Even as Israel continues expanding settlements in the West Bank, it has begun to negotiate compensation for settlers in both Gaza and the West Bank who are willing to relocate to within Israel proper.
What the sidebar and photo has to do with the subject of the article, I’ll leave to Backspin to decide. (This is just too funny, btw.)
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Hi Pakistan (not exactly a beacon of journalistic integrity, but then again, what is these days) reports,
Speaking at a political party gathering in Tel Aviv on Thursday, Sharon said the United States backs Israel in keeping control of main West Bank settlements, drawing secure borders that include parts of the West Bank in Israel and banning Palestinian refugees from returning to their homes in Israel. Hinting at nuclear weapons, Sharon said the United States recognises that “Israel faces an existential threat, and it must be able to defend itself by itself by preserving its deterrent capability.”
I’m so glad the Bush administration has decided, on America’s behalf, to endorse illegal settlement which half of all Israelis don’t even support, and nuclear weapons proliferation which was like, soooo two decades ago. But alas, what can we expect from an administration who’s earliest move was to violate the non-proliferation treaty and fire up the reactors at Los Alamos? Sigh.
Cold war: It does a military economy good!
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The Jewish Journal reports,
The Democratic Party wants to send the right message to the American Jewish community about its priorities in the Middle East, but its platform fails to include several positions Jewish groups recommended.The platform, finalized this weekend in Miami, resolves to uphold the close relationship between the United States and Israel. It also negates a Palestinian refugee “right of return” to Israel and says the armistice line ending Israel’s 1948 War of Independence — known as the Green Line — cannot be the basis for negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, implicitly recognizing some Israeli claims to the West Bank.
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Turns out the ethics of Judaism have yet to manifest themselves in equalizing pay for men and women rabbis. In a recent study of “gender inequities” conducted by the Rabbinical Assembly, statistics show that Conservative women rabbis are making significantly less money than their male counterparts — about $40,000 less per year.
The study by the Rabbinical Assembly, an association of 1,550 Conservative rabbis, found that the mean total compensation of rabbis ordained since 1985 is $119,000 for men and $77,000 for women.Moreover, the study found that female rabbis are paid less than men in comparable jobs — even after controlling for the size of the synagogue and number of hours worked. Among full-time rabbis who lead congregations with fewer than 250 members, for example, women earn an average of $21,000 less than men.
Rabbi Joel Meyers, the Rabbinical Assembly’s executive vice president and highest full-time officer, called the findings disturbing and pledged to lead “aggressive efforts … to ensure a level playing field” for women in the Jewish clergy.
“Other professions have reported similar data, which tells us we’re not unique,” Meyers said. “I hoped we were better.”
Also visit Jewish Women Watching for more information on progressive campaigning to end social inequalities within the American Jewish communities.
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As if 2 Live Jews and 50 Shekel didn’t serve to reinforce enough negative stereotypes about Jews through inane rap parodies, ladies and gentlemen I present to you The Ju Tang Clan. Much like their forebears, The Ju Tang Clan’s gimmick is to rely on a tenuous identification with certain representative symbols of Jewish culture and religion in a pathetically unclever attempt to parody popular rap songs with whiny voices and painfully off-beat deliveries.
Apparently the Clan has some sort of laughable beef with ole’ 50 Shekel as well, as they’ve written and recorded this diss record aimed directly at the “In Da Shul” songster. Check out the brilliant lyrics here.
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The Jerusalem Post reports a new 24 hour airplane fax service, provided by the Israeli Chief Rabbinate for the observant traveler, to answer all your halachic questions.
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The liberal, modern orthodox political commentator Yair Sheleg, wrote an interesting op-ed for Tisha B’Av, in which he criticizes both “right-wing and ‘liberal’ fanatics”. He starts out by pointing out to the great potential danger the extreme religious right-wing constitutes and then goes on to expose what he calls ‘liberal’ fanaticism, a force that endagers the existence of Israel as a Jewish state by supporting the Citizenship Law. Sheleg recognizes that “[i]t is true that the security-related explanation given by official government representatives [against the law] doesn’t [fixed translation typo. -AST] inspire confidence . It is also true that the restriction on the right of an Israeli citizen to marry anyone he/she chooses and to allow his/her partner to become an Israeli citizen is very problematic in terms of the principles of natural equality and justice”. So whats the big deal? Well, demography of course.
Every such belligerent liberal should, therefore, be asked the simple question: Would he be willing to live, with his children, in an Israel with an Arab majority? We can reasonably assume that even those among that group who do not vehemently protest against the possibility that Israel will lose its Jewish character, will certainly be shocked by the possibility that it will lose its Western character… Moreover, the threat to the Jewish majority in the state endangers not only Israel’s Jewish character, but its democratic character as well. Not only because an Arab majority will in all probability bring to Israel accepted norms in the Middle East regarding democracy, but because in any human society, the principle of life takes precedence over the quality of life. Therefore, there is a fear that a large Jewish public, which will not agree to stand idly by in the face of the loss of its hold on the state, is liable to be tempted into an anti-democratic revolution, to prevent the danger.
Sheleg Acknowledges that the Citizenship Law makes a lot of sense “in terms of principles of natural equality and justice”. Thus, the only thing fanatic about supporting it is the fear of an Arab majority. Sheleg focuses his argument on the fact that an Arab majority is a threat to democracy and western values. But there is an obvious contradiction here - how can an Arab majority be a threat to Israel’s democratic and western tradition if such a tradition does not exist according to Sheleg himself - I mean, he is afraid of a Jewish anti-democratic revolution!
Sheleg’s fears are irrational, and are very similar to those of European right-wing extremists such as Jean-Marie Le Pen. The same racist approach was held by many of the Ashkenazi elites against their fellow brother and sister Jews from the Magreb countries. Democratic tradition is only aquired through education and Israel has created a democratic state within the green lines quite successfully in a short period of time; the Palestinian-Arabs in Israel are a living proof for that.
The weakness in Sheleg’s argument is in the fact that he is trying to show the grave danger to democracy in a law that is inherently democratic. By doing so he is joining the camp of the ultra-zionists he himself has criticized; he is willing to compromise human liberties for the sake of a possible threat to a Jewish majority that is supposedly a threat to democracy. He may as well drop this weak ‘democratic’ argument in sake of the ‘Jewish character’ one (”We need garbage collection and other government functions to be Jewish in order to preserve Israel’s Jewish character”). Anyhow all of Sheleg’s arguments (and my responses accordingly) are based on the assumption that the law will actually create an Arab majority, which is simply untrue based the numbers he cites.
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Check out Jewgoo’s interview with Peter Gilmore of the Church of Satan. They cover a lil bit of stuff pertaining to Satanism and Judaism, but frankly don’t get nearly as in depth as I think I could go with it…
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The Guardian reports,
Months after Ariel Sharon announced his dramatic plan to pull Jewish settlers out of Gaza, portraying it as a sacrifice for peace, the government is grabbing more land for West Bank settlements.Israeli peace groups and Palestinian officials say thousands of homes are under construction in the main settlements, in addition to an expansion of Jewish outposts that are illegal under Israeli law. Mr Sharon has promised the US he will dismantle the outposts, which are usually clusters of containers or trailer homes serviced by government-built roads, but has failed to do so.
[...]
Dror Etkes, head of Settlement Watch, said that the expansion of Jewish outposts and continuing house building since Mr Sharon announced his plan in December was evidence that the government was seeking more territory.
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Yeah, that’s right, you can buy a kabbalah red string at TARGET now. Kabbalah must be officially over. (c/o Gawker)
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The defunct Jerusalem label Fact Records may no longer being putting out records you can buy in the store, but their experimental pseudo-label “The Basement” run by singer/songwriter Omri Levy have just released an internet only, 100 percent free compilation of demos and b-sides from Israeli independent songwriters.
Get it here. It’s all lo-fi, in English (except for one song) and thankfully, it’s a far cry from the incredibly dull David Broza, Rami Kleinstein and Shlomo Artzi. If you like what you hear take a look around and take notice of such stellar songwriters such as Juddah the Buddah (Yehuda Ledgley), Amit Erez, Jay Walk Snail and Tamar Eisenman. These people are writing some amazing songs in very small rooms. Check out Fact Record’s sister label, the Tel Aviv based Fast Music. Besides their label, they run a small live music club called The Patiphone.
Rock over Tel Aviv! Rock over London!
If you happen to live in England, make sure you check out Tel Aviv’s most psychedelic mediterranean-infused rock band, Izabo when they play London and Liverpool next month.
Israel, where it’s still hip to be a hipster.
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USA Today reports that Law & Order: Special Victims Unit will receive the American Psychological Association’s Golden Psi Media Award, a prize given for accurate and responsible portrayal of therapists.
“Hate” focused on a man who raped Arabs and burned them alive, and whose attorney then defended him by using brain scans purporting to show that his prejudice was hard-wired into the brain.
The episode challenged a trendy view that genetics and brain function determine behavior, Schultz says.
Scans presented in court show that the word “Arab” sparked increased brain activity in the man accused of killing Arabs. But Huang shows that a rabbi has a similar response to a photo of Holocaust survivors, and the same part of a black minister’s brain is activated by a Ku Klux Klan photo. Yet neither man has killed anyone.
Huang argues that the environment influences behavior. “The point is, you’re not born hating,” says Neal Baer, the show’s head writer and executive producer. It turns out the young man’s rage against Arabs grew from feelings toward his father, who left the family to marry an Arab woman.
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I don’t usually post links from unsolicited mass mailings, but this is just too bizarre to pass up.
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Check out Jewsweek’s “A Jewish critique of Bushism” - part one and part two:
Bush is the dumb Ahasuerus who allows Haman to connive…Bushism denies public discourse, denies that books should be opened and read, and denies even the possibility of transparent, articulate justice.
Both written by Zeek’s Jay Michaelson. Check back to Jewsweek’s for future installments…
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Britney’s wedding plans: (via Drudge)
Britney Spears, whose first marriage in January lasted just 55 hours, is to wed again, in a Kabbalah ceremony.[...]
Miss Spears’s parents are said to be horrified at the prospect and, as devout Baptists, are urging her to plan a ceremony reflecting their faith
I am surprised that the Kabbala Center is going to touch this one, considering the negative PR that this will undoubtedly bring them once the inevitable divorce comes along.
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Previous tenants run into trouble? (Fron the NYTimes:)
The center dispatched Rabbi Daniel Ricardo to Sequin’s new space, shortly after the company moved in early May.Rabbi Ricardo read from the Zohar, a book of Kabbalah wisdom, said a prayer, and then led the Renk sisters and their employees around the showroom and office, burning sage leaves and wafting the smoke into ”every closet and every corner” to chase away any bad feelings.
”He explained to us that the whole purpose of the cleansing was to project new energy into the space as well as cleansing out the old energy,” Kim Renk said. ”He told us to project good energy and be thinking positive thoughts about our business.”
The cleansing took about 40 minutes. Afterward the sisters gave Rabbi Ricardo a ”donation” of $200.
Awsome, just awsome. Sometimes I wonder if they have a potion for bad dreams too.
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A new IDF report reveals:
30% of all inductees refer to the mental health officer at the induction center. 16% are discharged during their first year in the army, 70% of which are due to emotional problems.
In addition, according to the IDF spokesman’s office 23% of all men and 40% of all women who are liable for military service never actually join the army. The study, which was prepared for Derby University, also shows that most army exemptions granted to men are based on emotional or mental disorders following a referral to the mental health officer.
These numbers (which do not include the Palestinian-Israeli minority) are not surprising. While religious-hating groups wave their finger at the ultra-orthodox for avoiding army service, many of the draft dodgers are seculars coming from the middle/upper-middle class population that gave the almost antisemitic Shinui party its boost in the last elections. Gabi Ashkenazi mentioned two weeks ago that only 9% aren’t drafted for religious reasons.
Some might argue that the above statistics hint to the fact that today’s Israeli teenagers do not feel a duty to join the army because they do not believe the army is engaging in a defense war. I am not sure I agree with such a statement. Any teenager who steps out of Israel sees 18-21 year-olds living a normal life in civil clothes; perhaps the statistics simply reflect a longing for normalization, a “burgeoisie” frustration of people who don’t want to be fra’yerim . On the other hand, it is important to mention that many avoid being drafted to the army for economic reasons. The last years were disasterous for the Israeli economy, and many young men and women need to work in order to support their families and themselves. My fellow refuseniks met in jail many people who went AWOL for such reasons.
Whether there is an ideological crisis or not is unclear. In any case, it is obvious that Israel will not be able to sustain a military regime over millions of Palestinians with such a limited manpower. Or so I hope. In this context the refusenik movement is only the tip of an iceberg of a larger phenomenon; the gray refusal.
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