Divine Retribution or G-d's Sense of Humor - Part 2

A few weeks ago, after touring the Shimon HaTzaddik neighborhood and hearing that Jewish families will one day soon, IY"H, live in the former home of the Jew-hating Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin Al-Husseini, I thought a lot about both G-d's fabulous Sense of Humor and His acts of Divine Retribution. You can read more about it here: http://voices-magazine.blogspot.com/2010/03/divine-retribution-of-g-ds-sense-of.html

Knowing that I am always looking for examples of the above, on Thursday, my husband sent me an email from Louis G and Ben L that said, "A British govt agency banned images of the Western Wall in Israeli tourism adverts and doesn't want tourists coming to Israel to see the Western Wall (which it claims is 'Occupied Territory'). Then a volcano erupted in Iceland, Heathrow was closed and no tourists could get in or out of Britain. Is this the Hand of G-d or just the finger??"

Cool...pretty interesting, but I guess I was busy preparing for Shabbat - http://voices-magazine.blogspot.com/2010/04/holiness-of-friday.html , because I didn't dwell too much on it, until my nextdoor neighbor came over and said that he didn't know if his mother would be able to fly home to America, because all flights across Europe were still grounded. Wow!!

Then my machatenesta (son's mother-in-law, is there a word for that in English) Zeena called to tell me that her friend said that Rabbi Lazer Brody said that Great Britain's advertising ministry refuses to allow advertisements showing Har HaBayit (The Temple Mount) or sites in the Old City, because they are "occupied territory." Read Rabbi Brody here: http://lazerbrody.typepad.com/lazer_beams/2010/04/the-long-arm-of-hashems-justice.html#tp

By refusing to allow photos of the Old City and the Temple Mount, Britain is in essence trying to shut down Israeli tourism from Great Britain, because what is the center of Israeli tourism...in fact, what is the center of Israel and the center of the entire world, but the Temple Mount, site of our Holy Temple (may it soon be rebuitl).

So, what did Hashem do??

He shut down tourism to Great Britain because of a volcano in Iceland, 1,809 kilometres (1,124.06 miles) away!!!!

One of Rabbi Brody's comment-ors gave kudos to Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat who was quoted in IsraelNationalNews - http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/137015
"The Kotel is the heart of the Jewish people and the State of Israel and it will forever remain the center of a united Jerusalem,” Mayor Nir Barkat said in a response to a British decision to ban a tourism advertisement that features the Kotel (Western Wall) and Temple Mount..
The British move “shames the people who made it,” Barkat said, “and betrays an ignorance of history. In the future, the Jerusalem Municipality and the State of Israel will continue to publicize Jerusalem's important sites in both eastern and western Jerusalem – with the Kotel at their center.”

What about the Israeli Government's Response??

This is the upsetting part of the story. It is so clear that Hashem intervened here, and while Nir Barkat will be blessed because he stood up for the Holy City of Jerusalem, the government's response was pathetic.

A Ministry of Tourism official is quoted in the British newspaper The Independent as saying, "Israel's stated that the advert provided "basic, accurate information to a prospective UK traveller who wanted to know what to expect in Israel".
"Had the ad omitted a reference to a visit to the city of Jerusalem, it would have been incorrect and potentially misleading."

Is that feeble or what?

Now, do we wonder once again why we're in such a pitiable state?? If the representatives of the government of Israel don't stand up as the Mayor of Jerusalem did and say, "Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Israel. Jerusalem - all of Jerusalem - belongs to the Jewish people. The Temple Mount is the center of Israel and the center of the world," then why should anyone believe we have any right here?

Sigh.

May G-d bless the Jewish people and continue to watch over the Land of Israel. And may He continue to keep His pledge, "Those who bless the Jewish people will be blessed, and those who curse it will be cursed."

As Dina said in the Raise Your Spirits production, "In Search of Courage," "Don't mess with the children of Israel!"