I live in Efrat and Segev Avihail Z"L HY"D was my son's friend in elementary school. The Avihails used to live across the street from us. Segev was a quiet, kind, intelligent and sincere boy. His parents raised him to be a mentsch. His grandfather is the Rav Avihail who works on bringing Jews back to Israel from the diaspora (China, India, etc.)

Thank you for posting your news and comments. It can become very depressing to see the overwhelming wall of lies put up by the media. Europe is bad, but CNN is not much better. Yesterday the CNN web site's front page photo showed an Arab woman holding a printed sign that said "Stop Israeli War Crimes in Gaza." The sign filled the entire photo, essentially turning the web page into an editorial.

Who is really committing war crimes? The Arabs are intentionally targeting Israeli civilians, while the Israeli army is more cautious than any other army in the world in regards to preventing civilian casualties when it fights its defensive battles.

I know I'm preaching to the converted, but I just had to get this off my chest and your blog page provides a friendly forum.

Shabbat shalom,

Ephraim (Judith Margolis's son)

I cannot comprehend the horror. My heart goes out to the Israeli people and to these families. How long...? I thought Pres Bush would be the one to support Israel as we should, but I've been disappointed in him in that aspect as well as others. My prayers are with you and your readers in this time, Robert.

My heart is just sick over this. I simply cannot comprehend this senseless killing. And of children none-the-less! May G-d avenge their deaths and comfort the mourners.

Robert, as you may recall, I'm a secular Jew. I hope I'm not intruding with my comment, at a time when others are praying for these victims of Jew-hatred.

What would we do if a pack of rabid dogs were found to be living in our neighbourhood? The solution would be automatic. At the very least, infected members of the pack, would be killed. Additionally, if we were prudent, we'd ensure that the remainder of the pack would be removed.

I think the late Rabbi Kahane was right.

For brief moments I think that now would be the time to declare a Pal state. Two minutes after the declaration Israel would declare war and launch an all out massive offensive that would destroy it.

That would allow us to put this nonsense of an independent state behind us and get on with things.

This is insufferable.

Ephraim:

Thanks so much for writing to us. It's good to know that Seraphic Secret provides some measure of comfort to our embattled Jewish friends in Eretz Yisroel.

Karen and I are sick. There is nothing worse than the sight of seeing parents burying their children. It's the world turned upside down.

And what makes it worse is the that the mainstream media provides justification for this slaughter at every opportunity. Isabel Kirshner in the N.Y. Times hammers home the point that Mercaz Harav is the "ideological home for the settler movement." Thus the murdered boys brought it on themselves.

Ms. Kirshner now joins Rumkowski in the long line of Judenrat Jews, Kapos with higher degrees who collaborate with genocidal enemies.

In the end, it makes no difference what policies Israel follows in regard to her enemies. The Arabs spread Big Lies and the world media greedily swallows the libels hook, line and sinker.

Orieyenta:

Thanks so much for your common sense call for vengeance.

Suz:

Your prayers are greatly appreciated. President Bush has done a better job of supporting Israel than Prime Minister Olmert.

Hugh:

Always glad to hear from you. Secular or observant, Jew or Christian, Seraphic Secret's readers are held together by shared values.

Which includes protecting our neighborhoods from rabid dogs.

Jack:

There is a Pali state; it's called Gaza. Can we move on now?

It's such an agony (the deaths, that is, not assigning blame). A blinding, but clear moment.

The funeral photos are devastating.