Here is a paragraph from a post by cross -currents:
"In the period immediately preceding the declaration of the State, Ben Gurion reached an accord with R. Yitzchak Meir Levin zt”l [the status quo agreement] delineating certain limited areas where the State would recognize the primacy of Torah over secular norms – most notably in family law. Ben Gurion understood, as his subsequent silent agreement to accept the Chazon Ish’s view on giyus banot (conscription of women) would suggest, that there were areas that demanded that the secular majority forego its natural rights, perhaps recognizing that the State would only be viable if it gave Torah a visible role. Many have speculated about Ben Gurion’s motivations; whatever they were it formed the basis for a modus vivendi that held up for a considerable number of years.
Read more: http://www.cross-currents.com/archives/2010/06/20/we-are-all-emanuel/#ixzz0rafStMw7
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution"
Here are problems with the argument:
1) The Haredi Jews despise Ben-Gurion. These orthodox Jews talk about Ben-Gurion like he was the devil. Except when they can find one point that they like, when he made a verbal agreement with a rabbi, then all of a sudden Ben-Gurion was a god who must be obeyed beyond the letter of the law. The orthodox are complete fakes who would ignore all the evil they attribute to Ben-Gurion if they can get their thirty pieces of silver.
2) He said so: the same argument my kids make. The fact is whatever Ben-Gurion said in a private deal with a rabbi has no relevance today. The state of Israel is not a theme park for jews and Ben-Gurion was not the King of the Jews who made a law for all time. Ben-Gurion was a man and a politician who was instrumental in the founding of the state. However, just because he said so does not make it so. The state of Israel is a real state with real laws and real systems and reals courts. The orthodox don't get to ignore all that developed in the creation of a country and rely on the flimsy protexia of the words of a single man who they hate from a time long gone by.
The facts are this: Israel is a real country with real laws. The public school system is the public's schools system. If the orthodox would like a school that demands that dark skinned children need to prove their worth before admittance, they may be able to do that in a private setting. But the words of one man to a rabbi should have no bearing on the developed state that exists today. It is the height of foolish arrogance to demand that a public system should not be subject to public oversight.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Truth behind Gaza flotilla
*Dear Isaac,*
* *
* *
*First hand account from Amir, an Israeli soldier who was there.***
*Hello Uncle Erwin,***
This is Amir writing you after reading what you sent to my father, Eitan.
As you know, it was my unit and my friends who were on the ship. My
commander was injured badly as a result of the "pacifists" violence. I
want to tell you how he was injured so you could tell the story. it
shows just how horrible and inhuman were the activists. My commander was
the first soldier that rappelled down from the helicopter to the ship.
When he touched ground, he got hit in the head with a pole and stabbed
in the stomach with a knife.
When he drew out his secondary weapon-a handgun (his primary weapon was
a regular paintball gun: "Tippman 98 custom") he was shot in the leg. He
managed to fire a single shot before he was tossed from the balcony by 4
Arab activists, to the lower deck (a 12 feet fall). He was then dragged
by other activists to a room in the lower deck were he was stripped down
by 2 activists. They took off his vest, helmet and shirt, leaving him
with only his pants and shoes on. When they finished they took a knife
and expanded the wound he already had in his stomach. They cut his ab
muscles horizontally and by hand spilled his guts out. When they
finished they raised him up and walked him on the deck outside. He was
conscious the whole time.
If you are asking yourself why they did all that, here comes the reason.
They wanted to show the soldiers their commander's body so they will be
demoralized and scared. Luckily, when they walked him on the deck a
soldier saw him and managed to shoot the activist that was walking him
down the outside corridor. He shot him with a special non-lethal
bullet that didn't kill him. My commander managed to jump from the deck
to the water and swim to an army rescue boat (his guts still out of his
body, and now in salty sea water). That was how he was saved. The
activists that did this to him are alive, now in Turkey, and treated as
heroes.
I'm sorry if I described this with too many details, but I thought it
was necessary for the credibility. Please tell this story to anyone who
will listen. I think that these days you are one of Israel's best
spokesman.
*Thanks uncle Erwin, *
* *
*Shabbat Shalom!***
* *
*Amir***
*You can also be a spokesman of the sane free world.*
* *
*Please share this story with your friends***
* *
* *
*First hand account from Amir, an Israeli soldier who was there.***
*Hello Uncle Erwin,***
This is Amir writing you after reading what you sent to my father, Eitan.
As you know, it was my unit and my friends who were on the ship. My
commander was injured badly as a result of the "pacifists" violence. I
want to tell you how he was injured so you could tell the story. it
shows just how horrible and inhuman were the activists. My commander was
the first soldier that rappelled down from the helicopter to the ship.
When he touched ground, he got hit in the head with a pole and stabbed
in the stomach with a knife.
When he drew out his secondary weapon-a handgun (his primary weapon was
a regular paintball gun: "Tippman 98 custom") he was shot in the leg. He
managed to fire a single shot before he was tossed from the balcony by 4
Arab activists, to the lower deck (a 12 feet fall). He was then dragged
by other activists to a room in the lower deck were he was stripped down
by 2 activists. They took off his vest, helmet and shirt, leaving him
with only his pants and shoes on. When they finished they took a knife
and expanded the wound he already had in his stomach. They cut his ab
muscles horizontally and by hand spilled his guts out. When they
finished they raised him up and walked him on the deck outside. He was
conscious the whole time.
If you are asking yourself why they did all that, here comes the reason.
They wanted to show the soldiers their commander's body so they will be
demoralized and scared. Luckily, when they walked him on the deck a
soldier saw him and managed to shoot the activist that was walking him
down the outside corridor. He shot him with a special non-lethal
bullet that didn't kill him. My commander managed to jump from the deck
to the water and swim to an army rescue boat (his guts still out of his
body, and now in salty sea water). That was how he was saved. The
activists that did this to him are alive, now in Turkey, and treated as
heroes.
I'm sorry if I described this with too many details, but I thought it
was necessary for the credibility. Please tell this story to anyone who
will listen. I think that these days you are one of Israel's best
spokesman.
*Thanks uncle Erwin, *
* *
*Shabbat Shalom!***
* *
*Amir***
*You can also be a spokesman of the sane free world.*
* *
*Please share this story with your friends***
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Israel's Downfall
Today is the day I recognized that Israel is doomed. Iran and Hamas and all the other haters should just sit back and let Israel implode. Many argue that Israel survives because she faces existential threats. The protests in Immanuel today are the writing on the wall for the fate of Israel.
Let's recap: (please correct any errors, I don't claim to be perfect, just generally clever)
The Israeli public school system is divided into 3 tracks. Orthodox Jews, Secular Jews and Arabs. There are also private schools which operate independently from the ministry of education's public schools.
In the town of Immanuel there is a public school for orthodox Jewish girls. Many ashkenazi (jews from european/white heritage) who are parents in the school do not want their children to attend classes with sephardi girls (jews from spanish/middle eastern/dark skinned heritage).
The school decided to separate the dark from the light. The supreme court said no you don't. The white parents said, well we're not sending our kids to school with darkies.
After a few months went by and the court was ignored, the court gave a group of parents 2 weeks to integrate or go to prison. And today, over 100,000 orthodox Jews, protested in Israel, for the right to segregate the public school system based on race.
Just because a country exists on a map, does not mean it is surviving. After the fall of Rome, there were countries in the hinterlands, that for hundreds of years later still thought they were part of the Roman Empire. Israel does not have the luxury of allowing a theocracy to take over. When a significant segment of the population claims that the courts have no authority over them, and that their version of god is more important than the legal authority in a public school, that is a problem. When that group holds mass protests in the streets, with the support of mainstream politicians and significant rabbinical leaders, that is the writing on the wall.
Let's recap: (please correct any errors, I don't claim to be perfect, just generally clever)
The Israeli public school system is divided into 3 tracks. Orthodox Jews, Secular Jews and Arabs. There are also private schools which operate independently from the ministry of education's public schools.
In the town of Immanuel there is a public school for orthodox Jewish girls. Many ashkenazi (jews from european/white heritage) who are parents in the school do not want their children to attend classes with sephardi girls (jews from spanish/middle eastern/dark skinned heritage).
The school decided to separate the dark from the light. The supreme court said no you don't. The white parents said, well we're not sending our kids to school with darkies.
After a few months went by and the court was ignored, the court gave a group of parents 2 weeks to integrate or go to prison. And today, over 100,000 orthodox Jews, protested in Israel, for the right to segregate the public school system based on race.
Just because a country exists on a map, does not mean it is surviving. After the fall of Rome, there were countries in the hinterlands, that for hundreds of years later still thought they were part of the Roman Empire. Israel does not have the luxury of allowing a theocracy to take over. When a significant segment of the population claims that the courts have no authority over them, and that their version of god is more important than the legal authority in a public school, that is a problem. When that group holds mass protests in the streets, with the support of mainstream politicians and significant rabbinical leaders, that is the writing on the wall.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Israeli Ortho ism
The Israeli court system recently ruled that schools which were barring admission to Sephardi children were breaking the law.
According to the article in Haaretz:
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/high-court-desegregate-west-bank-school-or-face-jail-time-1.296299
This is what the attorney for the parents had to say for disobeying the ruling:
"According to the parents' attorney, whenever there is a faith-oriented religious dispute, the rabbis' decisions overrule the courts "which is more powerful than the decision of any other authority."
1st. A lawyer cannot make a claim that there is law to supersede their obligation as members of the court: why is this argument allowed to be made by a member of the court?
2nd. Until now this was just a few parents who were the face of the Ashkenazi side, according to this lawyer, these parents are following orders. Whose? Which rabbis are really behind banning sephardi children from schools based on their geographic heritage?
3rd. This is a more general thought on the image created by the Israeli Haredi community: Why are orthodox Jews so docile and subservient in other countries? The behavior the Haredi group exhibits in Israel does not occur outside of Israel.
According to the article in Haaretz:
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/high-court-desegregate-west-bank-school-or-face-jail-time-1.296299
This is what the attorney for the parents had to say for disobeying the ruling:
"According to the parents' attorney, whenever there is a faith-oriented religious dispute, the rabbis' decisions overrule the courts "which is more powerful than the decision of any other authority."
1st. A lawyer cannot make a claim that there is law to supersede their obligation as members of the court: why is this argument allowed to be made by a member of the court?
2nd. Until now this was just a few parents who were the face of the Ashkenazi side, according to this lawyer, these parents are following orders. Whose? Which rabbis are really behind banning sephardi children from schools based on their geographic heritage?
3rd. This is a more general thought on the image created by the Israeli Haredi community: Why are orthodox Jews so docile and subservient in other countries? The behavior the Haredi group exhibits in Israel does not occur outside of Israel.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
The Jobs Americans Won't Do
I hear that as an argument for allowing unfettered and unchecked immigration into the USA, that these illegal/undocumented aliens/immigrants take the jobs that Americans won't.
Except that is not true.
Every time I go to a state like Wisconsin, where immigration has not become an issue like in a major metropolis, I see Americans working the jobs that immigrants take in the larger cities. They are college students and single moms and farmers and folks who need work. These people work in the food industry and the building industry and housekeeping and all the other jobs that the pro-immigration group argue Americans won't.
What country in the world allows unfettered and unchecked access across its boarders?
I have not heard any mainstream argument against immigration or as a racial issue. I have heard people arguing about making sure we know who is entering the country and how benefits are distributed.
But the pro-immigration group would have you believe its all about race or how lucky we are that we have these people to take the jobs no one in the USA wants.
How about a little intellectual honesty in these issues/ Wouldn't that be nice for a change?
Except that is not true.
Every time I go to a state like Wisconsin, where immigration has not become an issue like in a major metropolis, I see Americans working the jobs that immigrants take in the larger cities. They are college students and single moms and farmers and folks who need work. These people work in the food industry and the building industry and housekeeping and all the other jobs that the pro-immigration group argue Americans won't.
What country in the world allows unfettered and unchecked access across its boarders?
I have not heard any mainstream argument against immigration or as a racial issue. I have heard people arguing about making sure we know who is entering the country and how benefits are distributed.
But the pro-immigration group would have you believe its all about race or how lucky we are that we have these people to take the jobs no one in the USA wants.
How about a little intellectual honesty in these issues/ Wouldn't that be nice for a change?
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Israel Botches Gaza Operation
I am staunchly pro-Israel when it comes when it comes to defending our rights as Jews and/or Israelis and our existence in the land of Israel.
This is not a criticism of the soldiers actions or the need for a blockade on Gaza.
This is a criticism of whoever designed the Gaza op. The commander responsible for putting the plan together should be sacked. To put your soldiers in the stupid position of having to defend themselves, to lower them down one by one onto the deck during the day was a stupid decision.
As one soldier said from his hospital bed, "we didn't think they would attack us."
You don't base a military action on the hope that it may be peaceful, you try to prevent an attack. How about during the night, or drop some tear gas, or have a bunch of soldiers board at once.
What has happened to the Israeli army?
This is not a criticism of the soldiers actions or the need for a blockade on Gaza.
This is a criticism of whoever designed the Gaza op. The commander responsible for putting the plan together should be sacked. To put your soldiers in the stupid position of having to defend themselves, to lower them down one by one onto the deck during the day was a stupid decision.
As one soldier said from his hospital bed, "we didn't think they would attack us."
You don't base a military action on the hope that it may be peaceful, you try to prevent an attack. How about during the night, or drop some tear gas, or have a bunch of soldiers board at once.
What has happened to the Israeli army?
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