You First

Before You Tell Me to “Free Palestine,” I Have a Few Questions

By Nadav Perez

Before you tell me to “Free Palestine,” I have a few questions.

Dear Americans, when are you freeing the United States and returning it to its Indigenous peoples?

Dear Canadians, when are you returning Canada to the First Nations?

Dear Australians, when are you giving Australia back to its Aboriginal peoples?

Dear New Zealanders, when are you returning New Zealand to the Māori?

Dear Spaniards, before lecturing Israel about colonialism, when are you giving up Ceuta and Melilla, your territories on the African continent?

Dear Turks, when are you freeing Northern Cyprus?

Dear Moroccans, when are you freeing Western Sahara?

Dear Russians, when are you leaving the Ukrainian territories you invaded?

Dear Chinese activists, when are we discussing Tibet?

Dear Indonesians, when are you freeing West Papua?

Dear British activists, when are you decolonizing Gibraltar, Bermuda, the Falkland Islands, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Montserrat, and the Turks and Caicos Islands?

Dear French activists, when are you freeing New Caledonia and French Polynesia?

Dear Americans, one more time, what about Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands?

Dear Danes, have the people of Greenland been asked what they want?

Dear Dutch activists, when are we discussing the remaining Dutch territories in the Caribbean?

Dear Chileans, when are you returning Indigenous lands in Patagonia?

Dear Argentinians, same question.

Dear Brazilians, when are the Indigenous nations of the Amazon receiving their ancestral lands back?

Dear Mexicans, when are you returning Mexico to its many Indigenous nations?

Dear Europeans, when are you returning the land, wealth, and cultural treasures your empires took from Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East?

Oh, you are not?

Interesting.

Apparently, decolonization is incredibly simple, as long as the only country being dismantled is Israel.

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Now, let me make something very clear.

I am not suggesting that modern countries should be emptied of their populations.

That would be absurd.

And that is precisely the point.

History is complicated. Borders are complicated. Almost every country on Earth was shaped by migration, war, conquest, empire, and displacement.

Yet only one people is constantly ordered to “go back” somewhere else, even though we returned to the land where our identity, language, faith, history, and civilization were born.

The Jewish people are not foreign tourists in Judea.

We did not name ourselves after this land.

This land was named after us.

Our kingdoms stood here.
Our language was born here.
Our holiest places are here.
Our history is buried beneath every road.

For two thousand years, Jews prayed toward Jerusalem, mourned Jerusalem, dreamed of Jerusalem, and ended their prayers with the words, “Next year in Jerusalem.”

Then we finally returned to Jerusalem, and suddenly the descendants of empires began calling us colonizers.

The irony would be hilarious if it were not so dangerous.

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You may criticize an Israeli government.

You may debate borders, policies, and the future of Palestinians.

But you do not get to erase thousands of years of Jewish history while standing on land shaped by your own country’s conquests.

You do not get to enjoy the outcome of your country’s history while demanding that the Jewish people dismantle theirs.

And you certainly do not get to lecture an Indigenous Middle Eastern people about returning to its ancestral homeland.

So before you shout “Free Palestine” at me, take a quick look at the history beneath your own feet.

Because if your solution to every historical injustice is to dismantle the country that exists there today, then please show us how it is done.

You first.

I’ll wait.

By Nadav Perez

The 12 Pesukim in Iraq

The 12 Pesukim by Staff Seragent T.H. Gas Mask Confidence Training in Iraq

June 21, 2026

Pop-eye was Jewish

The Real Sailor Behind Popeye

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Frank “Rocky” Fiegel (photo), the sailor linked to Popeye’s inspiration.

Most people know Popeye the Sailor Man as a rowdy, pipe-smoking cartoon hero. But one popular historical account links Popeye’s inspiration to a real person with Jewish roots.

Frank “Rocky” Fiegel: From Poland to the Merchant Marines

Frank “Rocky” Fiegel was born in 1868 in Poland. As a child, he immigrated to the United States with his parents, who eventually settled in a small town in Illinois.

As a young man, Rocky went to sea. After about 20 years as a sailor in the Merchant Marines, he retired from the ocean life and later worked as a “Bouncer” at Wiebusch’s Tavern in Chester, Illinois, helping maintain order in the rowdy bar.

The “Pop-Eye” Reputation

Rocky developed a reputation for getting involved in fights—and, as the story goes, usually winning. Over time he became known for a deformed eye, which earned him the nickname “Pop-eye”.

He also “always” smoked his pipe, so the account says he often spoke out of one side of his mouth—one more detail that made his presence memorable.

In his spare time, Rocky entertained customers with dramatic stories about adventures he claimed to have had while crossing the Seven Seas.

How Chester Connected to Popeye

The creator of Popeye, Elzie Crisler Segar, reportedly grew up in Chester. According to the account, Segar met Rocky at the tavern and would sit for hours listening to his sea stories.

Years later, Segar became a cartoonist and created Thimble Theater. The story says he developed Popeye the Sailor Man and asked whether he could model the character after Rocky.

Rocky was reportedly flattered and agreed.

 Was Olive Oyl Inspired by a Real Person?

 The account also claims that Segar said Olive Oyl (along with other characters) was loosely based on real people. In this version, Olive Oyl was linked to Dora Paskel, the owner of a small grocery store in Chester—said to have looked similar to Olive Oyl and to have dressed in a comparable way.

A Long Relationship After the Comics Began According to the story

Segar kept in touch with Rocky over the years and helped him financially, including by sharing a small percentage of what he earned from Popeye illustrations.

Beyond Nature, Within Nature

The Era of Moshiach

“The glory of G-d will be revealed, and all flesh together will see that the mouth of G-d has spoken”
— Yeshayah 40:5

In the time of Moshiach, G-dliness will be clearly revealed in the physical world. The verse says that “all flesh will see”, meaning that this truth will not remain hidden or only understood by the soul. It will be openly experienced in a real and physical way.

This means that people will not only believe in G-dliness, but will actually sense it with complete clarity. Even animals and all created beings will recognize that their life and existence come from G-d.

This revelation will not be something unnatural forced onto the world. Rather, the world itself will become the kind of place where G-dliness is naturally visible. Just as the eye naturally sees what is in front of it, it will naturally perceive the glory of G-d.

This is connected with the number eight. Seven represents the normal order of creation, like the seven days of the week. Eight represents something higher than nature. Yet in the era of Moshiach, even this higher level will become part of the natural reality of the world.

In other words, the world will rise to a state where holiness is no longer hidden. It will be open, clear, and felt by all.

The Rebbe

Purim, Pesach, 720

 

Bnei Yissaschar on Amalek, Purim, and Erev Pesach

A teaching attributed to Rav Tzvi Elimelech Spira of Dinov

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“… in the future, speedily in our days, the war with Amalek and his destruction will take place on the ערב חג הפסח = ערב פסח (eve of Passover). Therefore, its beginning is on יום הפורים = Purim, and its completion is already by ערב פסח.

And likewise, the duration is תש״ך שעות = 720 hours, corresponding to three times ‘Amalek’, in order to nullify the full kelipah (impurity) completely, in מחשבה דיבור ומעשה = thought, speech, and action.”

This passage is cited from the sefer Bnei Yissaschar.

About the Author

Tzvi Elimelech Spira of Dinov (1783–1841), known as the Bnei Yissaschar, was a major Chassidic Rebbe and kabbalist.

Why He Is Called “Bnei Yissaschar”

• His famous sefer is Bnei Yissaschar.
• The name comes from the tribe of Yissaschar, known for deep understanding of time, Torah, and the calendar.
• The sefer focuses heavily on:
• Jewish months and holidays
• The inner (kabbalistic) meaning of time
• Spiritual cycles and redemption themes

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Prepared for study and reflection

The Future Shift

 

In the future era, the Divine Presence will no longer be limited to the Ark alone, but instead revealed throughout  Jerusalem. As the prophets describe, G-d’s voice will emanate from Jerusalem, and the focus will shift away from the Ark as the central point of holiness. Instead, Jerusalem itself will be recognized as the Throne of G-d.

At that time, the verse “Make for Me a sanctuary and I will dwell among them” will reach its fullest realization. The Shechinah will not be confined to a single place, but will dwell openly throughout the entire Land of Israel. As it is written, “His glory will fill the entire land.”

—Megaleh Amukos

The Six Sons

Book of Genesis  (Sefer Breishis)— Chapter 25, Verse 2

The six sons of Avraham with Keturah

It states:

וַתֵּלֶד לוֹ אֶת־זִמְרָן וְאֶת־יָקְשָׁן וְאֶת־מְדָן וְאֶת־מִדְיָן וְאֶת־יִשְׁבָּק וְאֶת־שׁוּחַ

She bore him:

• Zimran(זִמְרָן)
• Yokshan(יָקְשָׁן)
• Medan(מְדָן)
• Midian(מִדְיָן)
• Ishbak(יִשְׁבָּק)
• Shuach(שׁוּחַ)

Genesis 25:6

Avraham gave them  gifts (matanot)  and sent them eastward.

Chassidus explains:

• “Gifts” = spiritual knowledge
• Knowledge of spiritual forces / Sheimos
• Root of certain Eastern wisdom traditions
• Sent eastward meaning:

👉 Outside the covenant of Yitzchak (Isaac)

👉 Outside the direct line of Torah revelation

Why Six — Not Seven?

Seven

Represents completion (Shabbos).

Six

• Movement
• Structure
• Emotional expression
• World before refinement

These sons symbolize divine energy expressed without full integration into holiness.

🔥 Deeper Chabad Angle

Avraham represents infinite Divine kindness — Chesed of Atzilus.

Yitzchak channels that energy inward.

The six sons represent overflow energy — Chesed without Gevurah refinement.

In mystical language: they stem from chitzoniyus (outer expression), not pnimius (inner essence).