by Yo! Nina! [➚] · Sunday, February 15th, 2009
The Amazing Race premieres on CBS tonight. This season there appear to be no Jewish contestants, unlike last year’s Andrew & Dan (who wore their curly hair, stars of David, Jewish fraternity, and lack of rhythm with pride), or the much preferred subtle Jewiness of “New Yorkers” Terence and Sarah and surprise-to-me Jew, Marisa of the “Southern Belle” team.
SO, those looking for Jews in awesome Emmy-award winning reality competitions (I know I can’t be the only one!) or simply wanting to see Jews racing around the world… fear not! Israel’s Reshet (Channel 2) TV Network is working on their own version of The Race, called “HaMerotz LaMillion.” This version is on a slightly smaller scale with only 10 teams (rather than 12) and 1 million shekels (rather than dollars) at stake.
According to Haaretz: “Ten couples will compete, including two elderly kibbutznik women, a couple that is due to be married, two childhood friends, two night club owners from Tel Aviv, and two beauty queens.” My favorite team is the sassy Israeli bartender and her American doctor ex-boyfriend whom the site touts as “every Jewish mother’s ultimate dream” (I will pause for you to barf).
This US reality show copycat joins the Israeli versions of The Biggest Loser (Laredet BeGadol), Wife Swap (Ima Mahlifa), Survivor (Hisardut), Beauty and the Geek (HaYafah veHaHnun), Big Brother (HaAkh HaGadol), and American Idol (Kokhav Nolad).
And some originals: HaOlim is a competition of new immigrants in which viewers vote for who is the “ultimate oleh.” The Ambassador (HaShagrir) is an Apprentice-style show, where contestants must work their propaganda muscles to sell Israel around the world.
The one I hope we can get on this side of the pond is Darush: Manhig in which
Twelve experienced social activists compete for a prize of five million shekels (about $1.25 million). The cash prize, however, will not go towards lining anyone’s pockets, but rather towards supporting the social change project of the winning individual; in other words, the show’s reward is the chance for the winner to realize his or her vision for social change.
Hey, if you can’t race around the world, might as well fix it.
by Reb Yudel [➚] · Friday, February 13th, 2009
Shefa Gold is smarter than I am. Where I get caught amongst the Trees, she sees the shape of the Forest. Where I bumble blind through every single relationship in my life – barking my shins on the sharp corners, reading my life in Braille, Shefa sees challenge and hope and an invitation to love.
Luckily, this Valentine’s Day, I have her book for inspiration. In the Fever of Love: An Illumination on the Song of Songs – Shefa Gold enters into a poetic conversation with King Solomon, with her Beloved, with the reader and with God.
Shefa imagines that we can “live our whole lives by the Song of Songs” and comes up with 10 commandments that would have an explosively positive impact on the objects of our passion, and ourselves too, if we were to follow them.
In this book, Shefa makes the point that the Beloved is not just a physical lover. This relationship can be our relationship to anything we are passionate about: music, an idea, a place, a friend, a colleague, a lover, a spouse, a talent, God.
For instance, today, I invited the power of commandment Number Three into a conversation I had between two friends I know who are each going through a bad time. The commandment is: Thou Shalt cultivate generosity in appreciation of the Beauty that is before Thee. In her explanation of this “commandment,” Shefa states: “To praise is a transformative act: It changes the giver and the recipient both.” Just a few moments spent noticing aloud how lovely it was to see how honest and generous these two are with each other took them out of an anxious, frustrated mood and put them in a very good space where they acknowledged how very seen they feel with one another.
Here is a glorious vision that invites us to live with love as our starting point, as opposed to other motivations: fear, loneliness, greed, selfishness. Love is the can opener, and Shefa Gold points us how to open ourselves with it.
With this book, every day is Valentine’s day, as you increase your ability to bring more love into your life.
Read all Ten Commandments of the Song of Songs here
by Justin [➚] · Friday, February 13th, 2009
Yesterday in Ha’aretz Gideon Levy passionately wrote of the path of the traditional Israeli left over the last 9 years and determined that the left, as we know it, has gone to the wayside and everything deemed right and just of Zionism has slipped away. Levy laments the days gone by of a vocal and active society that displayed its will through gatherings and demonstrations in the public arena.
Reading his piece I was especially struck by this passage:
On the fringes of this masked ball existed another left, the marginal left – determined and courageous, but minuscule and not legitimate. The gap between it and the left was supposedly Zionism. Hadash, Gush Shalom and others like them are outside the camp. Why? Because they are “not Zionist.”
And what is Zionism nowadays? An archaic and outdated concept born in a different reality, a vague and delusive concept marking the difference between the permitted and the proscribed. Does Zionism mean settlement in the territories? Occupation? The legitimization of every act of violence and injustice? The left stammered. Any statement critical of Zionism, even the Zionism of the occupation, was considered a taboo that the left did not dare break. The right grabbed a monopoly on Zionism, leaving the left with its self-righteousness.
A Jewish and democratic state? The Zionist left said yes automatically, fudging the difference between the two and not daring to give either priority. Legitimization for every war? The Zionist left stammered again – yes to the beginning and no to the continuation, or something like that. Solving the refugee problem and the right of return? Acknowledgment of the wrongdoing of 1948? Unmentionable. This left has now, rightly, reached the end of its road.
More »
by BZ [➚] · Friday, February 13th, 2009
The soldiers’ votes are in, and the Knesset election results are final! Here are the rankings:
- Kadima 28
- Likud 27
- Yisrael Beytenu 15
- Labor 13
- Shas 11
- United Torah Judaism 5
- United Arab List – Ta’al 4
- National Union 4
- Hadash 4
- Meretz 3
- HaBayit HaYehudi 3
- Balad 3
- Green Movement – Meimad
- Gil
- Aleh Yarok (Green Leaf)
- Greens
- Strong Israel
- Tzabar
- Koach Lehashpia
- Da’am (Organization for Democratic Action)
- Yisrael HaMithadeshet
- Holocaust Survivors & Grown-Up Green Leaf
- Leeder
- Tzomet
- Koach HaKesef
- Men’s Rights
- HaYisraelim
- Or
- Ahrayut
- Brit Olam
- Lev
- Lazuz
- Lechem
You can compare this with the results from last time, and refer to this guide if you can’t remember which party is which.
February Madness was a hard-fought contest. We had a five-way tie for first place! BZ in New York (I made my picks before anyone else entered, so I couldn’t strategically base my predictions on other entries, but even so, I would have recused myself if I had ended up as the final winner), Daniel L in the United States, Dunash in New York, JXG in Jerusalem, and W Bayer in Petah Tikvah all correctly predicted 111 out of 120 Knesset seats (though not the same 111).
We do have two tiebreaker questions to deal with these cases. However, no one got either tiebreaker question right. No one picked the Green Movement – Meimad as coming in first among the parties who didn’t make it into the Knesset (though a number of contestants incorrectly predicted that they would win Knesset seats), and no one picked Lechem as coming in last.
So, to settle the tie, we’ll see who came closest. For the first tiebreaker question, 3 of the finalists picked Gil (which came in second among the parties that didn’t win Knesset seats): BZ, Dunash, and W Bayer. Among those, W Bayer did the best on the second tiebreaker question, choosing Koach HaKesef, which finished closest to the bottom among the finalists’ picks for this question.
So W Bayer is now the reigning February Madness champion! Congratulations!!!
Honorable mention goes to Brian Rosman in Newton MA and David Singer in Los Angeles, both of whom did the best overall on the second tiebreaker question, picking Brit Olam to come in last.
Thanks to everyone who participated! And if you didn’t do as well as you had hoped, or if you missed the deadline to enter, don’t worry — the way things are looking, you won’t have to wait long until the next one! (To start the speculation now, feel free to leave a comment with your guess for the date of the next Knesset election.)
by TheWanderingJew [➚] · Thursday, February 12th, 2009
We want what we secretly least expect of ourselves, or what we think the gods, or genes, have cruelly conspired to deny us: As Jewish boys long to find Jewish super-jocks, it’s a secret hope for Jewish girls to find arrogant, long-legged (that leg part is very important) Jewish drop-dead beauties. And so, having just inaugurated an African American president, what lovely symmetry that we have this asterisk — this grace note, this sidekick — of a milestone.
Wait, what? We secretly want to embrace and become gender stereotypes? We’re comparing Obama’s victory and historic significance to the first Israeli-born cover model on the Sports Illustrated bathing suit issue? You have got to be kidding me!
Every so often a piece of media-touted but exceedingly silly news sends a thrill through one’s soul. It’s what’s unsaid — but clearly indicated — about that piece of news that makes one’s heart go pitter-pat. [...] And so: Yesterday was this kind of day for me. And, like James Brown, I’m saying it loud and proud: We now have our first Jewish Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover girl!
Whoop-dee-doo.
Come on, girls — even those of you with double PhDs; even those of you on boards of major feminist institutions: Even furtively, even in the privacy of our own bathroom mirrors, let’s not let this occasion go by without raising a champagne glass.
I know I should have more insight, something witty to say. But seriously, Sheila Weller? This isn’t a big deal. This isn’t a victory against the quota system or a jab at anti-Semitism. This is yet another woman wearing next-to-nothing so that a magazine can sell more copies. No one looks at her and thinks “Jewish” – it’s irrelevant. Her religion does not prevent her from being just as photoshopped and airbrushed as any other model.
Full article here.
by Aryeh Cohen [➚] · Thursday, February 12th, 2009
These are the last month’s US casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan.
More information here.
Lance Cpl. Daniel R. Bennett, 23, of Clifton, Va., died Jan. 11 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Pvt. Sean P. McCune, 20, of Euless, Texas, died Jan. 11 in Samarra, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
Sgt. Marquis R. Porter, 28, of Brighton, Mass., died Jan. 11 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Pfc. Ricky L. Turner, 20, of Athens, Ala., died Jan. 16 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit. He was assigned to the 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Staff Sgt. Roberto Andrade Jr., 26, of Chicago, Ill., died Jan. 18 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device struck his vehicle. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 66th Armor, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
Spc. Ezra Dawson, 31, of Las Vegas, Nev., died Jan. 17 in Konar Province, Afghanistan when the Chinook helicopter he was in made a hard landing under combat conditions. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
Lance Cpl. Julian T. Brennan, 25, of Brooklyn, N.Y., died Jan. 24 while supporting combat operations in Farah province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Sgt. Kyle J. Harrington, 24, of Swansea, Mass., died Jan. 24 in Basra, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-hostile accident in his unit motor pool. He was assigned to the 542nd Maintenance Company, 80th Ordnance Battalion, 593rd Sustainment Brigade, Fort Lewis, Wash.
Pvt. Grant A. Cotting, 19, of Corona, Calif., died Jan. 24 in Kut, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 515th Sapper Company, 5th Engineer Battalion, 4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
The following Marines died Jan. 27 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan: Sgt. David W. Wallace III, 25, of Sharpsville, Pa., Sgt. Trevor J. Johnson, 23, of Forsyth, Mont.
CW4, Suggs, Milton Eric, 51, of Lockport, La., died Jan. 30 at camp Lemonier, Djibouti. He was assigned to the 38th Operational Support Airlift Detachment, Hammond, Louisiana.
Spc. Darrell L. Fernandez, 25, of Truth or Consequences, N.M., died Jan. 31 in Kirkuk, Iraq, of injuries sustained during a vehicle accident. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
Staff Sgt. Jason E. Burkholder, 27, of Elida, Ohio. Feb. 8 in Kabul, Afghanistan.
1st Lt. Jared W. Southworth, 26, of Oakland, Ill. Feb. 8 in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Spc. Christopher P. Sweet, 28, of Kahului, Hawaii, died Feb. 6 in Kirkush, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 172d Separate Infantry Brigade, Grafenwoehr, Germany.
Spc. James M. Dorsey, 23, of Beardstown, Ill., died Feb. 8 in Kamaliyah, Iraq, in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
Lance Cpl. Kevin T. Preach, 21, of Bridgewater, Mass., died Feb. 7 from wounds he received Jan. 24 while supporting combat operations in Farah province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
by Aryeh Cohen [➚] · Thursday, February 12th, 2009
These are the last month’s Iraqi casualties.
More details here.
02/07/09 TAL AFAR – Gunmen in a speeding car opened fire and killed two civilians in Tal Afar, 420 km (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad, on Friday, police said.
02/06/09 KIRKUK – U.S. and Iraqi security forces killed a civilian and arrested six suspected militants in raids on towns southwest of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
02/05/09 KHANAQIN – A suicide bomber killed 15 people and wounded 15 others at a restaurant in the town of Khanaqin in volatile northeastern Diyala province, 140 km (100 miles) northeast of Baghdad, police said.
02/05/09 Mosul – Gunmen opened fire upon a policeman in al Jammasa neighbourhood, northeastern Mosul at 5 p.m. and killed him strait away.
02/05/09 Mosul – Reporter Salam Arab Doski, was killed by a policeman during a fight, on his doorstep in Wadi Sakhr neighbourhood, western Mosul at 4 p.m. Thursday. Police said it was a personal issue.
02/04/09 Baghdad – Around 3:30 p.m. a sticky bomb targeted the head of the Awakening council in Dawoodi neighborhood, west Baghdad, injuring him and killing his son and injuring three civilians.
02/04/09 BAQUBA – Iraqi police force found a mass grave containing eight decayed, decapitated bodies in a town north of Baquba…a police source said. The area was once controlled by al-Qaeda militants, the source added.
02/02/09 Mosul – Three Iraqis from one family (the father, the mother and their son) were killed and nine were injured when a roadside bomb targeted a vehicle of the US military in downtown Mosul city north of Baghdad around 1 pm.
01/31/09 Baghdad – One civilians was killed and another was injured in a tribal fight after a car accident in Sadr city in east Baghdad on Saturday morning.
01/29/09 Baghdad – A gunman killed Omar Farooq al Ani, a candidate of Tawafoq front in Ameriyah neighborhood in south Baghdad. Al Ani was killed near his house in al Madhayif Street around 7 p.m.
01/29/09 Baquba – Gunmen killed three men after kidnapping them. One of the three men is a candidate of the coming provincial election. Police found the three bodies in Mohammed al Malih village east of Baquba.
01/29/09 Mosul – Gunmen killed Hazim Salim Ahmed, a candidate for the provincial election in al Amil area in south Mosul city on Thursday evening.
01/29/09 Tuz – A police officer was killed and a policeman was injured when gunmen attacked one of the election centers (Aisha High School) in Tuz district on Wednesday evening.
01/28/09 Baghdad – Around 9 p.m. gunmen killed Maiyadah Al Baiati, a member of the Islamic party, in Al Yarmouk neighborhood in Baghdad.
01/28/09 Mosul – A roadside bomb targeted a police vehicle in New Mosul neighborhood in Mosul city killing one policeman and injuring another.
01/28/09 Tuz – Gunmen killed one police officer and injured a policeman in Tuz area in the province.
01/27/09 MOSUL – A car bomb killed three Iraqi soldiers, including an army major, and wounded three people, including two soldiers, when it targeted an army patrol in eastern Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
01/26/09 MOSUL – Police said they discovered an unidentified decapitated body in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad.
01/25/09 MOSUL – A roadside bomb killed a civilian and wounded two other people, including a policeman, when it blew up near a police patrol on Saturday in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
01/24/09 Baghdad – A roadside bomb targeted a police patrol in Dora neighborhood (south Baghdad) around 7:30 p.m. One policeman was killed and two civilians were wounded.
01/24/09 Diyala – Gunmen burned three truck trailers in Sadiya village (northeast of Baquba) on Friday night. One driver was killed while the other two are missing.
01/24/09 FALLUJA – A suicide car bomber killed five policemen and wounded 13 other people, including six police officers, at a checkpoint in Garma, 30 km (20 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Police Lieutenant Mohammed al-Jumaili said.
01/23/09 Baghdad – A roadside bomb targeted a civilian car in al Khadhraa neighbourhood, western Baghdad at 5 p.m. Friday killing the driver and injuring the two passengers.
01/23/09 Baquba (near)- Gunmen attacked a family traveling from al Gatoun area near Baquba towards Baladrouz, 28 miles to the east of Baquba, Friday morning killing nine members of the family including two men, six women and one baby girl and kidnapping two men
01/23/09 Wasit – Gunmen raided a house in Zuhur neighbourhood in the town of Suaira, Thursday killing the family of four living in the house, the mother, father, daughter and baby son.
01/22/09 Samarra – One unidentified body, with the head cut off was found by a police patrol in al Eit neighbourhood, 30 km to the east of the city of Samarra, Wednesday. The body was clad in a traditional dishdasha gown and was partially decomposed.
01/21/09 BAGHDAD – A bomb attached to a vehicle in the convoy of a Baghdad University dean, Ziyad al-Ani, killed four people and wounded 10 others in north Baghdad’s Adhamiya district, police said.
01/21/09 DOUR – A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol killed five policemen and wounded three in Dour, near the city of Tikrit, about 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad, police Captain Anwar Mohammed said.
01/21/09 ZUBAIR – Police found the body of a national border guard in the town of Zubair, near Basra, 420 km (260 miles) southeast of Baghdad, police said.
01/20/09 BAGHDAD – A parked car bomb killed three civilians and wounded another five when it struck a U.S. patrol in Baghdad’s western Mansour district, police said. The U.S. military said two American soldiers were wounded.
01/20/09 MOSUL – Armed men entered a real-estate agent’s office and opened fire in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, killing him and wounding a child nearby, police said.
01/20/09 MOSUL – Armed men in a car opened fire in Mosul, killing a civilian walking in the street, police said.
01/19/09 BAGHDAD – A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol in the Zaafaraniya district of southeast Baghdad killed an off-duty police captain and wounded eight people, including a policeman, police said.
01/19/09 MOSUL – Gunmen stormed a bakery in west Mosul and killed a man inside, police said.
01/18/09 MOSUL – Gunmen in a car killed two guards protecting a communications tower on Saturday in northeastern Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
01/18/09 MOSUL – Gunmen in a car shot dead an off-duty policeman on Saturday in northern Mosul, police said.
01/17/09 BAGHDAD – A bomb attached to a vehicle belonging to a municipal official killed his driver and wounded a bystander in the Yarmouk district of western Baghdad, police said.
01/16/09 ISHAQI – A roadside bomb killed three civilians and wounded another five when it struck their vehicle in Ishaqi, 100 km (60 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
01/16/09 JBELA – Gunmen killed Haythem al-Hasnowi, a candidate in Iraq’s provincial election, when they opened fire on his convoy near the town of Jbela, 65 km (40 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
01/16/09 KIRKUK – Iraqi police found the bodies of three men bearing signs of torture and gunshot wounds in northwestern Kirkuk on Thursday, police said.
01/16/09 MOSUL – Gunmen burst into a house and opened fire in Mosul, 390 km (290 miles) north of Baghdad, killing one woman and wounding two other people, police said.
01/16/09 MOSUL – Iraqi police found the body of a Christian man with gunshot wounds to the head in northern Mosul, on Thursday, police said.
01/16/09 MUSSAYAB – Iraqi police found the body of a policeman in Mussayab, 60 km (40 miles) south of Baghdad, on Thursday, police said.
01/15/09 MOSUL – Gunmen in a speeding car killed a man on Wednesday near his house in the city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
01/14/09 KIRKUK – Gunmen killed an off-duty policeman in eastern Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
01/14/09 MOSUL – A parked car bomb killed a soldier and wounded another three people including a soldier when it exploded on army convoy in western Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
01/13/09 MOSUL – A roadside bomb killed a policeman when it struck his police patrol on Monday in the northern city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
01/12/09 Baghdad – Around 11 a.m. A roadside bomb targeted a truck of the Iraqi army carrying ammunition in Yarmouk neighborhood killing three soldiers and injuring three civilians.
01/12/09 Baghdad – Around 8 a.m. a roadside bomb and a parked car bomb exploded targeting civilians in New Baghdad neighborhood. Three civilians were killed and ten others were injured.
01/12/09 Baghdad – Around 8:15 a.m. a sticky bomb exploded in a civilian car in Sheikh Omar area killing one person and injuring another.
01/12/09 Baghdad – Around 9 a.m. a roadside bomb exploded in Karrada neighborhood near Kahramana square killing one civilian and injuring two civilians and one traffic policeman.
01/12/09 Baghdad – Iraqi police found on dead body in Dora neighborhood in Baghdad.
01/11/09 BAGHDAD – Gunmen stormed a money exchange shop, killing the owner and one of his employees, and wounding three other employees near eastern Baghdad’s Palestine street, police said.
01/11/09 MOSUL – Gunmen killed three policemen when they attacked a police patrol in central Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
01/11/09 MOSUL – Two bodies of men who had been shot dead were found in Mosul on Saturday, police said
01/10/09 BAGHDAD – A roadside bomb killed a civilian and wounded another six when it exploded in the east Baghdad district of Kamaliya, police said.
01/10/09 BAIJI – A roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi army patrol killed five Iraqi soldiers on Friday in the northern town of Baiji, 180 km (112 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
by Shalom Rav [➚] · Thursday, February 12th, 2009
Sitting down? According to a recent Jerusalem Post report, Yossi Fackenheim, grandson of famed theologian Emil Fackenheim (right) has had his conversion revoked by a Jerusalem Rabbinical Court judge. This is the same Emil Fackenheim, it should be pointed out, who survived the Holocaust and who famously urged Jews to transmit their heritage lest they grant Hitler a “posthumous victory.”
Whaaaa?!
Apparently Yossi’s mother was not Jewish at the time of his birth, but she later converted. He himself was converted as well at the age of two by an orthodox rabbinical court in Toronto. Now that he is seeking a get, however, the Jerusalem court is declaring him treyf because he was too young to have made a “conscious decision” to convert and because he “never adhered to an orthodox lifestyle.”
If all this isn’t surreal enough for you, check out this priceless eyewitness report of the court proceedings:
(The) judge began to ask Yossi what he does for a living. Yossi told him that he was a Shakespearean actor. The judge responded that Shakespeare was anti-Semitic. We all thought he was referring to a Merchant of Venice. There was an attempt to convince him that in other plays Shakespeare came off as philo-Semitic.
But we quickly realized that he was not referring to Shakespeare’s work. He said that all goyim are anti-Semites. Then he turned to Yossi and said, “you aren’t Jewish either.” The implication was clear.
Oh what fools these mortal rabbis be…
by Kol Ra'ash Gadol [➚] · Thursday, February 12th, 2009
We have, for many years now, heard of the various excesses of the Israeli rabbinical courts. Orthodoxy in Israel is not loved by the average Israeli, and in fact, is probably one of the greatest causes of people moving away from Judaism.
How are we to show the good parts of Judaism to a community that has to suffer under things like this:
OKay, so in this case, we simply have a more famous person (the son of Fackenheim) having doubts cast on his conversion. This is just one of perhaps hundreds or even thousands of people affected by the Israeli rabbanut’s hysterical – and by the way, not-halachic- refusal to recognize conversions if the person doens’t live according to the mostly cultural, and not necessarily halachic requirements of the hareidi community. Failed Messiah pointed out this article last month and offered his own translation. In fact, halacha states that once a person is converted, they can’t undo the conversion- the hareidi community has for years been innovating all kinds of halachot (while denying that any such thing is going on) whether rules of marriage or conversion or dress or which side of the street or seat on the bus one may use – and all sorts of other actually social control details, which have nothing to do with God’s demands of us.
Why, oh why haven’t we done anything about this chilul hashem? Politically, it’s pretty clear that the original reason for giving in to ridiculous hareidi demands is not going to happen – the hareidim aren’t going to disappear on their own and be relegated to a foot note of history. To the contrary the more power we give them, the stronger they get. The modern reasons for giving them power are less straightforward. Israeli’s complicated political structure means that many politicians hold their nose and give them what they want to that they can achieve other political ends – this is not an excellent strategy either, as in the long term it undermines civil society and fragments Israel, not to mention the chilul hashem that drives Jews away from Judaism – and for good measure feeds the bile of anti-Semites.
It is interesting to see that someone is actually thinking about maybe possibly doing something. The Rabbinical Assembly, currently having its yearly convention in Jerusalem, will today consider a call to dissolve Israel’s Chief Rabbinate.
According to JTA The Rabbinical Assembly has noted that “the Chief Rabbinate has had an ‘unfortunate impact on Israeli society,” which often associates it with “corruption, favoritism and cronyism.’ and that the rabbinate ‘misrepresents the nature of Judaism to the world at large’.”
O RLY?
Why even the moderate Orthodox haven’t yet joined for calling for this is a mystery, after all, the Hareidim don’t like them either – or for that matter pretty much anyone but a few select members of themselves.After all, the rabbanut has tried to get many Orthodox rabbis excluded from being able to perform conversions, as well. That was as far back as 2006.
But don’t worry, nothing is going to happen. After all, a bunch of Conservative rabbis aren’t really going to have any impact on Israel’s politics as usual. Never mind that not doing something about the growing absurdity of the the Jewish right may ultimately undermine Israel more than any number of other matters After all, what difference does it make to argue about whether or not to have a Jewish state, if the Jews themselves can’t stand what represents Judaism in that state, and turn away from it? I just hope God doesn’t turn away as well because the rest of us didn’t do anything to save Judaism.
by Danya [➚] · Thursday, February 12th, 2009
Anybody looking to beef up their library? What’s being described as “the finest private library of Hebrew books and manuscripts in the world,” comprised of 13,000 items, is going on sale and expected–even in this economy–to fetch something like $40 million. Most of it was assembled by one man, a diamond merchant named Jack V. Lunzer.
The NYT lists some of the goodies in the package:
…a Hebrew Bible handwritten in England in 1189 — the only dated Hebrew text from England before King Edward I expelled the Jews in 1290. In 1190, the Jewish community of York was massacred and its property, including many books and manuscripts, was looted and sold abroad, where this volume was discovered.
There is also an exquisitely preserved edition of the Babylonian Talmud (1519-23) made by the Christian printer Daniel Bomberg in Venice, an edition created with the advice of a panel of scholars that codified many aspects of how the Talmud is displayed and printed. This set made its way into the collection of Westminster Abbey, where Mr. Lunzer saw it, covered with dust, perhaps untouched for centuries. He ultimately acquired it in a trade, offering a 900-year-old copy of the Abbey’s original Charter.
There is also a 12th-century scroll of the Hebrew Pentateuch that came from the Samaritans, a Jewish sect that still exists in Nablus on the West Bank, their ancient Hebrew script resembling inscriptions on archaeological finds rather than the letters that came to define mainstream Hebrew.
And there are manuscripts of almost voluptuous variety: a 19th-century copy of “A Thousand and One Nights” from Calcutta, its Arabic spelled out in Hebrew script; the first scientific work printed in Portugal in 1496 by Abraham Zacuto, a Jewish astrologer and mathematician; an early-20th-century manuscript from Pakistan with Hebrew and Marathi on facing pages — a guide for ritual slaughterers.
…
We are told that the first book ever printed in Turkey is here, a 1493 copy of Jacob ben Asher’s code of Jewish law, “Arba’ah Turim.” So too, the exhibition says, is the first book ever printed in Africa — a Hebrew book about prayer from 1516 Fez. Testifying to the migrations is a polyglot Pentateuch (1547), from Constantinople, its Spanish and Greek translations written using Hebrew script.
Yum.
Full story here.
by Aryeh Cohen [➚] · Thursday, February 12th, 2009
Finally, there is an American Jewish organization that consistently uses its cerebral functions in an appropriate way.
J Street’s statment on the elections:
The top priority of the next Prime Minister needs to be a comprehensive and viable resolution to the conflicts between Israel and her neighbors. We urge all of Israel’s leaders to heed the words of outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that “if the day comes when the two-state solution collapses… the State of Israel is finished.”
As Americans, we believe the results do not change the fundamental American interest in exercising strong diplomatic leadership to achieve a two-state solution and to chart a course to security and stability in the region. This is not only essential for Israel and the Palestinians – it is a critical U.S. interest as well. We are encouraged by and will continue to build support for the Obama administration, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Special Envoy George Mitchell in advancing this agenda and bringing true peace and security to the entire Middle East.
And they are able to use the appropriately acceptable words for the mainstream American Jewish audience to call a fascist a fascist.
One final note: we cannot comment on the election without noting our deep concern over the strong showing by Avigdor Lieberman in light of the campaign he ran on a platform offensive to basic notions of democracy and to principles central to the Jewish tradition. With deep respect for Israel’s democracy, we call on American Jews and organizations that represent them to make clear that we will not remain silent if the prejudice and intolerance promoted by his party actually become part of the incoming Israeli government’s policies and philosophy.
Full statement here.
by Josh Frankel [➚] · Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
Yesterday, I was frightened. Weeks and weeks of racist, xenophobic commercials from Yisrael Beiteinu had my blood pressure up, and polls showing Mr. Lieberman getting as many as 20 mandates on fear alone had me wondering who these Israelis were, and my boycott pencil was being sharpened.
Last night, as I watched results come in, I was curious and confused.
Today, I am feeling better.
More »
by Danya [➚] · Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
Even before the dust settles on the Israeli elections, it’s obvious that Yisrael Beiteinu, which came in third after Kadima and Likud (with 15 seats–more than Labor, this time around), is going to be of serious interest to either Tzipi or Bibi (depending on who becomes Prime Minister in the end) in terms of forming a coalition government. (In fact, discussions are already happening.)
Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman’s racist, uber-nationalist ideas are bad for Israel on multiple levels.
A petition written by an Israeli and an American Jew is going around now to start with the noise-making–here’s the text of the thing. Go here to sign and to see references to the quotes.
After their close showings in the recent Israeli election, either Binyamin Netanyahu or Tzipi Livni may soon be in a position to assemble a parliamentary coalition that can govern as a majority. Both are considering partnering with Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the Israel Beiteinu party. As friends of Israel and supporters of Israeli democracy, we say: Don’t do it!
Through his platform and his rhetoric — see below for a summary — Mr. Lieberman threatens Israeli society with the darkness of race-baiting, demagoguery and ultra-nationalism. We respect the right of Israeli citizens to elect their own political leadership, yet as supporters of a democratic state we cannot remain silent at this crucial time. We remember too well how democracies in the 20th century were brought down by anti-democratic leaders who came to power through popular elections.
Granting Mr. Lieberman a senior ministerial post would endanger the foundations of Israel as a democratic state and delegitimize it in the eyes of the world. Such a government would be one that even Israel’s friends would find increasingly difficult — if not impossible — to identify with or support.
Sign this letter urging Netanyahu and Livni not to form a coalition with Israel Beiteinu or offer Lieberman a senior government portfolio.
Why would placing Avigdor Lieberman in a key government role threaten Israel’s democratic foundations?
* He has called for Arab citizens of Israel to sign an “oath of loyalty” to the state or be stripped of their citizenship. [1]
* He has proposed that Arab-populated areas which are currently part of Israel be transferred to the Palestinian Authority, regardless of the wishes of citizens living in these areas. [2]
* He has called for any Arab Knesset members who meet with the Palestinian majority-elected Islamist party Hamas to be executed as “collaborators”. To Arab members of the Knesset, he has recently threatened that “a new administration will be established and then we will take care of you”. [3,4]
* He led the drive in Israel’s Central Election Committee to have Arab political parties banned from running in the most recent election, which passed successfully and was overturned only by the Israeli Supreme Court. [5]
Again, go here to sign.
by BZ [➚] · Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
The results so far:
- Kadima 28
- Likud 27
- Yisrael Beytenu 14
- Labor 13
- Shas 11
- United Torah Judaism 5
- United Arab List 5
- Hadash 4
- National Union 4
- The Jewish Home 3
- Meretz 3
- Balad 3
On the one hand, this looks at first glance like an upset victory for Kadima, who appear to have defied all the polls and achieved a plurality. On the other hand, it’s hard to see how Kadima will get to 61 seats, while the Likud has a clear path to a right-wing coalition. Both Livni (Kadima) and Netanyahu (Likud) have declared victory, and we’re likely to see more drama over the next few weeks as this gets straightened out. Once again, all eyes may be on Shas. These results are not final, and some seats could still shift here and there.
It’s looking like we’re going to have all the same parties that were in the previous Knesset, with the exception of Gil, who is out. No new parties made it in. It looks like smaller parties on the left lost support in the final days as the anti-Netanyahu vote broke towards Kadima. Meretz is having its worst showing in years. It also looks like an Arab Israeli boycott didn’t materialize, and Arab voters may instead have been particularly energized — 5 seats (United Arab List) is the most I can recall seeing for an Arab party since I’ve been paying attention.
by TheWanderingJew [➚] · Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
“You call the mosque ‘the cross-less church’?”
“Sometimes…”
“What do you call a synagogue?”
“Synagogue. I don’t want to offend anybody.”
Not just one of my favourite shows on television, Little Mosque on The Prairie is a sitcom about the fictional town of Mercy, Saskatchewan and its residents, including the small but vibrant Muslim community. Since the pilot episode, it’s been clear that there are Jewish parallels. 
There was a great episode where the imam goes homes to Toronto and is interrogated by his parents about what he’s doing with his life, why he hasn’t married yet, and why he has to be so Muslim. Watching the episode with a bunch of MOT during Sukkos, we all felt they could have been Jewish.
If you’re in Canada, it airs on CBC. If you’re in the US or elsewhere, there are websites that let you watch online. And stay tuned: Fox bought the rights to the show and will be remaking it (something about how Americans wouldn’t watch a show set in Saskatchewan; even though it shows in the original version in Dubai, Finland, Turkey, Israel, France, and Switzerland).
by Shalom Rav [➚] · Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
Are you ready to throw your head back and scream to the high heavens? Just read Gershon Baskin’s column in today’s J Post, in which he reveals that prior to Israel’s attack on Gaza, he met with a senior Hamas official in Europe to discuss possibilities for renewing the cease-fire. He returned to Israel ten days before Israel began the war and sent a letter to Olmert, Barak and Livni, informing them…
…that Hamas was willing to open a direct secret back channel for a package deal that would include the renewal of the cease-fire, the ending of the economic siege and the prisoner exchange for the release of (Gilad) Schalit. I further indicated that Hamas would be willing to implement the agreement on Rafah which included the stationing of Palestinian Authority personnel loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas in Rafah and a return of the European monitors. I communicated the same message to (Gilad’s father) Noam Schalit and asked him to make sure that Ofer Dekel, who is charged with the Schalit file by the government, received the Hamas “offer.”
Olmert, et al chose to ignore this opportunity, preferring instead to “teach Hamas a lesson.”
Baskin’s final conclusions:
What did this war achieve? What has changed? Has Israel gained its military deterrence? Has Israel changed the security reality in the South? Is Gilad Schalit at home? Has Hamas reduced its basic demands for the release of Schalit? No, no and no! Israel is negotiating now for exactly what could have been achieved without going to war. Israel spent $1 billion on the war, caused some $2 billion worth of damage in Gaza, more than 1000 people have been killed, thousands of lives have been destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis lived through weeks of terror; millions of Palestinians suffered the bombardment of their towns, cities and refugee camps – what is the result? More hatred, more extremism and more support for fanatics and their ideas – on both sides of the Gaza border.
Read the whole article and weep…
by BZ [➚] · Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
Like many of us, I got addicted to election news in 2008 (and 2006 and 2004), and with the proliferation of blogs and websites devoted to the subject, this can be a full-time obsession if not kept under control. Now that the American election is over, I’m taking a breather and paying attention to actual policy, and waiting at least a few months before becoming fluent in the top House and Senate races for 2010.
Because of these addictive tendencies, I’m glad I didn’t find out about Politico.co.il until a few days before the Israeli election. This site (Hebrew only) is a one-stop shop for Israeli election inside baseball. It includes news stories about the campaign (covering parties large, small, and tiny), daily schedules of campaign events, the latest poll results, and tomorrow night it will have election results.
This site is run by Haaretz, and doesn’t appear to have any connection to the American site Politico.com, so those who are concerned about Politico’s bias shouldn’t worry here. They seem to be borrowing the brand name (which I presume is legal because trademarks don’t have international jurisdiction), like Domino’s Pizza in Israel, or Supersol in New York.
In time for the next election (which will be in 2013 if the 18th Knesset serves a full 4-year term, but let’s not kid ourselves), someone has to start fivethirtyeight.co.il (or should that be onetwenty.co.il?)!
by Milta Agav Orchei [➚] · Saturday, February 7th, 2009
The “This is my Prayer- Va’ani Tefillati: Women in prayer” Conference will be held at the Abraham Joshua Heschel High School on Sun. March 1, 2009. It’s planners promise that it will be “groundbreaking”- and while I don’t think anything revolutionary will happen, I do think it will be interesting to hear the presenters- which include Dr. Aliza Lavie, Anita Diamant, Debbie Friedman, Judith Hauptman, Dina Najman and Vanessa Ochs. Participants must register by Feb 24, 2009.
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