Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund

On a tragic night several years ago, a young married woman named Rachel, an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, and the mother of a little girl, lost her husband in a horrible crash on the roads near Shiloh. For a couple of years, it seemed as if she was in a state of emotional collapse. She couldn’t handle both her own pain and that of her daughter. I remember meeting her one day in Jerusalem and listening to her trembling voice describing her efforts to find a good psychotherapy program for her young child. I told her about the subsidies that Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund was offering for our various play therapy programs in Shiloh and I am convinced that that very moment was the beginning of their recovery from trauma. I am happy to report, and Rachel has said it herself many times, that our therapy programs were a life-saver for Rachel’s daughter.

Tonight was Rachel’s wedding at Tel Shiloh, the site of Ancient Shiloh, the place where the Tabernacle stood for 369 years in Biblical times. It is also Shiloh to where the men of the tribe of Benjamin came in the summer to find wives from the young maidens of Shiloh who were dancing in the vineyards in their white dresses (Book of Judges 21:19-22).  So too in our times, Rachel’s young groom found his wife in Shiloh and there was singing and dancing in the vineyards once again.

Congratulations to Rachel, to her daughter, and of course, to Rachel’s new husband. Mazal Tov to them and to all those who have the privilege of turning trauma into miracles in our times!

David Rubin

Shiloh, Israel

Eleven months ago, I blogged on this site about the new American President Barack Obama, whose charisma, smooth talk, and minority status captivated Jews across America. Polls reported that the first-term senator was elected with 78% of the Jewish vote. During Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s trip to the White House back in March, he referred to Obama in the concluding press conference as “a great friend of Israel”. On the other hand, a recent Smith Poll taken in Israel revealed that only a miniscule 6% of Israelis consider President Obama to be “Pro-Israel”.

How are we to understand all this? Which perception is correct and which is wishful thinking? In my blog, written well before the Inauguration, I chose to give the new President the benefit of the doubt. I decided to hope that he might transcend his Muslim roots, reach out to Israel and stand with freedom and liberty, as an expression of America’s Biblical roots. This despite the ominous warning signs that were manifest in Obama’s close associations with violent leftists and haters of America. These included former but unrepentant terrorist William Ayres, or Obama’s Israel and America-hating pastor Jeremiah Wright, who the new president had often referred to as his “mentor”, and his extreme “Palestinian”  pal Prof. Rashid Khalidi. These relationships were all close until it proved politically necessary to deny them. I saw all of this and was very wary, but since his election, it has become even clearer that the warning signs were real and that President Barack Hussein Obama is no friend of Israel, but is in fact a veiled leftist Muslim enemy who is trying to achieve friendship with the Muslim dictatorships at Israel’s expense. 

Since Obama’s term in office began, his words and actions have become more extreme.  Even his slick computer-savy media advisors can’t hide his infamous and degrading bow in deference to the Saudi King, nor can they put a convincing, positive spin on his obviously pro-Muslim speech in Cairo. Furthermore, his advisors’ photo release of his “chat” with Netanyahu with the soles of his shoes pointed at the Israeli leader’s face was a clear display of insult known well in the Muslim world (note the “old shoe attack” on former President Bush). We see that President Obama is,  unfortunately, both an “Obamination” for Israel and a threat to world peace, as his perceived weakness in confronting the terrorists and his coolness towards Israel, will no doubt be exploited by the world alliance of  terrorist organizations.

 So how do we explain Netanyahu’s praise for the “great friend of Israel”? Whether or not he believes what he said, he is simply pandering to the leader of what is still the most powerful nation in the world, but such pusillanimous behavior is never respected nor rewarded. Let us state this as clearly as we possibly can - Netanyahu and Israel need not fear.  Obama’s views and opinions are not the views and opinions of the average American, many of whom believe that God’s promises to Israel are forever. The God of Israel is much greater than the great Obama.

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will continue to speak the name of the Lord our God.” (Psalms 20:7)

That is the best answer to Obama and his deceitful plans for “peace”, for any “peace plan” that isn’t based on Biblical history and historical fact has no chance of succeeding.

David Rubin

Shiloh, Israel