This essay is written as a letter to "Eva," a European girl approximately my age, on the meaning and consequences of supporting the Islamist-jihadist civilization.
Thank you for putting together such a well constructed and thorough amalgamation of facts. If only young people would read it. But they won’t because it’s more cool to hate and go along with the other ignoramuses so that they feel more secure. Truth should be taught to them in their educational forums - but as we have seen- that is not likely to happen soon since the teachers (from kindergarten and upwards in the US. Europe and other countries) have distinctly anti Israel curriculum which they are AT PRESENT forcing into young impressionable minds.
Very well done! Unfortunately these blind lemmings or supporting a culture that will eventually push them over the cliff. Israel is fighting for the preservation of western values!
Dear Ms. Berko. It is obvious that you are a passionate writer. Unfortunately, you write as if "Eva" actually gives a rip about your opinion. I am more direct. "Dear Eva. You are a complicit idiot who believes that death to the Jews is somehow justified. Here is a news flash. I will not try to change your beliefs, but know this. "Never again" means just that. This time around, if the Jews go, the whole world goes." May you be happy with your choices.
Sadly, Eva and her ilk aren’t likely to take the time to read this informative and fact-based article since it contradicts their sheer ignorance of these matters.
In the remote chance that they do, here are some quotes from the Islamic holy texts (Qur’an, Sunnah, and Hadith) that back up what you are saying:
Regarding the punishment for homosexuality:
The Hadith contains more specific references to homosexual acts and their punishment. For example:
Abu Dawood (4462):
“The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: If you find anyone doing as Lot’s people did [i.e. committing sodomy] kill the one who does it and the one to whom it is done.”
Tirmidhi (1456):
“Whoever you find committing the act of the people of Lot [i.e. committing sodomy], kill both the perpetrator and the receiver.
In Islam, the punishment for fornication (zina)—defined as consensual sexual intercourse outside of a lawful marriage—is explicitly mentioned in the Quran and further elaborated upon in the Hadith and Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh). Here’s an overview of the scriptural references:
1. In the Quran
The Quran clearly prescribes a punishment for zina but distinguishes between fornication (sexual intercourse by unmarried individuals) and adultery (sexual relations by a married individual outside of marriage):
Surah An-Nur (24:2):
“The woman and the man guilty of fornication—flog each one of them with a hundred stripes. Do not let compassion for them keep you from carrying out Allah’s law, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a group of believers witness their punishment.”
This verse specifies a punishment of 100 lashes for those found guilty of fornication, provided their guilt is established through clear evidence.
3. In the Hadith
The Hadith elaborates on the punishment for zina, particularly distinguishing between fornication and adultery:
Sahih Bukhari (6827):
“The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Receive [teachings] from me, receive [teachings] from me. Allah has ordained a way for those women. When an unmarried male commits fornication with an unmarried female, they should receive 100 lashes and be banished for a year. And in the case of a married male committing adultery with a married female, they shall receive 100 lashes and be stoned to death.”
Sahih Muslim (1690):
Narrations confirm that adultery (committed by married individuals) is punished by stoning (rajm), while unmarried individuals receive 100 lashes and sometimes additional penalties like exile.
4. In Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh)
Islamic scholars have interpreted these sources to codify punishments for zina as follows:
Unmarried individuals: 100 lashes (as stated in the Quran) and sometimes exile for a year (based on Hadith).
Married individuals: Stoning to death (rajm), which is derived from the Hadith rather than the Quran
And finally, for those who still think that the Hamas, Hezbollah, Iranian and Houthi (in Yemen, which is all the way at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, but still fires Iranian-made rockets and drones into Israel) attacks on Israel is about “land”, know that If one compared them line for line, the Qur’an and Sunnah are more antisemitic than Hitler’s Mein Kampf. (Source: Center for the Study of Political Islam International, CSPII.)
For those who claim (without a shred of proof) that the war in Gaza is a genocide, know that the generally accepted ratio of civilians killed versus enemy forces killed in urban combat such as in Gaza is nine civilians killed for each enemy killed (9:1). Because of the many measures taken by Israel to prevent civilian casualties, they have managed to achieve a miraculous result of just two civilian deaths for each enemy killed (2:1). No other modern military has achieved such a result.
Finally, if there was an actual genocide in Gaza then why has Egypt closed the southern border which it controls and is only allowing Gazans with transit visas to other countries to leave? Why aren’t any of the 22 Arab countries welcoming refugees from Gaza? After all they are the same religion and speak the same language. Other Muslim countries like Pakistan and Indonesia are conspicuous by their unwillingness to welcome Gazan refugees as well, so if there is a genuine genocide (which there’s not!) then the entire Muslim world is complicit in it!
Will share with one of my nieces who seems to have lost their way, despite being highly intelligent and otherwise a good person. Well done Tzlil, though I suspect the Evas of the world will be tone deaf to the logic and truth of your essay.
Thank you. It's a fresh Substack post but most of the few have commented on the quality of your writing but also know full well that virtually no "Eva"s which number in the millions will read this nor anything so long or so 'well reasoned'. Over the recent 10 or so decades or more... the uber intelligent Jewish individuals who are considered "Intellectuals" have directly helped cause or at least added to the general situation. We, the Jewish People even have a MUCH longer history of undermining our own best interests. There are likely 1000s of heroic Jewish people in all fields who are making their own mental and psychological shifts often away from their own Jewish peers, and often differing from their Parents, and even in many cases their Grandparents 'viewpoints'. Instead they are finding something deep at the heart of our Cultural Sources and 'wising up' instead of going 'woke'. Simcha Torah (Oct 7, 2023) the world changed but "The BIG Lesson" has to do largely with a battle zone within ourselves and within our collection of differing viewpoints within our Culture's communities.
I agree Tzlil. My skewed viewpoint according to some is that there is a single element that can possibly unite us other than Divine Intervention more apparent than already is occurring:) With our well known opinionated qualities and our designer-ship of being the originator of all things of Left via our 'intellectuals' and 'machers' there are severely strong differing opinions. A negotiating table, I don't imagine will work in our case. Compromise is not necessarily our strong point. It can be. But it is rare. So I simply (naively) imagine (as in fantasize) that the simplest trick in The Book is if every Jewish individual did a little Torah every day. In particular, specifically began living in the Jewish Time Zone i.e. of the weekly Parasha via daily sequential study. Everyone has access to the best authentic Jewish sources online. Except when one types in a Jewish subject into search.... there are bona fide sources and there are plenty of scoundrels which have mastered I.T. design and text to appear as if they are bona fide. So it all takes an effort. None the less, we need more of 'The Us' to get with the program's simplest point of agreement which is basic operative understanding of how to tune into The Jewish Time Zone in the most simple ways - to start with. Just my imagination/fantasy.
Many articles in "Future of Jewish" are outstanding, but yours is outstanding+. WHY? because it is written in such a simple/articulate way that it describes, step-by-step, to those tragically uninformed & misinformed about the Middle East Conflict & all it's facets what the historical & actual truth is, those Sycophants or Ideologues with BLIND allegiance; Why what they are being popularly fed is incorrect, to tragic consequence. I want to & will share this article with others, & I WILL, in the great hopes that just maybe a few thick skulls can understand what is TRUE. I fully realize that the woke lies have been perpetuated for so long that a great many of the slavish woke followers will not veer from their automated trance. The best possible outcome is that others will put aside "offending" their "on-th-fence-community" & share your extremely constructive article.
Another ‘Everything Bagel’ article throwing every possible pro-Israel argument out there. These don’t convince undecideds because people have different ideological reasons for supporting Israel or not. Using an argument from ‘indigenous rights’ won’t fly with many conservatives (myself included) because we simply don’t believe getting to a piece of land first means anything. The Native American has no right to his old hunting grounds just because they were ‘indigenous’ to them. The right of conquest is as valid today as it was historically.
Speaking of the right of conquest, it’s extremely tiresome when Biblical arguments are put forward for this same indigenous argument when that’s not what the narrative states at all. The Biblical narrative (not based in any actual historical evidence but never mind) portrays the Hebrews as invaders of a land filled with existing people whom they are instructed to exterminate. Sound familiar? No wonder this doesn’t come up as it makes the religious case against Hamas barbarity rather feeble.
Similarly, going for the gay rights/women rights angle has similar problems. A great many conservatives have no interest in preserving these liberal chimeras and a great many leftists see them as bourgeois inventions. How socially progressive were Stalin and Mao?
It would be much better for the pro-Israel side to make sound practical arguments for the importance of the continued existence Israel as it exists today and cut out all the other drek. Or if you’re going to make a religious/indigenous/social liberal argument, make that argument and don’t throw everything in to gain the applause of people who would applaud anything pro-Israel sensible or not.
You mention that the right of conquest is still valid in your reply. That being the case, even if one assumes that the initial creation of Israel was invalid in 1948, the moment Israel successfully beat the seven Arab nations that attacked it, Israel won all the land it had conquered in that war. The same goes for every subsequent war when Israel gained territory (including the Sinai that it won twice but gave back a a peace offering). Israel needs to stop giving up land that it conquers when it is attacked by terrorists or other nations. Given that Hamas is the ruling government in Gaza, the same should apply there too. If Israel expelled the terrorist-supporting Palestinians from Gaza they would finally see what it is to be genuine refugees and there will be one less base to fire missiles into Israel from.
The Torah, in large part, is a historical record of the origins of the Jewish People, and there is plenty of corroborating archaeological evidence of this history. There is no separating Am Yisrael (PeopIe Israel) from Eretz Yisrael (Land of Israel). The foundation and very essence of Judaism binds together Eretz Yisrael, Am Yisrael, the G-d of Israel, and the Tanach. This fundamental connectivity exists regardless of whether every Jew embraces it or not. Nor does it depend on acceptance by the non-Jewish world.
I know many conservatives. I live in a very conservative area. I know not a single one who agrees with you. The conservatives I know have not forgotten the promise we all made of “Never again” and take it to heart. You are the outlier, not the voice for the many, many people who support Israel and the Jewish people wherever they live.
Thank you for publishing my article 🤩🇮🇱
I will share so that Evas of Europe will get to see it. Thank you! A wonderful and profoundly needed read!
Thank you so much!💐
Thank you for putting together such a well constructed and thorough amalgamation of facts. If only young people would read it. But they won’t because it’s more cool to hate and go along with the other ignoramuses so that they feel more secure. Truth should be taught to them in their educational forums - but as we have seen- that is not likely to happen soon since the teachers (from kindergarten and upwards in the US. Europe and other countries) have distinctly anti Israel curriculum which they are AT PRESENT forcing into young impressionable minds.
Thank you Gilda 😄 I’ve written about it here: https://open.substack.com/pub/tzlilberko/p/crowning-worshiping-and-calling-satan?r=2sa9r4&utm_medium=ios
What a pity "Eva" will m never read this! But thank you for putting it together so well.
Very well done! Unfortunately these blind lemmings or supporting a culture that will eventually push them over the cliff. Israel is fighting for the preservation of western values!
Dear Ms. Berko. It is obvious that you are a passionate writer. Unfortunately, you write as if "Eva" actually gives a rip about your opinion. I am more direct. "Dear Eva. You are a complicit idiot who believes that death to the Jews is somehow justified. Here is a news flash. I will not try to change your beliefs, but know this. "Never again" means just that. This time around, if the Jews go, the whole world goes." May you be happy with your choices.
Brilliantly written - thank you! While Eva may never read it…my (ex) friend Carol will. Young people like you give me hope for our future.
Thank you for reading Michal 🤩
Eva, are you waking up from your destructive rush?
Bravo! 👏👏👏
☺️🙏
Wow! Great! Thank you!
Thank you Martin 💐
Brilliant, this article should be required reading at all Western schools.
🫶🙏
Sadly, Eva and her ilk aren’t likely to take the time to read this informative and fact-based article since it contradicts their sheer ignorance of these matters.
In the remote chance that they do, here are some quotes from the Islamic holy texts (Qur’an, Sunnah, and Hadith) that back up what you are saying:
Regarding the punishment for homosexuality:
The Hadith contains more specific references to homosexual acts and their punishment. For example:
Abu Dawood (4462):
“The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: If you find anyone doing as Lot’s people did [i.e. committing sodomy] kill the one who does it and the one to whom it is done.”
Tirmidhi (1456):
“Whoever you find committing the act of the people of Lot [i.e. committing sodomy], kill both the perpetrator and the receiver.
In Islam, the punishment for fornication (zina)—defined as consensual sexual intercourse outside of a lawful marriage—is explicitly mentioned in the Quran and further elaborated upon in the Hadith and Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh). Here’s an overview of the scriptural references:
1. In the Quran
The Quran clearly prescribes a punishment for zina but distinguishes between fornication (sexual intercourse by unmarried individuals) and adultery (sexual relations by a married individual outside of marriage):
Surah An-Nur (24:2):
“The woman and the man guilty of fornication—flog each one of them with a hundred stripes. Do not let compassion for them keep you from carrying out Allah’s law, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a group of believers witness their punishment.”
This verse specifies a punishment of 100 lashes for those found guilty of fornication, provided their guilt is established through clear evidence.
3. In the Hadith
The Hadith elaborates on the punishment for zina, particularly distinguishing between fornication and adultery:
Sahih Bukhari (6827):
“The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Receive [teachings] from me, receive [teachings] from me. Allah has ordained a way for those women. When an unmarried male commits fornication with an unmarried female, they should receive 100 lashes and be banished for a year. And in the case of a married male committing adultery with a married female, they shall receive 100 lashes and be stoned to death.”
Sahih Muslim (1690):
Narrations confirm that adultery (committed by married individuals) is punished by stoning (rajm), while unmarried individuals receive 100 lashes and sometimes additional penalties like exile.
4. In Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh)
Islamic scholars have interpreted these sources to codify punishments for zina as follows:
Unmarried individuals: 100 lashes (as stated in the Quran) and sometimes exile for a year (based on Hadith).
Married individuals: Stoning to death (rajm), which is derived from the Hadith rather than the Quran
And finally, for those who still think that the Hamas, Hezbollah, Iranian and Houthi (in Yemen, which is all the way at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, but still fires Iranian-made rockets and drones into Israel) attacks on Israel is about “land”, know that If one compared them line for line, the Qur’an and Sunnah are more antisemitic than Hitler’s Mein Kampf. (Source: Center for the Study of Political Islam International, CSPII.)
For those who claim (without a shred of proof) that the war in Gaza is a genocide, know that the generally accepted ratio of civilians killed versus enemy forces killed in urban combat such as in Gaza is nine civilians killed for each enemy killed (9:1). Because of the many measures taken by Israel to prevent civilian casualties, they have managed to achieve a miraculous result of just two civilian deaths for each enemy killed (2:1). No other modern military has achieved such a result.
Finally, if there was an actual genocide in Gaza then why has Egypt closed the southern border which it controls and is only allowing Gazans with transit visas to other countries to leave? Why aren’t any of the 22 Arab countries welcoming refugees from Gaza? After all they are the same religion and speak the same language. Other Muslim countries like Pakistan and Indonesia are conspicuous by their unwillingness to welcome Gazan refugees as well, so if there is a genuine genocide (which there’s not!) then the entire Muslim world is complicit in it!
Will share with one of my nieces who seems to have lost their way, despite being highly intelligent and otherwise a good person. Well done Tzlil, though I suspect the Evas of the world will be tone deaf to the logic and truth of your essay.
Please share it with her Steve in the hopes that she will finally wake up to the magnitude of the threat. Thank you 🙏.
Wonderful article !.....Hopefully will reach All Eva s of the world ,before is too late ....
. You write with great clarity and accuracy, thank you so muc ....Am Israel Chai
Toda Raba, thank you Beatrice 🤩 I truly appreciate your support🙏 Am Israel Chai🇮🇱
Thank you. It's a fresh Substack post but most of the few have commented on the quality of your writing but also know full well that virtually no "Eva"s which number in the millions will read this nor anything so long or so 'well reasoned'. Over the recent 10 or so decades or more... the uber intelligent Jewish individuals who are considered "Intellectuals" have directly helped cause or at least added to the general situation. We, the Jewish People even have a MUCH longer history of undermining our own best interests. There are likely 1000s of heroic Jewish people in all fields who are making their own mental and psychological shifts often away from their own Jewish peers, and often differing from their Parents, and even in many cases their Grandparents 'viewpoints'. Instead they are finding something deep at the heart of our Cultural Sources and 'wising up' instead of going 'woke'. Simcha Torah (Oct 7, 2023) the world changed but "The BIG Lesson" has to do largely with a battle zone within ourselves and within our collection of differing viewpoints within our Culture's communities.
Thank you dear Ira for your wisdom! JEWISH UNITY IS NEEDED NOW MORE THAN EVER ✡️.
I agree Tzlil. My skewed viewpoint according to some is that there is a single element that can possibly unite us other than Divine Intervention more apparent than already is occurring:) With our well known opinionated qualities and our designer-ship of being the originator of all things of Left via our 'intellectuals' and 'machers' there are severely strong differing opinions. A negotiating table, I don't imagine will work in our case. Compromise is not necessarily our strong point. It can be. But it is rare. So I simply (naively) imagine (as in fantasize) that the simplest trick in The Book is if every Jewish individual did a little Torah every day. In particular, specifically began living in the Jewish Time Zone i.e. of the weekly Parasha via daily sequential study. Everyone has access to the best authentic Jewish sources online. Except when one types in a Jewish subject into search.... there are bona fide sources and there are plenty of scoundrels which have mastered I.T. design and text to appear as if they are bona fide. So it all takes an effort. None the less, we need more of 'The Us' to get with the program's simplest point of agreement which is basic operative understanding of how to tune into The Jewish Time Zone in the most simple ways - to start with. Just my imagination/fantasy.
WOW, Tzil
Many articles in "Future of Jewish" are outstanding, but yours is outstanding+. WHY? because it is written in such a simple/articulate way that it describes, step-by-step, to those tragically uninformed & misinformed about the Middle East Conflict & all it's facets what the historical & actual truth is, those Sycophants or Ideologues with BLIND allegiance; Why what they are being popularly fed is incorrect, to tragic consequence. I want to & will share this article with others, & I WILL, in the great hopes that just maybe a few thick skulls can understand what is TRUE. I fully realize that the woke lies have been perpetuated for so long that a great many of the slavish woke followers will not veer from their automated trance. The best possible outcome is that others will put aside "offending" their "on-th-fence-community" & share your extremely constructive article.
Another ‘Everything Bagel’ article throwing every possible pro-Israel argument out there. These don’t convince undecideds because people have different ideological reasons for supporting Israel or not. Using an argument from ‘indigenous rights’ won’t fly with many conservatives (myself included) because we simply don’t believe getting to a piece of land first means anything. The Native American has no right to his old hunting grounds just because they were ‘indigenous’ to them. The right of conquest is as valid today as it was historically.
Speaking of the right of conquest, it’s extremely tiresome when Biblical arguments are put forward for this same indigenous argument when that’s not what the narrative states at all. The Biblical narrative (not based in any actual historical evidence but never mind) portrays the Hebrews as invaders of a land filled with existing people whom they are instructed to exterminate. Sound familiar? No wonder this doesn’t come up as it makes the religious case against Hamas barbarity rather feeble.
Similarly, going for the gay rights/women rights angle has similar problems. A great many conservatives have no interest in preserving these liberal chimeras and a great many leftists see them as bourgeois inventions. How socially progressive were Stalin and Mao?
It would be much better for the pro-Israel side to make sound practical arguments for the importance of the continued existence Israel as it exists today and cut out all the other drek. Or if you’re going to make a religious/indigenous/social liberal argument, make that argument and don’t throw everything in to gain the applause of people who would applaud anything pro-Israel sensible or not.
You mention that the right of conquest is still valid in your reply. That being the case, even if one assumes that the initial creation of Israel was invalid in 1948, the moment Israel successfully beat the seven Arab nations that attacked it, Israel won all the land it had conquered in that war. The same goes for every subsequent war when Israel gained territory (including the Sinai that it won twice but gave back a a peace offering). Israel needs to stop giving up land that it conquers when it is attacked by terrorists or other nations. Given that Hamas is the ruling government in Gaza, the same should apply there too. If Israel expelled the terrorist-supporting Palestinians from Gaza they would finally see what it is to be genuine refugees and there will be one less base to fire missiles into Israel from.
I agree completely.
The Torah, in large part, is a historical record of the origins of the Jewish People, and there is plenty of corroborating archaeological evidence of this history. There is no separating Am Yisrael (PeopIe Israel) from Eretz Yisrael (Land of Israel). The foundation and very essence of Judaism binds together Eretz Yisrael, Am Yisrael, the G-d of Israel, and the Tanach. This fundamental connectivity exists regardless of whether every Jew embraces it or not. Nor does it depend on acceptance by the non-Jewish world.
I know many conservatives. I live in a very conservative area. I know not a single one who agrees with you. The conservatives I know have not forgotten the promise we all made of “Never again” and take it to heart. You are the outlier, not the voice for the many, many people who support Israel and the Jewish people wherever they live.
You are entitled to your opinion, but you
Do not speak for me or those I know. I fully support Israel.