shoulders to toes. But his bruised lungs contracted pneumonia. Necessary surgeries were put on hold.

Doctors insisted his parents immediately fly to their son’s bedside in Frankfurt.

Cliff is David’s dad and one of my two brothers. We are close. Before Cliff left we prayed, begging G-d to spare David’s life, to restore his spirit and his heart, his body and his mind.

***********************

During these ensuing days I have continued praying for my nephew. And I’ve thought a lot about that angry elephant’s intent: crush anyone outside its herd.

This dangerous behemoth isn’t George Bush, Tony Blair, Republicans or Democrats. True, they and others like them are big and sometimes bad.

But Bush didn’t blow up 4 young men riding in a Humvee, defending Iraqi citizens from terrorists. Blair didn’t bury the IED that has damaged my nephew for life. Imperfect as these men and others like them are, none of them planted that IED any more than they hijacked those jets on September 11, 2001.

I’m all for blame. But for heaven’s sake let’s put it where it belongs.

The unapologetic rogue is Radical Islam (RI). That’s the rabid mastodon stomping a path through our lands: a rampaging ideology that’s wooing wounded souls with promises of Paradise. And crushing anyone who won’t convert or at least submit.

“Now-now-now,” patronizes the starry host shining in the West’s night sky. “That mammoth and its Ice-Age herd are Over There, not Here. If we’ll get off their land and bring our soldiers home, they’ll leave us alone. After all, they’ve promised.”

Oh. Well. That sounds reasonable. But when I turn the TV off and shut down my computer prickly thoughts resuscitate unease. Remember President Carter’s 1978 Camp David Accords? It created a sovereign Palestinian Authority to rule in Gaza and West Bank territories. And persuaded Israel to withdraw from Sinai.

And 29 years ago it was all based on the same promise: Land for Peace. And such a peace hath this promise wrought. Just ask Egypt’s Anwar Sadat. Whoops, can’t; sorry about that. He was murdered with religious sanction by the EIJ.

(Shh, don’t tell, but today’s CEO of the EIJ is al-Zawahri: al-Qaeda’s Number Two; Bin Laden’s right-hand man.)

Hello? Read that "Shh" again!

For 30 years RI has promised. Its ivory incisors (one called Land, the other Peace) cut deals in two Oslo Accords. Then after Camp David’s Summit “failure” the rogue went on rampage. It was the 2nd Intifada against the State of Israel: indiscriminate suicidal murders that lasted several years. And on that 9/11 day RI celebrated, dancing in the streets.

The Promise works so well, why change it? Today’s RI continues offering Land For Peace. And we continue buying it.

“Here’s an idea,” susurrates Western Intelligentsia like a Miss Universe contestant. “Let’s just bounce-bounce-jiggle-wiggle ourselves out of the Middle East and the Jews out of ‘Palestine.’ Then we’ll have our greatest wish: world peace. Land-for-peace, land-for-peace, land-for-peace…”

Let’s pretend we executed Miss Universe’s plan. Uh-oh, what about members of the RI herd who have trekked West? Are they going to pack their trunks and go home?

Not likely. Just ask the British who are defusing car bombs. Or in the USA let's add this activity to our Independence Day. Check out the government report, Exposing Terrorists in America. Look at the property they own in your State! Check out the training compound nearest to your home!

RI rogues aren’t only There; they are Here.

Soldiers fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan—and in Israel’s IDF—are risking their lives protecting the West from a whole-herd-rampage in our lands. It is high time we thank them and help them all we can. Especially with our prayers.

***********************

Over the past 17 days David has been moved from Baghdad to Frankfurt to Washington D.C. and finally settled at the Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. That’s where he will remain for some time to come. His badly damaged body is recovering, but the road ahead is long.

As it also is for his heart and mind. In spite of a resilient spirit, he is fighting flashbacks. And he's only just begun a pilgrimage of grief. David recently learned that one buddy riding in the Humvee did not survive his injuries.

SPC David Schrauger, Post-IED injuries, in San Antonio's
Brooke Army Medical
3851 Roger Brooke Dr., Rm 462, Bed 1
Fort Sam Huston, TX 78234-4501

For the complete story of David’s drama and updates on his status, click this paragraph. Scroll down the new page and click on David's photo. That will take you his blogsite. Yes, this is the easiest way to get from here to there.

IJS: Israel-Jerusalem Syndrome

June 25, 2007

“There’s something in Jerusalem that makes some 150 tourists a year lose their minds. Some think they’re Messiah or the devil--or Samson trying to knock down walls near the Western Wall. [Some believe] they must destroy a mosque or church. Others know where the Ark of the Covenant is hiding.”

(From Crazy about Jerusalem, YNetNews.com, 18 June 2007)

Broaden this phenomena and call it
IJS: Israel-Jerusalem Syndrome.

Three days ago Michael, an Israeli, said to me, “Whatever baggage people have, they bring it with them when they come here. Once in Israel all their quirks and problems are magnified 10 times. And when they arrive in Jerusalem it’s multiplied by another factor of 10. For many the breaking point is about a month when they simply have to leave.”

I am half-way through a month-long visit to Jerusalem; it is my second one this year. I know what Michael’s talking about. I see it in people I meet, especially non-Jewish tourists. And I feel its malice hunting me: confusion, distorted thoughts, and an extra-forceful pull from black-holes in my soul.

At the same time I have discovered Positive IJS: a passion to know and please the heart of G-d no matter what the cost. And mostly I have found it in the faces, words and conduct of Jewish people in their Promised Land: in citizens and visitors alike.

My first encounter with Positive IJS happens within 48 hours of arrival. While walking through the Old City I ask directions from two teenage girls. Turns out they are students at a Yeshiva for women near the Western Wall. And whoa, are they excited. Not about boys or parties or Paris Hilton. They’re bubbling with enthusiasm about Torah.

“We just graduated from high school,” they announce with Aussie accents. “We hated homework. Now here we are, studying for a year where we never have to take a test. But every day we can hardly wait to study Torah and how to live it!”

Two days later a friend and I are in the West Bank at a city called Bethel. Ramallah, capital city of the PLO and Yasser Arafat's metropolitan tomb, stands on a neighboring hill. In Bethel executives of an Israeli news organization warmly welcome us to the production heart of their English-division studios. “Everything we do,” they say, “is to please the heart of Hashem. And you are welcome to use anything we produce on your radio program.”

The director, Baruch, asks me to make a sample recording. Handing me a script, he turns on a mic. I read the copy cold. Later in the week it will be used on an Internet TV report: my voice interpreting a man speaking Hebrew. What fun, and what a hoot--because I don’t speak Hebrew. (Pictured here with Yishai Fleisher, Program Director of IsraelNationalRadio.com)

Another example of Positive IJS. It also happens in West Bank territory; this time in Hebron. For religiously observant Jews Hebron is the second-holiest city in the world. Because Hebron’s where Abraham paid cold cash for title to a plot of land where he buried his wife, Sarah. Later Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Rebecca, and Leah were also laid to rest in The Cave of the Patriarchs.

80% of Hebron is “governed” by the PLO. Recently, like Gaza, it has become a killing zone for competing factions: Hamas versus Fatah, with countless innocents trapped in murderous crossfire. Call it Negative IJS with Extreme Prejudice.

Meanwhile in the 20% of Hebron governed by Israel there is a tiny minority of Jewish settlers raising their children under the din of gunfire and Islamic calls to worship 5 times every day. Their determination and success in making this place home is breathtaking. Call it Positive IJS with Extreme Chutzpah.

Where in the West are we hearing positive reports like these about Israel? Aren’t almost all mainstream voices condemning the entire nation? Repeatedly portraying her as an oppressive, genocidal, land-grabbing State? Even accusing her of committing a “holocaust” against duly elected terrorists who have publicly sworn to “wipe Israel off the map.”

But the nauseating lie that Israeli’s are today’s Nazis is winning the PR propaganda war. 21st century Thought Police have been so successful in their portrayal of Israel-The-Bully it has become an Orwellian thoughtcrime to say it isn't so. Call it Globally Negative IJS.

Western entities are declaring boycotts. The latest is a British academic lecturer's union that voted to boycott all Israeli universities and faculty members. Days later Britain's largest labor union voted to sanction all business dealings with Israeli companies. And so the novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, shakes hands with reality in 2007. Wherever his departed spirit lives George Orwell must be proud.

In a world where day is called night and dark is called light, will no one stand up in our public squares and tell the truth?

Greg and I would like to try with This Week In Jerusalem. We have the content and the skills. But we don’t yet have the structure or the means. Should we set up our own entity or work beneath an existing one? Is it best to be a non-profit or for-profit corporation?

These are huge issues; every path is peppered with land mines. Sitting in Jerusalem today there isn’t any visible way to get from here to there; the obstacles are simply insurmountable. IJS taunts me with despair.

But G-d is greater than every human insurmountable. And though it's worldwide, he also taunts every evil strain of deadly IJS. So be it.

Is Jesus G-d?

May 31, 2007

It's a biggie. But this question is not my primary problem with G-d.

Still, no doubt: the issue is a sizzler. About 12 days ago an Israeli news agency reported: Chief Rabbinate Finalizes Ban on Christian Women's Conference. The facts are pretty clear. Israel's Chief Rabbinate (CR) issued a ban forbidding Jewish participation in two "Christian-sponsored conferences." The reason? In spite of advertised objectives to focus on social issues, the CR decided that both events were subtle attempts to persuade Jews "that Jesus is Messiah."

Neither conference was cancelled, however. And last week all sponsors announced success.

But oh the uproar that this ban provoked. Is Jesus the Messiah? Is he G-d?. In 131 Talkbacks there was a scathing storm of words. People on all sides of the issue called each other liars, idolaters and traitors.

It was nauseating. Not because people embrace different answers than I. And not because of anyone's intensity or passion. This question is anything but easy. Arguably it's not even nice. Those who wrestle with it should be fighting hard.

But for heaven's sake with G-d, not each other! Why? Because the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob blessed his people by naming them Israel, a wonderfully descriptive word that means "he who contends with G-d." It is a designation that is an invitation too.

The idea of G-d inviting us to wrestle shocks a lot of people. In fact I think it's self-evident that most monotheists believe G-d is someone to whom we must submit or die.

The word Islam, for example, means submission--although Muslims are hardly the only ones who approach G-d from this paradigm. Many if not most Christians believe the only way to G-d is submit or die. Sure they have different dogmas than Islam, but it's still submit-or-die.

And moi? As a defendant in G-d's Court of Law here's my affidavit: Jesus is the Messiah. What's more he is the uniquely singular Son of G-d. Meaning that he is, at once, completely human and completely G-d.

So, this means my faith's at ease because I have "right" answers? Oh sure, life's a breeze. The 10 zillion problems raised by my affirmations don't bother me a bit. Like: if this answer's true, why has G-d allowed so many atrocities in Jesus' name?

Ah, but perhaps my sworn testimony is an attempt to convert those who disagree--or maybe recruit gullibles who've never thought about it, hmm? Right; as if I can change anybody's heart about anything. Shoot, I can't even convert myself to stop eating junk food.

But at the very least doesn't my affirmation mean that I regard myself superior to those who answer differently? G-d forbid. Hear me on this: regardless of your answer, you are alright with me.

Why? Cuz charm is deceitful, beauty is vain, and words alone are cheap. Anyone can say anything. This is Torah truth, not mine: it is the heart G-d's after. And what kind of heart? Get this: a circumcised one; yup, one that's been cut up with a knife, then left wounded and scarred for life.

And that's why my biggest problem with G-d isn't the question about Jesus.

Go ahead, take a look. My wife and I are proud parents to 3 sons. They are wonderfully unique. I love each one so much I would gladly give my life to rescue theirs.

My biggest problem with G-d culminated 7 years ago today. That's when one of our sons died. His name is Taylor and he was four days shy of turning 12 years old.

He didn't die at the hands of evil men or by a sudden accident. Instead for 2 long years he fought a war with cancer. It literally hacked off an entire hip and leg, then maimed his torso too. In spite of all my tearful prayers, G-d did not rescue him from 24 months of torture or from a horrific death.

So what have I done with this, my biggest problem with G-d?

I have done the same thing Taylor always did with me. Even in agony and knowing that I could not take his place, he always accepted my invitation to move toward dad.

Sometimes his fists wailed away at pillows that I used to help absorb the blows. But most of the time my son turned to me and held on tight. Resting his head on my chest, we talked and laughed and cried. Somehow he found nourishment in my heartbroken love. It is the greatest honor I have ever known.

That's why I thank my divine Opponent for naming his people Israel. Sometimes it's tempting, but I don't have time to fight with you. I'm too busy wrestling in muck and mire with G-d, clinging in my woundedness to him, crying out in protest and in pride,

My son! My Son!! MY SON!!!