The Last Prophet 011

: The Third Temple in Jerusalem soon

The Last Prophet 011

The Temple Mount

By Rabbi Meir Kahane, Zt”l

(from Uncomfortable Questions for Comfortable Jews, 1987)

israeli flag flying over masada It was the unforgettable, majestic, glorious day in June, 1967, as Jewish soldiers crashed through the walls of Jerusalem’s old city. Redeeming, reclaiming, liberating the ancient streets and alleyways; racing towards the Wall, scaling it and then – the electrifying words of the Commander, Motta Gur: “The Temple is in our hands! The Temple Mount is in our hands!”

There was not a Jewish heart that did not pound with a sense of Divine, historic moment. There was not a Jewish spine, so straight and proud after two millenia of being supine, that did not shiver in a sense of awe. There was not a Jew, though the most extreme of scoffers, who, at that moment, did not see G-d!

“The Temple Mount is in our hands!” Jerusalem of Gold, of holiness, of David; Zion, out of which the L-rd roared and uttered his voice. The Temple Mount, from which the trumpet the Holy One, Blessed Be He, blasted. “When our fee within thy gates, O Jerusalem” – we wept with tears of disbelief. For the Temple Mount was in our hands. . . “As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the L-rd is round about people” – and we knew it to be true. For the Temple Mount in our hands. “Ye that stand in the courts of the House of G-d, praise the L-rd!” And we believed. For the Temple Mount in our hands!

Let me quote from a letter that appeared in the March 1979, issue of Maariv, Israel’s largest newspaper. It was written by a rabbinical student at Yeshivat Merkaz Harav and is obligatory reading for all those who, for Zion’s sake, will not be silent: “It was the Shabbat, when many Jews come to visit the Old City of Jerusalem. . . . Suddenly, after leaving one of the gates near the Temple Mount, the rioting began. Tens of Arabs, throwing stones and carrying knives and broken bottles, came at us. A storekeeper leaped upon me and I joined the others fleeing, as my hand bled profusely, eyeglasses left behind.

Beit Hamiqdash “How could it happen in the State of Israel today? Arab police are responsible for the safety of the East Jerusalem region. ‘Autonomy’ already exists when Arab police see Arabs throwing stones and nothing is done to arrest them. One who was arrested was a yeshiva student who kept calm and tried to help others. Before my very eyes, the police leaped upon him like wild beasts. This can serve to show us what we can expect in the future under `autonomy’… “

Jerusalem. Where in 1967, electric shocks of ecstasy, a national thrill of incredulity, swept the Jewish people throughout the world, as Israeli Jewish troops smashed into the Old City, sweeping terrified Arabs before them as chaff in the wind. Jerusalem, City of David, Jerusalem of the Temple Mount and Western Wall and Holy of Holies and Zion, was, once again, in Jewish hands – all of it, Jewish. By the tens of thousands Jews streamed through the alleyways of the Old City where just afew days before the Arabs had ruled and no Jew dared step. Now, the Arab – awed, shattered – groveled before the Jew whom he saw as being blessed by G-d and His miracles. Fear gripped the Arab in Jerusalem just as pride and confidence and certainty was the Jewish cloak in the wake of the awesome war of Six Days.

Jerusalem. Where, by 1986, less than 20 years later, Jews fear to go to the Wall by way of the Demascus Gate as Jews are stabbed and shot in the same marketplace and streets where a short time earlier they walked as Jewish giants on the earth. As night falls, only a handful of foolhardy Jews risk walking through what the Israelis allow to be called, still, the Moslem Quarter. No Harlem ever held greater fears for the Jew than parts of his own capital city. Nothing more underlines the obscenity of Jewish fears in their own capital than the picture report that appeared in the Jerusalem weekly, Kal Ha’Ir (August 4, 1984).

Three pictures; all taken in the Old City of Jerusalem. The first shows a hassidic Jew, surrounded by Arab youngsters, two of whom have snatched his hat from his head. The photo shows a policeman standing calmly by with obviously no intentions of intervening. He is, like the vast majority of police in the Old City, an Arab.

The second picture shows the Jew, watching helplessly as the Arabs taunt him. The Arab policeman has, by now, disappeared.

The third shows a large rock being thrown by an Arab youth at the Jew. It hit him in the head. Another day of Jewish pride in Jerusalem, Zion. The tragedy of Jewish glory turned into humiliation and fear by a Jewish policy that defies any normal logic and understanding.

Jerusalem, where the Jewish students on Mount Zion sign a petition of desperation, detailing not only sexual and criminal assaults on them by Arabs, but the cynical indifference and lack of any law enforcement by the local police – Arabs.

“We, the undersigned to this petition, are demanding security , for our lives and property. For the past ten years there have been ‘, thousands of incidents such as those outlined in this petition: Stabbings, rapes, attempted rapes, molestings, obscenities through indecent exposure, burglaries, vandalism. . . .” And the police do nothing. And Jerusalem becomes Arab autonomy. The tragedy of a Jewish policy that defies any normal logic and understanding.

A, Jewish policy? Say, rather a policy of Jews that was conceived in un-Jewishness and born in gentilized fear and timidity, a policy whose apex of humiliation is the desecration of Judaism’s holiest site – The Temple Mount. The very moment of glorious Jewish victory in 1967 was the beginning of a flight to shame.

It began immediately after the greatest Jewish victory and miracle in 2500 years. The terrified and cowering Arabs of East Jerusalem were approached by the Defense Minister Moshe Dayan. Not enough that the Israeli government of 1967 committed the worst of mistakes by not driving out the Arabs who hated Israel and had tried to wipe her out. Not enough that in their fear of “world opinion,” of what the Vatican and Islam might say, orders were given by the Israeli army to the liberators of the Old City not to use artillery to shell Arab positions lest they damage a single holy Moslem and Christian place (and how many Jewish soldiers died because of that policy!). The fearful and timid leaders of Israel immediately approached the heads of the Moslem community to assure them that the Temple Mount – the holiest of holiest of Jewish places – would remain in their hands. Jews were forbidden to enter there to pray, on their holiest site, a site stolen from them by invading Moslems who desecrated Judaism by building two mosques there. (And can one imagine the reaction of Moslems if Jews, conquering Mecca, built, on the holiest site of Islam – a synagogue?)

When in 1967, on the Fast of Tisha B’Av, the national day of mourning for the Jews, the anniversary of the destruction of both Temples, Army Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren and 50 Jews went to pray on the Temple Mount. Defense Minister Moshe Dayan ordered the commander of the Central Command to prevent any further action that might incite the Moslems: “Honored Rabbi,” said the general, “if you will go up to the Mount again, I will be compelled to remove you by force.” The following day the Ministerial Committee in charge of the holy places met and unanimously forbade Jewish prayer that had been set for the following Shabbat. That was the beginning of a humiliating Jewish policy that stunned no one more than the Moslems who could not believe the manifestation of Jewish madness they had just seen.

From that day, the government of Israel, in a remarkable exhibition of masochism, has paved the way for a total change in Moslem attitude. From a frightened, cowering population, they turned into a confident, arrogant, dangerous one. From people who feared the Jewish conqueror, they became throwers of stones, knife stabbers, and grenade and bomb throwers. Most of all, the Temple Mount became once again theirs, this time returned to them by two-legged lemmings of the Mosaic persuasion – and they grow ever more passionately convinced that time is on their side.

The government, police, courts have all had a hand in the shameful, tragic Jewish descent into humiliation. Already on April 15,1969, responding to an order nisi against Police Minister Shlomo Hillel (who later went on to become Knesset Speaker), the State Attorney explained that Jews should not be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount because “premature prayer” (sic) there would raise grave security and international political problems. The years that followed saw police again and again forceably remove Jews attempting to pray on their holy site. Moslems watched in growing amazement, and growing arrogance and boldness, as the Jew who wished to enter as a tourist with camera and jeans was freely allowed access but the same son of Abraham entering with prayer shawl and prayer book was banned!

(In the years when American synagogues sold tickets for pews at High Holiday services, a rueful joke told of the Jew rushing up to the door without a ticket and telling the guard that he only wished to tell something to someone inside. Said the guard: “Fine, but if I catch you praying, I’ll throw you out.” The joke is alive and well today on the Temple Mount.)

Then, in 1976, a lower Jerusalem court, through Judge Ruth Or, ruled that Jews have a right to pray on the Temple Mount, but Police Chief Hillel blithely announced that he would continue to bar Jews. (This contempt for law is apparently endemic with Hillel as, nearly ten years later, in his capacity as Speaker of the Knesset, he announced that he would refuse to table certain bills by Knesset Member Meir Kahane, despite a High Court order to do so.)

The government hastily appealed the lower court order and on July 1, 1976, the Jerusalem District Court overruled Judge Or in a fascinating display of ghettoism. The court ruled that Jews who ‘ attempted to pray “demonstratively” (sic) on the Temple Mount were guilty of behavior “likely to cause a breach of the peace.” Jews had an unquestionable right to pray on the Temple Mount, but public order, ruled the court, overrules that right of prayer.

The decision was mindboggling, the product of thinking most Jews assumed had disappeared with the Warsaw Ghetto revolt. To state that Jews had a right to pray on their holiest site and then to declare that this should be prevented because of fear of Arab rioting, was a paean to the shtetl of Minsk, Pinsk or Casablanca. But not even this was enough for the Israeli government, which wished to remove the decision that Jews have a theoretical “right” to pray on the Temple Mount and an appeal was taken to the Supreme Court. Meantime, Interior Minister Dr. Joseph Burg (himself a leader of the National Religious Party) declared that “the law will be kept.” (Translation: Jews will not be allowed to pray on their holiest site.)

The astonished Arabs saw that the Jews, far from meting out to them the punishment they deserved and that they had given to the Jews when they ruled the Old City, were allowing them to retain all the power and authority that they would use later to demand total autonomy and independence. The Temple Mount served as the most glaring example of the fact that, despite Jewish protestations to the contrary, the land taken in 1967 was not liberated but “conquered.” The Jews had come not as returnees to their own borders, but as an occupation army. One who loses his property and then unexpectedly finds it does not allow it to remain in the possession of another. He leaps upon it joyfully and cries out: “It is mine!”

The Arabs correctly understood Jewish “concessions” to be the product, not of goodness and grace, but of timidity and fear. And so, from a cowering Arab, the Jews produced a sneering, openly hating, stick bearing, stone throwing, grenade tossing thing – a time bomb waiting to explode.

The newspapers described some of the events. In 1979, as a number of yeshiva students came up to the gate of the Temple Mount to pray (in front of and not on the Mount itself), they were showered with rocks. Soldiers hid behind cars because they had orders not to shoot, lest The New York Times and Time magazine feature them on their front pages. The head of the Central Command, General Moshe Levi, watched the mob. Levi, a member of the leftist Hashomer Hatzair kibbutz, was later to become Chief of Staff and won undying something-or-other with his statement during a speech in Tel Aviv (May 25, 1986): “To say that the Arabs are the enemy is simplistic and dangerous. For me the Arabs are not the enemy.” When the Jew excels, he outdoes all others-especially in madness.

I return to the newspaper account of the Arab riot in 1979: “‘Only in this state could such a picture emerge,”’ a police officer said angrily, yesterday, at the sight of the commander of the Central Command, Moshe Levi, and the head of the police central region, who entered the Temple Mount to meet face-to-face with angry Arab youths.

“The general walked over and asked them why they were holding sticks in their hands[!]. But during the entire conversation not one of them backed down and not one dropped his stick. ‘This is the real autonomy,’ muttered the same officer.”

Meanwhile, in 1980, the Knesset passed a new Jerusalem Law which declared in paragraph (3):

“The holy places shall be protected from any desecration or attack on anything likely to damage the rights of all members of religions to access to the holy places or their feelings concerning them.”

This paragraph which clearly – to all but those who would refuse to see – outlined the absolute right of Jews to access to their holy places, now seemed to guarantee that the High Supreme Court of Israel would order the government to allow Jews, on their holiest site, the same right of prayer that they allowed Moslems who had stolen the site. But no, the ghetto-shtetl syndrome remained part of the Israeli genetic code, proving once again that it is far easier to remove the Jew from the Exile than the Exile from within the Jew. On October 30, 1981, the High Court of Israel ruled on the issue. The following is the UPI wire service report:

“Jerusalem (UPI)–The Supreme Court today upheld the right of Israeli police to keep Jewish worshippers from praying on the Temple Mount because it creates a threat to public order, Israel radio said.”

A threat to public order. The Arabs might riot. Ah, if Meir Kahane were Prime Minister and the Arabs knew that the police had orders and full backing to use as much force as they desired to keep “public order” -is there one normal person who believes that there would be an Arab threat to public order?

Since then, the Arabs have systematically destroyed every vestige of Jewish presence on the Temple Mount, destroying valuable archeological evidence. A memorial to the Arabs killed at Sabra and Shatila is even placed on the Jewish holy site. The Temple Mount is on our hands!…

The lemmingism of the Israeli government is incredible! Who can count the ways? In February, 1985, the Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Sa’ad a-din Alamei, told the French news Agency:

“Any Moslem who will give up one inch of Palestinian land will lose without benefit of appeal, every attachment to Islam.”

The Mufti, by declaring a ban on any Moslem who sold land or houses to Jews, was clearly guilty of sedition against the Jewish state. On February 26, 1985, I wrote to the Chief of Police asking that criminal proceedings be opened against the Mufti and personally filed a criminal charge with the police commander of Jerusalem’s Old City. In my complaint I noted that if a Jew were to hand out flyers called on Jews not to buy from the Arabs of the Old City because they were enemies of Israel and pro-PLO, he would be arrested for sedition (indeed, a few months later, that is precisely what happened). On March 13, 1985, the office of the Chief of Police sent me the following reply:

“Your complaint has been investigated and it is clear that the material of the investigation does not indicate a criminal offense. Because of this, the police will not investigate the complaint.”

The successor to the other Mufti who in the twenties and thirties led pogroms against the Jews of the Holy Land and who in 1942 met with Hitler to discuss the “final solution” for the Jews there, should have been given a Nobel Prize for extraordinary ability to keep from bursting into hysterical laughter. And, indeed, the Moslem religious leader has good reason to believe that Jews are mentally limited.

When the PLO conference was held in Amman, Jordan, in November 1984, one of the telegrams sent to Arafat was from the Jerusalem Mufti. It read: “From Al-Aksa mosque (on the Temple Mount) we emphasize our support of your Council and renew our oath of loyalty to the man of struggle Yasir Arafat. . . . Continue forward on your path, we are with you.”

When the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel in January, 1986, called for a synagogue in the southeast part of the Temple Mount, Mufti Alamei declared: “Over the bodies of a million Moslems.”

The Israeli reaction? Timid and fearful silence, lest the Arabs, Moslems and world react. And so, a mentally unbalanced Jew, Alan Goodman, shoots and kills two Arabs on the Temple Mount declaring that he wishes to liberate the spot and “become king of the Jews.” Some thirteen years earlier, a Christian, Dennis Michael Rohan, set fire to the Al Aksa mosque. The Israeli court declared the Christian not criminally liable by reason of insanity. Yet Goodman, clearly unbalanced, received a life sentence plus two terms of 20 years. Once upon a time, in the Exile, the Jews would decide every major step by the proposition: What will the gentiles say? Then they created Israel, where Jews would be sovereign and free. . . . Laugh not, but rather weep for generations.

Jerusalem. Where the Palestinian autonomy and eventual state is being built. Jerusalem, which mirrors so much of the other desecration that fills the land. The Temple Mount is not in our hands. East Jerusalem is not in our hands. Judea and Samaria and Gaza and the Golan are not in our hands. The Biblical Eretz Yisrael which we liberated through G-d’s decree in 1967, is not in our hands.

“On Mount Zion which is desolate, there the foxes walk. . . (Lamentations 5).

The Temple Mount is in their hands, the foxes, the cunning Arab foxes. And the words of Motta Gur ring hollowly – and it is we who are to blame. We, who took a miracle and disdained it. We, who took holiness and profaned it. We, who were given a Zion, a Jerusalem, a Temple Mount – and gave it over to the jackal-foxes.

What we see today is a mini-renewal of Arab rioting, murder and pogrom of the twenties and thirties. Then, the Arab mobs surged into the streets shouting, “Addowlah ma’anah” (“The government is with us!”). They meant the British Mandatory occupation government. Today, the Arabs know that the Jewish “occupation” government, because of its fear of world opinion, has given strict orders to soldiers not to shoot. In that sense it has opened the door to Arab boldness and contempt and attacks on Jews. In that sense the Jewish government of occupation is also “with” them. The Arabs have smashed the dam of fear and it will spill over. If Jews are attacked on their way to the Wall, and if a Jew is seriously hurt, or, G-d forbid, murdered, and if the residents of the Jewish Quarter are in increasing danger-know that it is the Jews who are to blame.

He who controls the Temple Mount will control Jerusalem. And he who controls Jerusalem will control the Holy Land. And the desecration of the Land and of G-d is inconceivable. One shakes his head in utter incomprehensibility when reading the words uttered by Menachem Begin in 1977:

“If I become the Prime Minister, I will open the Temple Mount to Jews. I will not fear the reactions of the Christians and Moslems. ”

Begin became the Prime Minister. The Temple Mount is still in Arab hands.

Rabbi Meir Kahane on Jerusalem

It was the unforgettable, majestic, glorious day in June, 1967, as Jewish soldiers crashed through the walls of Jerusalem’s old city. Redeeming, reclaiming, liberating the ancient streets and alleyways; racing towards the Wall, scaling it and then – the electrifying words of the Commander, Motta Gur: “The Temple is in our hands! The Temple Mount is in our hands!”

Jerusalem of Gold, of holiness, of David ; Zion, out of which the L-rd roared and uttered His voice. The Temple Mount, from which the trumpet of the Holy One, Blessed Be He, blasted. “When our feet stood within thy gates, O Jerusalem” – we wept with tears of disbelief. For the Temple Mount was in our hands… “As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the L-rd is round about His people” – and we knew it to be true. For the Temple Mount was in our hands! “Ye that stand in the courts of the House of our G-d, praise the L-rd!” And we believed. For the Temple was in our hands.

The very moment of glorious Jewish victory in 1967 was the beginning of a flight to shame. Not enough that the Israeli government of 1967 committed the worst of mistakes by not driving out the Arabs who tried to wipe her out. The fearful and timid leaders of Israel immediately approached the heads of the Moslem community to assure them that the Temple Mount – the holiest of holiest of Jewish places – would remain in their hands. Jews were forbidden to enter there to pray, on their holiest site, a site stolen from them by invading Moslems who desecrated Judaism by building two mosques there. (And can one imagine the reaction of Moslems if Jews, conquering Mecca, built, on the holiest site of Islam – a synogogue?)

From that day, the government of Israel, in a remarkable display of masochism, has paved the way for a total change of Moslem attitude. From a frightened, cowering population, they turned into a confident, arrogant, dangerous one. From a people who feared the Jewish conqueror, they became throwers of stones. knife stabbers, and grenade and bomb throwers. Most of all, the Temple Mount became once again theirs, this time returned to them by two-legged lemmings of the Mosaic persuasion – and they grow ever more passionately convinced that time is on their side.

The government, police, courts have all had a hand in the shameful, tragic Jewish descent into humiliation. The years that followed saw police again and again forceably remove Jews attempting to pray on their holy site. Moslems watched in growing amazement, and growing arrogance and boldness, as the Jew who wished to enter as a tourist with camera and jeans was freely allowed access but the same son of Abraham entering with prayer shawl and prayer book was banned. The product of thinking most Jews assumed had disappeared with the Warsaw ghetto revolt.

The Temple Mount served as the most glaring example of the fact that, despite Jewish protestations to the contrary, the land taken in 1967 was not liberated but “conquered.” The Jews had come not as returnees to their own borders, but as an occupation army. One who loses property and then unexpectedly finds it, does not allow it to remain in the possession of another. He leaps upon it joyfully and cries out: “It is mine!”

The Arabs correctly understood Jewish “concessions” to be the product, not of goodness and grace, but of timidity and fear. The Arabs have systematically destroyed every vestige of Jewish presence on the Temple Mount, destroying valuable archeological evidence. A memorial to the Arabs killed at Sabra and Shatila is even placed on the Jewish holy site.

The Temple Mount is in our hands? When the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel in January, 1986, called for a synogogue in the southeast part of the Temple Mount, Mufti Alamei declared: “Over the bodies of a million Moslems.” The Temple Mount is not in our hands. “On Mount Zion which is desolate, there the foxes walk …” (Lamentations 5). The Temple Mount is in their hands, the foxes, the cunning Muslim foxes. The words of Motta Gur ring hollow – and it is we who are to blame. We, who took a miracle and disdained it. We, who took holiness and profaned it. We, who were given a Zion, a Jerusalem, a Temple Mount – and gave it over to the jackal-foxes. The Arabs have smashed the dam of fear and it will spill over. If Jews are attacked on their way to the Wall, and if a Jew is seriously hurt, or, G-d forbid, murdered, and if the residents of the Jewish Quarter are in increasing danger – know that it is the Jews to blame.

He who controls the Temple Mount controls Jerusalem. And he who controls Jerusalem controls the Holy Land…

009 Internet Humor & Identity

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By Jewish Mayhem

In the beginning of online communication everything was real slow and basic. It was a time when only text and a few colors were possible to be sent back and forth online. One of the important facets of the online communication was the ability for users to identify themselves with some type of unique icon, name or identity but this was determined by the might and ability of the computer hardware and also the speed in which it was able to be transmitted over a phone line.

As computers became bigger and better and the internet became more and more accessible, mainstream and affordable, it was possible to send and to receive heavier file sizes. What this resulted in was larger and more complex types of imagery and icons were able to be used to identify oneself uniquely. In chat rooms and in discussion forums users were always prompted to display an image or a picture that was supposedly represent your profile to other people. The first version of images to be used were called JPEGs, pronounced J-Peg, which is an acronym that stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group.

Then along came a company called Compuserve and they invented a new type of file compression and encoding called a GIF, pronounced Jiff. The major advantage of GIFs was that images could be animated, transparent and/or interlaced. An animated GIF is a image without sound that carries several frames and these frames play one after another when the image is viewed, creating the effect of animation.

GIFs revolutionized the online communication experience because they allowed for more personalization of a user’s online identity as well as the simple fact that you could create animations, so the end result of this was an explosion of cartoonized gifs. It got so bad that soon every website on the internet was inundated with cheezy gifs making them nauseating to see all of the time, however eventually a backlash developed against them and they disappeared almost completely from view.

Then along came a company called Macromedia who released Flash, which was a full blown animation program designed for the internet. Flash revolutionized everything once again, but most websites and in particular website forums and chat rooms did not allow for Flash to be used as icons, only GIFs and JPEGs. The GIF all of sudden reemerged from it’s grave.

Eventually video editing and computers melded together and became affordable which enabled artistic types of people to encode video parts as GIFs. What this resulted in was a digital art form unto itself called ani-gifs, which is short for animated GIFs. AniGIFs can be quite large files depending upon how many frames it has and how many colors it uses and so it is only in the few years that serious aniGIFs have become usable as common features on websites and such. One of the funniest phenomenons to emerge from aniGIF making and video capturing is the phenomena of digital artists taking an existing anigif and tweaking it so that it fits into another context.

In this feature I would like to present a few aniGIFs and their various morphs that they have endured over the years. The final result of aniGIF tweaking is a hilarious and very entertaining art and peculiar medium which I hope you enjoy. The first aniGIF is a video capture of a overweight child with some sort of issue or problem or condition or simply having a happy attack.

Jewish Mayhem Funny Animated GIFS

This is what some saavy digital artist turned the child into, but it did not stop here.

Jewish Mayhem Funny Animated GIFS

It became quite political.

Jewish Mayhem Funny Animated GIFS

There are a few more variations which I will append to here when I find them, but let us move onto another example.

Here is a video capture turned GIF of a casting call for martial arts performers.

Jewish Mayhem Funny Animated GIFS

Hilarious. Just fucking priceless! This dude is infamous now just like that orthodox Jewish kid who on American Idol, smashed his face onto the ground while executing what was to be a brilliant move, I think.

Jewish Mayhem Funny Animated GIFS - laserhead

But then along came Laserhead, some guy who tweaked existing aniGIFs by adding his character laserhead into the picture.

Here is another example of Laserhead inserting himself in an otherwise funny GIF.

Jewish Mayhem Funny Animated GIFS - laserhead

Let’s take a look at another GIF. Here is The Governator of California from one of his movies.

Jewish Mayhem Funny Animated GIFS -

Hilarious!

On a Jewish note, here is Rav Yehoshua Sofer otherwise known as the kung fu Rabbi and 2 examples of people chopping him up.

Jewish Mayhem Funny Animated GIFS - Kung Fu Jew

As more and more AniGIFs emrged a new style of aniGIFs came out known aniGIF Mashups, where sections of movies or television are mixed together in humorous manners.

Jewish Mayhem Funny Animated GIFS -

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008 E-SHY isn’t so shy after all

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E-SHY isn’t so shy after all

By Dustin Herlich

E-SHY’s career started in childhood. Born and raised in New York City, E-SHY realized his talents early and began writing poetry. After winning competition after competition with his poetry, people began to notice. Recognition meant people started writing beats for him and the rest, well, read on…

E-SHY knew that winning a poetry competition was one thing, but to gain respect, especially in the hip hop world, he had to earn it. E-SHY began competing in rap contests while still a teenager. Coming out on top in these competitions as well, he began to work with underground producers who gave him not only beats to work with, but precious studio time.

A Jew’s family is often your biggest critic. In E-SHY’s case though, he was lucky enough to have support. When pressed about the issue, he responded “My family is all artists; they really were fine with what I was doing”. While his family respected his creativity, on the mean streets, life could be a different story. “I was a White, Jewish rapper. I really had to earn respect. It was a completely uphill battle”.

That didn’t faze him all that much since “(I) started as a battle MC. I can hold my own”. To him, a Jewish rapper is a whole new level. “I got into putting Judaism into my music fairly recently. It started post 9/11. The world changed. I wanted to use my music to rile the crowd, get people angry”. In this different world “Jewish kids have to stand up for themselves. They have to be proud. You should be upset by what’s happening in Israel, the violence in the Middle East. You should be proud to be a Jew.”

In his own words “Judaism is part of who I am and part of who I am as an artist. I won’t shy away from what I am”. He recommends that the rest of us take on a similar philosophy and stand proud. Like many artists, music unfortunately isn’t his day job yet, but his day job is even more immersive in Jewish culture. “I work for the United Jewish Appeal. I’m there all day raising money for them. I can’t escape Judaism, no matter what I’m doing”.

Living in New York, there are two cultures that at times seem almost identical. “In New York, you have a strong Jewish an Italian connection. I want to explore that more”. From this desire to explore the pizza bagel comes the idea for Kosher Nostra. It’s an upcoming clothing line, and musical project that combines canoli culture with that of kreplach.

To some, hip hop and Judaism still seem like an uneasy mix, but E-SHY reminds us that “Jews have always been behind the scenes of hip hop, but there are almost no front men. You have the Beastie Boys for sure, but other than that, it is all behind the scenes”. Indeed, you have outlets like Source Magazine, and now WHO?MAG, all heavily Jewish, but outside of Israel, your Jewish front man is rare. Rare as he may be “guys in the industry appreciate me. I’m proud of who I am. A big part of Jewish culture is humor, and spoken word. Hip hop and rap are great ways to combine those two things, but at the same time, express anger when I need to”. Music is famous for being a vehicle for messages.

E-SHY takes a particular liking to hip hop and rap because “it’s all about the message. It is a forum for free speech and activism”. He goes on to add “hip hop has an edge. You can make it raw, hard, and I use that. A hip hop song is an essay. It’s not so much about the guitar solo as much as it is driving home a message.” You certainly can’t argue with that.

Coming up, we are going to see a lot of new things from E-SHY. He’s looking to get out and about in the world and explore. More into producing quality material than he is simply making money from his work, E-SHY strives to put that something extra into his songs. “I’d like to pull from the Torah, use biblical stories. I’d like to re-tell these stories through my music”. “Matisyahu really opened doors for Jewish artists in hip hop. People are starting to take us more seriously; this is still a growing movement. It’s important too for the Jewish emcee to take himself seriously. Sometimes, we joke around too much. People can only laugh for so long”.

What’s an artist to do when he has close ties and constant access to Israel through his day job, and a passion for Jewish music the rest of the day? The answer for E-SHY is to actually head east, and start working with artists in Israel. “I respect the rappers in Israel, the really keep it real. They’re honest. I respect their art”. Respect is one thing, but “(I) want to bring the no-nonsense rap here. No apologies”. With trips in the works, we can expect that E-SHY’s next few releases will have some bold lyrics and an aggressive style all his own.

You can check out E-SHY’s music by logging in to his myspace page:

http://www.myspace.com/eshyonline.

You can order his CD online at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/eshy.

006 MAKING PEACE AND LOVE COOL AGAIN: A HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE SHEVA GALAXY

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MAKING PEACE AND LOVE COOL AGAIN: A HITCHHIKER?S GUIDE TO THE SHEVA GALAXY

EYES ON ISRAELI CULTURE #2

By M Wooderson

Photos by M Wooderson and Jewish Mayhem
Video provided by SHEVA and GlobaLev

Note: This article was originally written in the summer of 2005 with the Gaza disengagement looming and weighing heavily on the hearts of all Israelis. I have only added projects that have appeared in the past year where appropriate but have left the thoughts and outlook of 14 months ? and many realities ago, intact.

That in the course of one year we could endure Sharon?s stroke and Olmert?s ascendancy, Hamas actually being elected by the Palestinians, the continuing violence coming out of Gaza and the war against Hezbollah, not to mention heaps of internal corruption and hypocrisy, was, at the time, merely part of a worst-case scenario that seemed out of an unlikely bad dream even to the most pragmatic, battle-hardened and cynical of Israelis.

Nevertheless, the people, spirit and happenings described herein still thrive today ?in spite of it all?. This is the true account not only of what might have been, but of what still can be.

UPDATE – Sheva “Live in Australia” wins prestigious 2006 Independent Music Award for Best Live Performance

MW – November ’06′

GENESIS:IN THE BEGINNING This creation is a call for gathering all souls who wish in the depth of their hearts to amend the world and to heal humans and earth together in faith, in truth and peace, each one in their own way.

We are the old people.
We are the new people.
We are the same people.
Wiser than before.
-Sheva?s group invocation

This article was eventually gonna get written anyway. Sheva is my favourite band and seeing how I manage to write this gig every now and again it was a natural. So Sheva?s coming to the Montreal Jazz Festival while I?m in Toronto for the summer only five hours away was the perfect impetus to get me off my lazy ass and get some of this stuff down on paper.

I?ve been living in Israel more or less since 1997 ? the year of Sheva?s first release and since then Sheva?s music has been the musical accompaniment on many wild and varied adventures and experiences, filled with wonder and discovery, at times dangerous while at others bordering on the holy, but through it all, Sheva?s music has been the soundtrack.

There is a time and place for everything and while tattoos, a little bling-bling and being as hardcore-as-ya-wanna-be are totally cool, there is more to experience in life and sometimes, at least hopefully, there is some spirituality and nourishment of the soul thrown in for good measure. With this in mind, put the Jay-Z or Subliminal on pause for just a second and see what you?ve been missing out on in the holy land if you dare.

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Imagine you?re at the foot of King Solomon?s ancient temple in Jerusalem and there?s what could best be described as an all night 21st century style rave going down. Everyone is dressed in a sea of white and spinning rainbow colours. Young and old are singing and dancing joyously, hand clapping, chanting, and hollering in unison as if part of some elaborate ritual. Love, harmony and holiness are in the air. While the songs are familiar to all in this time warp of Abrahamic Jewish worship, you notice across the sea of revellers that there is actually a merry band of gypsy-like travelling minstrels leading the proceedings. That band is Sheva.

The centrepiece of the aptly named Globalev/Lev HaOlam (Heart of the World) Productions, Sheva is a musical collective spanning the diverse spectrum of modern Israeli society. They are loosely based in and around Moshav Amirim just outside of the holy city of Tzfat – birthplace of the Kabbalah in the mystical mountains of the Galilee. It is an area where a refreshing harmony between her Jewish and Arab residents reigns and where a myriad of naturopaths, healers, musicians, and artisans ply their trades. The Moshav also boasts a chilled-out chalet style vegetarian resort, and many alternative guest houses where you can stay and partake in some of these magical wonders. If you?re lucky, maybe you?ll even catch an impromptu jam session with whoever?s around.

The members of Sheva (which means the number seven in Hebrew for the unconnected) are all part of the first generation to have grown up in an Israel more or less secure in her existence and totally immersed in a native Israeli culture rising from the ashes of the Holocaust and dealing with the influx and amalgamation of diverse and disparate peoples all trying to reclaim their Jewish roots in this land after millennia of dispersal in the Diaspora. The ongoing sociological experiment that created Sheva?s existence is, for better or worse (and it is doubtlessly for the better), part of the realization, fulfillment and living testament to the original Zionist dream of a Jewish and democratic state of all its citizens.

In spite of outward appearances (both theirs and their audience) Sheva aren?t hippies so much as the most visible representatives of the still growing battle weary and well-travelled generation of Israelis who want peace not because it sounds lovey-dovey good in theory, but because they know from experience both the damage and pain caused by the current situation and the potential benefits of peace and reconciliation – between both Arab and Jew and indeed amongst the Jewish people themselves. YOU NEED NO MEDIATOR BETWEEN YOURSELF AND GOD Many in this generation of Israelis were either turned off religion or, like many kibbutzniks for example, were simply not exposed to it. Having confidence in themselves after giving up the best years of their youth to protecting Israel, they went off and travelled the world searching for fulfillment and found spirituality for themselves ?often blending influences of other traditions with their Jewish backgrounds – instead of following how people back home told them their spirituality should be.

Sheva?s music evolved out of these same post-army treks and spiritual quests to India, Africa and other exotic destinations that many Israelis take. As they tell it, they were just a bunch of friends who all knew each other through various travels and projects who would informally play together, when one day a friend asked a bunch if they could get a band together to play his Moshav. That night there happened to be seven of them, and the band was born right then and there, taking the name Sheva – though there are now eight members of Sheva with the recent addition of Yonatan Oppenheim on keyboards and various other technological gizmos.

According to Sheva?s website (MW – now completely revamped and improved since the writing of this article), ?Our music is the result of a renewing, mixed, moderated peace minded Israeli society, that developed during the reconciliation atmosphere of the nineties.?

?We want to bring forth an important voice that is still alive in Israel, a voice of both Arabs & Jews that want peace and have trust in it. We represent tens of thousand[s] of people that have faith in overcoming the present conflict & violence. We live in the Galilee, a green island in the great desert, a meeting place for cultural landscapes.?

AND ALL THAT ONE WILL DO ONE WILL SUCCEED The sign of a band with staying power is that it is able to evolve and adapt to their constantly changing surrounding reality. This is evident on the progression of Sheva?s three concept-style studio albums starting from an experimental new age world sound on 1997?s HaChatuna HaShmiymit (The Celestial Wedding) (born as the musical accompaniment to a theatre production at the world-renowned Acco International Fringe Theater Festival to a more song and lyric based production on the thoroughly Eastern/EretzIsraeli/Canaanite tinged tour de force Yom Va Layla (Day and Night), to a mellower yet much more modern, technical and funky third release in Gan (Garden).

The releases also have some of the best quality CD packaging and presentation you?ll ever see – elaborate booklets and liner notes with all the lyrics both in English and Hebrew, trippy psychedelic drawings and inspirational dedications and invocations throughout. For example, the instrumental second track on Day and Night ?Musicelty? is ?Dedicated to the souls of Chaim Nachman Bialik and Jubran Khalil Jubran. With intention of peace for the children. Please, God, protect the children of the world and the child within us.?

They push the edge technologically as well with their just released Live in Australia that includes video footage on the same single sided CD. It is this ability to effortlessly blend the old with the new and stay relevant in modern times that makes Sheva not only one of the most creative and important bands in the world music scene, but in the world of music as proven by Sheva’s Live in Australia winning the prestigious IMA award for “BEST LIVE PERFORMANCE“.

Israel is the unknown land of the great concert venue. Though the days of Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan and Neil Young coming around these parts are fading further into the distant past, over the past decade Jethro Tull has played the ancient Roman amphitheatre in Caesaria, BB King at Sultan?s Pool in Jerusalem, and U2 in a park outside of Tel Aviv. Other gems for concert-goers include the Hebrew University amphitheatre on Mount Scopus and Nitzanim Beach – home of the Bombamella festival.

In reality, other than those random aberrations, very few foreign acts come to Israel these days leaving these beautiful venues to local Israel artists. Sheva is no exception and takes advantage of the unique concert settings Israel has to offer, preferring them to more traditional theatre venues. Without too much effort, I?ve managed to catch Sheva play Massada at sunrise, a small private beach in Yaffo and a way bigger beach up north in Achziv outside Nahariya, not to mention a special all-night Tu b?Av (Israeli Valentine?s Day) outdoor show with camping at little Moshav Kadita, built in part by settlers who were forced to leave their Sinai homes near Sharm-E-Sheik after Israel made peace with Egypt – and made a beautiful new life for themselves down the dirt road by the end of the valley with the graves of the tzaddikim (righteous/learned Rabbis) outside of Tzfat on the way to Ein Zeitim near their home base in the Galilee.

For the casual or first time listener it really doesn?t matter what the words are or what the songs are about because the music is so beautiful. This is confirmed by the band?s resident horn and woodwind master, musical healer Avishai Bar-Natan, who insists that language is not a barrier for Sheva?s music and even makes it sound more exotic for those who don?t understand the language.

Be that as it may, there is so much more to this music with inspirational lyrics, stories and messages throughout their songs that it would be a shame not to delve deeper into the song meanings of a band whose poetic lyrics are often adapted from the bible, holy teachers and Jewish prophecy. Amongst these experiments is a reggae-tinged send-up of 16th century Yemenite Rabbi Shalom Shabazi?s ?Im Ninalu? (If The Doors Are Locked) that by the end of the song has evolved into a full out tribal trance dance.

Their original compositions are no less powerful and you often find yourself wondering if that was an original or from the book of Psalms. For those who understand the language, the Hebrew they use is strikingly poetic ? often using biblically rooted ?high Hebrew? words more similar to Aramaic and Arabic words that in fact flower throughout the revived modern Hebrew ? a literal reclamation of the roots of Jewish culture. FOUR SIGNALS COME OUT OF THE GARDEN Sheva is the reigning heavyweight champion in the flourishing Israeli ethnic, or world music scene ? a genre that boasts such other highly recommended talents as Shotei HaNevua (The Fools of Prophecy), Yair Dalal, Gaya, Yuval Ron, Idan Reichel, Bustan Abraham, Eyal Sela, Zohar Fresco and a few others – all who follow in the footsteps of the granddaddy of them all, HaBrera HaTiveet (The Natural Gathering) and their mesmerizing Moroccan drummer/lead singer Shlomo Bar who was the first to blend Jewish, East Indian, Arab and North African music all together in the tension charged atmosphere of the late 1970s Jerusalem student protests looking for equal treatment and respect for Israel?s Sephardi Jews.

Alternatively fun and serious yet somehow always tasteful, Sheva has a great knack to be both spiritual and sexy at the same time. In Eastern teachings there are 7 chakras in your body. The way drummer Lior Shulman explains it, ?Hip hop moves the lowest of the chakras in your groin and prayer the highest in your head.? It dawned on me that Sheva knows how to move all of them with precision, separately if they so choose or altogether, which is often the joyful case.

Oh and by the way, there really is nothing better then shtupping with Sheva on in the background as the East Indian influences can really bring out the Tantric, go-the-distance master in all of us. In the words of Homer Simpson (no stranger to the festival scene himself), its sacrilicious. Mmmmmm….Saaaacrrrrillllicccciousssss.

In Sheva, everyone brings their own creations to the table when it comes time to go into the studio. On Day and Night for example, the first six songs are each the contribution of a different member of the band. To an unfamiliar ear, the first reaction on hearing some of the acoustic guitar based songs and jams ? especially live, would be Rusted Root ? which actually isn?t such a bad thing – however unfounded the comparison may be. What puts Sheva over the top though is that they stray into territory totally uncontemplated by most Western jam-bands. Reggae, Eastern spiritual trance, African chants, Indian style qawalli hip-hop, native American chants, Latin and Cuban influences, not to mention the ancient Jewish melodies and teachings serving as the leitmotif that lingers through their compositions, these are all part of the sonic ambrosia. AWAKENING/ JEWISH RENEWAL Over the last few decades it has become common for many Jews to dabble in Zen Buddhism, transcendental meditation and other world religions in search of that missing ?something?. While there?s nothing inherently wrong with that, and to each his own, it seems that many Jews have forsaken their own rich spiritual tradition without ever bothering to get to know it. By drawing on external and individual influences but remaining loyal to the roots of their shared traditions of the children of Abraham, Sheva?s music serves as the unifying guide on a spiritual path of renewal to a holy, sensual and cool Jewish soulfulness – the way you always felt it was supposed to be, not the way your Rabbi told you it HAD to be.

While no one in Sheva is traditionally religious, they are people of deep faith and spirituality and show great respect for all religions and the oneness of God. Amongst them, there are those who have also been known to dabble in Jewish mysticism. From this point of view, and very much living in the present while rooted in the past, Sheva has given their generation both in Israel and abroad a uniquely accessible way to reconnect with their own roots.

To their detractors who may criticize Sheva as not being according to their ?traditionally accepted? interpretations of Judaism, holiness, and spirituality, the closed-mindedness is saddening. Sheva?s music is not sacrilege, it is invocation and sanctification adapting Jewish spirituality to modern times.

It is a poorly kept secret that when Madonna came to Israel last year on a spiritual retreat sponsored by the Kabbalah Center and she had a private concert by Sheva, she was so completely blown away that she wanted to sign them to her Maverick record label. When asked why they didn?t jump at the offer, vocalist, storyteller and percussionist Gil Ron Shama simply replied fatalistically, ?Not now, not yet.? Apparently the white dress she wore at Live 8 was suggested to her by Sheva and they keep in quite good touch. Think what you want about Madonna (who rocks by the way?you got a problem with that?), but there is no doubt that she is not a bad babe to have in your corner.

Much of what is considered ?mainstream? Israel is rabidly secular, which makes it all the more impressive that Sheva has had is its adaptation of Psalms 121 Shir Hamaalot (Song for Ascents) become a campfire favourite even amongst the most secular of Israelis ? a success in bringing Judaism into the lives of your average Tel Aviv party goer that few of the holier-than-thou types can claim.

As this article is written in the shadow of the painful but necessary Gaza disengagement, at no time in the recent past has there been such discord amongst Israel?s citizens. It is becoming increasingly clear that it will soon be more important then ever to heal the distressingly widening rift tearing into the soul of the Jewish people. Those in the settler movement who undoubtedly truly and sincerely love their land and their country will have to cope with their changing reality and be embraced and brought back in to the fold of Israeli society whose equally important obligation is to empathize with and respect the settlers? sacrifices and spiritual connection to the land and to welcome them with open arms.

Sheva?s music has the power to be an important tool in this healing process and indeed many of Sheva?s members take very seriously the concept of healing through music. While Sheva?s desire to reach out to bridge the gaps between Arab and Jew in this shared land may seem to put them at odds with the settlers, many in the settler movement identify very closely with Sheva?s music of Jewish spirituality and connection to the land. According to Persian Santur virtuoso, multi instrumentalist and musical healer Amir Paiss, ?The transformative power of sound is one of the oldest concepts in Judaism, the walls of Jericho were brought down with sound.?

For the Jewish Diaspora, Sheva?s music can be a profoundly liberating experience, as if to confirm that donning a black hat and pretending to be in 17th century Poland isn?t the only way, or even the best way to connect to real Jewish spirituality. It?s as if this first generation to grow up in the mosaic and balagan (mess) that is modern Israel is telling those in the Diaspora (and indeed the many in Israel who still live with the shtetl mentality) that it is ok to once again be proud of who we are as a people.

Percussionist and actor Ahmed Taher is an Arab Muslim from Acco and is an integral part of the band, with his outrageously complex yet steady darbouka drum keeping that funky Middle Eastern rhythm that is the backbone of this tribal dance music when it?s at its best. Quiet and unassuming with an endearingly goofy sense of humour, one wonders how Ahmed feels caught up in this phenomenon of his Jewish cousins seeking spirituality and renewal. In the true spirit of Sheva he is more than happy to take part and help his cousins, neighbours, and fellow children of Abraham get closer to God and share in their quest to make this holy, conflict-ridden land a better place for all.

The respect, friendship and affection that his band mates have for him is clear even to an outsider. It?s pretty obvious that no one in the band even thinks about cultural differences as being an obstacle amongst themselves anymore. Though perhaps they once were, the differences are simply not an issue after getting to know each other so closely as human beings who share so many more similarities then they have differences. WE ARE THE TORAH YEARNING FOR ITS LETTERS TO SPEAK THROUGH US

To coordinate a band over the long haul with so many people involved is no easy task, but Sheva does their best to make it work – giving time both for side projects (regardless of whose project it is, often with the other members still dropping by to lend a hand) and the central Sheva collaboration, not to mention their respective families. No doubt it is their sincere friendship that facilitates this successful balancing act.

Two of the more rewarding Sheva side projects are collaborations with Gabriel Meyer, an Argentinean Oleh (immigrant to Israel) who has been known to join the band on stage every now and again, whose Metatron Ritual Theater Collective whose productions play in Acco, including The Celestial Wedding and Gabriel and Gil?s current collaboration-in-the-works based on ?The mystical talmudic story of the “Orchards”, the esoteric journey to Paradise?.

For those who don?t know, Metatron is one of the most mysterious and important characters in Jewish mysticism. Even his identity is contested. One accepted explanation identifies him as Enoch who was ?chosen by the Lord as a writer of truth, the greatest scribe of the land.? Transformed, as the Archangel Metatron, these abilities followed him. Metatron’s ?many heavenly tasks included being a scribe and an advocate and defending the Nation of Israel in the heavenly court.? Pop culture even gave Metatron a tip of the cap recently being portrayed by Alan Rickman in Kevin Smith?s film Dogma.

The other extremely rewarding project with Gabriel is his collaboration with Amir on their band Amen?s Merkavah album – a ?Hebrew psychedelic opera? that is a ?biblical musical collage of four essential and universal texts: The Creation through The Ten Sayings from the book of Genesis, the Ten Commandments from the book of Exodus, Love your Kin as Yourself from the book of Leviticus, and the prophecy of the Holy Merkavah (Chariot) of the prophet Ezekiel.? These texts are all connected in one way or another with the Shavuot holiday and the album was performed a few years ago with great success at the Shantipi world music festival that coincides with Shavuot, which you can read more about below.

If Merkavah sounds like a lofty project it is with good reason, blending torah with folk, trance and everything in between and with the help of all their friends this is powerful music. Proceeds from this disc go to support the Sulha (a traditional Arab ceremony of forgiveness and reconciliation) Peace project, a multi-faith initiative aimed at ?Healing the Children of Abraham? of which Gabriel is also a co-founder. DAY AND NIGHT I WILL SEEK FOR YOU: TAKING PEACE SERIOUSLY ?We refuse to be paralysed by our fear, by our frustration and by our pain. We encourage each other to trust.

The next song asks:

How can there be peace in this world when there is no peace between fellow countrymen. And how can there be peace in this world when there is no love. We commit ourselves to remind each other of that love.? -Intro to ?Peace and Another Day? Live in Australia

As a band, Sheva believes it is not their purpose to find a political solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict or even to take sides. This is simply not relevant to their music whose purpose they believe is to provide hope and give expression to hardship and pain. They choose to let their Jewish soul music heal both themselves and others.

?Zion is not necessarily here. Zion is an outlook of peace, of love, of oneness? says Lior Shulman who is surprisingly knowledgeable in spiritual matters in spite of his heavy metal background, and hip-hop alter ego the ?Ma$iach? and (comparatively) straight-edge appearance. He is quick to emphasize that Sheva ?are not a bunch of Peace Now hippies with round rimmed glasses. There are, in fact a wide range of political opinions in the band and each member represents a different shade of the Israeli mosaic. The key though is if we can put aside our differences as a band and pray for peace together then it is possible to do it also in the neighbourhood, in the city, and in the whole country. If we can be united even when there are differences of opinion then it will be possible to find compromise with our neighbours.?

In the closing refrain of the Paiss penned Ba b?ahava (Come in Love) he implores: ?Please do not give up and do not avoid listening to the heart.? In conversation he relates, ?Everybody wants peace, everybody without exception. The question is how to get there and for every person he has his own idea if not two or three on how to get there.?

Indeed many of Sheva?s most powerful songs are prayers and pleas for peace. Many of you who have been to Israel even on something as superficial as a birthright trip probably know Sheva?s first hit ?Salaam?. However, only if you delve deeper into Sheva?s music do you get to know the much more intense, serious, pleading, mournful, yet still hopeful Mosh Ben-Ari tune Shalom vi od Yom (Peace and Another Day). An ex-Golani IDF officer, here he offers a plea for peace and calm clearly coming from the heart of a battle-weary warrior. In the liner notes the song is ?Dedicated to the souls of King David, the Prophet Jesus and Mahatma Ghandi. With intention of peace between the nations of the world and the fusion of peoples colors like a rainbow. Together, one is possible.?

Another powerful prayer for peace is Sheva?s 1998 collaboration on Shalom Om Salaam (S.O.S) a collaboration with world music stars Omar Faruk Tekbilek and Jai Uttal that was originally released as a single but also appears as a bonus track on Sheva?s 2002 album Gan where a simple prayer for peace is repeated in each singer?s native tongue.

?The politicians do not have the answer and please do not believe what you see about us on CNN.? says Gil. ?We are capable of forming our own reality and we try to improve ourselves and our surroundings the best we can.?

According to Mosh, peace is not made when leaders gather on the White House lawn to sign a meaningless piece of paper. Rather peace is only made in meetings of the common man ?The simple people have to meet. Fellaheen and arsim have to get to know each other.?

The Galilee is also known with good reason as Eretz Ha Zayit – the land of olives. The shared love of the land is what can ultimately be the uniting factor bridging the diverse peoples of the region. In the song Rishikesh Gil, who had his Hebrew translation of the book “The Illuminated” by the Sufi poet Jalal A-din Rumi published in 2001, assumes his role of story teller, sharing of a meeting around a campfire with an old man from the Chaleb region of Syria who still yearns for the day when his tribe will return to this land. In spite of their substantial differences and suspicions, together around the fire they share a moment of feeling that there is still hope. That it is still possible to heal mother earth.

It is a powerful message and with this in mind members of Sheva are always looking to build bridges across cultural divides even when risks are involved. For instance, the Sulha Peace Project, is criticized in some corners for the rapprochement generally being a lot of Israelis and Jews apologizing and asking forgiveness while the Palestinians ?boldly? accept their apologies while offering none of their own or any evidence of introspection into the rot and ills of their own society towards Israel.

It can indeed be frustrating, but one gets the feeling that when the Palestinians will be able to apologize reciprocally, it will be under the terms set now by these brave people, thus making these initiatives and those who participate in them all the more important. THEY?RE A BAND BEYOND DESCRIPTION, LIKE JEHOVA?S FAVOURITE CHOIR In the North American Jewish Diaspora many youth searching for spirituality have identified strongly with the music and counterculture of the Grateful Dead, and this author was no exception. Since moving to Israel not only has Sheva filled that void, but there are some striking similarities between the two bands. In fact, that fleeting something of the holy that many found in the Dead?s music is way easier to find with Sheva then it ever was in those last few years of the Deadwhen fleeting moments of greatness were interspersed with much mediocrity.

From live concerts where songs and improvised jams can stretch well beyond the 10-15 minute mark to the communal atmosphere and appreciation of their fans to the independent family run style of an enterprise that supports many more then just the band members (for Sheva much of the credit goes to Globalev CEO and close friend of the band Ariel Rom who has become as good as they get at keeping his happy-go-lucky charges in tow and making it all happen), not to mention the familiar odours of patchouli and the Chronic wafting throughout the crowd, the similarities become stronger and stronger the deeper you look.

Start with Mosh Ben-Ari the uber-dreadlocked, bassist, guitarist and vocalist poster boy whose solo career is also at its peak with the recent success of his second solo release Derech (Road), and has become a sort of Jerry Garcia style reluctant ?leader? of the band in the media?s eyes – even though in reality there is no leader amongst this group of friends and Mosh is usually very reserved in public. (MW ? Ben-Ari?s start has continued to rise with the Fall 2006 release of his third solo album ?Masah u Matan?/Negotiations which is currently topping the Israeli mainstream charts)

Contrary to popular rumours, Sheva has not broken up. Remember that Jerry also maintained a fulfilling solo career with the Jerry Garcia Band throughout the Dead?s existence to explore other forms of expressing himself and it brought him, not to mention his fans, no end of personal satisfaction. Mosh?s solo projects should be seen in this light as complementing and facilitating future Sheva creations by keeping an integral member?s creative juices flowing and fresh.

Also similar to Jerry, Mosh gets a ?rough? time of it in Israel where he is worshipped as a bona fide celebrity by many who hang on his every utterance ? though luckily for him, Mosh?s admirers include many young and nubile females who seem to follow him everywhere he goes with very little effort on his part.

Then there?s the unfortunate cheesiness of the very beautiful prayer for peace ?Salaam?. Just like the Dead?s Truckin? or Uncle John?s Band, these songs became ?mainstream? in the first place because they were actually good, but after hearing everyone and their little sister singing along, its somehow not quite as cool a tune as it used to be.

Hopefully in the future Sheva can take another page out of the Dead?s book and start mixing up their setlists and making more, if not all of their live shows available to their fans through their website, both of which are great ways to build and maintain their substantial and growing grassroots following. AND IN MY DREAM I HEAR THE SOUNDS OF THE FLUTE FROM THE EAST ?Pass here and go on, you?re on the road to heaven.?
-Jack Kerouac

While writing about music is one thing and is often maddeningly pedestrian (something this humble writer has tried to avoid like the plague in this article), writing about your experiences of music, how you interact with music, how you USE music, how music can and has affected you?well that?s another beast altogether.

For years now, Sheva has been my little secret. Through their music I learned a language that is now my own. Through their music I found myself becoming in tune, at home and at one with the Negev and Sinai Deserts and the rolling hills of the Galilee. These sounds of the Levant, syncopated drums, exotic strings, wind flutes, and ancient chants at first so foreign, gradually became mine as I reclaimed my ancient Jewish identity as a native of this land.

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Hilula Layla! Ein Siba Li Pachad! Hilula (Sanctify the prophets) tonight! There is no reason to be afraid! While serving as a paratrooper in the IDF – embarking on an immersion into the heart of Israeli society while training and fighting in the intifadah I culled courage and bravery from Sheva?s music. During that same time, their music saved, guarded, protected and nourished my soul while the war all around me did its best to rip my life force away in the environs of Hebron, Ramallah and Jenin.

Their music kept me appreciating fun and beauty in situations where others might not see it so clearly. The song associations are apparent to me still – floating through my mind in a sort of stream of consciousness flow as I close my eyes and pop in a disc?Basic Training? 90 kilometer march in the middle of the night…60 pounds on my back and already been walking for what ?10, 12 hours? 6, 7 more to go? Root (10-4 in Hebrew military jargon)? Keep it down that next town is hostile. Root?Take the lead around that next pack of houses. Root?.Sunrise?Coffee Break?what a view?crack out the finjan?ya-salaam. Shalom vi od yom – Peace and another day.

So how do you explain such a personal connection to someone?s work when you meet them for the first time, even though it?s as if you?ve known them for years? Slowly and bit by bit, that?s how.

Gil Ron Shama is the band member that has always intrigued me the most. Singer, percussionist, healer, performer, teller of ancient stories. He is the archetypal coyote trickster, blurring the line between the holy and the hedonist.

Hanging out with Gil on the lawn on a sunny Montreal morning I tell him about listening to his music after coming off missions in Hebron and how his music and words were a constant reminder that my purpose was not to kill for killing?s sake but to bring peace to this troubled land. How in the midst of unreported firefights in the hairiest parts of the territories my thoughts would always drift back to the tribal gatherings of Sheva and that as long as those people are safe and sound to pursue their spirituality in peace, my cause is just and intentions are pure. That?s a lot to handle for a jet-lagged Jewish Gypsy on a Sunday morning in Quebec. He understood though.

(MW Nov. ?06) In the past two years Gil, along with his side projects Diwan HaLev and Chalomot Sinai has also been the leading force of the movement that is bringing this vibe straight to the heart of Tel Aviv – loosely based around the Lev Tahor spiritual community and the Indian style Rupee 24 and Hodaya restaurant and cultural center. Diwan HaLev plays a standing monthly gig at the Hodaya where, in audience participating sing-along fashion they breathe fresh new life into some of the most ancient prayers and texts in Judaism.

COME WITH US TO THE GARDEN ? SHEVA AND THE ?SHANTI? PHENOMENON A popular, though misunderstood catchword amongst Israeli youth these days is ?Shanti?, which loosely means a mellow, exotic, chilled-out atmosphere. Fragrant Chai masallah sweetened with brown sugar. Nagchampa incense wafting through the air. Black coffee with fragrant cardamon and the pungent sweet apple smoke of nargillah tobacco. These are some of the scents and smells that conjure up the Shanti vibe.

Though many – including those in Sheva dislike the description, it has become a way of life for a large segment of Israelis that love nothing more than leaving their watches and omnipresent cellphones at home and heading down to Sinai or camping up North for a few days trying to get back in touch with nature, leaving the stresses and madness of the modern Israeli reality behind them, if only for a short while.

Even if it used to be a fitting description in the early days, Sheva?s music is unfairly limited by the Shanti description since now they are very much about throwing hi-tech dance parties with a spiritual twist. At the same time, there is no doubt that aspects of the Shanti atmosphere and lifestyle are incorporated into the Sheva experience.

Shavuot. The springtime festival where Jews gather to celebrate the receiving of the Revelation at Sinai. Back in the day (and I mean in the time of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and not the late 1980?s as probably springs to mind for way too many of you) this was a traditional time for ascent to Jerusalem and a ritual festive gathering.

Now if you did, ?good on ya mate,? as they say in Australia, but how many of you in the Diaspora consider yourselves hip, in touch, and actually celebrated Shavuot this year? And I don?t just mean going to pray and eating some cheese blintzes?

On Shavuot in Israel you can go to the Shantipi Festival ? one of the best illustrations of the Shanti lifestyle – where Sheva and its various side projects, peers, friends, and fans gather together at a festival so peaceful, beautiful and full of good vibes and karma that Woodstock could have only dreamed of such a community. Here you can really take part in a tribal Jewish-rooted sanctification.

This is one heck of a party. 3 days of camping beside an abandoned Club Med right on the Mediterranean just a few kilometres from the mountain range demarcating the Lebanese border with a wild and eclectic mix of music, theatre, crafts, prayer, food and friendship. Throw in tents for gathering and meditation, oriental healing, didgeridoo lessons, group hugs, side stages with spontaneous performances, some spices of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and you have one potent mix.

Sitar, Lira and various other strings player Udi Ben-Knaan has also spent significant time travelling and studying music. He is also involved in a number of great side projects ,both past and present? notably the groundbreaking 1995 Between the Walls project at the Acco Festival along with Ahmed, Hebrew Qawalli (Sufi Muslim devotional music made famous in the west by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan) musician Shye Ben-Tzur?s sublime group and album Heeyam: The State of Supreme Love (on which Gil also adds hand-claps and chants) and in another sublime example of blending the old with the new, there is Udi?s funky Yemenite groove outfit Zafa. At Shantipi 2004, it was a great moment when Shlomo Bar came out after Zafa and was overflowing with complements on what he?d just seen.

One of the coolest parts of Shantipi is the total breakdown of the barrier between performer and audience. ?I been livin in a Babylon and I want to get to Zion.? Sang Mosh as he wandered on to the makeshift stage in his self-run chai tent on the beach at Shantipi where he?ll get up and play whenever the feeling strikes, be it two in the afternoon or two in the morning. There were a bunch of us who had all been through tons of stuff back in ?Amereeka? before coming to Israel, sitting there on some pillows in the shade listening to the impromptu jam and we all just knew that we did it! We got out. We saved ourselves. We?re here and we won.

You literally get that feeling that you?re supposed to get at a Passover seder (but often don?t in the 35 minute lets-get-through-this-and-eat-there?s-a-basketball-game-on-TV seders that many have) ? that it was you who not only personally went out of Egypt, but who was at Sinai, received the revelation, and five thousand ?years? later (as if time and space meant anything) you are still the carrier of that revelation.

What is the revelation? Love? Light? Pride? Self-realization? Recognition of the other? Of God? All of it? Call it what you will. Believe it if you need it or leave it if you dare. Perhaps at this most fractious time for our people?s identity this seems to fit as the challenge that the 20 and 30 something generation is Israel is presenting to the world. You can either embrace us, love us, build, share and grow with us and our successes or you, both on the anti-disengagement right and the Israelis-are-Nazis extreme left – can turn your backs on the beautiful, creative, brilliant, spiritual, sexy and wonderful people of modern Israel. Your loss. We will continue to rejoice and exalt, sharing in the wonders of nature and trying to make planet earth a better place to be for all.

For indeed this can be ours and more, for as we all know, if you will it, it is no dream. That sounds like the best, healthiest expression of Zionism I?ve heard in a long time.

Waking up on a dew filled morning in the Galilee when the sun finally pierces your shade and the heat makes it impossible to sleep anymore, your consciousness finally noticing the chickens clucking and tractors humming off in the distance, you get the feeling that with just a little bit of effort from us all, it is still possible that all will be right in the world yet. Like the music of Sheva, there?s a message worth listening to.

005 Map Mayhem

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Map Mayhem 005

This is a map of the land of Israel according to the 12 tribal portions. It dates back to 1759, and while interesting and colorful and somewhat helpful, this map actually adds so much more confusion in trying to understand the Middle East than providing accurate truthful information. First of all, using a long list of Greek, Roman, Judaic historical an literary sources as well as mainstream archeology and many other ologies, the fact is that from time immemorial until after the Roman invasion of Judaea B.C.E. there was never a nation nor people nor culture nor language, no identity whatsoever known as the Palestinians or Palestine. If you live in or near a large city then there must be both a Museum and University level library where you can verify the truth at for yourself . In the Museum, try to find the Palestinian section and see it for your self . Oh wait, there will be none.

Once again, as a matter of historical fact, there was no Palestine nation or people or culture or religion or language ever since time immemorial until after the Roman invasion of Judaea B.C.E.

1759_map_holy_land_and_12_tribes_005

In fact, the Christian Bible, The New Testament serves as a further proof that during the life of Jesus, the country was still called Judea, or Iudea in Latin.

The Christian Bible Mentions a lot Concerning “Judaea”

Luke 3:1 – Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,

Luke 2:4 – And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

2 Corinthians 1:16 – And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea.

Acts 28:21 – And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judaea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of thee.

Matthew 2:22 – But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:

Luke 6:17 – And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;

Acts 8:1 – And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Luke 5:17 – And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was [present] to heal them.

Acts 9:31 – Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.

Luke 1:5 – There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife [was] of the daughters of Aaron, and her name [was] Elisabeth.

Matthew 2:1 – Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

Mark 10:1 – And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again.

Mark 13:14 – But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:

Acts 1:8 – But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Acts 26:20 – But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and [then] to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

Acts 2:14 – But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all [ye] that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

Acts 12:19 – And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that [they] should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and [there] abode.

1 Thessalonians 2:14 – For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they [have] of the Jews:

Matthew 19:1 – And it came to pass, [that] when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;

Luke 1:65 – And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.

Acts 2:9 – Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,

Matthew 4:25 – And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and [from] Decapolis, and [from] Jerusalem, and [from] Judaea, and [from] beyond Jordan.

Mark 1:5 – And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.

Luke 21:21 – Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.

John 4:47 – When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death.

Acts 10:37 – That word, [I say], ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;

Acts 11:29 – Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:

Mark 3:7 – But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea,

John 3:22 – After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized.

John 7:3 – His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.

Here is a revised proper map.

Judaea

Too lazy to go to a library or University or to a Museum? Here are all of the maps that you need.

Ancient Rome:

Maps & Geography

124 A.D. Map of the World Reconstruction of the world map according to Dionysius (124 A.D.), Cartographic Images.

http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/AncientWebPages/117.html

150 BC Map of the World (Globe) Reconstruction of Crate’s Globe (ca. 150 B.C.), Cartographic Images.

http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/AncientWebPages/113.html

150-130 BC Map of the World World map according to Posidonius (150-130 B.C.), Cartographic Images.

http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/AncientWebPages/114.html

1628 Reconstruction by Petrus Bertius of the world map, Cartographic Images.

http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/AncientWebPages/116B.html

18 A.D. Map of the World Reconstruction of World map according to Strabo (18 A.D.), Cartographic Images.

http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/AncientWebPages/115.html

18 centuries of Roman Empire 1790 years, to be exact. The Roman Empire began in 338 BC, when the city of Rome (a republic) imposed its direct rule upon the former league of Latin cities. It ended in 1453, as the last Roman Emperor, Constantine XI, died defending the walls of New Rome against the Turks. Not to my knowledge has any other state had a continuous existence for this long; the nearest would perhaps be Japan (arguably since about 400 A.D.). Over these 18 centuries the fortunes of the Empire have waxed and waned greatly. However, for about the middle 3/4 of this time, from 146 BC to 1204 AD, it was without doubt the greatest and wealthiest power in the northern Mediterranean. Below are some small maps which give an idea of the Empire’s changing territorial extent (including client states) over this period of greatness.

http://www.sci.gu.edu.au/~wiseman/Roman/RomanEmpire.html

20 A.D. Map of the World Reconstruction of the Orbis Terrarum (20 A.D.), Cartographic Images.

http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/AncientWebPages/118.html

220 BC Map of the World The world according to Eratosthenes, ca. 220 B.C., modern interpretive drawing. Cartographic Images.

http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/AncientWebPages/112A.html

2nd Punic War Map CLICK MAP FOR INTERACTIVITY

http://mappinghistory.uoregon…edu/europe/interactive/map33.html

300 BC Map of the World Reconstruction of world map according to Dicaearchus (300 B.C.), modern interpretive drawing. Cartographic Images.

http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/AncientWebPages/111.html

40 A.D. Map of the World Reconstruction of the World map according to Pomponius Mela (ca. 40 A.D.), Cartographic Images.

http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/AncientWebPages/116.html

A Roman Atlas Abdara (Abdra) “¢ Abdera (in Baetica) “¢ Abila “¢ Acinipo “¢ Ad Adrum Flumen “¢ ad Aginos “¢ Ad Aras “¢ ad Centesimum “¢ ad Martis “¢ ad Martis “¢ Ad Rubras “¢ Ad Septem Aras “¢ Ad Turres “¢ Aegabrum “¢ Alatrum “¢ Alba Fucentia (Alba Fucens) “¢ Albula R. “¢ Ameria “¢ Ammaea “¢ Anagnia “¢ Anduna “¢ Anticaria (Antiquaria) “¢ Aquinum “¢ Arci “¢ Arenae Montes “¢ Arpinum “¢ Arsa “¢ Artigi “¢ Arucci Novum “¢ Arunda “¢ Arx “¢ Asculum Picenum “¢ Asido “¢ Asta “¢ Asta Regia “¢ Aurigitanum “¢ Baccana Baelon (Belon) “¢ Baetia Fl. “¢ Balneum Regis “¢ Balsa “¢ Barba “¢ Barbesola “¢ Barbesula “¢ Barbesula Fl. “¢ Bastia “¢ Budua Calabona “¢ Calentum “¢ Calipos Fl. “¢ Calpe “¢ Calpurniana “¢ Camerte “¢ Capena “¢ Capionis Turris “¢ Carcuvium “¢ Carisa (Carissa) “¢ Carsulae (Carsioli) “¢ Carteia “¢ Castrum Novum “¢ Castulo “¢ Cavichim “¢ Celti “¢ Chryssus Fl. “¢ Cimbis “¢ Clitunni (Cliternum) “¢ Conistorgis “¢ Contosolia “¢ Contributa “¢ Corduba “¢ Corfinium “¢ Cuneus Pr. “¢ Cures “¢ Curica “¢ Cutilia Ebora “¢ Emerita Augusta “¢ Epora “¢ Eretium “¢ Erythia I. “¢ Esuris “¢ Fabrateria “¢ Falerii (Falerium) “¢ Ferentinum “¢ Ferentinum “¢ Fescennium Fines “¢ Forum Cassii “¢ Fraxin. . . “¢ Fregellae “¢ Fretum Gaditanum (Fretum Herculeum) “¢ Frusino “¢ Fucinus L. Gades (Gadira) “¢ Giniana “¢ Hadria Haetara “¢ Herculis Templum “¢ Hispalis Ilipa “¢ Ilipula M. “¢ Illiberis “¢ Illipula M. “¢ Illurco “¢ Iluro “¢ Interamna (Interamnia, Interamnia Nahars) “¢ Interamna Praetutiora “¢ Ipagro “¢ Italica Junonis Pr. Laelia “¢ Laminium “¢ Latinus R. “¢ Leppa “¢ Libystinus L. “¢ Lucus Feroniae Maenoba “¢ Maenoba Fl. “¢ Malaca “¢ Malceca “¢ Mariana “¢ Marianus Mons “¢ Marrubium “¢ Marruvium “¢ Mellaria “¢ Mentesa Ba. . . “¢ Metellinum “¢ Mirobriga “¢ Miturgis “¢ Munda “¢ Myrtilis Nabrissa (Nebrissa) “¢ Narnia “¢ Nepeta (Nepete) “¢ Nertobriga “¢ Nomentum “¢ Nursia “¢ Ocricolum (Ocriculum) Onoba “¢ Oretum “¢ Orippo “¢ Ossigi “¢ Ossonoba Pax Julia “¢ Pax Julia Augusta “¢ Perceiana “¢ Pinna “¢ Plagiaria “¢ Portus Albus “¢ Portus Gaditanus “¢ Praesidium “¢ Privernum Raesippo “¢ Rarapia “¢ Reate “¢ Regiana “¢ Regina Saduba Fl. “¢ Salduba “¢ Saxitanum “¢ Selambina “¢ Serpa “¢ Setra “¢ Signia “¢ Singili “¢ Singulis Fl. “¢ Sisapo “¢ Sora “¢ Soracte “¢ Spoletium “¢ Sublaqueum “¢ Suel Tartessus “¢ Teba “¢ Testrina “¢ Tingis “¢ Tucci “¢ Tuder “¢ Tugia Ugia “¢ Ulia “¢ med.: Urbs Vetus “¢ Urcao “¢ Urium Fl. “¢ Urso “¢ Vallia R. “¢ Veii “¢ Venafrum “¢ Vicus Novus “¢ Volsinii “¢ Vomanus R. “¢ Xeresium [Rome] [Maps]

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Maps/Periods/Roman/home.html

Ancient Rome Interactive Map. Illustrated History of the Roman Empire.

http://www.roman-empire.net/maps/map-rome.html

Antique and Medieval Atlas An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors. The DIR and ORB Ancient and Medieval Atlas. Christos NÃ¼ssli

http://www.roman-emperors.org/Index.htm

Atlas historique de l’AntiquitÃ© tardivÃ© [Rome] [Maps]

http://antique.mrugala.net/Atlas%20antique%20(miror)/carto/liens.html

Atlas historique de l’AntiquitÃ© tardive L’AntiquitÃ© tardive est la pÃ©riode de l’Histoire couvrant la fin des Empires romain et sassanide, la formation des royaumes barbares en Occident, la transformation de l’Empire romain d’Orient en Empire byzantin et la premiÃ¨re expansion musulmane. C’est la fin de l’AntiquitÃ© et le dÃ©but du haut Moyen Ã‚ge. Jadis mÃ©connue, elle fait aujourd’hui l’objet d’une attention particuliÃ¨re. Ce site a pour but d’offrir des repÃ¨res utiles Ã la comprÃ©hension de la gÃ©opolitique complexe de cette Ã©poque.

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/6200/

Atlas of the Greek and Roman World Home page for the Classical Atlas Project, a joint effort of the American Philological Association and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Includes information about the forthcoming Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman world, a reference work of permanent value. The atlas has an exceptionally broad appeal to everyone worldwide with an interest in ancient Greeks and Romans, the lands they penetrated, and the peoples and cultures they encountered in Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. The site includes information about the atlas, its contents, how it was developed and how copies can be obtained.

http://www.unc.edu/depts/cl_atlas/

Atlas of the Greek and Roman World Classical Atlas Project Univ. of North Carolina [Greece] [Maps and Geography]

http://www.unc.edu/depts/cl_atlas/

Barbarian Migrations in Late Antiquity Osshe Historical & Cultural Atlas Resource. Shockwave Movie.

http://mappinghistory.uoregon…edu/europe/interactive/map21.html

Central Italy, with the adjacent countries from the Peutingerian Tables constructed about 393 A.D. (580K)From A Classical Atlas by Alexander G. Findlay. New York: Harper and Brothers 1849. [Rome] [Maps]

http://www.rare-maps.com/details.cfm?type=maps&auto_key=1564506

Division of the Roman Empire Small Map

http://www.eduplace.com/kids/socsci/ca/books/bkf3/imaps/AC_15_491_division/AC_15_491_division.html

Expansion during the Early Roman Republic Territorial Expansion of the Roman World. 509 – 265 B.C.)

http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/firsteuro/roman.html

Geography of the Roman empire [Ancient Rome]

http://www.main-vision.com/richard/geograph.htm

Growth of Roman Dominions under the Empire Romans Spread From Roma Across the Roman Empire [Rome] [Maps]

http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/romeancientrome/ig/Maps-of-Rome-and-the-Empire/

Growth of The Roman Empire Map A&E Television Network

http://www.history.com/maps.do?type=view&catId=174&letter=R&mapId=1159

Imperial Battle Map Index Hugh Elton, Cartography by Christos NÃ¼ssli. To find an Imperial Battle Map on De Imperatoribus Romanis, click on the first letter of name of the battle you wish to find. If there was a series of battles in a specific location, click on that year in which you are interested. Sorted by Name.

http://www.roman-emperors.org/battles.htm

Interactive Ancient Mediterranean IAM is an on-line atlas of the ancient Mediterranean world designed to serve the needs and interests of students and teachers in high school, community college and university courses in classics, ancient history, geography, archaeology and related fields.

http://iam.classics.unc.edu/map/map_idx.html

Italy and Sicily Antiquity Online.

http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/map16it.htm

Italy and Sicily Courtesy of Antiquity Online. [Rome] [Maps]

http://fsmitha.com/maps.html

Map of Roads in the Roman Empire At the height of the Empire there were more than 50,000 miles of roads stretching from Britain to Mesopotamia.

http://www.dl.ket.org/latin3/mores/techno/roads/map.htm

Map of the 2nd Punic War

http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/europe/interactive/map33.html

Map of the Roman Empire This map is clickable by province. By clicking within the borders of a certain province on the map, or by clicking on the name of the province below the map, you can link to the resources on the Web that are related to that province of the Roman Empire. New Laboratory for Teaching and Learning, The Dalton School

http://www.dalton.org/groups/Rome/./RMap.html

Map of the Roman Empire 120 A.D. clickable by province This map is clickable by province. By clicking within the borders of a certain province on the map, or by clicking on the name of the province below the map, you can link to the resources on the Web that are related to that province of the Roman Empire. [Rome] [Maps]

http://intranet.dalton.org/groups/rome/RMap.html

Map of Trade Routes First Century. New Laboratory for Teaching and Learning, The Dalton School

http://www.dalton.org/groups/Rome/./RMap2.html

Map of Trade Routes and Empires Map of Trade Routes and great empires of the 1st Century AD.

http://www.dalton.org/groups/rome/RMap2.html

Maps and Codices of the Roman Empire A few maps of parts of Rome and the provinces. With a timeline of the Roman Empire.

http://rodp.ridne.net/node-37935.html

Maps and Codices of the Roman Empire: From the library of Trimalchio. [Rome] [Maps]

http://rodp.ridne.net/node-37935.html

Maps of the Roman Empire Clickable Maps from Roman-Empire.net [Rome] [Maps]

http://www.roman-empire.net/maps/map-empire.html

Maps of the Roman Republic [Rome] [Maps]

http://www.american.edu/dgolash/slide4.htm

Maps of the Roman World in the First Century C.E. [Century One Foundation Bookstore]

http://www.centuryone.com/rmnwrd.html

Maps of the Roman World in the First Century. CenturyOne Bookstore

http://www.centuryone.com/rmnwrd.html

OSSHE Historical & Cultural Atlas Resource European Collection. Developed cooperatively between the University of Oregon Department of History, UO New Media Center and Department of Geography InfoGraphics Lab.

http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/europe/maps.html

Osshe Historical & Cultural Atlas Resource “This project was designed to provide a corpus of material for use by faculty in many fields and on many campuses within the OSSHE system to enhance the learning experience for students. Developed cooperatively between the University of Oregon Department of History, UO New Media Center and Department of Geography InfoGraphics Lab. All of the atlas resources contained in this site are original materials produced for this project.” [Rome] [Maps]

http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/

Periodical Historical Atlas Historical maps of Europe from 001 AD to 900 AD. Courtesy of the De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors . [Rome] [Maps]

http://www.roman-emperors.org/Index.htm

Reconstruction of the Crate’s Globe (Crates of Mallos)(180-150 B.C.)B.C.) Courtesy of Cartographic Images. [Rome] [Maps]

http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/AncientWebPages/113.html

Reconstruction of the Orbis Terrarum according to Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (20 A.D.) Courtesy of Cartographic Images. [Rome] [Maps]

http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/AncientWebPages/118.html

Reconstruction of the World map according to Pomponius Mela (ca. 40 A.D.). Courtesy of Cartographic Images. [Rome] [Maps]

http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/AncientWebPages/116.html

Reconstruction of world map according to Dicaearchus (300 B.C.) Courtesy of Cartographic Images. [Rome] [Maps]

http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/AncientWebPages/111.html

Reconstruction of World map according to Strabo (18 A.D.) Courtesy of Cartographic Images. [Rome] [Maps]

http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/AncientWebPages/115.html

Roman Empire Expansion Osshe Historical & Cultural Atlas Resource. Shockwave Presentation.

http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/europe/interactive/map26.html

Roman Frontier Map Osshe Historical &Cultural Atlas Resource. Shockwave presentation.

http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/europe/interactive/map30.html

Roman Italy Interactive Map Illustrated History of the Roman Empire.

http://www.roman-empire.net/maps/map-italy.html

Roman Maps and Indian Gems

http://www.thebeadsite.com/UNIMPG-1.html

Roman World: citizen communities outside Italy Osshe Historical &Cultural Atlas Resource. Shockwave Movie.

http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/europe/interactive/map28.html

Roman World: Origin of the Emperors Osshe Historical &Cultural Atlas Resource.

http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/europe/static/map13.html

Roman World: Urbanization and Roads Osshe Historical &Cultural Atlas Resource. Shockwave Movie.

http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/europe/interactive/map27.html

Roman World: Urbanization in the 2nd cent. A.D. Osshe Historical &Cultural Atlas Resource.

http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/europe/static/map12.html

Rome and Romania, 27 BC-1453 AD. Large list and chronology with maps. Kelley L. Ross.

http://www.friesian.com/romania.htm#prince

Some Maps of the Roman Empire The maps on this section of my website are taken from an unidentified late 19c English-language school atlas of the Roman world.

http://www.roman-emperors.org/Index.htm

Spread of Christianity: 2nd-4th cent. A.D. Osshe Historical & Cultural Atlas Resource.

http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/europe/interactive/map31.html

The City of Rome Interactive map: Aqua Alsietina”¦ Aqua Anio Novus”¦ Aqua Anio Vetus”¦ Aqua Antoniana”¦ Aqua Appia”¦ Aqua Claudia”¦ Aqua Julia”¦ Aqua Trajan”¦ Aqua Virgo”¦ Arch of Piety”¦ Baths of Agrippa”¦ Baths of Caracalla”¦ Baths of Constantine”¦ Baths of Diocletian”¦ Baths of Nero”¦ Baths of Titus”¦ Baths of Trajan”¦ Camp of Imperial Horse Guard”¦ Circus Maximus”¦ Colosseum”¦ Curia”¦ Forum of Augustus”¦ Forum of Julius Caesar”¦ Forum of Nerva”¦ Forum Romanum”¦ Forum of Trajan”¦ Forum of Vespasian”¦ Hadrian’s Mausoleum”¦ Horologium”¦ Mausoleum of Augustus”¦ Odeum of Domitian”¦ Palace of Domitian”¦ Pantheon”¦ Pompey’s Theatre”¦ Pons Aelius”¦ Pons Aemilius”¦ Pons Aurelius”¦ Pons Cestius”¦ Pons Fabricius”¦ Pons Neronianus”¦ Pons Probi”¦ Porticus Aemilia”¦ Porticus Militariensis”¦ Praetorian Camp”¦ Saeptia Julia”¦ Servian Wall”¦ Stadium of Domitian”¦ street – Alta Semita”¦ street – Clivus Orbius”¦ street – Clivus Pullius”¦ street – Clivus Salutis”¦ street – Clivus Suburanus”¦ street – Vicus Cyclopis”¦ street – Vicus Drusianus”¦ street – Vicus Iugarius”¦ street – Vicus Longus”¦ street – Vicus Minervii”¦ street – Vicus Piscinae Publicae”¦ street – Vicus Portae Raudusculanae”¦ Temple of Aesculapius”¦ Temple of the divine Claudius”¦ Temple of Elagabalus”¦ Temple of Hadrian”¦ Temple of Juno Moneta”¦ Temple of Jupiter”¦ Temple of Neptune”¦ Temple of Venus and Roma”¦ Theatre of Balbinus”¦ Theatre of Marcellus”¦ Via Appia”¦ Via Ardeatina”¦ Via Asinaria”¦ Via Aurelia”¦ Via Collatina”¦ Via Cornelia”¦ Via Flaminia”¦ Via Labicana”¦ Via Latina”¦ Via Nomentana”¦ Via Ostiense”¦ Via Salaria Nova”¦ Via Tiburtina”¦ Via Tiburtina Vetus”¦ Via Tusculana [Rome] [Maps]

http://www.roman-empire.net/maps/map-rome.html

The Forum of Trajan in Rome (Getty Center) This virtual reality (VR) model re-creates an ancient urban environment based on the best archaeological evidence available today. A real-time visual simulation model of the Forum of Trajan, the largest of the Imperial Fora in the Forum Romanum, was commissioned in 1996-1997 by the J. Paul Getty Trust for ‘Beyond Beauty: Antiquities as Evidence,’ one of the major opening exhibitions at the Getty Center in Los Angeles

http://www.ust.ucla.edu/ustweb/Projects/trajans_forum.htm

The Roman Empire, 12 AD. Map 18, Antiquity Online

http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/map18rm.htm

The Roman Empire, 150 A.D. Antiquity Online.

http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/map19rm.htm

The Roman Empire, 500 A.D. Antiquity Online.

http://fsmitha.com/h1/map21rm.htm

The Roman Empire, A.D. 12 Courtesy of Antiquity Online. [Rome] [Maps]

http://fsmitha.com/maps.html

The Roman Empire, A.D. 150 Courtesy of Antiquity Online. [Rome] [Maps]

http://fsmitha.com/maps.html

The Roman Empire, A.D. 500 Courtesy of Antiquity Online. [Rome] [Maps]

http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/map21rm.htm

The Roman Forum (Plan) Click on the dots to access the monuments. With the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra at Actium in 31 BC, Octavian, Caesar’s adopted son and heir, was left undisputed ruler of Rome. Proclaimed Augustus four years later, he sought to build a capital worthy of the empire over which it ruled, boasting that he had “found Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble.” And, indeed, the Roman Forum essentially is Augustan: the Temples of Saturn, Concord, Castor and Pollux, Divine Julius, the Basilicas of Julia and Aemilia, the Curia and Rostra–all took their final form during his triumvirate and principate.

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/romanforum/romanforum.html

The Roman Map of Britain

http://www.romanmap.com/Default.htm

The Roman Map of Britain 410 A.D. Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd, 1923

http://www.reisenett.no/map_collection/historical/shepherd/Roman_Britain.jpg

The world according to Eratosthenes, ca. 220 B.C. Courtesy of Cartographic Images. [Rome] [Maps]

http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/AncientWebPages/112A.html

Theaters outside of Greek and Rome Osshe Historical &Cultural Atlas Resource.

http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/europe/static/map15.html

Trade in the Roman Empire Osshe Historical & Cultural Atlas Resource. Shockwave Presentation.

http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/europe/interactive/map32.html

WHKMLA Historical Atlas of Europe This is an on-line historical atlas which uses colorful maps to show Europe in different time periods.

http://www.zum.de/whkmla/histatlas/europe/haxeurope.html

World map according to Posidonius (150-130 B.C.). Based on a 1630 reconstruction. Courtesy of Cartographic Images. [Rome] [Maps]
http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/AncientWebPages/114.html

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