Contact.

More About.

Links.

Paper
Archive:.

100 Names
of Messiah.

Theology.

Jesus in Modern
Jewish Culture.

Israeli Politics.
and Society.

Torah Nuggets.

Responsa.

Miscellaneous.

All articles © 2008,
Dr. Zvi Sadan.

Publisher, author and speaker Dr. Zvi Sadan was born on Kibbutz AmiAd, Israel to Holocaust survivors. Following army, Zvi traveled the world. After marrying and starting a family, Zvi came to the United States and finished a Masters. Holding a doctorate (Jesus of Nazareth in Zionist Thought) from the.Hebrew University of Jerusalem, he is also the author of a commentary on the Gospel of Matthew and the Acts of the Apostles as well as a work titled “100 Names of the Messiah” (soon to be published in English). He authored a Hebrew-Greek dictionary printed in Israel. Zvi is also publisher/editor of the bimonthly Kivun magazine. Recently, Zvi Sadan has founded the new Beit Midrash Chut Hashani—a Different kind of Beit Midrash in Jerusalem. (See More About for details.

This is under construction. The first papers are up (Responsa section is complete and much of Theology). Be sure to check back often! More to come. The Theology and Links Sections were last updated 6-19-08.

The Concrete that Does Not Protect (Commentary | May 15, 2008)
Jimmie Kedoshim from Kibbutz Kfar Aza was killed in his own front yard by a Hammas shell despite the fact that he could have found shelter in a nearby concrete shelter. If he could only have heard the shell coming and run fast enough, his life would have been spared.

The reason why so few Israelis are dying from the thousands of rockets and shells fired at them daily is because they are able to find cover quickly. A special alarm, known as “red color,” warns civilians a few seconds before the Kassam rocket hits, giving them precious time to find shelter. Many families are actually living in their private mamad – a special room in the house made of reinforced concrete. People on the street can find specially-designed hollow concrete blocks stationed at various street corners. Classrooms and kindergartens are now required to have special steel roofs installed above their original roof. Billions of shekels are now being expended in the huge project of building mamadim in every house around the Gaza Strip.

Despite what the news coverage shows, Israelis have already grown accustomed to the fact that the only protection they can find is concrete. The government has successfully convinced its citizens that, until peace comes, the only way to fight our enemies is by building more shelters. This is why, in spite of Olmert’s declaration that Israel will not protect itself to death, this is precisely what the country is doing.

Minister of Defense Ehud Barak’s reaction to Jimmie Kedoshim’s death indicates that what has been in the past will continue to be in the future. In response to the fierce response to his death demanded from him by angry and frustrated kibbutzniks, Barak stated: “In such days we need to act with wit, discretion, responsibility, and according to the well-known rule: every deed begins with a thought.” Israelis know what this statement means: “Nothing will change.”

Barak knows that concrete buys him time. Concrete protects him from the need to act decisively. He knows that America and Europe don’t like pictures of dead Palestinians, and he knows that nobody cares about a dead Israeli here and there. Tragically, therefore, the same concrete that was supposed to protect is now being used as an excuse for impotency. So long as collateral damage and loss of life is limited, Israel will continue to take cover under the endless amount of concrete it continues to pour upon itself.