The Teacher, Vladimir Putin - the Student, and the Tel Aviv Apartment

 

While the world's stage is often dominated by geopolitics, there is a deeply personal story that bridges the gap between the Soviet Union of old and the Israel of today. 

It is the story of Mina Yuditskaya Berliner, a Jewish woman who taught German to a young Vladimir Putin in Leningrad, and how that bond survived decades of silence and a move across the world.

The Leningrad Classroom In the late 1960s, at High School No. 281, Mina was more than just a teacher; she was a mentor to a young man who was reportedly quite reserved. She remembered him as a student who excelled in her German classes—a skill that would later define much of his early career in the KGB.

The Aliyah In 1973, Mina left the Soviet Union and made Aliyah, joining the "People of Israel" in their indigenous home. For decades, she lived a quiet, humble life in a small, rent-controlled flat in Tel Aviv, likely never imagining that her former student would one day become one of the most powerful men on Earth.

The King David Hotel Meeting (2005) When Putin arrived in Jerusalem for an official state visit in 2005, Mina reached out to the Russian Consulate. She didn't want a favor; she simply wanted to see her student.To her surprise, she was invited to the King David Hotel for tea with the President of Russia.

"I walked in and told him: 'Now you really look like yourself.' He looked at me and said: 'See, I haven't changed much,'" she later recalled."

The reunion was filled with nostalgia. She later told the press that they sat and talked about their old school days as if no time had passed at all.

The Gift on Pinsker Street Following that meeting, Putin demonstrated a level of loyalty that is rarely seen in international politics. After discovering his former teacher was living in cramped conditions, he instructed the Russian government to purchase a comfortable apartment for her on Pinsker Street in Tel Aviv. He also sent her a signed copy of his autobiography and a clock.

The Final Honor Mina passed away in December 2017 at the age of 96. In a final act of respect, the Russian Embassy funded her funeral in Petah Tikva, and Putin himself reportedly sent a wreath to be laid at her grave.

A Teacher’s Legacy As a retired teacher myself, I find this story particularly resonant. It reminds us that:

• The relationship between a teacher and a student transcends borders, political shifts, and even the "civil" frameworks of states.
• Even those who rise to lead empires cannot forget the Jewish educators who shaped their formative years.

Mina’s journey from a Leningrad classroom to a Tel Aviv apartment is the story of our people—the quiet, persistent return to Zion.

For those of us observing the Hebrew calendar and the approaching Tu BiShvat, Mina’s life is a reminder of a different kind of "planting"—the seeds of knowledge and language planted in a classroom that bore fruit decades later in the Land of Israel.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) Tu BiShvat and the Jewish New Year for Trees

As always when the two old guys had began to argue I woke up made coffee and opened my computer and came to the Facebook prompt; "What is on my mind? 

So as a historian and retired teacher of English literature what was "On my mind" from the argument in this old guys head, was memory of a recent post by a "Lover of Balestine" in their abysmal attempt to belittle the "People of Israel" regarding the lack by Jews / Zionists in our non observance of the New Year as proof that Jesus was indeed a Balestinian.

As indigeneity is defined by whose calendar matches the land’s seasons, the Symbolism of Tu BiShvat to the "People of Israel" means that we ARE the true indigenous inhabitants of the land of "Eretz Yirael" and Zion. 

The "secular" calendar doesn't know when the rains of Israel start or when the almond blossoms; the Hebrew calendar does. This is the ultimate proof of who is truly "native."

For those of us in Israel today we note that we are entering the Hebrew month of Tevet, the contrast is particularly sharp. 

While the secular world is focused on the "New Year" and mid-winter, the Hebrew calendar is moving toward Tu BiShvat (the Jewish New Year for Trees) which is the exact time those early returnees / Halutzim would have been preparing for tree-planting ceremonies, reaffirming that the land was no longer "forsaken" but "remembered."

Our celebration of our Hebrew / Jewish calender highlights the difference between a calendar based on a human-made starting point and one based on the natural and spiritual cycles of the Land of Israel.

So for the record while the Christian and secular world is focused on the "New Year" and mid-winter, we the indigenous inhabitants of "Eretz Yisrael" the "Land of Israel" -aka "Eretz HaKadosh" the Holyland-  recognise the Hebrew calendar which is moving toward Tu BiShvat (the Jewish New Year for Trees) in just a few weeks. 

As such when the first Jews returned to Israel one of the first thing these Jewish returnees did was to plant trees.

To reinforce my story I refer you to one of the most stark and famous descriptions of the Land of Israel in modern literature, the description given by Samuel Longhorn Clemmens of the country side of the Holyland.

While reading this blog entry note how we the "Native inhabitants" go from Twain’s "ghosts of trees" to the millions of trees planted by the pioneers, which is one of the most significant environmental "translations" in history.

I of course am referring you to some of the most famous and stark descriptions of the Land of Israel in modern literature, given by Samuel Longhorn Clemmens of the "bleak and barren" country side of the Holyland that he and his compatriots encountered.

When Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) visited in 1867, he recorded his observations in newspaper articles which he later made into a book entitled simply, The Innocents Abroad. In his work, his prose painted a picture of absolute desolation that serves as a powerful "before" to the Zionist "after."

Twain’s description is often cited by historians as the proverbial "Sackcloth and Ashes" story because he had no political agenda; he was simply a cynical, sharp-eyed traveler. 

Clemens (Mark Twain) famously wrote:

"Of all the lands there are for dismal scenery, I think Palestine must be the prince. The hills are barren, they are dull of color... The valleys are unsightly deserts fringed with a feeble vegetation that has an expression about it of being sorrowful and despondent."

Most specifically regarding the absence of trees, he described the land as "blistering" and "naked". In Chapter 46 of The Innocents Abroad, page numbers vary depending on the edition (for example, in the original 1869 American Publishing Company edition, this begins around page 485), the chapter is the most reliable way to locate it. 

In this passage he describes the journey from the Sea of Galilee toward Mount Tabor and the surrounding plains:

"We traversed some miles of desolate country whose very rocks intended for blistering nakedness; we passed the traditional spot where the five thousand were miraculously fed... There was not a single foot of shade, and the sun beat down with a power that was almost insupportable."

Twain's specific choice of "blistering nakedness"is fascinating in that he isn't just describing a lack of plants; he is personifying the land as something exposed and suffering.

Later in the same chapter, he reinforces this "unshaded" theme:

"The desertion of the country was complete... we never saw a human being on the whole route. We moved blindly on, through the blistering heat."

There is, "A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action... there was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country."

Here Twain uses "fast" in the archaic/literary sense of "firm" or "loyal" (like a "fast friend" or "color-fast"). He is marveling that even plants known for being indestructible and loyal to the poorest dirt have "given up" on this land.

It is worth noting that while Twain saw the "pallid" cactus as a "friend of a worthless soil," the Halutzim saw the "Sabra" as symbol of the "People of Israel" proving once again that the land was only waiting for those who knew how to speak its language.

In Chapter 52 of "The Innocents Abroad" on their journey from Samaria toward Jerusalem, note his rhythmic use of "mournful" and "desolation"as he builds a prose of despair that makes the absence of life feel almost intentional.

"The narrow canyon in which Nablous, or Shechem, is situated, is green and fertile—happily we call it so, for it is one of the very few spots in a dismal territory that is entitled to the epithet—but beyond it we came again upon the side-hills of Zion, with their sear and barren terraces.

It is a hopeless, dreary, heartbroken land. Small shreds and patches of it must be very fertile, but there is no help for it—it is only a rocky desert after all. The olive and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country, and the trees were few and far between and had no majestic size about them. They were only the ghosts of trees—pallid and discouraged."

Clemens (Mark Twain) describes the Sea of Galilee as a place of terrible "solitude" and Jerusalem as "mournful," reinforcing the idea that the "Prince" of dismal scenery was a land stripped of its former glory. For it' s indigenous inhabitants the "People of Israel" have been exiled. 

Clemens (Mark Twain) concluded by stating that the land sat in "sackcloth and ashes," which is famously cited in the final chapter of Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad (1869)—specifically Chapter 61. By using "sackcloth and ashes" (traditionally symbols of Jewish mourning and repentance found in the books of Esther, Job, and Daniel). Clemens (Mark Twain) is reinforcing to his readers a true view that the appearence of the Holyland without the "People of Israel" that the land itself appeared to be under a spell as though in a state of grieving or mourning in a divine punishment that had withered its fields.

When the first wave of early pioneers (Halutzim), the Biluim- "Bilu" is a Hebrew acronym for the biblical verse Beit Ya'akov Lekhu Venelkha ("House of Jacob, let us go [up]" those first returnees to Zion, who arrived shortly after Twain's visit. They didn't just see the desolation he described; they saw a mandate for reversing the desolation in restoration since the planting trees was not just an agricultural necessity—it was a foundational act of reclaiming the land.

Yet another of one of the most famous early efforts by these early returnees was the planting of Eucalyptus trees (often called "the Jewish tree" by locals at the time) specifically to drain the malaria-ridden swamps in places like Hadera and the Hula Valley.

In 1908, the Jewish National Fund (JNF) or Keren Kayemeth LeYisrael (KKL), is a Zionist organization founded in 1901 to buy land and develop infrastructure for Jewish settlement in historic Palestine, playing a crucial role in land acquisition and reforestation for the future state of Israel. The JNF / KKL  planted its first forest at Ben Shemen. 

This began a movement that transformed the "verdureless" hills Twain saw into the green landscape of modern Israel.

It is a profound irony of history that a man as famous for his wit and skepticism as Mark Twain provided the very "baseline" of despair that makes the subsequent greening of the land look like a literal fulfillment of prophecy.

The New Tower of Babel: A Tale of Two Middle Easts

The ancient story of the Tower of Babel is often read as a divine punishment—a sudden fracturing of humanity into a "confusion of tongues." 

In reality, Babel is a timeless warning about the collapse of shared understanding.

Today, the Middle East stands as a vivid reflection of this narrative, split between those building "new towers" of progress and those trapped in the rubble of ideological hatred.

The Blueprint of 1919: A Lost Translation

In 1919, Prince Faisal wrote a remarkable letter to Felix Frankfurter, outlining a vision where the "educated among us" could transcend tribalism:

"We Arabs, especially the educated among us, look with the deepest sympathy on the Zionist movement... we regard them as moderate and proper... we will wish the Jews a most hearty welcome home."

Faisal was the architect of a "reformed and revived Near East." As I noted in a previous entry from 2014, this was a moment where the "educated" on both sides attempted to prevent the rivalry and hatred that has since consumed the region. Faisal warned that "less informed" parties—the anti-Semitic nationalists and extremists—would misrepresent these aims to the "peasantry." This was the first "Tower" of the modern era, toppled not by God, but by the "confusion" of radicalized ignorance and the Machiavellian maneuvers of colonial powers.

The Divine Pedagogy: From Tanakh to the Stars

In the Tanakh, the message of HaShem (YHWH) to humanity was never meant to be a static set of rituals, but a "Divine Pedagogy". This is the method by which HaShem progressively teaches and reveals the path of righteousness to a primitive mankind, adapting His communication to human understanding as it evolves through history.

Instead of culminating in a single individual, this pedagogy culminates in Tikkun Olam—the repair of the world through the collective pursuit of knowledge and moral clarity. It is the quest to create the utopian future for mankind that was later echoed by Gene Roddenberry in his vision of the 23rd century.

The Tanakh provides us with the moral scaffolding that allows a society to transition from barbarism to civilization. The overwhelming tragedy, however, lies in the corruption of "His words" by religious dogmatists. 

These corruptions have stalled the pedagogy, turning a process of education into a tool for tribal control. To reach the "Federation" future, we must oust these corrupted beliefs and return to the original Divine intent: the education of an enlightened, unified humanity.

The "Rose-Colored Glasses" of the West

A major obstacle to this future is the perspective of the liberal Western world, particularly in the USA. Many in the West view the globe through "rose-colored glasses," projecting their own stability and liberal values onto cultures that do not share them.

Living in a protected "Federation-like" "Kumbaya" bubble,(which is shorthand for a specific kind of forced, naive harmony), those outside of the "Middle East" have no inkling of the "Heart of Darkness" that still beats in much of the world. 

They assume that everyone, if given the chance, wants the same democratic freedoms. They fail to recognize that in many regions, the "language" being spoken is not one of civil rights, but of raw, primitive conquest. 

This naivety allows the "less informed" to exploit Western sympathy while they sharpen their swords. The "Kumbaya" bubble is a psychological defense mechanism used by those who cannot fathom the existence of the truth of the barbarity that still beats in the  "Heart of Darkness."

I wish all my readrs to comprehend that I am not just being cynical here; I am describing a documented psychological state that exists in "Western denial."

The Abrahamic Accords: HaShem’s Vision Reclaimed

The Abrahamic Accords are not just a political treaty; it is HaShem’s intended vision for ALL mankind. 

In a modern-day reversal of the division at the Tower of Babel, the Accords provide a "common tongue" of progress and mutual recognition. The Accords envision a Middle East built on technology, joint security, and mutual prosperity. It is a regional "Federation" where Israel and its Arab neighbors build upward together, reversing the scattering of Shinar.

Opposing the Abrahamic Accords set of agreements is the "Heart of Darkness" like those radical Islamic extremists in Iran and Yemen—who remain trapped in the rubble of ideological hatred. They do not want to build; they want to ensure that if they cannot reach the heavens, no one can.

Facing the "Klingons" Realistically

In this blog entry of mine of the realization to the truth, I was reminded of Gene Roddenberry's vision of the 23rd century of a "humanoid warrior" species developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 called "Klingons".

Both the Klingons and Hamas, Hezbollah, the IRGC, and the Houthis of radical Islam speak a "tongue" that the Western "Kumbaya" bubble cannot translate. It is a language where power is the only currency and conquest is the highest virtue.

In the Star Trek universe, the Klingon Empire initially viewed the Federation’s talk of "peace" and "diplomacy" as a sign of weakness. Similarly, Hezbollah and the IRGC view Western diplomacy not as a bridge to peace, but as a tactical opening to be exploited. This strategy is deeply rooted in the seventh-century Truce of al-Hudaybiyya (Sulh al-Hudaybiyya). While the West sees a signed document as a resolution, the "Heart of Darkness" sees it as a Hudna—a period to "sharpen their swords" and wait for the moment of betrayal.

My comparison here is a warning. In the Federation's history, the Klingons were eventually brought into a state of peace because they followed a Code of Honor. Even at their most barbaric, there were rules, a hierarchy, and a sense of "civilized" warfare.

Unlike the fictional Klingons, groups like Hamas and the Houthis have corrupted the "Divine Pedagogy" into a cult of death. They do not seek a seat at the table of a "United Federation of Planets"; they seek to burn the table and everyone sitting at it. They represent a "Klingon" impulse that has lost its honor and replaced it with the Heart of Darkness—the targetting of the innocent as a primary religious duty.

In Star Trek, the peace treaty (The Khitomer Accords) only happened because the Federation stood its ground with unwavering strength. * The Federation didn't "Kumbaya" the Klingons into submission. They showed the Klingons that the Federation’s "common tongue" was backed by a phaser bank that could match their own.

The Abrahamic Accords can only succeed if they are backed by the strength of a "Federation" that understands the "Klingon" mindset. You cannot negotiate with the IRGC or the Houthis using the grammar of a liberal arts college; you must use the grammar of strength that they respect.

For us in Israel, specifically all of those screaming and protesting demanding a commision of inquiry. It is not "just" the abject failure of "King Bibi" and our Israeli failed form of government, but that of the non-Mizrachi mindset in our "intelligence branches". This failure was essentially like the failure of a Federation officer who has never left Earth. ("Their are always two sides to a coin!")

The Israeli leftist liberal camp looked at the  "Palestinians" (Klingons) and assumed and mistranslated "that" they were just "Arabs with grievances"  thinking that the conflict was one of "socio-economic dispute over land" who could be incentivized with the "Peace Now " acceptance of a "Two State" policy.

They failed to see that the Palestinian's on the whole are a radicalized "warrior cult" that is devoted to a religious war of annihilation! 

They have consistently misread the reality of the radical Islamic Moslem Brotherhood version of the "Heart of Darkness" and that lost translation led directly to the tragedy of the 7th of October.

Conclusion: Eradicating Ignorance through Tikkun Olam

The lesson of the Tower of Babel is that hatred and division must be faced realistically. We cannot build a stable region on the sand of "lost translations" or Western naivety.

The "Tower" of a stable world can only be rebuilt when the "educated among us" stand united against the forces of ignorance. True security requires an intelligence that is culturally grounded—not one that views the Middle East through the filters of the West. 

To reach the "reformed Near East" of 1919, the divine vision of the Abrahamic Accords, and the "United Worlds" of the future, we must accept a hard truth: peace is only possible when we oust the ideologies of the sword and stop pretending the "Heart of Darkness" can be cured by mere rhetoric.

This is the true work of Tikkun Olam—repairing the fracture of Babel by facing reality with strength and logic. Ultimately, the "Chance of a Peace Lost" was not just a historical footnote, but a warning that remains unheeded by the current Westernized intelligence establishment.

The Liberty Incident: Why the "Betrayal" Narrative is a Soviet Ghost Story

The Liberty incident is often compared to the "Lavon Affair" or other "False Flag" theories it’s worth noting that the Liberty is the only maritime incident of its kind that has been investigated ten times by the U.S. and found to be accidental, yet it remains the "favorite" topic for those looking to foster distrust.

The Liberty Incident / Affair is one of the most complex chapters of the 1967 war. 

On 8 June 1967, the USS Liberty, a United States Navy technical research ship (a spy ship), was mistakenly attacked by Israeli Air Force jet fighter aircraft and Israeli Navy motor torpedo boats.

The combined air and sea attack killed 34 crew members (naval officers, seamen, two marines, and one civilian NSA employee), wounded 171 crew members, and severely damaged the ship.

Vasili Mitrokhin, the senior KGB archivist who defected to the UK in 1992, was one of the most consequential Russian defectors in history. He was turned away several times by the US before he was eventually accepted by Britain and exfiltrated with his family from Russia by MI6 operatives using a tourist minibus as a disguise..

According to revelations in a 1999 book Mitrokhin, provided a wealth of information that confirmed the Soviet Union's expertise in "Active Measures" (disinformation and subversion) during the Cold War.

Mitrokhin, an introvert who was sent to work in the KGB archives after a failed career as a spy, was motivated by a sense of disgust at the KGB and its role in the Soviet system and made it a condition of his defection that the documents he had copied of top-secret documents on some of the most sensitive Soviet spies and operations should be made public.

Mitrokhin retired from the KGB in 1984, but it was only after the Soviet collapse, in 1992, that he decided to offer up his secret archive to western intelligence services. He travelled, disguised as a dishevelled villager so as not to attract attention from border guards, with a sample of his documents hidden below lengths of sausage in a scruffy bag. 

His disguise was so good that when he arrived as a “walk-in” at the newly opened US embassies in Riga and Vilnius, he was not taken seriously. On one occasion, a cable about him was sent back to CIA headquarters, but was not acted on.

Instead, he tried the British embassy, and a young diplomat in Vilnius offered him a cup of tea and suggested he return later, when MI6 officers could be sent out to assess his credibility. 

When that happened, MI6 realised that the strange walk-in was sitting on a potential goldmine. In a strange twist, the Treasury refused to pay the substantial costs for his exfiltration and resettlement, and so MI6 asked the Americans, who ended up footing the bill for the defector they had originally turned down, in exchange for full access to his material.

Mitrokhin’s archive of copied documents, which were exfiltrated separately, formed the basis for hundreds of counterintelligence investigations across the world during the 1990s. 

His defection was made public in 1999, when a book about his findings was published jointly with the historian Christopher Andrew. Mitrokhin lived under a new identity in Britain, and died in 2004.

In his book Mitrokhin confirmed that the entire Six-Day War was sparked by a deliberate Soviet lie. 

In May 1967, the KGB and Soviet leadership fed false intelligence to Egypt and Syria, claiming Israel was massing 10 to 12 brigades on the Syrian border for an imminent invasion. This was a "masterstroke" of disinformation intended to force Arab mobilization and pull the U.S. into a diplomatic crisis.

They successfully tricked Egypt into the war with false intelligence of troop reports, so it is entirely within their 'Active Measures' playbook to have fed conflicting data to both sides to spark a confrontation between the U.S. and Israel.

Vasili Mitrokhin mentions the USS Liberty, in his book; "The Sword and the Shield" and subsequent research into his archives highlights a broader Soviet strategy of instigation and deception during the 1967 Six-Day War. 

While Mitrokhin's published notes do not contain a single "smoking gun" file stating, "We tricked Israel into hitting the Liberty," they describe a massive KGB apparatus dedicated to creating friction between the U.S. and its allies. 

This  KGB apparatus dedicated to creating friction was called Service "A" which was part of the KGB (Committee for State Security) that was the unit responsible for "Active Measures" (Dezinformatsiya), a key part of Soviet foreign policy focused on influencing foreign governments, media, and public opinion through propaganda, disinformation, political subversion, and supporting foreign movements, all while operating under the First Chief Directorate (foreign intelligence). 

They conducted covert operations, like discrediting Ukrainian nationalists or spreading false narratives to justify invasions, aiming to weaken adversaries and promote Soviet interests. 

Though we may never see the internal KGB files, regading "Service A" which was tasked with "deepening the contradictions" within the Western alliance. We know for a fact that the USSR was the 'Master of Disinformation' from the archives of Vasili Mitrokhin.

Mitrokhin's archives reveal that the Soviets had extensive radio-intercept and jamming capabilities in the region. There has long been an intelligence theory—consistent with the KGB tactics Mitrokhin described—that the Soviets may have jammed or manipulated the frequencies used for identifying the Liberty, or even used "ghost" radio signals to confirm the false reports that an Egyptian vessel was shelling the coast.

The Liberty Incident / Affair 

As for the incident of the USS Liberty itself, here is the context that often gets lost in the media and in the Fog of War: 

• The incident happened in a combat zone during a lightning-fast war when Israeli pilots mistook the ship’s silhouette for the Egyptian vessel El Quseir. 
• Israel apologized immediately, paid millions in reparations to the families and the U.S. government. 
• and ten official U.S. investigations (including the CIA and NSA) concluded it was a tragic mistake, not a deliberate attack.

Figures like Tucker Carlson and other neo Nazi Aryan Nation racists that have "weaponized" the tragic incident into a "conspiracy theory". 

These "Conspiracy Theories omit that at the time, the fact THAT the USS Liberty- WAS a US Spy ship - positioned dangerously close to a war zone without a destroyer escort. 

The "Conspiracy theory" Carlson  and his ilk do mention, is that the Soviets fed false info. 

Mitrokhin's archives reveal that the Soviets had extensive radio-intercept and jamming capabilities in the region. 

There is a strong intelligence theory that the Soviets used "ghost signals" or frequency manipulation to confirm the false reports that an Egyptian vessel was shelling the coast, drawing Israel into the trap aligns with the "Operational Code" found in Mitrokhin's files.

Under "Service A" the Soviets frequently used "third-party" intelligence services to provoke actions they could then use for propaganda.

Immediately after the attack, Soviet propaganda outlets (such as Radio Moscow) flooded the airwaves with the narrative that the attack was a deliberate "joint U.S.-Israeli conspiracy" to create a pretext for the U.S. to enter the war. 

This "double-blind" disinformation is a classic KGB tactic: cause a tragedy, then provide the "explanation" that divides your enemies.

So resurrecting this 57-year-old tragedy now is rarely about the sailors; it’s about trying to isolate Israel from its strongest allies.

The Mitrokhin Archive confirms and is the best proof we have that when a "wedge" appears between allies, the hand of a third-party instigator is often not far away.

From the archives we learn the pattern of 1967 was one of Soviet instigation and Israeli survival—not a calculated attack on an ally.

While the Israeli pilots who hit the ship suffered from a tragic chain of misidentifications (misjudging the ship's speed and mistaking its silhouette for the Egyptian El Quseir), the "fog of war" was made infinitely thicker by Soviet disinformation operations happening in the background.

The resurrection of this incident by media figures like Carlson often ignores this Soviet context, choosing instead to present a complex wartime tragedy as a simple act of betrayal. 

The Mitrokhin Archive is the best proof we have that when a "wedge" appears between allies, the hand of a third-party instigator is often not far away.

History shows that while empires like Rome or the Soviets try to use 'False Narratives' to divide us, the truth usually rests in the broader pattern. The pattern of 1967 was one of Soviet instigation and Israeli survival—not a calculated attack on an ally."

This lecture provides a deeper look into how the Mitrokhin Archive transformed our understanding of the KGB's role in global conflicts like the 1967 war.

Jesus was a Palestinian

Once again with regard to the countless posts by the minions of "Useless Idiots", those (non Arabs) who have swallowed the brainwashing of the False Narrative, of the decscendants of those Arabs of the Mandated Area and the Nachba ™, who are "flooding" social media with the claim: "that Jesus was a "Palestinian" and a follower of Islam".

I wish to clarify the DOCUMENTED and RECORDED HISTORICAL Truth - 

Herodotus, the Greek Hisrorian (484 –  425 BCE), clearly states in "The Histories" Book 7. that the "palaistés" who resided in a "district of Syria, called Palaistinê" between Phoenicia and Egypt, were descendant from invaders from the Mediterranean Sea.

"The Palaistés" - according to their own account, dwelt anciently upon the Erythraean Sea, but crossing thence, fixed themselves on the sea coast of Syria, where they still inhabit."

This "Western Mediterranean coastal part" of Syria, and all the region extending from hence to Egypt, was known by the name of "palaistón" which means "land of the wrestlers or "gymnastic performers". 

Because wrestling and gymnastics both took place in the palaestra (training ground), the two groups of athletes were often seen together. 

However, the Greeks were very precise: a wrestler was a palaistēs, while a tumbler or acrobat was more likely called a kybistētēr (κυβιστητήρ).

However, the Greeks were very precise: a wrestler was a palaistēs, while a tumbler or acrobat was more likely called a kybistētēr (κυβιστητήρ).

In this context, the word is strictly tied to "wrestling," but because ancient athletes were often multi-talented, it's easy to see how the broader category of "gymnastic performer" might get blurred in modern memory.

Note the attached Minoan civilization: "Toreador Fresco*" in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, onte island of Crete from the Late Minoan period from Knossos, Crete, depicting young people vaulting over a bull as "gymnastic performers", c. 1450–1400 bce; 

The term "palaistón" in itself was NEVER used to refer to the whole land of Israel therefore it would be generally accurate to say that the southwestern coastal area was called Philistia (the "Way of the Philistines", or "Palestina"), taken from the Hebrew "Pleshtim" or invaders while the central highlands were called the "Land of Canaan". 

Both the Canaanites and the Philistines had disappeared as distinct peoples at least by the time of the Babylonian Captivity of Judea (586 B.C.), and they no longer exist. 

A century later in 4th century BCE Ancient Greece, Aristotle used a similar definition for the region in Meteorology, in which he included the Dead Sea. Later Greek writers such as Polemon and Pausanias also used the term to refer to the same region, which was followed by Roman writers such as Ovid, Tibullus, Pomponius Mela, Pliny the Elder, Dio Chrysostom, Statius, Plutarch as well as Romano-Jewish writers Philo of Alexandria and Josephus.

It was not until the Romans crushed the second Jewish revolt under Bar Kochba against Rome in 135 A.D. that Emperor Hadrian applied the term "Palestina" to the Land of Israel. Hadrian, like many dictators since his time realized the propaganda power of terms and symbols. He replaced the shrines of the Jewish Temple and the Sepulchre of Christ in Jerusalem with temples to pagan deities. He changed the name of Jerusalem to Aelia Capitalina, and changed the name of Judea to "Palestina". 

Hadrian’s selection to use the term "Palestina" was purposeful, not accidental. It seems that Hadrian understood the magic of the name 'Jerusalem', a magic that this name casts on the Jews of the land and the Jews of the Diaspora, and therefore decided to eradicate the rebellious Jewish people by changing the name of the land and the name of the city. 

Hadrian also sought to reverse this memory, building a pagan city on the ruins of Jerusalem and hoping to erase the name sacred to the God of Israel and replace it with the name Aelia Capitolina – Aelia, which is Hadrian's name, Capitolina – in honor of the Roman god Jupiter Capitolinus.

 'Judah' or 'Judaea', were no longer but were now 'Syria Palaestina' to undermine the Jewishness of the land. As Hadrian brings up forgotten things – he mentions the Philistines who have already passed from the world – a reversal of history. In doing so, he ostensibly went against the vision of that ancient king of Israel – David – who repelled the Philistines to the coastal strip and prevented the land from becoming the land of the Philistines, and also conquered Jerusalem and made it the capital of our people and our land for the first time. His son Solomon completed his work and made it a Temple of God. 

The Septuagint- the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament), including the Apocrypha, made for Greek-speaking Jews in Egypt in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC and adopted by the early Christian Churches. 

Since the Christian "New Testament" Bible, was the earliest extant of the Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew. The term Philistines is derived from the Hebrew word "Pleshtim".

The word Palestine is not even Arabic. 

It is a word chosen by the Roman Emperor Hadrian after the Pyrrihic victory over the Shimeon Bar Kosiba uprising in 135 CE. Hadrian choose the name of the arch enimies of Judaea a seagoing Aegean people who invaded the coastal area of Canaan in antiquity – the "Pleshtim" or in Latin Philistines, as a sign that Jewish sovereignty had been eradicated following the Jewish Revolts against Rome.

Furthermore, "Palestine" was and is solely a geographic name that was used by cartographers in their maps of "Terra Sancta" or the Holy land (Eretz HaKadosh). an area known as the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem under the Ottoman Turkish Empire, also known as the Sanjak of Jerusalem.

Therefore, it is not surprising that in modern times the name ‘Palestine’ or ‘Palestinian’ was applied as an adjective to all inhabitants of the area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River – Palestine Jews and Palestine Arabs alike. 

In fact, until the 1960s, most Arabs in Palestine preferred to identify themselves merely as part of the great Arab nation or citizens of “southern Syria.” Countless official British Mandate-vintage documents speak of ‘the Jews’ and ‘the Arabs’ of Palestine – not ‘Jews and Palestinians.’

The name "Palestine" was already the conventional and well-understood geographical term for the region in European consciousness, stemming from Roman times. However it was  Sir Mark Sykes, who played a highly significant role in the initial planning for the post-Ottoman Middle East, that suggested the geographical name "Palestine"  for the newly formalized administrative entity.

In any case, the original “Palestinians” had nothing to do, whatsoever, with any Arabs. 

Separating "intelligence" from "character."

Modern pedagogy is a student-centered approach to education that prioritizes active learning, critical thinking, and collaboration over the passive reception of information. 

It moves away from the "banking model" of education (where a teacher "deposits" facts into a student) and instead treats learning as a dynamic, constructive process.

The etymological root of pedagogy is from the Greek pais (child) and agōgos (leader/guide)

The root of education is based on the "Socratic tradition", is a dialogue between teacher and students, instigated by the continual probing questions of the teacher, in a concerted effort to explore the underlying beliefs that shape the students views and opinions.

The "ideal student" therefore, is not necessarily the student with the highest score, but the one with the "epistemic humility"- the recognition that one's knowledge is inherently limited and fallible and that instead of trying to be right, try to be less wrong. 

This means that we should focus on avoiding idiocy rather than trying to achieve genius, and that we should always be open to learning and growing.

A word that oh so apply applies to those haters of Israel and antisemites on "Social Media" is the Greek term "amathia" which describes the "double ignorance" that makes a person dangerous: they do not know, and they are unaware that they do not know.

Amathia (ἀμάθεια) is a Greek philosophical term, often translated as "intelligent stupidity" or "disknowledge".  Amathia describes a cognitive character flaw rather than a lack of data.

"Amathia"(is a failure in morality) is difficult to translate into English because English often separates "intelligence" from "character."  In Greek, they are intertwined as it is not a "learning disability"; it is a "living disability."

Therefore, to be "stupid" in the Socratic sense is a moral failing as much as a cognitive one. As such amathia describes a state where someone has knowledge but misapplies it, is unwilling to learn, or holds false beliefs despite being intelligent. 

Amathia is a moral failure for three specific reasons:

• The Sin of Pride (Hubris): The "intelligent" person suffering from amathia believes their mind is the measure of all things. They place their ego above the truth. To Socrates, refusing to admit "I do not know" is a lie told to oneself and the world.
• The Rejection of the "Other": True dialogue (the Socratic tradition) requires listening. Amathia is a form of intellectual narcissism where the individual only hears their own ideology echoed back. This is why it is so prevalent in the antisemitic rhetoric you see on social media—it is a refusal to see the "other" clearly because the "ideology" provides a more convenient, though false, picture.
• The Misuse of a Gift: Having a high intellect but using it to justify falsehoods (Sophistry) is seen as a corruption of one's natural gifts. It is like using a surgeon’s scalpel to commit a crime; the tool is sharp, but the intent is wicked.

It's more than simple ignorance (not knowing); it's a corruption of reason by self pride (ego), ideology, or self-deception -accepting data that fits a predetermined narrative, preventing clear sight and leading to foolish actions,the belief that mastery in one field (e.g., rhetoric) grants innate mastery in ethics or governance. famously seen by Socrates in brilliant but misguided individuals like Alcibiades.

The term Amathia is derived from 

• Agnoia (ἄγνοια) -  Simple ignorance; a blank slate. Easily cured by information.
• Amathia (ἀμάθεια) - "Difficult learning" or "un-learning." A refusal to be corrected.
• Sophist-ry - Often the engine of amathia—using high intellect to justify a falsehood.

Inconclusion:

In the information age of "Social Media", amathia is more prevalent than simple ignorance. We have more "knowledge" (data) than ever, but if that knowledge is weaponized by pride or ideology, it becomes disknowledge.

"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." — often attributed to Stephen Hawking (fitting the Socratic sentiment).

The "Kerensky Revolution" in Russia

How the "Kerensky Revolution" in Russia, shattered the illusion for World Jewry in 1917. 

As a retired teacher of TOEFL, history and  translation, I appreciate the nuance of historical shifts, the contrast between the decree of equality and the reality of the ensuing chaos is particularly striking.

The news of the February Revolution in 1917 (often associated with Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky, who became its most prominent leader) was a watershed moment that initially felt like a messianic liberation for World Jewry, but soon "shattered the illusion" that legal equality alone could secure Jewish safety and identity.

1. The Great Illusion: Emancipation (March 1917)

The February Revolution brought an immediate, breathtaking end to centuries of state-sponsored oppression under the Tsars.

Abolition of the Pale of Settlement: 

Kerensky, as Minister of Justice, signed the decree on March 20, 1917, that abolished all "religious and national restrictions." Overnight, the Pale of Settlement—the region where Jews were forced to live—was gone.

Equality of Rights: 

Jews were granted the right to live anywhere, attend any university without quotas, and enter previously barred professions.

Symbolism: 

The Petrograd Soviet held a historic meeting on March 24, 1917—the eve of Passover. Jewish delegates explicitly compared the February Revolution to the Exodus from Egypt.

2. How the Illusion was Shattered

The "illusion" was the belief that a democratic, liberal Russia (under the Provisional Government) could protect the Jewish people from the deep-seated antisemitism of the masses and the structural collapse of the state.

The Return of the Pogroms: 

Despite the new laws, the collapse of central authority during the "Kerensky months" led to a resurgence of violence. By the summer of 1917, reports of pogroms returned to the Jewish press. Law and order had evaporated, and the legal equality granted in Petrograd did not translate to safety in the provinces.

The Myth of "Judeo-Bolshevism": 

As the Bolsheviks (under Lenin and Trotsky) gained ground, the Right-wing and monarchist forces increasingly used Jews as scapegoats. The high visibility of Jewish revolutionaries (like Leon Trotsky, Sverdlov, and Zinoviev) fueled a deadly narrative that the Revolution itself was a "Jewish plot," leading to catastrophic violence during the Civil War.

Disillusionment with Liberalism: 

Many Jews realized that the "Provisional Government" was exactly that—provisional and weak. The hope that Russia would become a Western-style pluralistic democracy shattered as the country polarized between the "Whites" (who often used antisemitism as a rallying cry) and the "Reds" (who offered protection but demanded the abandonment of Jewish religious and national identity).

The Shift to Zionism and Radicalism

Because the promise of the "Kerensky Revolution" failed to provide physical security, World Jewry's focus shifted dramatically:

Surge in Zionism: The realization that even a "free" Russia could not stop pogroms led to a massive surge in the Zionist movement. If equality in the Diaspora was an illusion, the only answer was a sovereign home.

The "Lesser Evil" Choice: By 1918, Russian Jews were forced to choose between the Bolsheviks—who at least officially outlawed antisemitism—and the White Army, which was perpetrating the largest massacres of Jews prior to the Holocaust.

The February Revolution proved that legal emancipation was not the same as social safety, a lesson that permanently altered the course of 20th-century Jewish history.