It's very easy in this rational (said sarcastically) and scientific era, to dismiss the Divine, the supernatural, religious faith, and of course miracles. The issue of 'probability' however, plays a significant part in all types of calculations, from issues related to waging wars, to scientific theorising.

So what do you call it when statistical probability says that something is impossible, and yet it happens? Well, I supposed when it comes to being struck by lightning, you would call it 'bad luck'.

But what do you call it, when at various points throughout history, a group of people suffer national disasters on the exact same date that their religious deity first pronounced destruction on them, and which coincides with the same date that on two occasions, they had their religious temple destroyed by enemy troops?

Called Tisha B'Av in the Jewish Lunar Calendar, the 9th day of Av is just such a day. Commemorating the destruction of the First and second Temples, (built by Solomon and Zerrubabel respectively) both of which were destroyed on the ninth of Av (by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E.; and the Romans in 70 C.E.), it has strangely enough in the last 2000 years, been the exact same day that many other national disasters have befallen the Jewish People. Some such events include:

• 135 CE/AD The final battle in the Bar Kochba revolt in which Jewish political and religious leadership were killed. For three years, Torah study, Sabbath observance, circumcision, Jewish courts, meeting in synagogues and other ritual practices were disallowed.
• 1290 King Edward I of England signed the edict ordering the expulsion of all Jews.
• 1306 King Philip the Fair of France did likewise.
• 1492 King Ferdinand of Spain's Alhambra Decree went into effect expelling Jews.
• 1914 Germany declared war on Russia, which set off a chain of events leading to the Holocaust.
• 1942 Jewish deportation from the Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka commences.
• 2006 The World seeks Israel's destruction.

This year, 2006, Tisha B'Av falls on August 9th, and at this present time, Israel is once again at War with those who want to conquer it, destroy it, and wipe out its' religion. Despite all the crocodile tears shed over the Holocaust by those who make a living crying such tears, what is happening today in the Middle East is not like that German Nazi instigated Holocaust which at the time was disbelieved or just a political inconvenience to various Governments throughout the world, today's Holocaust has the tacit approval by both omission and commission, of the Media, the Bleeding hearts (humanitarian) activists, and almost every government in the world.

Judging by the various article titles in my own hometown local rag yesterday, Israel is divinely protected from the ravages of war. It must be so, because of the 9 article titles reporting casualties inflicted in Lebanon by Israel, there was not one reporting the converse.

Personally, I couldn't give a damn if you want every Jew in the world dead, what galls me is being subjected to the outright Media and Political deceit and manipulation of reality constantly being passed off as 'humanitarian concern'.

Right now, whenever civilians are killed in Lebanon, all we read and hear is hatred for Israel, but the constant rocket attacks directed by Hezbollah on Israeli civilians, hardly causes a single tear.

Koffi Annan claimed that Israel's attack on a  UN post in Lebanon on July 25 was intentional, despite previous warnings from Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedene that Hizbullah fighters were using the UN as shields from Israeli attack.

Despite reports that some Anti-Israel reports printed in the press are being stage-managed by Hizbullah who have control over foreign press in their territories, and recent admissions that Reuters has published fake photographs of 'Israeli caused' devastation in Beirut, still the world blames Israel for everything, and demands it make a peace deal with the very people who openly and unashamedly declare that there can never be peace with Israel while it still exists.

In an article in Israel National News, Naomi Ragen whose orthodox son is fighting in Lebanon, reports what he has seen and experienced, and sums up both her feelings and the feeling of many people both in and outside of Israel.

In an article entitled: Cry to those Using Babies as Sheilds she writes:

• Terrorists and their supporters have lost the right to complain about civilian casualties, since all they have done this entire war is target civilians. Every single one of the more than 2,500 rockets launched into Israel, is launched into populated towns filled with women and children.
• So don't cry to me about civilian casualties. Cry to those using your babies and wives and mothers; cry to those who store weapons in mosques, ambulances, hospitals, and private homes. Cry to those launching deadly rockets from the backyards of your kindergartens and schools.
• That terrorists have been unsuccessful in killing more of our women and children is due to our army, God and prayers, not to any lack of motivation or intention on their part. If you hide behind your baby to shoot at my baby, you are responsible for getting children killed. You and you alone.

Tisha B'Av is a time of mourning, an appropriate religious rite at this present time. But whether it also spells a time of National punishment for unbelief and lack of faith and trust in an alledged non existent god as it did on the first 9th of Av disaster (Numbers Chapter 13 & 14), remains to be seen.

The only thing of which we can be sure, is that as long as Jews continue to live, the world will hate them and persecute them. Gee that rings a familiar bell!

R.P.BenDedek

Email: rpbendedek@hotmail.com

Israel Social Commentaries:
http://www.kingscalendar.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?action=viewnews&id=246
Articles on the Middle East:
http://www.kingscalendar.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?action=viewnews&id=360

R.P.BenDedek (pseudonym) is the author of 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran',( www.kingscalendar.com ) a publication of Research into an "artificial chronological scheme" running through the Bible, Josephus, the Damascus Documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Seder Olam Rabbah.

A Conversational English Teacher working in China, he also writes photographic stories on China and Social Commentaries for Magic City Morning Star News.