Andrew Bolt is the bane of the Ausralian liberal, mostly Left media commentators. He is unashamedly pro-Israel, understands that there are two sides to the anti-Israel diatribe which emanates from the ME-based dailies' commentators and is proud to be Australian when other journalists are being hypocritically hypercritical of everything from our government and its pro-American politics, our Aussie culture, the Australians' historical past and blaming Australia for all the ills which befalls this country,- inside and outside.
On Dec. 14th he wrote an article which is very similar in its conclusion to my own previously published re "Interethnic violence in Australia".
Below he describes his experiences accompanying Foreign Minister Downer to visit the Ausralian troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. There within the ADF he describes what the "Aussie culture" is really like.
My late father would agree with him one hundred percent because this is how he found the Australians he met over his 30years in business in Melbourne. Any people critical of Australians were quickly put in their place by my dad,- reminding them how people behaved in their more "cultured old countries" which they left behind.
Let us hope that this kind of Aussie culture will prevail also in the future, but it must be protected.
Andrew Bolt's articles and hisForum for comments can be read on the Herald Sun website:www.heraldsun.news.com.au
MM
Khaki ambassadors
Andrew Bolt (The Herald-Sun, Melbourne)
30dec05
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,17686797%255E25717,00.html
LINING up for tickets to King Kong this week, I saw the latest try-on to get sensation-seekers to join the military.
"Thud, thud, thud, thud," read an advertisement on a little stand by the queue with a picture of RAAF helicopters coming in to land.
"And that's just your heartbeat."
Is that what serving in uniform is really about -- getting a rush like the one some slack-jaw is about to get by watching a giant ape being shot off the Empire State Building?
Still, the ad could have been worse. It could have been one of the Australian Defence Force's earlier attempts to lure recruits.
I'm thinking of the commercials that made the ADF seem like just the outfit you should join if your deepest desire was to build schools or give children a checkup.
Or, even worse, that it was the best way to learn skills you could use for a real job -- you know, after you quit the military.
Guns? What guns? This is a school for mechanics, nurses and mid-level managers, mate. The only shooting here is shooting through.
So I'm not surprised, especially with so many other employers now begging for workers, that the ADF has trouble hiring soldiers, sailors and airmen. I'm even less surprised that the minister responsible for defence personnel, De-Anne Kelly, is so unhappy with the latest ads for officer recruits that she wants the ads redone.
Several officers have told me how disappointed they are, too, by the way the ADF sells their army, navy and airforce to potential recruits. And after a week in the company of our military in Iraq, Afghanistan and three of the Gulf states, I can see precisely why they are right to feel offended.
The ADF isn't something you join for some cheap qualifications or a quick thrill.
Excuse me now if I sound a bit born-again or romantic in what follows, but I must speak just as I've found.
To join the ADF, I've seen up close these past days, is to join a great institution that both defends Australia and displays the best of our culture to the world.
DO I exaggerate? Once I would have thought so myself, but what did I know? Who in a journalist's social circle serves in the military? That's what other kinds of people do -- perhaps people a bit thick or desperate. Not People Like Us.
So what a humbling surprise I had last week. Actually, surprises plural.
The first came when I drove into Kuwait's huge Ali al-Salim air base, out in the desert, from where I was to fly into Iraq with Foreign Affairs Minister Downer.
The Kuwaiti part of the base was a dispirited jumble. The American, a dusty collection of tents and a barren piggledy of equipment. Then we pulled up to the Australian sector -- neat rows of cabins, not tents, softened with new plantings of trees and even lawn, and announced with a big stencil of a fighting kangaroo.
Here was the temporary home of airmen and soldiers who took pride in their surrounds, and felt the greener they were made, the better. How very Australian.
Naturally, I expected the pilot who flew us into Iraq that morning to be as meticulous and expert as he clearly was. What I didn't expect was to find, when he finally took off his helmet and asked Downer to pose for pictures with his crew and their Australian flag, that he was still so chubby-cheeked young.
In fact, so many of our military seemed so young, yet had so much responsibility. The major in charge of the 100 soldiers who guard our embassy in Iraq and protect our ambassador in runs out of the well-defended "green zone" is just 31.
An intelligence officer now tracing the Taliban had completed his science degree only some six years earlier. A young soldier -- a woman -- serving in Baghdad seemed little taller than her rifle and was not half my age, yet calmly told of helping to treat American soldiers whose bodies had been shredded by bombs.
And every one of them so professional, so team-minded, so focused -- just ask any politician or journalist who has visited them -- and none more so than the SAS soldiers guarding us, after a tour of duty in Afghanistan, hunting the Taliban. Perhaps it's no wonder we have not lost a single soldier in combat in either Afghanistan or Iraq, touch wood.
It was also soon clear that the ADF has not just kept but exploited that independent streak, which Australians have traditionally admired, giving even the smallest units some freedom to use their initiative.
One small example: the 27-year-old lieutenant in Baghdad found the army didn't issue the right equipment for platoons like his to break into houses during operations to clear urban areas. So he ordered two sets of door-breaking tools over the internet, using money scrounged from his regiment.
That go-fix-it attitude is one reason our officers have been given impressively senior posts in the coalition headquarters in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Not all may yet be identified, but Maj-Gen Jim Molan was last year the coalition's deputy chief of operations in Iraq.
Yet one officer after another told me the secret to the high reputation of our troops among our coalition partners was not just their ability to fight or to fix, or even to work hard. (Warning: if you must believe Australia is racist, read no further.)
No, what has perhaps won us the most admiration is the ability of even our most raw private to deal as an equal with people from whatever culture or country, whether soldiers or civilians.
This makes them not just ideal for fighting in a multi-ethnic coalition army, with soldiers from Albania to Ukraine, but even better at keeping a foreign peace.
I heard this even from Iraqis. The governor of al-Muthanna province, where more than 400 Australian troops protect Japanese army engineers, last week said our troops "knew a lot about Iraq and its culture, so avoid doing anything bad".
Australia had a "very sensitive culture", he added.
Our al-Muthanna task force's regimental sergeant major, Kevin Ryan, explained it simply: "The difference is that we say g'day. We mix more." American soldiers, he and many others said, were friendly, but far more distant. They were losing a chance to make friends of Iraqis.
Indeed, I noted in both Afghanistan and Iraq that when Australian troops bumped into Americans -- whether walking around their base or lining up for food -- they were more often the first to say hello.
The task force commander, Lt-Col Peter Short, gave a more serious example that bothers him. US army convoys shoot when other cars get too close. Australian soldiers take a risk, and try at first to just wave them away.
Then again, as other officers added, the Americans have lost more than 2000 dead, a good many to car bombs. We haven't. They liberated Iraq and Afghanistan. We would not have even tried it without them.
The longer I stayed, the more anecdotes I heard of the easy diplomacy of Australian troops, and the respect they'd won for it.
One senior female officer serving in a Gulf state said an American admiral had told her how impressed he was by the civility, as well as professionalism, of the Australian personnel. An officer in Afghanistan said that, unlike the Americans, he and his Australian colleagues regularly had a how-are-you chat with their Afghan sentries, and figured they got better protection as their reward.
A private in Baghdad said his unit had been given a lecture on Iraqi history by his commanding officer, Major Malcolm Wells, so they'd know the place better -- and maybe like it more.
A captain in Kabul said it was perhaps the fact that Australia wasn't a very powerful country that made us more open to dealing easily with soldiers and civilians from other nations.
But this approachability is helped, of course, by the fact that we're an immigrant nation. Lt-Col Vance Khan, great-great-grandson of a Sikh immigrant and now head of the Australian soldiers in Kabul, laughs when he explains how useful it has been in Afghanistan to have a name like his.
But when we were held up by some high-handed security official at the Afghan president's heavily defended palace, it wasn't Khan's name that finally got us in, but this arts graduate's uncrackable reasonableness and patience -- traits I like to think of as particularly Australian. There was no shouting. No chesting. No how-dare-you.
SO I admit it: I've returned from my time with our military not just deeply impressed by how they carry themselves, but proud of a country that produces such a culture among those who wear our country's uniform.
And how much sweeter that such people serve in such a noble cause, and one I heard not one soldier dispute -- the liberation of two countries from tyranny.
A love of freedom and a hatred of bullies. Those, too, are great Australian virtues.
What a pity the ADF advertisements don't come within a King Kong's roar of explaining the true thrill of service in the Australian military today -- the thrill of defending such virtues in such a gallant way.
bolta@heraldsun.com.au
Previous article:
"It's time to think"
By Andrew BOLT
[The Melbourne] Herald Sun
14 December 2005
[We are different, in part, because we are less sure about ourselves and about what really unites us. Instead of being proud enough to expect immigrants to assimilate, we urge them to stay apart through multiculturalism. Indeed, we pay them to do so, giving three grants even to the jihadists of the Islamic Youth Movement.
What's more, we preach that this is a country that deserves little respect. Hear what is taught in schools, universities, theatres, films, books, galleries and
museums: ours is a racist country with a child-stealing and genocidal past, led by a fascist voted in by rednecks. All this, so much of it built on deceits, must change as well.
Do I exaggerate this culture of contempt? Here, for instance, is part of a jeering email sent to me on Saturday by an employee of the rabidly anti-American and Leftist SBS: "Fact: migrants would rather die than assimilate to Australian culture. Why would anybody willingly assimilate to a culture that the entire world considers uncouth and un-cultured?"]
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
IMMIGRATION WORLDWIDE.
The "Immigration Debate" in Australia is about the quality and quantity of new immigrants to this country. A shortage of labour has attracted thousands of new skilled short-term immigrants to regional Australia as well as to the major cities.
Two overseas nations' immigrant numbers are the same,- but not proportionally.
"Immigration in France was at its height in 2005: French authorities saw 2980(*see below) new immigrants arrive to the country, the highest number in 34 years !" (Guysen.Israël.News)
"Over 3,000 Jews from northern America immigrated in Israel this year, marking a 15% increased compared to 2004." (Guysen.Israël.News)
I bet their origins are not the same either! Which country is making a better deal of it?
Not that necessarily all USA immigrants are so welcomed in Israel. Many belong to the ultr-Orthodox sects of Judaism and are more of a drain on the economy than an asset and are politically motivated and encouraged to make Alyah not only religiously. Therefore most Israelis would prefer them to stay in the USA,- but nevertheless, the quality and number of immigrants from the West to Israel certainly outweighs the quality of non-European immigrants coming into the European Union countries. Their successful absorption into Israel is faster than in France, or there would not be the race-riots which France has been experiencing of late.
With Australia experiencing its own inter-ethnic riots in Sydney recently, no doubt the immigration debate will continue to surface periodically. It's all about successful integration in the Australian society,-economically, socially and racially.
A common denominator has to be found,- in Israel the fact that biblical Judaism has taught certain moral and ethical values which are the same everywhere, probably makes a difference, - as well as the strong motivating factor of the return to their ancestral homeland,- "alyah".
Other countries have to find these, such as economical, social-justice and democratic values to inculcate into the newcomer generations, -in order to ensure successful integrations also of their future generations.
Full breakdown of immigration figures in Israel for 2005:According to the Jewish Agency's preliminary figures, 23,000 people came to live in Israel in 2005; 3,054 made their alyia from North America (compared to 2,640 in 2004) and (*) 2,980 made their alyia from France (compared to 2,415 in 2004). (Guysen.Israël.News)
3,700 left Ethiopia, a figure similar to that recorded in 2004. Also 9,124 immigrated from the FSU (a 10% drop compared to the previsous year).; 1850 olim came from South America (compared to 1348 in 2004 - a 37.3% rise).
Two overseas nations' immigrant numbers are the same,- but not proportionally.
"Immigration in France was at its height in 2005: French authorities saw 2980(*see below) new immigrants arrive to the country, the highest number in 34 years !" (Guysen.Israël.News)
"Over 3,000 Jews from northern America immigrated in Israel this year, marking a 15% increased compared to 2004." (Guysen.Israël.News)
I bet their origins are not the same either! Which country is making a better deal of it?
Not that necessarily all USA immigrants are so welcomed in Israel. Many belong to the ultr-Orthodox sects of Judaism and are more of a drain on the economy than an asset and are politically motivated and encouraged to make Alyah not only religiously. Therefore most Israelis would prefer them to stay in the USA,- but nevertheless, the quality and number of immigrants from the West to Israel certainly outweighs the quality of non-European immigrants coming into the European Union countries. Their successful absorption into Israel is faster than in France, or there would not be the race-riots which France has been experiencing of late.
With Australia experiencing its own inter-ethnic riots in Sydney recently, no doubt the immigration debate will continue to surface periodically. It's all about successful integration in the Australian society,-economically, socially and racially.
A common denominator has to be found,- in Israel the fact that biblical Judaism has taught certain moral and ethical values which are the same everywhere, probably makes a difference, - as well as the strong motivating factor of the return to their ancestral homeland,- "alyah".
Other countries have to find these, such as economical, social-justice and democratic values to inculcate into the newcomer generations, -in order to ensure successful integrations also of their future generations.
Full breakdown of immigration figures in Israel for 2005:According to the Jewish Agency's preliminary figures, 23,000 people came to live in Israel in 2005; 3,054 made their alyia from North America (compared to 2,640 in 2004) and (*) 2,980 made their alyia from France (compared to 2,415 in 2004). (Guysen.Israël.News)
3,700 left Ethiopia, a figure similar to that recorded in 2004. Also 9,124 immigrated from the FSU (a 10% drop compared to the previsous year).; 1850 olim came from South America (compared to 1348 in 2004 - a 37.3% rise).
Monday, December 26, 2005
Pallywood:the Mohammed el Dura "blood libel". expose #2.
STOP PRESS!
Professor Richard Landes, who brought us Pallywood, has added an amazing documentary
to his Second Draft website showing never before seen raw footage of what really happened to Mohammed el Dura, the ultimate blood libel of our century. You are not going to believe your eyes when you see the two cameramen SITTING DIRECTLY NEXT TO THE FATHER AND SON WHILE THE BULLETS ARE SUPPOSEDLY FLYING. Or the whole crowd who "cleared the set" while the al Durahs sat there, ready to do a second take. Or the mumbling Palestinian cameraman for France 2, who made up the whole thing, lying through his teeth when he gets caught. Devastating and remarkable.
A brilliant expose. Congratulations Richard!
Please take a look and pass it on.
aldurah.php
Professor Richard Landes, who brought us Pallywood, has added an amazing documentary
to his Second Draft website showing never before seen raw footage of what really happened to Mohammed el Dura, the ultimate blood libel of our century. You are not going to believe your eyes when you see the two cameramen SITTING DIRECTLY NEXT TO THE FATHER AND SON WHILE THE BULLETS ARE SUPPOSEDLY FLYING. Or the whole crowd who "cleared the set" while the al Durahs sat there, ready to do a second take. Or the mumbling Palestinian cameraman for France 2, who made up the whole thing, lying through his teeth when he gets caught. Devastating and remarkable.
A brilliant expose. Congratulations Richard!
Please take a look and pass it on.
aldurah.php
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Happy Hanukah (or Chanukah) from Jewish Australia.com
I and my family wish all my friends and readers The Compliments of the Season; a HAPPY HANUKAH & a HAPPY, HEALTHY AND PEACEFUL NEW YEAR 2006,- with peace and goodwill to finally reign in our world.
MM
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jewish Australia.com Newsletter
December 25, 2005
Dear readers,
Here at Jewish Australia Chanukah is about more than just donuts and dreidels.
It is also about the symbols, stories and songs that have made the celebration of Chanukah increasingly widespread wherever there is a Jewish community.
The growth of the internet over the past decade has itself been a major factor in globalising Chanukah across national and international borders.
It means that from our base here in Melbourne, Australia, we are able to provide links on our Chanukah page to readers in more than 50 countries.
Click here for the links including ready-to-print Chanukah song sheets
From all the team at Jewish Australia Online, we send our warmest Chanukah wishes to all our readers around the globe.
And now we're off to play dreidel and enjoy our donuts.
Chag Urim Sameach - Happy Chanukah,
Aura Levin Lipski
Publisher
Jewish Australia Online Network
The internet home of:
Jewish Australia.com
The gateway to Jewish Australia
Hebrew Songs.com
The Online Library of Hebrew Songs
Israeli Dances.com
The Global Resource for Israeli Dances
MM
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jewish Australia.com Newsletter
December 25, 2005
Dear readers,
Here at Jewish Australia Chanukah is about more than just donuts and dreidels.
It is also about the symbols, stories and songs that have made the celebration of Chanukah increasingly widespread wherever there is a Jewish community.
The growth of the internet over the past decade has itself been a major factor in globalising Chanukah across national and international borders.
It means that from our base here in Melbourne, Australia, we are able to provide links on our Chanukah page to readers in more than 50 countries.
Click here for the links including ready-to-print Chanukah song sheets
From all the team at Jewish Australia Online, we send our warmest Chanukah wishes to all our readers around the globe.
And now we're off to play dreidel and enjoy our donuts.
Chag Urim Sameach - Happy Chanukah,
Aura Levin Lipski
Publisher
Jewish Australia Online Network
The internet home of:
Jewish Australia.com
The gateway to Jewish Australia
Hebrew Songs.com
The Online Library of Hebrew Songs
Israeli Dances.com
The Global Resource for Israeli Dances
Sunday, December 18, 2005
ETHNIC VIOLENCE IN AUSTRALIA. Dec. 2005.
ETHNIC VIOLENCE IN AUSTRALIA.Dec. 2005.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[. The ethnic 'melting pot' is constantly simmering just under the surface and is easily overheated into a 'boiling pot' at the earliest provocation. And our media constantly provokes,- from cartoonists, to interviewers and commentators!}
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The majority of Australians are waking up to the unpleasant fact that there is a growing amount of interethnic-violence developing in our country. Most of us who come from Europe post WW2 could have predicted it. It was inevitable given the naiveté of the Australian politicians who devised the multicultural policies in this country.
"Racism is repulsive" writes Janet Albrechsten in The Australian (14/12/2005).
In the article "Racism is Ugly", Albrechsten writes: "There is so much more to this than racism. And we're fooling ourselves if we pretend otherwise. Britain has a much deeper experience of cultural tension. And that experience has thrown up some thoughtful debate missing in Australia right now. Last year, David Goodhart, editor of the progressive Prospect, wrote a controversial piece "Discomfit of strangers". It explored the tenuous fabric that binds us as a society. He pointed to the "progressive dilemma" : the conflict between solidarity and diversity. He compared the homogeneous nature of British society in the 1950s with the present one, where individualism and diversity have produced a very different society."
The problem is that the policy-makers don't understand or acknowledge the difference between intercultural rivalries, bigotry, religious vilification and real racism. Anti-Semitism is real racism; the "White Australia" policy of the past, was based on real racism; older Anglo-Saxon Australians (the WASPS) may be bigoted, very parochial, but mostly no longer racist, - except perhaps against some of their own indigenous population, i.e. the black Aborigines. They are certainly not violently racist!
However, post WW2 saw an influx of immigrants from war-torn Europe who wanted to escape the inter-ethnic wars of that continent and live a peaceful life as far away from Europe as possible. Once here though, rearing their young families in this peaceful and tolerant environment, they all wanted to perpetuate their own cultural identities in this foreign land. They therefore perpetuated also all their old prejudices and worse, their ancient hatreds of former adversaries in their old countries, by instilling these into their next generations. It started with the former Nazis who escaped here, the forerunners of the current "White Supremacists", neo-Nazis and Holocaust deniers and continues with the former radical Islamists who infiltrated this country before 'September 11'! All of this facilitated by successive Governments who wanted their votes!
The upwardly-mobile elites in each community became educated and easily integrated into the general Australian population. The Governments kept feeding their communities with financial resources for whatever programs or projects they wanted. The less cultured lay-leaders however, remained in their own narrow community confines and until recently one did not hear very much about conflicts between the various groups. Occasionally there were flare-ups between, say, Macedonians and Greeks on the football field; the Turkish Embassy in Melbourne was bombed by Armenians some years ago; but otherwise our politicians prided themselves that Australia is a placid melting-pot of some 145 different ethnic groups and that their past policies of multiculturalism are working well.
I have always felt that they were being naïve. There is "culture" and there is "nurture",- and both are not necessarily conducive to peaceful coexistence. The first generation of immigrants is afraid to 'rock the boat', therefore they avoid drawing attention to themselves. Subsequent generations become more assertive, more unafraid of authority, more vocal and therefore quite ready to clash with others and the authorities. The ethnic 'melting pot' is constantly simmering just under the surface and is easily overheated into a 'boiling pot' at the earliest provocation. And our media constantly provokes,- from cartoonists, to interviewers and commentators!
Australia in the '50s was a mirror image of British society. I arrived to this homogeneously "grey,waspish" country, as it appeared to my teenage eyes and it seemed so boring after the excitement of European diversity of languages, cultures, foods, scenery, peoples and religions,- that the monotone society, landscape ( eucalyptus trees everywhere one looked), foods (roast beef, roast lamb, roast pork,- sliced cold for lunch, thinly sliced hot with gravy for dinner), extraneous British heritage bored me to such an extent that at the first opportunity (after I reached adulthood and independence),- I escaped to revive my senses back in old Europe! But then of course,- so did every other young educated middle-class Australian,-the European & English experience was 'de rigueur' for everyone as soon as they managed to save the fare!
One had to escape the dullness of Australia, to learn to appreciate it later! Then the parochialism set in! Now Australia has all the diversity in the world, through its 145 or so ethnic groups within its borders! "Recognising human nature means that multiculturalism, though a fine sentiment, can only work if we unite behind a core set of values. Unfortunately though, that policy has become licence for rampant cultural relativism. We are loath to criticise any aspects of cultures (except our own) for fear of sounding terribly judgmental and unfashionably un-multicultural." says Albrechsten.
Modern attitudes in the media which eschews religion per se,- as well as "nationalism" in our society and in the State education systems,- means that a whole new generation has grown up with a variety of moral standards imposed at home, or not all,- except for the private education systems supported by the various religious bodies. What are our Australian core values? Equality of opportunity is available to all, but that does not guarantee equality of outcomes! Those brought up according to old cultures in far-off lands, may clash with the modern attitudes in the general society which make up our core values today.
Hence it matters little if some guys drink alcohol and others don't drink alcohol, some keep their women covered up from head to toe and don't allow promiscuity among them,- and others do. They all seem to go out and fight, rape, deal in drugs and become criminals outside their homes and outside their own communities!
Some Australian 'waspish' youngsters may need to drink before they become violent, or before they may rape a woman in a bikini, but on the whole, most of us women feel, as we should be,- free to wear whatever we like without fear of attack from those around us. The notion that in multicultural Australia we have to give-in to the lowest common denominator for the sake of "political correctness" is bad for everyone!
Therefore, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" is an old but a true adage. Those angry young men (and some women) who have a problem living in our modern, liberal, tolerant, gender-liberated and multicultural society, should try living in their parents' "old countries" for a while. It might enlighten them and straighten them out a little! Trying to change our society through violence to suit themselves won't work.
Hopefully, even the soccer-field may become a uniting force, rather than a divisive one, now that Australia is in the World Cup!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[. The ethnic 'melting pot' is constantly simmering just under the surface and is easily overheated into a 'boiling pot' at the earliest provocation. And our media constantly provokes,- from cartoonists, to interviewers and commentators!}
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The majority of Australians are waking up to the unpleasant fact that there is a growing amount of interethnic-violence developing in our country. Most of us who come from Europe post WW2 could have predicted it. It was inevitable given the naiveté of the Australian politicians who devised the multicultural policies in this country.
"Racism is repulsive" writes Janet Albrechsten in The Australian (14/12/2005).
In the article "Racism is Ugly", Albrechsten writes: "There is so much more to this than racism. And we're fooling ourselves if we pretend otherwise. Britain has a much deeper experience of cultural tension. And that experience has thrown up some thoughtful debate missing in Australia right now. Last year, David Goodhart, editor of the progressive Prospect, wrote a controversial piece "Discomfit of strangers". It explored the tenuous fabric that binds us as a society. He pointed to the "progressive dilemma" : the conflict between solidarity and diversity. He compared the homogeneous nature of British society in the 1950s with the present one, where individualism and diversity have produced a very different society."
The problem is that the policy-makers don't understand or acknowledge the difference between intercultural rivalries, bigotry, religious vilification and real racism. Anti-Semitism is real racism; the "White Australia" policy of the past, was based on real racism; older Anglo-Saxon Australians (the WASPS) may be bigoted, very parochial, but mostly no longer racist, - except perhaps against some of their own indigenous population, i.e. the black Aborigines. They are certainly not violently racist!
However, post WW2 saw an influx of immigrants from war-torn Europe who wanted to escape the inter-ethnic wars of that continent and live a peaceful life as far away from Europe as possible. Once here though, rearing their young families in this peaceful and tolerant environment, they all wanted to perpetuate their own cultural identities in this foreign land. They therefore perpetuated also all their old prejudices and worse, their ancient hatreds of former adversaries in their old countries, by instilling these into their next generations. It started with the former Nazis who escaped here, the forerunners of the current "White Supremacists", neo-Nazis and Holocaust deniers and continues with the former radical Islamists who infiltrated this country before 'September 11'! All of this facilitated by successive Governments who wanted their votes!
The upwardly-mobile elites in each community became educated and easily integrated into the general Australian population. The Governments kept feeding their communities with financial resources for whatever programs or projects they wanted. The less cultured lay-leaders however, remained in their own narrow community confines and until recently one did not hear very much about conflicts between the various groups. Occasionally there were flare-ups between, say, Macedonians and Greeks on the football field; the Turkish Embassy in Melbourne was bombed by Armenians some years ago; but otherwise our politicians prided themselves that Australia is a placid melting-pot of some 145 different ethnic groups and that their past policies of multiculturalism are working well.
I have always felt that they were being naïve. There is "culture" and there is "nurture",- and both are not necessarily conducive to peaceful coexistence. The first generation of immigrants is afraid to 'rock the boat', therefore they avoid drawing attention to themselves. Subsequent generations become more assertive, more unafraid of authority, more vocal and therefore quite ready to clash with others and the authorities. The ethnic 'melting pot' is constantly simmering just under the surface and is easily overheated into a 'boiling pot' at the earliest provocation. And our media constantly provokes,- from cartoonists, to interviewers and commentators!
Australia in the '50s was a mirror image of British society. I arrived to this homogeneously "grey,waspish" country, as it appeared to my teenage eyes and it seemed so boring after the excitement of European diversity of languages, cultures, foods, scenery, peoples and religions,- that the monotone society, landscape ( eucalyptus trees everywhere one looked), foods (roast beef, roast lamb, roast pork,- sliced cold for lunch, thinly sliced hot with gravy for dinner), extraneous British heritage bored me to such an extent that at the first opportunity (after I reached adulthood and independence),- I escaped to revive my senses back in old Europe! But then of course,- so did every other young educated middle-class Australian,-the European & English experience was 'de rigueur' for everyone as soon as they managed to save the fare!
One had to escape the dullness of Australia, to learn to appreciate it later! Then the parochialism set in! Now Australia has all the diversity in the world, through its 145 or so ethnic groups within its borders! "Recognising human nature means that multiculturalism, though a fine sentiment, can only work if we unite behind a core set of values. Unfortunately though, that policy has become licence for rampant cultural relativism. We are loath to criticise any aspects of cultures (except our own) for fear of sounding terribly judgmental and unfashionably un-multicultural." says Albrechsten.
Modern attitudes in the media which eschews religion per se,- as well as "nationalism" in our society and in the State education systems,- means that a whole new generation has grown up with a variety of moral standards imposed at home, or not all,- except for the private education systems supported by the various religious bodies. What are our Australian core values? Equality of opportunity is available to all, but that does not guarantee equality of outcomes! Those brought up according to old cultures in far-off lands, may clash with the modern attitudes in the general society which make up our core values today.
Hence it matters little if some guys drink alcohol and others don't drink alcohol, some keep their women covered up from head to toe and don't allow promiscuity among them,- and others do. They all seem to go out and fight, rape, deal in drugs and become criminals outside their homes and outside their own communities!
Some Australian 'waspish' youngsters may need to drink before they become violent, or before they may rape a woman in a bikini, but on the whole, most of us women feel, as we should be,- free to wear whatever we like without fear of attack from those around us. The notion that in multicultural Australia we have to give-in to the lowest common denominator for the sake of "political correctness" is bad for everyone!
Therefore, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" is an old but a true adage. Those angry young men (and some women) who have a problem living in our modern, liberal, tolerant, gender-liberated and multicultural society, should try living in their parents' "old countries" for a while. It might enlighten them and straighten them out a little! Trying to change our society through violence to suit themselves won't work.
Hopefully, even the soccer-field may become a uniting force, rather than a divisive one, now that Australia is in the World Cup!
Friday, December 16, 2005
Zionism and its impact on the Arabs.
http://Zionism and its impact
A very good analysis is available on the Zionism-Israel website above.
The propaganda put out by the anti-Zionists is that the Arabs were displaced by the "foreign Jews" in 1948,- i.e. for every Arab who ran away, there came a Jew to replace him! The deliberate misinformation is to distort the truth to suit the Arab 'narrative' of the poor Palestinian refugees.
Zionism did NOT begin in 1948, not even in the 19th century when only ORGANIZED Zionism as a POLITICAL MOVEMENT began then, because it could not exist before.
Zionism is not an imitation of European nationalism. We Jews had a nation when those people wore hides and worshipped rocks. The Zionist political movement adopted some of the language and concepts of European nationalism in response to those nations' relentless pursuit of Jewish conversion to Christianity and therefore the elimination of the Jews as a separate religious group.Catholicism in particular could not cope with the "stiff-necked Jews" who seemed to thrive wherever they were,- in spite of not accepting Jesus Christ as their saviour or their Messiah!
ZIIC has accounts of Jewish settlement in Tzfat and in Tiberias along with
pictures and poems of Yehuda Halevi. The point is also made in the history of Zionism article. The attachment to Jerusalem and Israel was not simply invented in the 19th century, but part of the age-old prayers of the Jews after the destruction of the Second Temple and dispersal.
By the way, as a political unit it was not called Palestine until 1917 - only
the original Muslim conquest made a Jund of Falestin. After the Turks took
over it wasn't Palestine - only the Christians called it that.
The Arabs' 'narrative' seems to be a deliberate and direct copy of the Jewish real one!
Except that it is a role-reversal! Now they claim victimhood, comparable to the Jews!
Talk about 'blaming the victims" for their own mistakes and misfortunes!
In reality,- there would have been no Palestinian refugees, had the surrounding Arab armies not tried to overrun the tiny new Jewish 'enclave' which was then Palestine, followed by the new country of Israel!
There would have been no refugees then, if they had not heeded their fellow Arab leaders, telling them to flee!
There would be no Palestinian refugees today, if their 250million brethren had resettled them in their own countries, -as Israel did with its Jews from around the world who were looking for refuge.Let alone all of us post-WW2 millions of refugees who were gratefully resettled all over the world,- far, far away from our original homes and homelands!Who else would be so stupid as to put up with living off UNWRAA in squalid refugee camps for over 50 years, instead of opting for peaceful resettlement?
There would have been no need for refugees to start-off, had they realised that they are a nationality in the first place and that they could have a State alongside Israel,- but not one instead of Israel!
Israel today is not Sth. Africa-with-apartheid as the propagandists claim.
It is Palestine and the Palestinians who are spiralling downwards towards:
Zimbabwe!
Finally,-
there would be no refugees and no Palestinian suffering because of their own terrorism, if the Jewish State of Israel would be able to be accepted by its neighbours,-unconditionally!Then the IMPACT OF ZIONISM COULD HAVE BEEN THE ELEVATION OF THE STATUS OF ALL PEOPLES IN THE M.E.
See also:
.
A very good analysis is available on the Zionism-Israel website above.
The propaganda put out by the anti-Zionists is that the Arabs were displaced by the "foreign Jews" in 1948,- i.e. for every Arab who ran away, there came a Jew to replace him! The deliberate misinformation is to distort the truth to suit the Arab 'narrative' of the poor Palestinian refugees.
Zionism did NOT begin in 1948, not even in the 19th century when only ORGANIZED Zionism as a POLITICAL MOVEMENT began then, because it could not exist before.
Zionism is not an imitation of European nationalism. We Jews had a nation when those people wore hides and worshipped rocks. The Zionist political movement adopted some of the language and concepts of European nationalism in response to those nations' relentless pursuit of Jewish conversion to Christianity and therefore the elimination of the Jews as a separate religious group.Catholicism in particular could not cope with the "stiff-necked Jews" who seemed to thrive wherever they were,- in spite of not accepting Jesus Christ as their saviour or their Messiah!
ZIIC has accounts of Jewish settlement in Tzfat and in Tiberias along with
pictures and poems of Yehuda Halevi. The point is also made in the history of Zionism article. The attachment to Jerusalem and Israel was not simply invented in the 19th century, but part of the age-old prayers of the Jews after the destruction of the Second Temple and dispersal.
By the way, as a political unit it was not called Palestine until 1917 - only
the original Muslim conquest made a Jund of Falestin. After the Turks took
over it wasn't Palestine - only the Christians called it that.
The Arabs' 'narrative' seems to be a deliberate and direct copy of the Jewish real one!
Except that it is a role-reversal! Now they claim victimhood, comparable to the Jews!
Talk about 'blaming the victims" for their own mistakes and misfortunes!
In reality,- there would have been no Palestinian refugees, had the surrounding Arab armies not tried to overrun the tiny new Jewish 'enclave' which was then Palestine, followed by the new country of Israel!
There would have been no refugees then, if they had not heeded their fellow Arab leaders, telling them to flee!
There would be no Palestinian refugees today, if their 250million brethren had resettled them in their own countries, -as Israel did with its Jews from around the world who were looking for refuge.Let alone all of us post-WW2 millions of refugees who were gratefully resettled all over the world,- far, far away from our original homes and homelands!Who else would be so stupid as to put up with living off UNWRAA in squalid refugee camps for over 50 years, instead of opting for peaceful resettlement?
There would have been no need for refugees to start-off, had they realised that they are a nationality in the first place and that they could have a State alongside Israel,- but not one instead of Israel!
Israel today is not Sth. Africa-with-apartheid as the propagandists claim.
It is Palestine and the Palestinians who are spiralling downwards towards:
Zimbabwe!
Finally,-
there would be no refugees and no Palestinian suffering because of their own terrorism, if the Jewish State of Israel would be able to be accepted by its neighbours,-unconditionally!Then the IMPACT OF ZIONISM COULD HAVE BEEN THE ELEVATION OF THE STATUS OF ALL PEOPLES IN THE M.E.
See also:
.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Anger over attack on Christmas
This is the most ridiculous debate which has arisen out of the supposed need to be politically correct. Christians celebrate Christmas on December 25, which coincides with the summer holiday period in Australia. It is the "festive season", holiday season, summer vacation, and anything else we wish to call it, including "a shopping festival" (which is good for business!).
But it happens to be also the "Christmas season",- like it or not.
Non-Christians can choose to ignore it or join-in in the festivities.It does not stop us Jews from celebrating Hanukkah,- or Muslims celebrating Ramadan, etc. But imposing on the majority of the population who are observing the Christian tradition, another "neutral" term in the name of political correctness towards our minority religions, is offensive to Christians and utter nonsense.
The article below is an example of the reactions to this stupid suggestion!
Miriam downunder.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anger over attack on ChristmasBy Ainsley Pavey
The Sunday Mail (Qld)
04 December 2005
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17454097-421,00.html
RELIGIOUS groups have launched an attack on Christmas - calling for it to be renamed and toned down.
A leading Islamic body says the use of the term "Christmas" is politically incorrect because it excludes too many people in multicultural Australia.
The Forum on Australia's Islamic Relations wants a community debate to find an alternative - suggesting the word "festive" as a possible replacement.
And a Queensland Jewish leader has called for an end to the "automatic imposition" of Christmas on the community, saying the season has been reduced to a "shopping festival".
-------------------------------------------------------
But it happens to be also the "Christmas season",- like it or not.
Non-Christians can choose to ignore it or join-in in the festivities.It does not stop us Jews from celebrating Hanukkah,- or Muslims celebrating Ramadan, etc. But imposing on the majority of the population who are observing the Christian tradition, another "neutral" term in the name of political correctness towards our minority religions, is offensive to Christians and utter nonsense.
The article below is an example of the reactions to this stupid suggestion!
Miriam downunder.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anger over attack on ChristmasBy Ainsley Pavey
The Sunday Mail (Qld)
04 December 2005
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17454097-421,00.html
RELIGIOUS groups have launched an attack on Christmas - calling for it to be renamed and toned down.
A leading Islamic body says the use of the term "Christmas" is politically incorrect because it excludes too many people in multicultural Australia.
The Forum on Australia's Islamic Relations wants a community debate to find an alternative - suggesting the word "festive" as a possible replacement.
And a Queensland Jewish leader has called for an end to the "automatic imposition" of Christmas on the community, saying the season has been reduced to a "shopping festival".
----------
Women and Religion in Europe : ICJW submission.
This is a Resume for the NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion and Belief in Geneva, submitted by Leila Seigel and Leonie de Picciotto. I wish the member States would really enforce it.
Sara Winkowski, President ICJW, (Uruguay)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Council of Europe‘ s Parliamentary Assembly:
Women and Religion in Europe
(Council of Europe Rapporteur: Mrs Rosmarie Zapfl-Hebling, Switzerland, Sept. 2005 )
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Résumé of submission for the NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion and Belief
submitted by Leila Seigel and Léonie de Picciotto, (ICJW)
---------------------------------------------------------
Council of Europe member States must:
1. protect women against violations of their rights in the name of religion.
2. take a stand against violations of women’s rights justified by cultural or religious relativism, including in international fora such as the UN etc.
3. Ensure that freedom of religion and respect for culture and tradition are not accepted as a pretext to violate women’s rights.
4. Certain Fundamental rights are in conflict with each other (freedom of press & right to privacy). Freedom of Religion must end when violations of women’s rights begin! Be they subtle, open, legal or illegal.
5. It is important to ensure that religious teaching in school fully respect gender equality principles.
Member States are called upon:
6. to put in place and enforce specific effective policies to fight all violations of women’s right to life, bodily integrity, freedom of movement and free choice of partners., including honor crimes, genital mutilation and forced marriages.
7. to refuse recognition of foreign family codes and personal status laws which violate women’s rights, and cease to apply them on their own soil, renegotiating bilateral treaties if necessary(France).
8. to take a stand against all religious doctrine which is anti democratic or disrespectful of human rights, especially women’s rights, and refuse to allow such doctrines to influence political decision making.
9. to actively promote women’s rights, equality and dignity in all areas of life when engaging in dialogue with religious representatives, and work on achieving gender equality in society.
Practically all dominant religious doctrine in Europe is formulated by men (with exception of the Lutherans). In other words, half of Europe’s population (the female half) has no opportunity to influence religious doctrine. The more religious influence we allow to seep back into our societies and political decision making processes, the less representative and the less respectful of women’s rights the resulting policies and practices will tend to be.
Sara Winkowski, President ICJW, (Uruguay)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Council of Europe‘ s Parliamentary Assembly:
Women and Religion in Europe
(Council of Europe Rapporteur: Mrs Rosmarie Zapfl-Hebling, Switzerland, Sept. 2005 )
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Résumé of submission for the NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion and Belief
submitted by Leila Seigel and Léonie de Picciotto, (ICJW)
---------------------------------------------------------
Council of Europe member States must:
1. protect women against violations of their rights in the name of religion.
2. take a stand against violations of women’s rights justified by cultural or religious relativism, including in international fora such as the UN etc.
3. Ensure that freedom of religion and respect for culture and tradition are not accepted as a pretext to violate women’s rights.
4. Certain Fundamental rights are in conflict with each other (freedom of press & right to privacy). Freedom of Religion must end when violations of women’s rights begin! Be they subtle, open, legal or illegal.
5. It is important to ensure that religious teaching in school fully respect gender equality principles.
Member States are called upon:
6. to put in place and enforce specific effective policies to fight all violations of women’s right to life, bodily integrity, freedom of movement and free choice of partners., including honor crimes, genital mutilation and forced marriages.
7. to refuse recognition of foreign family codes and personal status laws which violate women’s rights, and cease to apply them on their own soil, renegotiating bilateral treaties if necessary(France).
8. to take a stand against all religious doctrine which is anti democratic or disrespectful of human rights, especially women’s rights, and refuse to allow such doctrines to influence political decision making.
9. to actively promote women’s rights, equality and dignity in all areas of life when engaging in dialogue with religious representatives, and work on achieving gender equality in society.
Practically all dominant religious doctrine in Europe is formulated by men (with exception of the Lutherans). In other words, half of Europe’s population (the female half) has no opportunity to influence religious doctrine. The more religious influence we allow to seep back into our societies and political decision making processes, the less representative and the less respectful of women’s rights the resulting policies and practices will tend to be.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Nobel Naches for Israeli recipient, Yisrael Aumann.
Nobel Naches
By Judy Lash Balint
Jerusalem--Nobel laureate Yisrael Aumann lives about ten
minutes walk away from me. I share a publisher with his
brother, Moshe, a renowned expert on Christian-Jewish
relations. That's about as close as I get to the Nobel
aura...but tonight, Israelis kvelled as the 75 year old
wearing a white knitted kippa to match his white beard and
starched formal shirt, rose to receive the Nobel prize in
economics for 2005.
As the TV cameras panned the crowd in the Stockholm
auditorium (thank heaven he didn't have to go to Oslo to
receive his prize) it wasn't hard to pick out the Aumann
delegation. First of all it was the largest cheering section
in the hall. Secondly, the men were all wearing white
knitted kippot, while the modestly dressed women sported
colorful, shiny headcoverings.
The Aumann clan spent Shabbat in the Swedish capital,
honored by the local Jewish community. The ceremony started
well after the close of Shabbat, and kosher food was ordered
for the banquet. Despite the fact that Aumann, born in
Germany, was educated in the United States and not in Israel
(like almost all of the previous 8 Israeli Nobel prize
winners) it was still unquestionably a great moment of
kiddush Hashem.
Not surprising then, that the British newspaper, The
Guardian, couldn't help report on the Israeli
"intellectuals" who have garnered 1,000 signatures on a
petition demanding that the Nobel committee withdraw its
prize to Aumann on the grounds that he's a "warmonger."
The effort is actually being led by one Shraga Elam, an
Israeli living in Zurich, long known for his anti-Israel
diatribes.
While Elam grovels amongst the slime of Europe's Israel
bashers, I think I'll walk over to the Aumann home and hang
up a sign welcoming our new Nobel laureate back home to
Jerusalem to thank him for the much-needed infusion of
Jewish pride and the honor he's bestowed on Israel.
---------------------------------------------------------
--
By Judy Lash Balint
Jerusalem--Nobel laureate Yisrael Aumann lives about ten
minutes walk away from me. I share a publisher with his
brother, Moshe, a renowned expert on Christian-Jewish
relations. That's about as close as I get to the Nobel
aura...but tonight, Israelis kvelled as the 75 year old
wearing a white knitted kippa to match his white beard and
starched formal shirt, rose to receive the Nobel prize in
economics for 2005.
As the TV cameras panned the crowd in the Stockholm
auditorium (thank heaven he didn't have to go to Oslo to
receive his prize) it wasn't hard to pick out the Aumann
delegation. First of all it was the largest cheering section
in the hall. Secondly, the men were all wearing white
knitted kippot, while the modestly dressed women sported
colorful, shiny headcoverings.
The Aumann clan spent Shabbat in the Swedish capital,
honored by the local Jewish community. The ceremony started
well after the close of Shabbat, and kosher food was ordered
for the banquet. Despite the fact that Aumann, born in
Germany, was educated in the United States and not in Israel
(like almost all of the previous 8 Israeli Nobel prize
winners) it was still unquestionably a great moment of
kiddush Hashem.
Not surprising then, that the British newspaper, The
Guardian, couldn't help report on the Israeli
"intellectuals" who have garnered 1,000 signatures on a
petition demanding that the Nobel committee withdraw its
prize to Aumann on the grounds that he's a "warmonger."
The effort is actually being led by one Shraga Elam, an
Israeli living in Zurich, long known for his anti-Israel
diatribes.
While Elam grovels amongst the slime of Europe's Israel
bashers, I think I'll walk over to the Aumann home and hang
up a sign welcoming our new Nobel laureate back home to
Jerusalem to thank him for the much-needed infusion of
Jewish pride and the honor he's bestowed on Israel.
---------------------------------------------------------
--
Friday, December 09, 2005
Why is the Left against Israel?
Why is the Left Against Israel?
By Dennis Prager.
http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=4592
The question is rarely asked. It is simply taken for granted that the left - Europe, the Western news media, the universities, the liberal churches, the arts world - supports the (Arab) Palestinians and the larger Arab/Muslim worlds in their war against Israel. But the question does need to be asked. For it is completely inconsistent with the left's professed values to side with Israel's enemies. Just about every value the left claims to uphold Israel upholds and its enemies do not.
The left speaks about its passion for democracy ("power to the people"). Yet it is Israel that is a fully functioning democracy, as opposed to all of its Arab and Muslim enemies. Yasser Arafat is precisely the self-aggrandizing,
corrupt dictator-type that the left claims to hold in contempt.
The left claims to have particular concern for women's rights. Yet it is Israel that has as highly developed a feminist movement as that of any Western country. It is Israel that conscripted women into its armed forces before
almost any Western country. At the same time, the state of women's rights among Israel's Muslim enemies is perhaps the lowest in the world.
The left's greatest current preoccupation is with gay rights. Yet it is Israel that has annual gay pride days, while Egypt and other Arab and Muslim countries arrest homosexuals.
It is Israel that has an independent and highly liberal judiciary. It is Israel that has a leftist press. It is Israel that has been governed more by leftist, even socialist, parties than by rightist ones. Israel's enemies have none of this.
So, why isn't the left out there leading pro-Israel demonstrations? The answer is as important as it is contemptible.
In general, the left does not care about women, independent judiciaries, minorities, democracy, gays or almost anything else for which it marches. That is why the left opposed America's war in Afghanistan, which liberated women from being treated like animals.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
By Dennis Prager.
http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=4592
The question is rarely asked. It is simply taken for granted that the left - Europe, the Western news media, the universities, the liberal churches, the arts world - supports the (Arab) Palestinians and the larger Arab/Muslim worlds in their war against Israel. But the question does need to be asked. For it is completely inconsistent with the left's professed values to side with Israel's enemies. Just about every value the left claims to uphold Israel upholds and its enemies do not.
The left speaks about its passion for democracy ("power to the people"). Yet it is Israel that is a fully functioning democracy, as opposed to all of its Arab and Muslim enemies. Yasser Arafat is precisely the self-aggrandizing,
corrupt dictator-type that the left claims to hold in contempt.
The left claims to have particular concern for women's rights. Yet it is Israel that has as highly developed a feminist movement as that of any Western country. It is Israel that conscripted women into its armed forces before
almost any Western country. At the same time, the state of women's rights among Israel's Muslim enemies is perhaps the lowest in the world.
The left's greatest current preoccupation is with gay rights. Yet it is Israel that has annual gay pride days, while Egypt and other Arab and Muslim countries arrest homosexuals.
It is Israel that has an independent and highly liberal judiciary. It is Israel that has a leftist press. It is Israel that has been governed more by leftist, even socialist, parties than by rightist ones. Israel's enemies have none of this.
So, why isn't the left out there leading pro-Israel demonstrations? The answer is as important as it is contemptible.
In general, the left does not care about women, independent judiciaries, minorities, democracy, gays or almost anything else for which it marches. That is why the left opposed America's war in Afghanistan, which liberated women from being treated like animals.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Antisemitic images used by cartoonists.
Political cartoonists think that they are above criticism.
In targeting a politician as an individual for satire,they sometimes ignore the fact that the imagery they use can be downright racist and forment hatred of a group, not only of the individual.
Targeting Israelis and their PM, Sharon, they often use Goebbels-like images,- then claim that they are not antisemitic!
Baloney! The fact that the editors then allow such incitement to hatred of Jews to be published is even more regretable.
MM.
=============================================
Gallery traces anti-Semitism in political cartoons (Staff and agencies),
7 December, 2005
By Peter Graff
http://www.leadingthecharge.com/stories/news-00109102.html
LONDON - Is criticism of Israel anti-Semitic if it uses the same kinds of images as those long used to attack Jews?
That question will be posed by an exhibition of anti-Semitic art appearing in London early next year and inspired in part by a three-year-old
British political cartoon that showed a naked Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon eating a Palestinian baby.
The exhibition, using images from a Jewish doctor's private collection, will be held at a London gallery that was fiercely criticized by Israel and Jewish groups when it gave its top annual award to the Sharon cartoon.
"What's the boundary between legitimate political criticism and racist propaganda? It is difficult to determine. But I think it's a question of
using the same language," said Simon Cohen, the doctor who is putting his collection on display.
"People have been picturing Jews killing babies, eating babies for hundreds of years. They should be aware of what the significance of using
anti-Semitic images is."
Certain themes persist in anti-Semitic imagery and can be found in the Middle Ages, 19th century Europe, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union and
contemporary Arab media.
Cohen has images of Jews portrayed as hairy apes, bloodsucking spiders, and greedy merchants. Infanticide, as depicted in the Sharon cartoon, is a common theme, he says.
His collection includes a 15th century German print that shows Jews taking a child's blood, and another from France about the same time that shows a Jewish serpent with children's legs hanging from its jaws. [If anyone is guilty of childicide, the prize must surely go to the "Christian" European continent which has massacred Jewish children - apart from Jews of all ages - by the millions (1.5 million alone during the Second World War!) over the past 1,500 years. TG]
He also has a Palestinian cartoon from 2001 of Sharon eating a bowl full of babies with a fork.
Cohen had been thinking for years about mounting an exhibition of his collection to show the public how persistent anti-Semitic images have been over the centuries.
The Sharon cartoon by artist David Brown for Britain's Independent newspaper helped persuade him: to Cohen, anyone who failed to see the cartoon as anti-Semitic must be ignorant of the history of such images.
Cartoonists say it is acceptable to target individual politicians, even with strong imagery, as long as they do not malign Jews as a group.
"It doesn't use a stereotype. It's about an individual person, not a race," Brown said of his work, which is based on Francisco de Goya's painting of Saturn eating one of his sons.
"Because some people are offended does that automatically mean it's anti-Semitic? No," Brown added. [Oh, come on Mr. Brown-nose! Why didn't you consider doing that cartoon with Arafat as the gobbler of Jewish/Israeli babies? After all he was directly responsible for the slaughter of more Jewish babies since the defeat of Hitlerism. TG]
The artist said he feared some people used the charge of anti-Semitism to intimidate political critics.
"Some people might have been genuinely offended. Other people might have used this to force cartoonists to censor themselves," he said.
[Well, even uebermenschen cartoonists might consider not crossing the red lines of ethics and good taste. TG]
When the cartoon appeared in 2003, the Israeli embassy said it repeated the charge of "blood libel," a medieval anti-Semitic myth that Jews used non-Jewish children's blood in rituals.
Britain's Press Complaints Commission ruled that the cartoon was not anti-Semitic, and the Independent's editors said any offence was
unintentional. [Pull the other leg....! We all know what the Independent stands for... ! TG]
But the furor grew louder when Brown was later given the top prize at the Political Cartoon Society's annual awards.
"NAZI SWINE"
Israeli newspapers wrote editorials about it, and Natan Sharansky, an Israeli cabinet minister at the time, stopped by the Society's gallery to
discuss anti-Semitism in political art.
Tim Benson, who runs the Political Cartoon Society, said the judges -- mostly other cartoonists and cartoon enthusiasts -- had picked Brown's image because of the heated response.
"People recognized it because of the Israeli embassy. They voted for it because it had an impact," he said.
"That's the kind of work he does. He tends to use graphic imagery, whether it's Blair or Bush or Sharon or whoever," said Benson, a professional
historian who is also Jewish but who says this is irrelevant to his position on the cartoon.
For Cohen, the Political Cartoon Society's gallery seemed the perfect venue to hold his exhibition. He was happy to find that Benson -- who insists
there is nothing wrong with Brown's cartoon -- was enthusiastic.
"We disagree completely about everything, but I like working with him," Cohen said.
Cohen said he expects to show the Brown cartoon in the exhibition, although Brown said he had not yet been approached for permission."
After Brown received the award, the Political Cartoon Society's gallery received furious e-mails. One called the gallery "a bunch of Nazi
swine" while another dubbed its prize "the Joseph Goebbels award" after the Nazi propagandist. [These are really mild complaints considering that they show the real perverted, hate-filled mindset of the "cartoonist" and Der Independent. TG]
Several compared Brown's drawing to the cartoons of Der Stuermer, the Nazi propaganda newspaper. Bound volumes of Der Stuermer will appear in
Cohen's exhibition.
Brown says the comparison is unfair. [He's right! The comparison is far too mild. In fact "comparison" is the wrong word altogether. Pardon me for suspecting that Brown shares the EXACT SAME prejudices, the exact same primitive hatred of Jews as the Der Stuermer "cartoonists". TG]
"These people must never have seen those cartoons," he said. "The Stuermer cartoons are littered with stars of David and Hebrew writing, whereas I make a specific point about an individual and his policy," he said.
He deliberately avoided drawing the Israeli flag in his cartoon, since it bears the star of David, a religious symbol. [Well, well, well! Now we know why he covered Sharon's private parts - it was all because he didn't want to hurt anyone's sensitive feelings by showing that circumcised "religious symbol". How touching. How absolutely non anti-semitic. How unconvincing...! What a Shmock! Brown, that is, not the carefully hidden part of Sharon's you know what!!! TG]
Benson said the controversy showed the power of cartoons to stoke passions. [And incite racist hatreds to a high pitch. TG]
"I did this exhibition on the Middle East and the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and because it was scrupulously fair, nobody gave a damn about it." [Say that again, Mr. Benson. Watcha mean "Nobody gave a damn about it? Come on. Apart from you, I doubt whether there was a single proud Jew who didn't give a damn about it. Most Jews, and decent non-Jews, were not only disgusted but also angered by that biased, repulsive, insulting, racist "cartoon". And this is from someone who has never been a fan of Ariel Sharon to put it mildly. TG]
(BRITAIN-CARTOON; Editing by Clar Ni Chonghaile; London newsroom: +44 207 542 7947)
http://www.leadingthecharge.com/stories/news-00109102.html
--
In targeting a politician as an individual for satire,they sometimes ignore the fact that the imagery they use can be downright racist and forment hatred of a group, not only of the individual.
Targeting Israelis and their PM, Sharon, they often use Goebbels-like images,- then claim that they are not antisemitic!
Baloney! The fact that the editors then allow such incitement to hatred of Jews to be published is even more regretable.
MM.
=============================================
Gallery traces anti-Semitism in political cartoons (Staff and agencies),
7 December, 2005
By Peter Graff
http://www.leadingthecharge.com/stories/news-00109102.html
LONDON - Is criticism of Israel anti-Semitic if it uses the same kinds of images as those long used to attack Jews?
That question will be posed by an exhibition of anti-Semitic art appearing in London early next year and inspired in part by a three-year-old
British political cartoon that showed a naked Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon eating a Palestinian baby.
The exhibition, using images from a Jewish doctor's private collection, will be held at a London gallery that was fiercely criticized by Israel and Jewish groups when it gave its top annual award to the Sharon cartoon.
"What's the boundary between legitimate political criticism and racist propaganda? It is difficult to determine. But I think it's a question of
using the same language," said Simon Cohen, the doctor who is putting his collection on display.
"People have been picturing Jews killing babies, eating babies for hundreds of years. They should be aware of what the significance of using
anti-Semitic images is."
Certain themes persist in anti-Semitic imagery and can be found in the Middle Ages, 19th century Europe, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union and
contemporary Arab media.
Cohen has images of Jews portrayed as hairy apes, bloodsucking spiders, and greedy merchants. Infanticide, as depicted in the Sharon cartoon, is a common theme, he says.
His collection includes a 15th century German print that shows Jews taking a child's blood, and another from France about the same time that shows a Jewish serpent with children's legs hanging from its jaws. [If anyone is guilty of childicide, the prize must surely go to the "Christian" European continent which has massacred Jewish children - apart from Jews of all ages - by the millions (1.5 million alone during the Second World War!) over the past 1,500 years. TG]
He also has a Palestinian cartoon from 2001 of Sharon eating a bowl full of babies with a fork.
Cohen had been thinking for years about mounting an exhibition of his collection to show the public how persistent anti-Semitic images have been over the centuries.
The Sharon cartoon by artist David Brown for Britain's Independent newspaper helped persuade him: to Cohen, anyone who failed to see the cartoon as anti-Semitic must be ignorant of the history of such images.
Cartoonists say it is acceptable to target individual politicians, even with strong imagery, as long as they do not malign Jews as a group.
"It doesn't use a stereotype. It's about an individual person, not a race," Brown said of his work, which is based on Francisco de Goya's painting of Saturn eating one of his sons.
"Because some people are offended does that automatically mean it's anti-Semitic? No," Brown added. [Oh, come on Mr. Brown-nose! Why didn't you consider doing that cartoon with Arafat as the gobbler of Jewish/Israeli babies? After all he was directly responsible for the slaughter of more Jewish babies since the defeat of Hitlerism. TG]
The artist said he feared some people used the charge of anti-Semitism to intimidate political critics.
"Some people might have been genuinely offended. Other people might have used this to force cartoonists to censor themselves," he said.
[Well, even uebermenschen cartoonists might consider not crossing the red lines of ethics and good taste. TG]
When the cartoon appeared in 2003, the Israeli embassy said it repeated the charge of "blood libel," a medieval anti-Semitic myth that Jews used non-Jewish children's blood in rituals.
Britain's Press Complaints Commission ruled that the cartoon was not anti-Semitic, and the Independent's editors said any offence was
unintentional. [Pull the other leg....! We all know what the Independent stands for... ! TG]
But the furor grew louder when Brown was later given the top prize at the Political Cartoon Society's annual awards.
"NAZI SWINE"
Israeli newspapers wrote editorials about it, and Natan Sharansky, an Israeli cabinet minister at the time, stopped by the Society's gallery to
discuss anti-Semitism in political art.
Tim Benson, who runs the Political Cartoon Society, said the judges -- mostly other cartoonists and cartoon enthusiasts -- had picked Brown's image because of the heated response.
"People recognized it because of the Israeli embassy. They voted for it because it had an impact," he said.
"That's the kind of work he does. He tends to use graphic imagery, whether it's Blair or Bush or Sharon or whoever," said Benson, a professional
historian who is also Jewish but who says this is irrelevant to his position on the cartoon.
For Cohen, the Political Cartoon Society's gallery seemed the perfect venue to hold his exhibition. He was happy to find that Benson -- who insists
there is nothing wrong with Brown's cartoon -- was enthusiastic.
"We disagree completely about everything, but I like working with him," Cohen said.
Cohen said he expects to show the Brown cartoon in the exhibition, although Brown said he had not yet been approached for permission."
After Brown received the award, the Political Cartoon Society's gallery received furious e-mails. One called the gallery "a bunch of Nazi
swine" while another dubbed its prize "the Joseph Goebbels award" after the Nazi propagandist. [These are really mild complaints considering that they show the real perverted, hate-filled mindset of the "cartoonist" and Der Independent. TG]
Several compared Brown's drawing to the cartoons of Der Stuermer, the Nazi propaganda newspaper. Bound volumes of Der Stuermer will appear in
Cohen's exhibition.
Brown says the comparison is unfair. [He's right! The comparison is far too mild. In fact "comparison" is the wrong word altogether. Pardon me for suspecting that Brown shares the EXACT SAME prejudices, the exact same primitive hatred of Jews as the Der Stuermer "cartoonists". TG]
"These people must never have seen those cartoons," he said. "The Stuermer cartoons are littered with stars of David and Hebrew writing, whereas I make a specific point about an individual and his policy," he said.
He deliberately avoided drawing the Israeli flag in his cartoon, since it bears the star of David, a religious symbol. [Well, well, well! Now we know why he covered Sharon's private parts - it was all because he didn't want to hurt anyone's sensitive feelings by showing that circumcised "religious symbol". How touching. How absolutely non anti-semitic. How unconvincing...! What a Shmock! Brown, that is, not the carefully hidden part of Sharon's you know what!!! TG]
Benson said the controversy showed the power of cartoons to stoke passions. [And incite racist hatreds to a high pitch. TG]
"I did this exhibition on the Middle East and the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and because it was scrupulously fair, nobody gave a damn about it." [Say that again, Mr. Benson. Watcha mean "Nobody gave a damn about it? Come on. Apart from you, I doubt whether there was a single proud Jew who didn't give a damn about it. Most Jews, and decent non-Jews, were not only disgusted but also angered by that biased, repulsive, insulting, racist "cartoon". And this is from someone who has never been a fan of Ariel Sharon to put it mildly. TG]
(BRITAIN-CARTOON; Editing by Clar Ni Chonghaile; London newsroom: +44 207 542 7947)
http://www.leadingthecharge.com/stories/news-00109102.html
--
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Terror unlimited: PA's new law!
http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=20445
The PA's New Terror Law
By Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld and Alyssa A. Lappen
FrontPageMagazine.com | December 6, 2005
The very same day that an Islamic Jihad suicide bomber killed at least five Israelis and wounded more than 40 innocent people in a Netanya shopping mall, the Palestinian daily, al Hayat al Jadida (page 3), reported that Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas, signed a new law to support the families of suicide bombers.
A day earlier (Dec 4, 2005), the news was celebrated in a special gathering in Gaza, organized by Yasser Ararir, Chairman of the Gazan Association of Martyr Families, who led the public campaign for the approval of this law for over a year. He praised Abbas' decision.
Enacting a special law to financially support terrorists will ensure that this kind of activity continues. Each shahid’s family will receive a monthly stipend of at least $250. The family of a married shahid will receive an additional $50. Parents will receive an additional $25, and each additional child and/or brother or sister will get another $15.
This new budget to support the families of suicide bombers comes on the heels of the recent approval of another new law providing more than $50 million per year to support Palestinian terrorists in Israeli prisons and Palestinian terrorists wounded while attacking Israel.
According to the latest figures from the Palestinian Authority, 3,746 Palestinians were killed to date during the second Intifada (September 2000 - December 2005). Many of them were killed while engaging in terrorist attacks against Israel. The budget for this group alone is more than $11 million per year.
Add the financial support now enacted by law to the families, spouses, children and siblings and the budget will increase by at least $20 million annually. This new law is not limited only to the suicide bombers of the second Intifada, but includes all the Palestinian suicide bombers since this practice began – thereby, adding many more millions of dollars to the budget for more terrorists. For example, covering the basic monthly grant for the 1,533 Palestinian terrorists who participated in the first Intifada (1987 - 1993), will total more than $4.5 million per year.
This law provides legitimacy to the “armed struggle” and elevates terrorists to the status of “national heroes.”
According to official Palestinian sources, the PA is transferring $4 million every month to Palestinian terrorists held in Israeli prisons. In total, support for the “martyr families,” prisoners and the wounded could reach more than 10 percent ($100 million) of the PA’s national $1 billion budget.
The financial benefit for the families of the shahids, prisoners and wounded terrorists do not end with the Palestinian Authority. In addition to the PA’s handsome rewards, they also receive grants from the so-called” charitable” organizations of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, to the tune of tens of millions annually. The source of most of this money is charity trusts out of Saudi Arabia, Iran and Persian Gulf states with some donations being channeled through Islamic charities in Europe and the United States.
Israel had outlawed all charitable organizations belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad because they are part of the economic infrastructure that supports terrorist activities.
This new law that funds terrorism is the most egregious evidence of the Palestinians’ intentions to wage permanent war on Israel.
In what has become the staple subterfuge of PA, Abbas issued a condemnation of the latest attack in Netanya: "These operations against civilians cause the greatest damage to our commitment to the peace process, and the Palestinian National Authority will not show indulgence towards anyone who is found responsible for this operation." Yet, hours earlier, Abbas had signed into law financial incentives for future suicide bombers. It is time for the international community to stop funding the PA.
Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, author of Funding Evil: How Terrorism is Financed—and How to Stop It, is director of American Center for Democracy and member of the Committee on the Present Danger. Alyssa A. Lappen is a freelance journalist who frequently contributes to FrontPageMagazine and other online journals.
The PA's New Terror Law
By Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld and Alyssa A. Lappen
FrontPageMagazine.com | December 6, 2005
The very same day that an Islamic Jihad suicide bomber killed at least five Israelis and wounded more than 40 innocent people in a Netanya shopping mall, the Palestinian daily, al Hayat al Jadida (page 3), reported that Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas, signed a new law to support the families of suicide bombers.
A day earlier (Dec 4, 2005), the news was celebrated in a special gathering in Gaza, organized by Yasser Ararir, Chairman of the Gazan Association of Martyr Families, who led the public campaign for the approval of this law for over a year. He praised Abbas' decision.
Enacting a special law to financially support terrorists will ensure that this kind of activity continues. Each shahid’s family will receive a monthly stipend of at least $250. The family of a married shahid will receive an additional $50. Parents will receive an additional $25, and each additional child and/or brother or sister will get another $15.
This new budget to support the families of suicide bombers comes on the heels of the recent approval of another new law providing more than $50 million per year to support Palestinian terrorists in Israeli prisons and Palestinian terrorists wounded while attacking Israel.
According to the latest figures from the Palestinian Authority, 3,746 Palestinians were killed to date during the second Intifada (September 2000 - December 2005). Many of them were killed while engaging in terrorist attacks against Israel. The budget for this group alone is more than $11 million per year.
Add the financial support now enacted by law to the families, spouses, children and siblings and the budget will increase by at least $20 million annually. This new law is not limited only to the suicide bombers of the second Intifada, but includes all the Palestinian suicide bombers since this practice began – thereby, adding many more millions of dollars to the budget for more terrorists. For example, covering the basic monthly grant for the 1,533 Palestinian terrorists who participated in the first Intifada (1987 - 1993), will total more than $4.5 million per year.
This law provides legitimacy to the “armed struggle” and elevates terrorists to the status of “national heroes.”
According to official Palestinian sources, the PA is transferring $4 million every month to Palestinian terrorists held in Israeli prisons. In total, support for the “martyr families,” prisoners and the wounded could reach more than 10 percent ($100 million) of the PA’s national $1 billion budget.
The financial benefit for the families of the shahids, prisoners and wounded terrorists do not end with the Palestinian Authority. In addition to the PA’s handsome rewards, they also receive grants from the so-called” charitable” organizations of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, to the tune of tens of millions annually. The source of most of this money is charity trusts out of Saudi Arabia, Iran and Persian Gulf states with some donations being channeled through Islamic charities in Europe and the United States.
Israel had outlawed all charitable organizations belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad because they are part of the economic infrastructure that supports terrorist activities.
This new law that funds terrorism is the most egregious evidence of the Palestinians’ intentions to wage permanent war on Israel.
In what has become the staple subterfuge of PA, Abbas issued a condemnation of the latest attack in Netanya: "These operations against civilians cause the greatest damage to our commitment to the peace process, and the Palestinian National Authority will not show indulgence towards anyone who is found responsible for this operation." Yet, hours earlier, Abbas had signed into law financial incentives for future suicide bombers. It is time for the international community to stop funding the PA.
Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, author of Funding Evil: How Terrorism is Financed—and How to Stop It, is director of American Center for Democracy and member of the Committee on the Present Danger. Alyssa A. Lappen is a freelance journalist who frequently contributes to FrontPageMagazine and other online journals.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
The changing face of Judaism:women Rabbis.
In Israel, the majority of Israeli Jews consider themselves "secular",- meaning that "the synagogue I don't go to (except for special events) is an Orthodox one",- i.e. all-male Rabbis and separate women's section.
However, there are now quite a few Conservative and Reform Movement Congregations scattered around the country. Their Rabbis are struggling to be accepted to perform recognised weddings and officiate at other rituals and ceremonies. The Chief Rabbinate is Orthodox and has all the powers in areas of personal status.
MM.
"I am not a female 'rav,' "I am a 'raba."
"I am not a female 'rav,'" says Elad-Appelbaum, "I am a 'raba." By emphasizing the female form of the traditional word for rabbi, Tamar Elad-Appelbaum, who will be ordained as a Conservative rabbi during Wednesday's ceremony, is also highlighting the special place of women in Judaism. She offers classes and singing sessions for women only and says that her style of leadership is inclusive and supportive, gathering opinions instead of having the final word.
"I make it a priority to help open doors for women," she says.
Elad-Appelbaum's sensitivity to the place of women in Judaism may be rooted in her own struggle for equality in the Jewish community. Growing up in an intellectual, Orthodox home in Jerusalem, she studied biblical and halachic (religious legal) texts at the progressive Orthodox Pelech high school in Jerusalem, then continued to study at a women's learning program at Kibbutz Ein Hanatziv.
Highly committed to a religious lifestyle, she was involved in maintaining a high standard of religious observance, but felt that doors were closed to her because of her gender.
While in high school, she attempted to pray with a minyan (prayer quorum) three times a day but found that the doors to the women's section were locked - literally.
By the time she was a university student, the situation had become clear to her. Although she had followed a similar path to the one traveled by her male friends - studying Jewish texts and teaching - they would have the option of being ordained as rabbis, while she would not.
"When I married, my husband and I began looking for a place where we could both feel comfortable religiously and we found it at a Conservative synagogue in Beit Hakerem," she says.
Today the pulpit rabbi at Kehillat Magen Avraham in Moshav Omer, near Beersheba, Elad-Appelbaum has taken her place in an old rabbinic chain, but she says she is up to the task of being a female pioneer.
"I think it is very important for women not only to get ordination but to be pulpit rabbis and to have the family life of a female rabbi as an example to the community," she says.
Although the idea of a woman at the helm of a community is still strange to some people, Elad-Appelbaum believes it may all be a matter what she calls "aesthetics."
The more people get used to seeing a woman leading a congregation at one of the 50 Masorati communities in Israel, the more natural it will become, she is convinced.
"I can't tell you how many women from all sectors within Israeli society - secular, settlers, modern-haredi - have opened up a dialogue with me about my role as a female rabbi. There is something about it that creates curiosity, which leads to important conversations," she explains.
Rabbi Dr. Einat Ramon, acting dean of the Schechter Institute, has seen firsthand the growth of women rabbis within the movement from her perspective as the first Israeli-born ordained rabbi and a teacher of Jewish thought, literature and feminism at the institute.
"Twenty years ago, they were not ready to admit women to rabbinical school and now there are about as many women studying for ordination as men," she observes.
The TALI (augmented Jewish studies) schools, which provide a curriculum combining general and Jewish studies in a pluralist environment, reflect the kind of egalitarian environment that Ramon says is now characteristic of the movement. Although TALI teachers identify as everything from Orthodox to anti-religious, everyone respects the right of others to have their own views.
Perhaps because of this, the schools have become gathering places for pupils, even when school is out. On Purim in Gilo, for example, the TALI school Megila reading is a popular place to be - although most of the pupils' families are not affiliated with the Masorati movement.
Hagit Sabag-Yisrael, a Conservative ordainee, has served as the rabbi of the TALI schools in Ashkelon and in Yavne, and as a counselor and advisor in schools in Netivot and Beersheba. She believes that the center of Jewish life in Israel is not necessarily the synagogue but is often in the school or the beit midrash.
In Yavne, she has been instrumental in organizing learning programs for adults and programs in which parents and children learn together.
Like the Reform movement's Regev, Sabag-Yisrael believes that through the medium of informal study sessions and the creation of a community-wide sacred space, people who have not been exposed to Judaism will get connected.
"During my years of study, the beit midrash has been for me a place that embraced and enabled. It is the place where I was empowered as a woman - "an equal among equals" - a space for learning where 'any question can be asked' and fertile ground for academic and personal growth," she has said.
Empowered by her learning, Sabag-Yisrael would also like to form a coalition of women from all streams of Judaism to help those women who have been refused a get (divorce) or are dealing with other halachic difficulties.
According to Amir, all these challenges will take a long time and sustained effort to surmount. "Moving towards egalitarianism is a long process. It is not only about gender but about creating equality on every level of Israeli society," he says.
However, there are now quite a few Conservative and Reform Movement Congregations scattered around the country. Their Rabbis are struggling to be accepted to perform recognised weddings and officiate at other rituals and ceremonies. The Chief Rabbinate is Orthodox and has all the powers in areas of personal status.
MM.
"I am not a female 'rav,' "I am a 'raba."
"I am not a female 'rav,'" says Elad-Appelbaum, "I am a 'raba." By emphasizing the female form of the traditional word for rabbi, Tamar Elad-Appelbaum, who will be ordained as a Conservative rabbi during Wednesday's ceremony, is also highlighting the special place of women in Judaism. She offers classes and singing sessions for women only and says that her style of leadership is inclusive and supportive, gathering opinions instead of having the final word.
"I make it a priority to help open doors for women," she says.
Elad-Appelbaum's sensitivity to the place of women in Judaism may be rooted in her own struggle for equality in the Jewish community. Growing up in an intellectual, Orthodox home in Jerusalem, she studied biblical and halachic (religious legal) texts at the progressive Orthodox Pelech high school in Jerusalem, then continued to study at a women's learning program at Kibbutz Ein Hanatziv.
Highly committed to a religious lifestyle, she was involved in maintaining a high standard of religious observance, but felt that doors were closed to her because of her gender.
While in high school, she attempted to pray with a minyan (prayer quorum) three times a day but found that the doors to the women's section were locked - literally.
By the time she was a university student, the situation had become clear to her. Although she had followed a similar path to the one traveled by her male friends - studying Jewish texts and teaching - they would have the option of being ordained as rabbis, while she would not.
"When I married, my husband and I began looking for a place where we could both feel comfortable religiously and we found it at a Conservative synagogue in Beit Hakerem," she says.
Today the pulpit rabbi at Kehillat Magen Avraham in Moshav Omer, near Beersheba, Elad-Appelbaum has taken her place in an old rabbinic chain, but she says she is up to the task of being a female pioneer.
"I think it is very important for women not only to get ordination but to be pulpit rabbis and to have the family life of a female rabbi as an example to the community," she says.
Although the idea of a woman at the helm of a community is still strange to some people, Elad-Appelbaum believes it may all be a matter what she calls "aesthetics."
The more people get used to seeing a woman leading a congregation at one of the 50 Masorati communities in Israel, the more natural it will become, she is convinced.
"I can't tell you how many women from all sectors within Israeli society - secular, settlers, modern-haredi - have opened up a dialogue with me about my role as a female rabbi. There is something about it that creates curiosity, which leads to important conversations," she explains.
Rabbi Dr. Einat Ramon, acting dean of the Schechter Institute, has seen firsthand the growth of women rabbis within the movement from her perspective as the first Israeli-born ordained rabbi and a teacher of Jewish thought, literature and feminism at the institute.
"Twenty years ago, they were not ready to admit women to rabbinical school and now there are about as many women studying for ordination as men," she observes.
The TALI (augmented Jewish studies) schools, which provide a curriculum combining general and Jewish studies in a pluralist environment, reflect the kind of egalitarian environment that Ramon says is now characteristic of the movement. Although TALI teachers identify as everything from Orthodox to anti-religious, everyone respects the right of others to have their own views.
Perhaps because of this, the schools have become gathering places for pupils, even when school is out. On Purim in Gilo, for example, the TALI school Megila reading is a popular place to be - although most of the pupils' families are not affiliated with the Masorati movement.
Hagit Sabag-Yisrael, a Conservative ordainee, has served as the rabbi of the TALI schools in Ashkelon and in Yavne, and as a counselor and advisor in schools in Netivot and Beersheba. She believes that the center of Jewish life in Israel is not necessarily the synagogue but is often in the school or the beit midrash.
In Yavne, she has been instrumental in organizing learning programs for adults and programs in which parents and children learn together.
Like the Reform movement's Regev, Sabag-Yisrael believes that through the medium of informal study sessions and the creation of a community-wide sacred space, people who have not been exposed to Judaism will get connected.
"During my years of study, the beit midrash has been for me a place that embraced and enabled. It is the place where I was empowered as a woman - "an equal among equals" - a space for learning where 'any question can be asked' and fertile ground for academic and personal growth," she has said.
Empowered by her learning, Sabag-Yisrael would also like to form a coalition of women from all streams of Judaism to help those women who have been refused a get (divorce) or are dealing with other halachic difficulties.
According to Amir, all these challenges will take a long time and sustained effort to surmount. "Moving towards egalitarianism is a long process. It is not only about gender but about creating equality on every level of Israeli society," he says.
Sunday, December 04, 2005
WOMEN'S HEALTH WARNING: PAGET'S DISEASE OF THE BREAST
WOMEN'S HEALTH WARNING.
Paget's disease is a form of breast cancer which initially appears as a skin rash and may therefore be easily misdiagnosed at the beginning. Like all forms of breast cancer, early diagnosis saves lives. Therefore it is imperative for women, particularly if over 50, to be aware of the symptoms and not neglect them..
Shortcut to: http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk/Cancertype/Breast/Typesofbreastcancer/Pagetsdisease
Paget's disease of the breast
This information is about a condition called Paget’s disease of the breast. It should ideally be read with CancerBACUP’s general information about cancer of the breast or DCIS.
See above web descrption for :
Paget's disease of the breast
Causes of Paget's disease
Signs and symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment
Research trials
Your feelings
References
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paget’s disease of the breast is an eczema-like change in the skin of the nipple, and 90% of women who have it have an underlying breast cancer. The underlying breast cancer may be an invasive breast cancer or ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). In DCIS the cancer cells are completely contained within the milk ducts.
Around half of the women who have Paget’s disease will have a breast lump that can be felt at the time it is diagnosed.
Paget’s disease occurs in about 1–2% of all women with breast cancer. Usually, it first appears as a scaly, red rash affecting the nipple and sometimes the dark area of skin surrounding the nipple (the areola). The rash always affects the nipple first and may then affect the areola. It does not go away and may become sore. The area may bleed slightly.
Paget’s disease usually occurs in women in their fifties, but it can occur at an earlier or later age. It can affect men but this is extremely rare.
The cause of Paget's disease is unknown, but certain women seem to be at a higher risk of developing breast cancer. This includes women who have never had children, or had them late in life, women who started their periods at a young age or who had a late menopause, and women who have a strong family history of breast cancer.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paget's disease is a form of breast cancer which initially appears as a skin rash and may therefore be easily misdiagnosed at the beginning. Like all forms of breast cancer, early diagnosis saves lives. Therefore it is imperative for women, particularly if over 50, to be aware of the symptoms and not neglect them..
Shortcut to: http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk/Cancertype/Breast/Typesofbreastcancer/Pagetsdisease
Paget's disease of the breast
This information is about a condition called Paget’s disease of the breast. It should ideally be read with CancerBACUP’s general information about cancer of the breast or DCIS.
See above web descrption for :
Paget's disease of the breast
Causes of Paget's disease
Signs and symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment
Research trials
Your feelings
References
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paget’s disease of the breast is an eczema-like change in the skin of the nipple, and 90% of women who have it have an underlying breast cancer. The underlying breast cancer may be an invasive breast cancer or ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). In DCIS the cancer cells are completely contained within the milk ducts.
Around half of the women who have Paget’s disease will have a breast lump that can be felt at the time it is diagnosed.
Paget’s disease occurs in about 1–2% of all women with breast cancer. Usually, it first appears as a scaly, red rash affecting the nipple and sometimes the dark area of skin surrounding the nipple (the areola). The rash always affects the nipple first and may then affect the areola. It does not go away and may become sore. The area may bleed slightly.
Paget’s disease usually occurs in women in their fifties, but it can occur at an earlier or later age. It can affect men but this is extremely rare.
The cause of Paget's disease is unknown, but certain women seem to be at a higher risk of developing breast cancer. This includes women who have never had children, or had them late in life, women who started their periods at a young age or who had a late menopause, and women who have a strong family history of breast cancer.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Israel Politics: an Arab perspective.
HYPERLINK "/"www.wpherald.com
HYPERLINK "http://www.wpherald.com//storyview.php?storyid=20051201-014847-4550r"
Viewpoint: No change in Sharon's objectives
By Ramzy Baroud
World Peace Herald Contributor
Published December 1, 2005
(Ramzy Baroud, a veteran Arab American journalist, teaches mass communication at Australia's Curtin University of Technology, Malaysia Campus. He is the editor-in-chief of PalestineChronicle.com )
Most of what has been written or said to depict Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's departure from the Likud party is parable to an "earthquake," or the "eruption of a volcano," and has, without a doubt, turned the Israeli political map "topsy-turvy," to borrow Ha'aretz Gideon Samet's phrase.
Like an earthquake it was unforeseeable -- except to the prudent few, mostly in Israeli political circles who predicted a dead end in Sharon's dealings with the Likud, the same political party he helped create 30 years ago.
But acknowledging the significance of the undeniably consequential event is one thing. Succumbing to a flawed analysis that it is a real opportunity to resuscitate the so-called peace process -- is entirely a different matter.
Similar to his unilateral move to "disengage" from the Gaza Strip earlier this year, the rightwing prime minister once again managed to control media discourse surrounding his Nov. 21 decision to jump the Likud ship in favor of a new center-based "liberal movement" -- a political party tentatively known as National Responsibility.
The U.S. media almost immediately accepted, with little scrutiny to speak of, Sharon's announcement that he -- a 77-year-old leader with extensive history of political extremism and a longer history of war crimes -- has become a "centrist."
The depiction of Sharon as a moderate, risking it all to salvage the peace process, is a misguided, if not embarrassing, inference to say the least.
While one can easily decipher the source of the upsurge in Sharon's reputation in the media as a rising "liberal politician" -- his decision to disengage from Gaza being the most obvious -- one cannot help but wonder whether Sharon's enthusiasts, who hurryingly registered his renewed commitment to the "road map" for peace in the region, were even aware of his concurrent decision to further expand three major illegal settlements in the occupied territories -- Maale Adumim, Adam and Ariel.
If they were aware of his future designs, wouldn't responsible journalism compel them to report that the road map calls for the halting of settlement expansion, as it would prejudice the outcome of any final status negotiations? Instead, the process of split-up and formation in Israeli politics was portrayed as having the potential of determining the future of the peace process, while every other fact that might negate such an assertion was omitted.
True, the upheaval and subsequent reshuffling that recently took place among the Labor party rank had more to do with redefining Israel's priorities than achieving peace with the Palestinians. The deposing of the elitist Deputy Prime Minister and former Labor party leader Shimon Peres, in favor of the more socialist-like Amir Peretz, is in essence an attempt to reroute the government's focus and resources to poorer Israeli communities, whose plight has deteriorated as a result of the government's endless spending on its illegal settlements projects in the West Bank.
Nonetheless, the Likud party mayhem is essentially ideological. Though the outcome of the Israeli debacle will implausibly yield a full recognition of long denied Palestinian rights and the acceptance, without further spins, of international law as the basis of resolving the conflict, one must not unwisely write off scenarios that will possibly emerge following the March elections.
The Likud and Sharon's emerging political party have not changed; nor have they substantially altered their ideological interpretation of their conflict with the Palestinians. Even in the midst of the disengagement hype, Sharon never ceased to assure Israelis that the move is tactical, that his commitment to the country's expansionist project is as ever strong and so forth. The prevailing understanding among Israeli officials was that the "painful" and indeed marginal withdrawal from Gaza was merely aimed at altering demographics in favor of Israel, converge the country's resources to expand West Bank settlements, and indefinitely postpone the peace process with the Palestinians. The strategy proved a winner when the Americans gave the nod that no such process was needed for the time being until Palestinians disarm, quit incitement, prove able to govern themselves, etc.
Empowered with unadulterated American support and a corruptible Palestinian leadership, Sharon is hoping to persist with the implementation of his vision that, in his opinion, will secure and irrevocably define Israel's borders -- even if at the expense of Palestinian land and rights. Thus, if one must accept that Sharon has indeed metamorphosed from one character to another, it was his move from being a rightwing ideologue to a rightwing strategist. Alas, for Palestinians, the end result is the same.
The changes in the Israeli political scene place Palestinians under yet more pressure to "reciprocate" while their land is being actively stolen, as their aspiration for a meaningfully sovereign state is gravely diminished.
----
Ramzy Baroud, a veteran Arab American journalist, teaches mass communication at Australia's Curtin University of Technology, Malaysia Campus. He is the editor-in-chief of PalestineChronicle.com
Copyright © 2005 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
HYPERLINK "/storyview.php?StoryID=20051201-014847-4550r"
--
HYPERLINK "http://www.wpherald.com//storyview.php?storyid=20051201-014847-4550r"
Viewpoint: No change in Sharon's objectives
By Ramzy Baroud
World Peace Herald Contributor
Published December 1, 2005
(Ramzy Baroud, a veteran Arab American journalist, teaches mass communication at Australia's Curtin University of Technology, Malaysia Campus. He is the editor-in-chief of PalestineChronicle.com )
Most of what has been written or said to depict Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's departure from the Likud party is parable to an "earthquake," or the "eruption of a volcano," and has, without a doubt, turned the Israeli political map "topsy-turvy," to borrow Ha'aretz Gideon Samet's phrase.
Like an earthquake it was unforeseeable -- except to the prudent few, mostly in Israeli political circles who predicted a dead end in Sharon's dealings with the Likud, the same political party he helped create 30 years ago.
But acknowledging the significance of the undeniably consequential event is one thing. Succumbing to a flawed analysis that it is a real opportunity to resuscitate the so-called peace process -- is entirely a different matter.
Similar to his unilateral move to "disengage" from the Gaza Strip earlier this year, the rightwing prime minister once again managed to control media discourse surrounding his Nov. 21 decision to jump the Likud ship in favor of a new center-based "liberal movement" -- a political party tentatively known as National Responsibility.
The U.S. media almost immediately accepted, with little scrutiny to speak of, Sharon's announcement that he -- a 77-year-old leader with extensive history of political extremism and a longer history of war crimes -- has become a "centrist."
The depiction of Sharon as a moderate, risking it all to salvage the peace process, is a misguided, if not embarrassing, inference to say the least.
While one can easily decipher the source of the upsurge in Sharon's reputation in the media as a rising "liberal politician" -- his decision to disengage from Gaza being the most obvious -- one cannot help but wonder whether Sharon's enthusiasts, who hurryingly registered his renewed commitment to the "road map" for peace in the region, were even aware of his concurrent decision to further expand three major illegal settlements in the occupied territories -- Maale Adumim, Adam and Ariel.
If they were aware of his future designs, wouldn't responsible journalism compel them to report that the road map calls for the halting of settlement expansion, as it would prejudice the outcome of any final status negotiations? Instead, the process of split-up and formation in Israeli politics was portrayed as having the potential of determining the future of the peace process, while every other fact that might negate such an assertion was omitted.
True, the upheaval and subsequent reshuffling that recently took place among the Labor party rank had more to do with redefining Israel's priorities than achieving peace with the Palestinians. The deposing of the elitist Deputy Prime Minister and former Labor party leader Shimon Peres, in favor of the more socialist-like Amir Peretz, is in essence an attempt to reroute the government's focus and resources to poorer Israeli communities, whose plight has deteriorated as a result of the government's endless spending on its illegal settlements projects in the West Bank.
Nonetheless, the Likud party mayhem is essentially ideological. Though the outcome of the Israeli debacle will implausibly yield a full recognition of long denied Palestinian rights and the acceptance, without further spins, of international law as the basis of resolving the conflict, one must not unwisely write off scenarios that will possibly emerge following the March elections.
The Likud and Sharon's emerging political party have not changed; nor have they substantially altered their ideological interpretation of their conflict with the Palestinians. Even in the midst of the disengagement hype, Sharon never ceased to assure Israelis that the move is tactical, that his commitment to the country's expansionist project is as ever strong and so forth. The prevailing understanding among Israeli officials was that the "painful" and indeed marginal withdrawal from Gaza was merely aimed at altering demographics in favor of Israel, converge the country's resources to expand West Bank settlements, and indefinitely postpone the peace process with the Palestinians. The strategy proved a winner when the Americans gave the nod that no such process was needed for the time being until Palestinians disarm, quit incitement, prove able to govern themselves, etc.
Empowered with unadulterated American support and a corruptible Palestinian leadership, Sharon is hoping to persist with the implementation of his vision that, in his opinion, will secure and irrevocably define Israel's borders -- even if at the expense of Palestinian land and rights. Thus, if one must accept that Sharon has indeed metamorphosed from one character to another, it was his move from being a rightwing ideologue to a rightwing strategist. Alas, for Palestinians, the end result is the same.
The changes in the Israeli political scene place Palestinians under yet more pressure to "reciprocate" while their land is being actively stolen, as their aspiration for a meaningfully sovereign state is gravely diminished.
----
Ramzy Baroud, a veteran Arab American journalist, teaches mass communication at Australia's Curtin University of Technology, Malaysia Campus. He is the editor-in-chief of PalestineChronicle.com
Copyright © 2005 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
HYPERLINK "/storyview.php?StoryID=20051201-014847-4550r"
--
Friday, December 02, 2005
Israel visit:"A Muslim In A Jewish Land".
A Muslim In A Jewish Land
By Tashbih Sayyed, Ph. D.
Muslim World Today
December 2, 2005
http://www.muslimworldtoday.com/tashbih.htm
As I boarded EL AL flight LY 0008 for Tel Aviv on November 14, 2005 with my wife, Kiran, my mind was busy arranging and re-arranging the list of things I intended to accomplish. I wanted to use my first visit to Israel to feel the strength of the Jewish spirit that refuses to give in to evil forces despite thousand of years of anti-Semitism. It was not Israel's suicidal sacrifices that I wanted to investigate but the foundations of Israeli determination to live in peace.
There are many things that I wanted to talk about with Israelis, the foremost among them being their reluctance to do something about the bad press that continues to paint them as villains. Although I understand why the media, which reasonably covers most events accurately, chooses to ignore all rules of ethical journalism when it comes to Israel, I could not fathom Israel's reluctance to challenge the negative press effectively. Media bias against Israel reminded me of the Nazi era German press that was recruited by Hitler's Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels who picked up every hate-laden word against the Jews. Just like the German press who refused to print the truth about the gruesome atrocities in Europe's death camps - or claimed that it was all an exaggeration, the media today also ignores the Arab terrorism. I wanted to see if there was any truth in the media allegations that Israel was an apartheid state, undemocratic and discriminatory.
I knew that a true Jewish State could not be undemocratic since democratic concepts were always a part of Jewish thinking and derived directly from the Torah. For instance when in the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson wrote that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, he was basically referring to Torah that said that all men are created in the image of God. I was confident that Israel cannot be racist or discriminatory since it is based on the idea of the covenant between God and the Israelites, in which both parties accepted upon themselves duties and obligations underlining the fact that power is established through the consent of both sides rather than through tyranny by the more powerful party.
My understanding of the Jewish State was confirmed when the entry form that I needed to fill before landing in Tel Aviv did not ask for my religion as is the law in Pakistan. Also, unlike Saudi Arabia, no one in Israeli immigration demanded from me any certificate of religion.
As the El Al approached the Promised Land, I continued to shuffle the list of charges made routinely against Israel by its enemies.
Israelis live in a perpetual state of fear.
Israel is undemocratic.
Muslim Arab citizens of Israel do not have equal rights
Israelis live in a perpetual state of fear:
From Tel Aviv to Tiberias, Jerusalem to Jezreel, and from Golan heights to the Gaza border, I could not find any evidence of fear. In fact the people felt so secure that none of the stores, gas stations, market places, or residences we went to, and where it was known that we were Muslims, deemed it necessary to either search or interrogate us. Especially when Kiran and I went to the Ben Yahuda Street in Jerusalem on a Friday evening, we found it bursting at its seams with people of all ages. The ground was shaking with music and young boys and girls were so busy having fun that they did not bother to even look around. Tourists were busy making deals and the whole crowd seemed to throb with the beat of the music.
I could not help but compare Israel's sense of security with the environment of insecurity that exists in Muslim countries. From Indonesia to Iran and from Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia, people are not sure of anything. In Pakistan's capital Islamabad, and the port city of Karachi, I was constantly advised not to make big purchases publicly for it encourages robbers to come after you. I did not hear news of any rape, honor killing or hold-up in Israel.
Israel is undemocratic:
As a Muslim I am much more sensitive to the absence of democratic freedoms in any society. And I do not believe that anyone but a committed anti-Semite will deny that Israel is not a democracy. Democracy in Israel is proportional and representative, but democratic coalitions, necessary in order to effect any decision making also have its problems.
The very first day in Caesarea introduced us to the Israeli democracy. The air was full of political debate and discussion. Ariel Sharon's decision to leave the Likud and form a new political party dominated the hotel halls and underlined the problems caused by the necessity of having democratic coalitions. "The object of a free and democratic Israeli society is to reach satisfactory compromise but often the conclusions are less than satisfactory - especially for the majority. It involves coalitions and unity which are also checks and balances on any potential abuse of minority rights. It is a better system than the American representative Republican system - which is really a representation of power and special interests. In the U.S. you get a democracy for the few. In Israel you have a democracy for everyone."
I tried very hard to find any Muslim state that has true democracy and where religious minorities are accorded equal democratic rights, but failed. The map of the Muslim world is too crowded with kings, despots, dictators, sham democrats and theocratic autocrats and the persecution of minorities is an essential part of Islamist social behavior. But here, protected by Israel's democratic principles, the Muslim Arab citizens of Israel are afforded all the rights and privileges of Israeli citizenship. When the first elections to the Knesset were held in February 1949, Israeli Arabs were given the right to vote and to be elected along with Israeli Jews. Today, Israel's Arab citizens are accorded full civil and political rights entitled to complete participation in Israeli society. They are active in Israeli social, political and civic life and enjoy representation in Israel's Parliament, Foreign Service and judicial system.
The Israeli faith in democracy also explains their refusal to respond to Islamist terrorism in violent ways. Despite my being aware of the human weaknesses which allow anger to subjugate the best of intentions, I could not find Israelis acting in vengeance against their Arab compatriots. My experience as a Muslim was also instrumental in expecting the worst in human behavior; Muslims under the influence of radical Islam have been unleashing their terror against non-Muslims even when the charges of anti-Muslim offenses were determined to be false.
I thought that it requires a superhuman effort to ignore the atrocities meted out to you and remain free of vengeful emotions. In my experience of Muslim societies, minorities have never been allowed the benefit of the doubt. Hatred of non-Muslims and outbursts of violence against minority faiths among radical Islamists have remained a norm rather than an exception. As a non-Wahhabi Muslim I have personally faced their barbarism and have watched Christians, Hindus and other minorities being persecuted on false pretenses. I thought that if Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia can sentence a teacher to 40 months in jail and 750 lashes just for praising Jews, it will not be unreasonable on the part of Israelis to punish Palestinians for throwing stones at worshippers at the Western Wall and burning down the tomb of Joseph.
But even in this section, Israelis have proved the world wrong. Despite daily provocations, they have managed successfully not to descend to the same level of depravity as their Arab enemies. The world is used to daily violence that is unleashed against religious minorities in the Muslim world. Only a couple of days ago the Muslim faithful in Pakistan had broken through the walls of a Church, torching and tearing open its doors. They were reacting to a rumor that a Christian had desecrated their holy book, the Quran. They smashed the marble altar of the Holy Spirit Church and shattered its stained glass windows. They torched a Christian residence and the neighboring St. Anthony's Girls School. Within moments flames were licking the walls and black smoke filled the sky. For days the Wahhabi clerics kept on calling their Muslim followers to come out from their houses and defend their faith by unleashing a reign of terror against Christians.
I wondered if an Israeli may someday find it justified to copy what Wahhabis have been doing in Iraq and other places - abducting, murdering and beheading "infidels". Most recently, the body of a Hindu driver, Maniappan Raman Kutty, was found with his throat slashed in southern Afghanistan for no evident reason but his faith.
But there was nothing in history that could have substantiated my fears; Jews, despite being subjected to the most barbaric acts of terrorism have yet to react in vengeance against their perpetrators. And I concluded that my first visit to Israel will help me in untangling the knot of Israel's insistence on continuing to remain a target of Islamist terror.
Muslim Arab citizen of Israel do not have equal rights:
As our air-conditioned bus negotiated the mountainous curves of the road to the heart of Galilee, I could not miss the rising minarets identifying a number of Palestinian Arab towns dotting the hillsides. The imposing domes of mosques underlined the freedoms that are enjoyed by the Muslims in the Jewish State. Large Arab residences, wide spread construction activity and big cars underlined the prosperity and affluence of Palestinians living under the Star of David.
On my way from the city of David to the Royal Prima hotel in Jerusalem, I asked my Palestinian taxi driver how he feels about moving to the territories under Palestinian Authority. He said that he could never think of living outside Israel. His answer blasted the myth spread by anti-Semites that Israel's Arab citizens are not happy there.
Another Israeli Arab informed me that Arabs in Israel have equal voting rights. In fact, Israel is one of the few countries in the Middle East where Arab women can vote. In contrast to the non-Israeli Arab world, Arab women in Israel enjoy the same status as men. Muslim women have the right to vote and to be elected to public office. Muslim women, in fact are more liberated in Israel than in any Muslim country. Israeli law prohibits polygamy, child marriage, and the barbarity of female sexual mutilation.
Moreover, I found out that there are no incidences of honor killings in Israel. The status of Muslim women in Israel is far above that of any country in the region. Israeli health standards are by far the highest in the Middle East and Israeli health institutions are freely open to all Arabs, on the same basis as they are to Jews.
Arabic, like Hebrew, is an official language in Israel and underlines the tolerant nature of the Jewish State. All the street signs call out their names in Arabic alongside Hebrew. It is official policy of the Israeli government to foster the language, culture, and traditions of the Arab minority, in the educational system and in daily life. Israel's Arabic press is the most vibrant and independent of any country in the region. There are more than 20 Arabic periodicals. They publish what they please, subject only to the same military censorship as Jewish publications. There are daily TV and radio programs in Arabic.
Arabic is taught in Jewish secondary schools. More than 350,000 Arab children attend Israeli schools. At the time of Israel's founding, there was one Arab high school in the country. Today, there are hundreds of Arab schools. Israeli universities are renowned centers of learning in the history and literature of the Arab Middle East.
Aware of the constraints that a non-Wahhabi is faced with while performing religious rituals in Saudi Arabia, Kiran (my wife) could not hide her surprise at the freedoms and ease with which peoples of all religions and faiths were carrying out their religious obligations at the Church of the holy Sepulcher, Garden Tomb, Sea of Galilee, newly discovered Western Wall Tunnels, Western Wall, tomb of King David and all the other holy places we visited.
All religious communities in Israel enjoy the full protection of the State. Israeli Arabs-Muslims, as well as many Christian denominations-are free to exercise their faiths, to observe their own weekly day of rest and holidays and to administer their own internal affairs. Some 80,000 Druze live in 22 villages in northern Israel. Their religion is not accessible to outsiders and Druze constitute a separate cultural, social and religious Arabic-speaking community. The Druze concept of taqiyya calls for complete loyalty by its adherents to the government of the country in which they reside. As such, among other things, the Druze serve in the Israel Defense Forces. Each religious community in Israel has its own religious councils and courts, and has full jurisdiction over religious affairs, including matters of personal status, such as marriage and divorce. The holy sites of all religions are administered by their own authorities and protected by the government.
A Hindu journalist who came to visit me talked about the openness that Jewish society represents. He told me that more than 20% of the Israeli population is non-Jewish of which approximately 1.2 million are Muslims, 140,000 are Christians and 100, 000 are Druze. Another non-Jewish Israeli told me that Christians and Druze are free to join even the defense forces of the Jewish State. Bedouins have served in paratroops units and other Arabs have volunteered for military duty.
The big houses owned by Arab Israelis and the amount of construction that was going on in the Arab towns exposed the falsity of propaganda that Israel discriminates against Israeli Arabs from buying lands. I found out that in the early part of the century, the Jewish National Fund was established by the World Zionist Congress to purchase land in Palestine for Jewish settlement. Of the total area of Israel, 92 percent belongs to the State and is managed by the Land Management Authority. It is not for sale to anyone, Jew or Arab.
The Arab Waqf owns land that is for the express use and benefit of Muslim Arabs. Government land can be leased by anyone, regardless of race, religion or sex. All Arab citizens of Israel are eligible to lease government land.
I asked three Israeli Arabs if they face discrimination in employment. They all said the same thing; normally there is no discrimination but whenever homicide bombers explode and murder Israelis, some Israelis feel uncomfortable dealing with them. But that uncomfortable feeling is also very temporary and does not stay for long.
My first visit to Israel has not only consolidated my belief that Israel is vital for the stability of the region but has also convinced me that the existence of Israel will one day convince the Muslims of the necessity of reformation in their theology as well as sociology.
A journey through the Israeli desert brought another important aspect of life to light; Prophets are not the only ones who can perform miracles - people who believe in themselves can also perform unbelievable acts. Acres and acres of sand dunes have been transformed into the best possible fertile land; Wheat, Cotton, Sunflowers, Chickpeas, Groundnuts (Peanuts), Mangoes, Avocados, Citrus, Papayas, bananas and any other fruit and vegetable that Israelis want to consume is grown within Israel. In fact, Israelis have proved beyond any doubt why God promised them this land - only they could keep it green.
The land is described repeatedly in the Torah as a good land and "a land flowing with milk and honey". This description may not seem to fit well with the desert images we see on the nightly news, but let's keep in mind that the land was repeatedly abused by conquerors that were determined to make the land uninhabitable for the Jews. In the few decades since the Jewish people regained control of the land, tremendous improvement in its agriculture has been witnessed. Israeli agriculture today has a very high yield. Agriculture in Israel is very effective, and is able to cover about 75% of domestic needs, despite the limited land available.
Looking at the development and transformation that the land has gone through because of the Jewish innovative spirit, hard labor and commitment to freedoms for all times to come, I am convinced that it is true that God created this earth but it is also a fact that only an Israel can keep this earth from dying.
________
(The writer is editor-in-chief of Pakistan Today and Muslim World Today, California-based weekly newspapers, president of Council for Democracy and Tolerance and adjunct fellow of Hudson Institute.)
--------
By Tashbih Sayyed, Ph. D.
Muslim World Today
December 2, 2005
http://www.muslimworldtoday.com/tashbih.htm
As I boarded EL AL flight LY 0008 for Tel Aviv on November 14, 2005 with my wife, Kiran, my mind was busy arranging and re-arranging the list of things I intended to accomplish. I wanted to use my first visit to Israel to feel the strength of the Jewish spirit that refuses to give in to evil forces despite thousand of years of anti-Semitism. It was not Israel's suicidal sacrifices that I wanted to investigate but the foundations of Israeli determination to live in peace.
There are many things that I wanted to talk about with Israelis, the foremost among them being their reluctance to do something about the bad press that continues to paint them as villains. Although I understand why the media, which reasonably covers most events accurately, chooses to ignore all rules of ethical journalism when it comes to Israel, I could not fathom Israel's reluctance to challenge the negative press effectively. Media bias against Israel reminded me of the Nazi era German press that was recruited by Hitler's Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels who picked up every hate-laden word against the Jews. Just like the German press who refused to print the truth about the gruesome atrocities in Europe's death camps - or claimed that it was all an exaggeration, the media today also ignores the Arab terrorism. I wanted to see if there was any truth in the media allegations that Israel was an apartheid state, undemocratic and discriminatory.
I knew that a true Jewish State could not be undemocratic since democratic concepts were always a part of Jewish thinking and derived directly from the Torah. For instance when in the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson wrote that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, he was basically referring to Torah that said that all men are created in the image of God. I was confident that Israel cannot be racist or discriminatory since it is based on the idea of the covenant between God and the Israelites, in which both parties accepted upon themselves duties and obligations underlining the fact that power is established through the consent of both sides rather than through tyranny by the more powerful party.
My understanding of the Jewish State was confirmed when the entry form that I needed to fill before landing in Tel Aviv did not ask for my religion as is the law in Pakistan. Also, unlike Saudi Arabia, no one in Israeli immigration demanded from me any certificate of religion.
As the El Al approached the Promised Land, I continued to shuffle the list of charges made routinely against Israel by its enemies.
Israelis live in a perpetual state of fear.
Israel is undemocratic.
Muslim Arab citizens of Israel do not have equal rights
Israelis live in a perpetual state of fear:
From Tel Aviv to Tiberias, Jerusalem to Jezreel, and from Golan heights to the Gaza border, I could not find any evidence of fear. In fact the people felt so secure that none of the stores, gas stations, market places, or residences we went to, and where it was known that we were Muslims, deemed it necessary to either search or interrogate us. Especially when Kiran and I went to the Ben Yahuda Street in Jerusalem on a Friday evening, we found it bursting at its seams with people of all ages. The ground was shaking with music and young boys and girls were so busy having fun that they did not bother to even look around. Tourists were busy making deals and the whole crowd seemed to throb with the beat of the music.
I could not help but compare Israel's sense of security with the environment of insecurity that exists in Muslim countries. From Indonesia to Iran and from Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia, people are not sure of anything. In Pakistan's capital Islamabad, and the port city of Karachi, I was constantly advised not to make big purchases publicly for it encourages robbers to come after you. I did not hear news of any rape, honor killing or hold-up in Israel.
Israel is undemocratic:
As a Muslim I am much more sensitive to the absence of democratic freedoms in any society. And I do not believe that anyone but a committed anti-Semite will deny that Israel is not a democracy. Democracy in Israel is proportional and representative, but democratic coalitions, necessary in order to effect any decision making also have its problems.
The very first day in Caesarea introduced us to the Israeli democracy. The air was full of political debate and discussion. Ariel Sharon's decision to leave the Likud and form a new political party dominated the hotel halls and underlined the problems caused by the necessity of having democratic coalitions. "The object of a free and democratic Israeli society is to reach satisfactory compromise but often the conclusions are less than satisfactory - especially for the majority. It involves coalitions and unity which are also checks and balances on any potential abuse of minority rights. It is a better system than the American representative Republican system - which is really a representation of power and special interests. In the U.S. you get a democracy for the few. In Israel you have a democracy for everyone."
I tried very hard to find any Muslim state that has true democracy and where religious minorities are accorded equal democratic rights, but failed. The map of the Muslim world is too crowded with kings, despots, dictators, sham democrats and theocratic autocrats and the persecution of minorities is an essential part of Islamist social behavior. But here, protected by Israel's democratic principles, the Muslim Arab citizens of Israel are afforded all the rights and privileges of Israeli citizenship. When the first elections to the Knesset were held in February 1949, Israeli Arabs were given the right to vote and to be elected along with Israeli Jews. Today, Israel's Arab citizens are accorded full civil and political rights entitled to complete participation in Israeli society. They are active in Israeli social, political and civic life and enjoy representation in Israel's Parliament, Foreign Service and judicial system.
The Israeli faith in democracy also explains their refusal to respond to Islamist terrorism in violent ways. Despite my being aware of the human weaknesses which allow anger to subjugate the best of intentions, I could not find Israelis acting in vengeance against their Arab compatriots. My experience as a Muslim was also instrumental in expecting the worst in human behavior; Muslims under the influence of radical Islam have been unleashing their terror against non-Muslims even when the charges of anti-Muslim offenses were determined to be false.
I thought that it requires a superhuman effort to ignore the atrocities meted out to you and remain free of vengeful emotions. In my experience of Muslim societies, minorities have never been allowed the benefit of the doubt. Hatred of non-Muslims and outbursts of violence against minority faiths among radical Islamists have remained a norm rather than an exception. As a non-Wahhabi Muslim I have personally faced their barbarism and have watched Christians, Hindus and other minorities being persecuted on false pretenses. I thought that if Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia can sentence a teacher to 40 months in jail and 750 lashes just for praising Jews, it will not be unreasonable on the part of Israelis to punish Palestinians for throwing stones at worshippers at the Western Wall and burning down the tomb of Joseph.
But even in this section, Israelis have proved the world wrong. Despite daily provocations, they have managed successfully not to descend to the same level of depravity as their Arab enemies. The world is used to daily violence that is unleashed against religious minorities in the Muslim world. Only a couple of days ago the Muslim faithful in Pakistan had broken through the walls of a Church, torching and tearing open its doors. They were reacting to a rumor that a Christian had desecrated their holy book, the Quran. They smashed the marble altar of the Holy Spirit Church and shattered its stained glass windows. They torched a Christian residence and the neighboring St. Anthony's Girls School. Within moments flames were licking the walls and black smoke filled the sky. For days the Wahhabi clerics kept on calling their Muslim followers to come out from their houses and defend their faith by unleashing a reign of terror against Christians.
I wondered if an Israeli may someday find it justified to copy what Wahhabis have been doing in Iraq and other places - abducting, murdering and beheading "infidels". Most recently, the body of a Hindu driver, Maniappan Raman Kutty, was found with his throat slashed in southern Afghanistan for no evident reason but his faith.
But there was nothing in history that could have substantiated my fears; Jews, despite being subjected to the most barbaric acts of terrorism have yet to react in vengeance against their perpetrators. And I concluded that my first visit to Israel will help me in untangling the knot of Israel's insistence on continuing to remain a target of Islamist terror.
Muslim Arab citizen of Israel do not have equal rights:
As our air-conditioned bus negotiated the mountainous curves of the road to the heart of Galilee, I could not miss the rising minarets identifying a number of Palestinian Arab towns dotting the hillsides. The imposing domes of mosques underlined the freedoms that are enjoyed by the Muslims in the Jewish State. Large Arab residences, wide spread construction activity and big cars underlined the prosperity and affluence of Palestinians living under the Star of David.
On my way from the city of David to the Royal Prima hotel in Jerusalem, I asked my Palestinian taxi driver how he feels about moving to the territories under Palestinian Authority. He said that he could never think of living outside Israel. His answer blasted the myth spread by anti-Semites that Israel's Arab citizens are not happy there.
Another Israeli Arab informed me that Arabs in Israel have equal voting rights. In fact, Israel is one of the few countries in the Middle East where Arab women can vote. In contrast to the non-Israeli Arab world, Arab women in Israel enjoy the same status as men. Muslim women have the right to vote and to be elected to public office. Muslim women, in fact are more liberated in Israel than in any Muslim country. Israeli law prohibits polygamy, child marriage, and the barbarity of female sexual mutilation.
Moreover, I found out that there are no incidences of honor killings in Israel. The status of Muslim women in Israel is far above that of any country in the region. Israeli health standards are by far the highest in the Middle East and Israeli health institutions are freely open to all Arabs, on the same basis as they are to Jews.
Arabic, like Hebrew, is an official language in Israel and underlines the tolerant nature of the Jewish State. All the street signs call out their names in Arabic alongside Hebrew. It is official policy of the Israeli government to foster the language, culture, and traditions of the Arab minority, in the educational system and in daily life. Israel's Arabic press is the most vibrant and independent of any country in the region. There are more than 20 Arabic periodicals. They publish what they please, subject only to the same military censorship as Jewish publications. There are daily TV and radio programs in Arabic.
Arabic is taught in Jewish secondary schools. More than 350,000 Arab children attend Israeli schools. At the time of Israel's founding, there was one Arab high school in the country. Today, there are hundreds of Arab schools. Israeli universities are renowned centers of learning in the history and literature of the Arab Middle East.
Aware of the constraints that a non-Wahhabi is faced with while performing religious rituals in Saudi Arabia, Kiran (my wife) could not hide her surprise at the freedoms and ease with which peoples of all religions and faiths were carrying out their religious obligations at the Church of the holy Sepulcher, Garden Tomb, Sea of Galilee, newly discovered Western Wall Tunnels, Western Wall, tomb of King David and all the other holy places we visited.
All religious communities in Israel enjoy the full protection of the State. Israeli Arabs-Muslims, as well as many Christian denominations-are free to exercise their faiths, to observe their own weekly day of rest and holidays and to administer their own internal affairs. Some 80,000 Druze live in 22 villages in northern Israel. Their religion is not accessible to outsiders and Druze constitute a separate cultural, social and religious Arabic-speaking community. The Druze concept of taqiyya calls for complete loyalty by its adherents to the government of the country in which they reside. As such, among other things, the Druze serve in the Israel Defense Forces. Each religious community in Israel has its own religious councils and courts, and has full jurisdiction over religious affairs, including matters of personal status, such as marriage and divorce. The holy sites of all religions are administered by their own authorities and protected by the government.
A Hindu journalist who came to visit me talked about the openness that Jewish society represents. He told me that more than 20% of the Israeli population is non-Jewish of which approximately 1.2 million are Muslims, 140,000 are Christians and 100, 000 are Druze. Another non-Jewish Israeli told me that Christians and Druze are free to join even the defense forces of the Jewish State. Bedouins have served in paratroops units and other Arabs have volunteered for military duty.
The big houses owned by Arab Israelis and the amount of construction that was going on in the Arab towns exposed the falsity of propaganda that Israel discriminates against Israeli Arabs from buying lands. I found out that in the early part of the century, the Jewish National Fund was established by the World Zionist Congress to purchase land in Palestine for Jewish settlement. Of the total area of Israel, 92 percent belongs to the State and is managed by the Land Management Authority. It is not for sale to anyone, Jew or Arab.
The Arab Waqf owns land that is for the express use and benefit of Muslim Arabs. Government land can be leased by anyone, regardless of race, religion or sex. All Arab citizens of Israel are eligible to lease government land.
I asked three Israeli Arabs if they face discrimination in employment. They all said the same thing; normally there is no discrimination but whenever homicide bombers explode and murder Israelis, some Israelis feel uncomfortable dealing with them. But that uncomfortable feeling is also very temporary and does not stay for long.
My first visit to Israel has not only consolidated my belief that Israel is vital for the stability of the region but has also convinced me that the existence of Israel will one day convince the Muslims of the necessity of reformation in their theology as well as sociology.
A journey through the Israeli desert brought another important aspect of life to light; Prophets are not the only ones who can perform miracles - people who believe in themselves can also perform unbelievable acts. Acres and acres of sand dunes have been transformed into the best possible fertile land; Wheat, Cotton, Sunflowers, Chickpeas, Groundnuts (Peanuts), Mangoes, Avocados, Citrus, Papayas, bananas and any other fruit and vegetable that Israelis want to consume is grown within Israel. In fact, Israelis have proved beyond any doubt why God promised them this land - only they could keep it green.
The land is described repeatedly in the Torah as a good land and "a land flowing with milk and honey". This description may not seem to fit well with the desert images we see on the nightly news, but let's keep in mind that the land was repeatedly abused by conquerors that were determined to make the land uninhabitable for the Jews. In the few decades since the Jewish people regained control of the land, tremendous improvement in its agriculture has been witnessed. Israeli agriculture today has a very high yield. Agriculture in Israel is very effective, and is able to cover about 75% of domestic needs, despite the limited land available.
Looking at the development and transformation that the land has gone through because of the Jewish innovative spirit, hard labor and commitment to freedoms for all times to come, I am convinced that it is true that God created this earth but it is also a fact that only an Israel can keep this earth from dying.
________
(The writer is editor-in-chief of Pakistan Today and Muslim World Today, California-based weekly newspapers, president of Council for Democracy and Tolerance and adjunct fellow of Hudson Institute.)
--------
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