Sir, The G-d of Israel Hashem does not love the Voodoo black magic idol worshipers of Haiti. I reserve my own love as there is not enough to go around, like money ...in short supply.

who has made you His spokesman?

"We must be thinking of what we can contribute to the world ,both materially and spiritually ." The world ,silent witnesses during the Shoah ,hates your guts. They never cease to undermine Jewish rights to the land of Israel and always condemn Israel at the UN. Israel is full of beggars and soup Kitchens ,you want to give Tzedakah ? start in Tzfat where there are hundreds of poor beggars .By the way ,every day Israels' leaders get threatened with arrest in UK or Turkey or wherever so screw the nations.

" I WILL CURSE THOSE WHO CURSE YOU " Genesis . No mention of the universal pie-in -the -sky universal hippy love.

Rabbi Ostroff's concern for the people of Haiti is touching and, I have no doubt, quite sincere. Unfortunately, there is very little he can do to save a single person in that stricken country. There is not the slightest evidence in human history that reciting prayers in Israel is likely to alleviate any misery in Haiti. On the other hand, next door to Israel is a land of nearly 1.5 million inhabitants, who are experiencing severe hardship that is not caused by an act of God or nature but by fellow man. Israel is continuing its siege of Gaza, starving these people into misery and malnutrition. If the Rabbi wants to really show his love for fellow human beings, he should lobby his own Government to stop this sadistic experiment in human cruelty. Israelis, with some notable exceptions, seem to be the only people in the world who are blind to this disgraceful crime.

about it doesn't mean that I haven't been praying for the people of Haiti since last week. Me thinks perhaps you are had a good intention and action in Hebrew but that something got lost in the translation to English!

Unlike yourself, God's love isn't in short supply.

With an attitude like yours what a wonderful excuse you provide the world for hating Jews.

So Lawrence, what is it that makes you such a bitter person?

But if I were it is none of your business.As to the world hating jews, since when have jew haters needed an excuse?

Why ,I could even love an uneducated freak like you.

Hated by the nations ,nor do I need their love nor their admiration.I only fear Hashem.

You hide it well, and while most small minded people who hate Jews will do so because they are small minded, we don't need to give them any more reason. As for your bitterness, you can deny it but it shows in your posts. I have not called you names nor do I wish to. You feel it is not my business but then you flaunt your feelings in this forum (as I am doing) and it sort of makes it all our business or we wouldn't be posting here.

...with all due respect and all that, where was this "god" when the earth was shaking and collapsing buildings on tens of thousands of innocent men, women, children...? Those poor, dear people do not need prayers to a nonexisting deity; they need food, medicines and hard cash to start rebuilding their shattered lives.

I would wish everyone would think like you- as yo said only when you respect and love all humanity you are truely spiritual. Is great you wrote this- it was very necessary!!!

The Rabbi has not to learn torah - his wisdom is in his heart- its a wisdom u seemingly do not understand- go learn kabbalah......

I will pray for the poor people of Haiti but we do not have millions and billions to chuck around like confetti .

I do not wish to get into a nasty or insulting slanging match .Firstly ,you attacked me by saying I had little love and then by stating that I am bitter.To be honest , in my opinion Rabbi Ostroff's prayers are a bit of a waste regarding Haiti at least because the many poor people who are dead are already dead and little can be done. I feel very sorry for the people there but I am realistic and humble enough to know that I can do nothing to help .The wretched people of that island have been one of the poorest people in the world for many years and the world should have helped them before this earthquake.It is an act of G-d and I can not be held responsible. My point is, there is so much hatred of Israel / antisemitism in the world that Israel or jews can not seriously take care of the whole world. We are a small nation with very limited resources and will be lucky if we survive here without worrying about all this "save the world 'nonsense that the Rabbi is sprouting.Israels' leaders spend all their time and energies on political survival and avoiding arrest in UK or Turkey,also worrying about Iranian nuclear threat .In addition ,for a country that likes to consider itself developed and western ,Israel has a disappointing and shocking level of poverty ,all the talk of economic success is about a tiny section of the population .People live on their overdrafts and wages are often a sad joke .So forgive me if I am bitter and can not find love for all mankind at the minute,but to you I send my best wishes...SINCERELY.

I would not hold to much credence in Rabbi Kook as he was a religious racist. If I remember correctly one of his more infamous quotes was: “The difference between a Jewish soul and the souls of non-Jews, all of them in all different levels, is greater and deeper than the difference between a human soul and the souls of cattle.” Eg: Jews have “superior god-given souls” unlike non-Jews who have the souls akin to beasts. As for this quote: “Love for human beings must be alive in one’s heart and soul; the love for every person separately and for all nations. This love must be applied to all persons, in spite of different views, religions, and faiths”. If Israelis (religious or otherwise) had a morality such as above they would embrace the 1.5m suffering souls on their doorstep ie: Gaza and stem the humanitarian disaster that the Israel Gov has created. Sadly it would seem that mosbunall of Israelis are like Lawrence in that they alone think that they are the only ones who understand ‘god’. Eg: “The G-d of Israel Hashem does not love the Voodoo black magic idol worshipers of Haiti”. Such religiously racist bigotry only begets ‘mortal prejudice’. Eg: “I reserve my own love as there is not enough to go around, like money ...in short supply”. The simple truth of the matter is that Israel can send a field hospital and staff half way around the world in double time and yet most Israelis/Jews, for decades, actively ignore the plight of the Palestinian people living within spitting distance. Of course when confronted with such a moral paradox most Israelis/Jews adopt the same mentality as Laurence. Eg: ‘They’ are different than ‘Us’/’They’ don’t share ‘Our values’/ ‘They’ have the ‘souls of beasts’/Why should I help them when they cannot help themselves/I can’t help them because they ‘hate’ me/etc/etc. The greatest challenge today for Israelis (of all classes/groups) is to evolve beyond this backward religiously racist mentality and embrace their fellow neighbors/the rest of mankind as fellow kin. Unfortunately this will not happen overnight but with time I would hope that the influxes of ‘Russian/Africa/Lost Tribes’ Jews, and of course the Palestinian-Israelis etc, will change this prevailing Israeli mentality.

Thank you for the beautiful contribution. I have been very impressed by the Israeli's response team in Haiti. One of the images of the devastation that will always stay with me was when the Haitians were applauding the Isralis for saving one of their own. They chanted" Good Job, Good job Israel. We love you Israel" and their faces beamed with gratitude. I also remember reading a contribution from a Jewish man who have decided to set an empty cup during the passover (I think, sorry I am not familiar with your rituals) in memory of a senegalese soldier who died as a hero during the Rwanda genocide. I found it so touching as the soldier was muslim. and he may or may have not known that. These are small gestures that speak volume. One can not claim to be a true believer who loves GOD and not pray for other human beings.

The Rabbi talks about human beings. Gaza is a different zoo altogether. Lions and tigers may kill you if they are not kept in cages. Are we that mad to gamble with our lives and open the gates of the zoo?

what is going on in these TBs? to respond to them is superflous but still We are all creations of God no exceptions! Even if they practice VooDoo they like us are still creations of God no exceptions! It is our responsibility to assist them. To all of those calling for relief for Gaza: When the Gazans namely their Hamastan Government stops bombing Israeli civilians we will lift the closure around Gaza. In the meantime especially to you DAVESAM we the State of Israel send food supplies, gas, and other fundamentals needed for daily life into Gaza every day via the services of COGAT (a unit inside of the Israeli Army). So DAVESAM do me the favor of getting informed o alterrnatively being silent!

and there is a huge difference! The Gazans via Hamas are sieging us by bombing civilian populations of Southern Israel. Please do open a dictionary and learn the terminology before you go blathering on about subjects you clearly know nothing about!

like every good relationship it should go both ways and until now Israel just gave, what arab nation gave to Israel except the massecare of the girls in Naharim Island, you tell me, what? jordan give nothing and wants to take hebrew scrools, cause she became greedy,and Israelis pay more than others to go to that kingdom, so again before you blab think in political tearms not with your fasanation of arab men.

"Gaza [is] suspended in a state of misery that defies easy categorization. It is, of course, crowded and poor, but it is better off than nearly all of Africa as well as parts of Asia. There is no acute malnutrition, and infant mortality rates compare with those in Egypt and Jordan, according to Mahmoud Daher of the World Health Organization" Perhaps the rest of the world, except Israel, has turned blind to the fact that there are people in greater need of help than the Gazans as Mr. Daher indicates.

Excellent article. Would it help if Israel, in all necessary languages, hung banners and signs over all roads and highways, stating "LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF" underscoring to the world, all tourists and the Israeli population the raison raison d'etre of Israel.

you r one, :) wow you have mega identity crisis, I reckon you run from there it's funny and ironic. it seems you r the lost soul.