Whats Going On?

Have you reached for an extra blanket this winter? How about an extra sweater or warm pair of socks? If you have then you are not unlike most of the country. Freezing temperatures have beset most of the country. Some states like Florida face disastrous crop loss and financial woes which may plague it for months. States like Georgia and the Carolina's known for mild winters have seen below single digit temperatures that have left people scrambling for warm weather clothes they've never had to own.

Oklahoma's last major snowfall, 2.5 inches came in 1914. This past December 2 feet of snow fell on that state.

And if you think this is bad lets look at Europe. Large parts of Europe have been hit hard by this freeze. Spain and Portugal, usually warm destinations for cold Europeans have been cold and businesses have suffered severe losses. Especially hard hit are the British Isles with temperatures and snow rarely recorded since they started to keep records.

Whats Going On? Why the cold? Why the freeze? Aren't we supposed to be going through global warming?

Well there is another freeze. This one has nothing to do with temperature or thermostats. This freeze is about buildings and dreams. The buildings are those which both the Europeans and Americans have forced the government of Benjamin Neteneyahu to put on Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. This freeze is about the dreams of Jews who want to live in Eretz Yisroel. It is a freeze imposed by a world that cannot accept Jews living on land that Hashem promised to his people.

Whats Going On? Can there really be a connection between Obama and the EU (European Union) freezing construction in Israel and the deep freeze both the Americans and Europeans find themselves in.

Are things that simple? Perhaps you think it is implausible but lets be reminded about something else that happened 4 years ago.

(Gaza Pullout Aug 2005)

In August of 2005, the American government pressures the government of then-prime minister Ariel Sharon to "disengage" from Gaza. Approximately 8,000 Jews were forcefully removed from their homes. Homes that they had built with the support of the Israeli government. These people are still homeless, many still living in trailers without a permanent place to live. Who can forget the heart wrenching scenes of Jews climbing upon the roofs of their homes holding signs asking others to take notice and help them? Now fast forward a few weeks later. Homeless desperate people on roofs holding signs begging for help. But these were not Jews, they were the citizens of the once proud city of New Orleans and they too were begging for help as the ravages of hurricane Katrina devastated their city. Any connection? Once more another American government pressuring Jews to leave land promised by Hashem. Again a force of nature, a hurricane this time was coming back to haunt those who pressures Israel.

Whats Going On? Is there a connection? Unfortunately the Jews of Gaza are still without permanent homes. many live in trailers. What about the poor citizenry of New Orleans? Many of them are still homeless living in trailers also forgotten by their government. And what about Ariel Sharon, the architect of the disengagement. Does he have a home? He does in a hospital room. He lies in an irreversible coma. It will be 4 years soon for him. He hovers between life and death. Not yet gone but surely not really alive. He is also homeless, he has no final resting place. Whats Going On? Is it a mere coincidence? Or are there ever any coincidences? Midah K'Negged Midah. Only Hashem knows. He who promised us the land.

(Bush Sr. Vacation home in Kennebunkport, Maine damaged summer 1991)

And in case you are not yet convinced let me leave you with this final tidbit. In the summer of 1991 , When George Bush senior was attending the Madrid Conference. The Madrid Conference was to start a peace process dialogue hosted in Spain. When President Bush Sr. was returning home to his summer retreat in Kennebunkport, Maine. While en route home after successfully persuading the Israelis ( pressure is more like it ) he returned to find his summer compound in shambles. A day earlier a retrograde storm, a storm of the century, now referred to as the "Perfect Storm" had destroyed much of his vacation home. Midah K'Negged Midah. Some people wont learn. What is promised to us by Hashem will always belong to us.

Breindi Markowitz - Breindi@emunahmag.com