Good Arabs by Hillel Cohen

Hillell Cohen has written a fascinating follow up to his previous book "Army of Shadows". This book documents how Israel used collaborators with in Palestinian society in order to control the Palestinians living under their rule.Palestinian collaborators would spy on their neighbor's political activity, potential armed resistance and another families acceptance of cross border infiltrator. In return the collaborator might receive monetary rewards eased travel restrictions, the right to carry a weapon, or some benefit towards other family members.Israeli penetration into Palestinian society was deep. Often times Mayors, and other political leaders were supported by the Israeli government in order to make thePalestinians have an attitude that was more favorable to the state. This included setting up Arab parties that toed the Zionist line. Opposition in the form of Palestinian Nationalist parties was forbidden. The communist party was allowed because they were an Arab -Jewish party and supported Israel's right exist. But the communists did not have an easy time of it. Often times their rallies would be banned due to lack of permits. Leaders would get arrested or exiled from their communities.Collaborators also assisted the Israeli government in another way with regards to cross border infiltrators. It was Palestinians who would report them to the Israeli authorities in exchange for some reward. Infiltrator were usually Palestinian refugees just trying to return to their homes. Once the Israeli security apparatus caught them often times they would be deported to Jordan . Infiltrator were also smugglers and terrorists. Smugglers were caught with the help of collaborating Palestinians who often reported them and sometimes it was Palestinians who infiltrated the smuggling ring and lead the smugglers right to Israeli Law enforcement. The same tactic was also used with terrorist infiltrators.With thee use of collaborators the Israeli government was able to control the Palestinian people living in their border. It was not smooth though. Many Palestinian were angered over land expropriations and the loss of income it entailed. Many Palestinians were also angry with thee collaborators and sometimes this lead to verbal and physical altercation.A result of this collaboration forced the Palestinians to censure themselves with regards to Palestinian history and in their view the Nakba of 1948. This censorship often extended in to wedding songs, the Palestinian education infrastructure and conversation in the home .This book is one of the first books to use declassified documents to show the extent the Israeli authorities used collaborator to control their Palestinian inhabitants

A Witch's Guide to Faery Folk by Edain McCoy

Fairies used to play a more central role in magicackal ritual. Over the last several centuries their role has gotten smaller and smaller. Many pagans do not have the specific knowledge of fAERIES AND who they are as did the Pagans of old. Their specific identities and roles have been forgotten. In many of our rituals they are reduced to mere spirits or elemental. Edain McCoy would like to revive the knowledge of Faeries and start using them more in rituals.

Irish Celtic mythology seems to be the richest source of knowledge and folklore when it comes to Faeries. Indeed their are places in Ireland, Scotland and Britain where the people still see the faerie folk and hear them and their music. Feiries who live primarily in Summerland and Faerie land exist in the astral realms which are separated from our world by a few psychic layer. Most faerie sighting are in forest, the sea shore and by the rivers. Around the oceans of Ireland and Scotland sailors still report seeing faerie Island that are there one minute and gone the next.

In magical workings fairies are grouped with one of the four elements which are in turn connected with one of the four cardinal directions. West is with land, North with Water, south with fire and East with air. When a magician works with faeries or the fae they have to be very careful. Not all of the fae like humans in fact there are many who have an ambivalent attitude towards human folk. A good number hate humans. Faeries are often pranksters who enjoy a good laugh so they play lots of tricks. Still faeries can add lots of energy to a ritual and many of them are allied to specific deities which can even be more helpful. Gremlins are noted to have a strong hatred for humans while the Tuatha De Danan are very helpful.

There are several things to keep in mind when working with the fae. One is that when working your rituals it is always wisest to stay inside your circle and keep the fairies outside of your circle. You can place your offering outside the circle for the fae to enjoy and they can add energy to your ritual outside of the circle. When working with the Fae in gratitude for their assistance you are supposed to leave them an offering but do not thank them profusely as they do not like that. When visiting the land of the Fae one should not eat or drink anything they offer but politely decline. Dancing can be a bad idea if you get caught up and become unaware of how much time has elapsed. For visiting the land of the fae in your astral travels you should set up your own Astral temple that is stocked with an altar and magical supplies. Even when doing your rituals their when requesting assistance from the fae stay inside your circle. In working with the fae your astral temple should be right on the edge bordering the land of the fae.

Edain McCoy offers several tip in her book on working with faeries. The most valuable information is on protection against malevolent faeries and how to create your own thought forms. The book does have a glossary of over 230 faeries many of whom do not have any magical value or have a negative value. The helpful ones are in the minority. I have also found some listing that maybe spiritual but to me do not qualify as faeries. Dybuks in Jewish lore are disembodied spirits not faeries neither are Golems for that matter yet they are in their. The book does sport a good bibliography for future reference and further reading. I would give this book 3.5 stars out of five.

Protection against malevolent fairies

1. Iron is their enemy as is smoke and ashes. Sleep with Iron or keep some Iron in your breast pocket to drive away malevolent fairies. Smoke can be used for banishing and ashes can be used for a protective circle.

2. Certain herbs are very helpful. Besom can be kept by a hearth to drive away the fae or keep them out. Mirrors and broken mirrors keep the bad fae away. Put a fully intact mirror at your entrance as faeries don't like to look at their reflections in the mirror. Broken mirror shards in a container at the foot of your house also keeps them away. Making a satchel with Rowan in also effective in keeping them away.

Creating Faeries

1. Rubs your hands together for twenty minutes ass this creates the energy next visualize the faeries form and give it a job. they have to be recharged from time to time,

American Folk Magick by Silver Raven Wolf

Pow Wow magick sometimes called Hex magick was primarily practiced in the state of Pennsylvania. It was a combination of Norse magickal practices, Christianity and Native American magickal practice. The state of Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn, a member of Britain's upper class. His father was a judge. William was a rather free thinker who believed in the rights of women and the right to choose your spiritual practices. He was rather outspoken about these beliefs and his father worried that could cause lots of problems, these were the times that anyone who disagreed with the church could be tried for witchcraft and burned at the stake. Eventually Great Britain gave him a tract of land as one of the colonies. He did so and it was one of the colonies that granted lots of religious freedom.

This was a boon for Europeans who engaged in magickal practices. Many of the colonist who came to settle in Pennsylvania hailed from the black Forest which the Rhine River flowed through. There were two groups of Germans who settled there. THe first group were protestants who tended to be simple austere people. The second group were German Catholics who tended to be wealthier and more colorful.

Pow Wow practitioners tended to be a quiet lot of people who did not want their practices to be associated with Witchcraft or magick. They tended to use herbs and chants for healing people. They also had spells to catch criminals, stop fires and wild dogs. Very rarely did they have practices pertaining to obtaining love or money.

Silver Ravenwolf has written a great book about this dying art of Magick. Herself a Wiccan she does note that there are differences between the two magickal systems. The Pow Wow being relatively inexpensive in terms of gathering material. While Pow Wow has been primarily Christian in it's outward orientation she has reworked some of the chants to a Wiccan perspective which is just as effective. Some may like this and some may not. Then again what magick is totally pure. They all have borrowed from others.

Pennsylvania was home to a variety of practioners. Some people practiced European Ceremonial Magick while others were Mason or British witches. There were also Rosicurians in Penn state as well. They all had to have had an influence on each other, Some Pow Wow practitioners communicated with these Ceremonial magicians via letter writing.

I originally got this book from the library but I was so impressed with it that I went ahead and ordered a used copy from Amazon.com. The book is out of print but if you are a beginner in magick this book is an excellent starting point.

The Druids by Ronald Hutton

The Druids were Celtic Religious leaders who were wiped out by the Romans. Not much is known about them as their teachings were oral rather than written. They left behind no written records of themselves. The only thing modern scholars have to go on is written records left behind by their foes, which were not too complimentary.

In the early 1500's European Nations started to become interested in the Druids. The Germans were the first, although the Druids were not Germanic. They claimed that the Druids were there ancestors and forebears. Next France jumped on the bandwagon. Eventually it would get to Wales, England and Scotland. Although Ireland was were the Celts last settled, Ireland never became to interested in the Druids. Later Britain would come to have an interest in the Druids. Britain today is the country that seems to be most enthusiastic about Druids. Wales through their poetry and mythology seemed to go back and forth with the Druids.

In European Literature the Druids have taken a variety of roles. The first role is that of patriotic leaders. They were the ones who blessed the soldiers before they went to fight and they are also the ones who let out the battle call. The Romans when they took over Anglesy supposedly encountered a group off wild druids consisting of males and females. They put up a wild fight fight before they were subdued. Of course these images of Druids come from the annals of Roman Historians.

Another image of the Druids is that is that of Wisemen. Roman reports, which somewhat contradict each other , also depict the Druids as hanging out in the Forests and groves dispensing wisdom and judgment under an oak tree. They were even
said to have schools out in the forest. In the Mythology there are three types of Druids. Certain ones were Bards or singers, the second type ovates were ones who read oracle. Druids were wisemen or religious leaders. The Druids were also astronomers, mathematicians and philosophers. They were said to have become followers of Pythagoreas.

The third image of Druids is that of environmentalist. They were ones who had knowledge of nature and herbs and were into preserving nature. A final image was that off the Demonic Druid. They are seen as sacrificing young children and women in order to ensure for a good crop. This was started by the Romans and later perpetrated by later British writers. The Roman said that the Druids would load people into a wicker man and set it alight. Ussually this consisted of criminals and prisoners of war. If that was not available then they would use citizens. European literature took it even a step further and portrayed them as forest wanderers who would kidnap children and make them into Druids or sacrifice them.

In the 1700's Fraternal organizations sprang up all over Britain . At first they were set up as organization that had entertainment, insurance policies and funds to help those in need. These groups modeled themselves after the Masons some of them flourish today. Later on the Druids would start incorporating religious rituals into their format. Many of these were learned from the Golden Dawn Magickal Order. These people has celebration at the Stonehenge.

This book dealt with perceptions of the Druids not who they really were as that would be really hard to do with the lack of records left behind. Many people have speculated on who the Druids were. Some thought they were Phoenicians or Hebrews who practices a corrupted for of the Middle Eastern faith. Other thought that they were Japhetites who came to prepare the way for the acceptance of Christ. Later this view would change and people would see the Druids as those who opposed the true faith

Brother Shall Not Lift Sword against Brother

Numerous attempts have been made at resolving the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and all have failed due to the fact that they were based on the erroneous thinking that lead too failure in the first place. A two state solution will lead to a hudna, or a temporary ceasefire. Something new must be tried. That something is re-engagement.

Genetic studies comparing the Y chromosomes of Jews, both Ashkenazi and Sephardic, have yielded a result that both Palestinians and Jews came from the same core population. Another genetic test has shown that Palestinian and Jewish immune systems are so close as to be an almost identical match. A final third study showed that only two groups of people suffered from inherited deafness. A group of Ashkenazi Jews and a group of Palestinians.
What is going on here? Why all the fighting? Contrary to popular belief the Jews were not expelled en masse from Judea after the revolt against the Romans. Many of the am haeretz remained in the hills to till the soil and harvest their crops. These Judeans would later convert to Christianity under the Byzantines and later under Al Hakem who was so young when he came to power that his religious ministers were the ones running the show. Under his ruler ship everyone was supposed to convert to Islam or die. Most of the Jedeans that were left behind chose to convert rather than face death or part from their land. Later on Al Hakem's decree would be rescinded. A portion of the converted Judeans would return to Judaism openly while other chose to remain publicly Muslim. These Marrano type Judeans were called Mustarabim. They never really were that enthusiastic about Islam. In fact it was not until recently that many mosques would bee built. After a while these Mustarabim forgot their identity and thought of themselves as Arabs. Hence the Palestinians.

Many groups of people would wander in to Judea. Descendants of the Roman Army stayed behind mostly as Christians. Even before the advent of Islam Arab tribes came moving into Judea. The Judham who were idol worshipers who now live around Jerusalem are prime examples. Over the years people would come and go leaving behind a remnant.

The Edmomite and the Moabites, who being related to the Israelites, were forcibly converted to Judaism on two occasions. They were devoted to the religion to the religion of Israel perhaps more so than the actual children of Israel. They also fought back against the Romans a lot more devotedly than the children of Israel. These Bretheren of Israel would later migrate to Persia and come back wiith their cultural memories wiped clean. They though they were Sunni. Their real homeland according to the author is in Jordan where Moab was located.

The solution to this endless fighting is to reunite the Palestinians with the Jews their brothers. This is not to be done by converting them to Judaism but rather by teaching them all the cultural components of Judaism. The Bible, history and Hebrew. Of course if they chose to adhere to Christianity and Islam they would be welcome to do so. They must also serve in the Israel defense forces.

This book was excellent in many ways. For the longest time it has been my opinion that the Palestinians and the Jews were one people from the start. Hence a bi-national state. However the author advises one state for one people. Since the Palestinians and the Jews are really two haves of the same nation it makes sense.

The author does break down the Palestinian population into component parts with percentages as to their origins. Part of the Palestinian population are descended from Israelites while another part comes from the Edmomites and Moabites. A small portion comes from the Roman Army. I can accept the origins but where does the author get these facts and figures about the origins?

THe author has enough wisdom to know that solutions take time and that they are also learning processes. He advises a gradual solution and advises learning from mistakes.

The Scout by Steven Plaut

Steven Plautt is 49 years old living in Israel as a professor and a computer person. His world changes when he is diagnosed with Cancer and has to have a kidney removed. While he is is the hospital h he meets the person next to him named Salim Saadiya. Salim Saaadiya is known as the "Scout". Hailing from the Bedouin Tribe of Saadiya from Saudi Arabia, a tribe that was known for looking after Muhammed, Salim was exposed to warfare at an early age. The Saadiya tribe served as scouts for Muhammed's army. They had enclaves in Syria, Israel/Palestine and even inn North Africa.

Salim you could say had a tough life. At age 9 his mother had passed away and his father married another woman. This woman was not to good with the kids and Salim had many confrontations with her. Now Salim's father had a job as a scout or tracker with a German Templar community in the Jordan Valley. He was scout tracker. If someone stole cattle from them he would track the missing cattle. Salim's Uncle helped with the cattle breeding. The father got Salim a job at the colony. Salim's first job was to milk cows. After he stayed there for four years he ended up being a foreman in charge of worker who were older than he was. Many of the workers did not like this. Salim was also sent to errands in Tel Aviv.

The first Arab Jewish war changed things for Salim. His village was taken over by Fauzi Kaukjis forces. Since Salim was working with the Jews he was considered a wanted man. Upon entering his village he captured and imprisoned. They had plans to take him to Syria and execute him. But luckily an ally on the inside helped him escape. Later he was able to return to normal life after the war was over. His first job as a scout involved killing a hyena that was eating the cattle of a Moshav. He killed it. Later on the Israelis would just about force him to work for their police department. His tracking ability became legendary.

The Bedouin have a history of working with the Jews of Israel/Palestine. The Al Heib tribe always had good relations with the Jews of Rosh Pina. They were later inducted inot the Palmach and formed a unit called the PalHeib.They fought valiantly against the Syrians when they fought against the Zionists. Amos Yarkoni, a bedouin helped set up the tracker of Israel.

Around the Middle East the Bedouin are infamous for their tracking ability. They can find a coin buried in a desert three days ago. From a footprint they can tell if you are male, female, injured or well. They can even track on concrete.

Over all good book. One weakness if the author kept getting off track with anecdotes that had nothing to do with the story or Israel's relationship with the Bedouin. Perhaps a more comprehensive book about the bedouin should be written.

Hebrew Myths by Robert Graves

If you want a deeper understanding of the first 61 stories in Genesis then this book is a great place to start. With the help of eminent scholar Raphael Patai Mr. Graves analyzes Hebrew mythology. The first stories about the flood, the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve etc are examined against the backdrop of Sumerian Mythology. All those elements were in Sumeria prior to their inclusion into the Hebrew Bible. The flood in Sumeria was caused by man being too loud it was Enki who communicated to Utanpishtim to build the Ark. Enlil was good with it after wards. Ea also tells Adapa the first man that when visiting the Gods he must not eat any of their food for fear it may be poisoned. It turns out that wanted to give Adapa the food of immortality. Gods creation myth had several parallels in common with Egyptian and Sumerian mythology. In all three mythologies there is a separation of firmaments. Lilith is Sumerian mythology is part of a race of demons that seduces people at night and then drinks their blood. These demons are called Lillin. In midrashic mythology Lilith is one who does not submit too Adam's authority. She ends up cavorting with demon.

Through out the book Hebrew mythology is measured up against many other mythologies. Often times parallels are found and differences explained. Often times it is very evident that cultures borrowed extensively from each other. Some times myths traveled from Canaan to Greece and sometimes it was the other way around. Going back through time it seems that there have been Canaanite Settlements in Greece and there have been Greek settlements in Canaan. Myths travel along with people.

The sojourn in Egypt is analyzed with a backdrop in History. There was a general in Egypt who was sold by his parents for corn. He helped Egypt defeat troops and was in charge of granaries. In fact many people in Canaan have been promoted to high position.

In all Robert Graves does a great job of explaining the Bible in it's cultural context. Of course his material may be dated as much new material has been un earthed thanks to Archaeological excavations.