Walid Shoebat watch

According to JTA, the Palestinian-terrorist-turned-Zionist was stopped by immigration on his way to Vancouver -- to lecture to yet another Jewish organization. (He delivered the talk by video link.)
I'll say it again: Free Walid Shoebat!

Shmuley vs. Madonna

Writes Rabbi Shmuley,

Earth to [Kabbalah Center leader] Phillip Berg: Do us all a favor and dump Madonna as your principal spokesperson. Sorry to be so crass, but Madonna is a slut. Yes, she may sing, and she may dance. But she is famous for being a slut. And no religion dare have a slut as its principal representative.

In case you didn't get it the first time: she's a ...
Geez.

Bombshell?

Finally, a major Israeli Orthodox rabbi has the guts to publicly state the obvious: religious coercion is bad for religion.
Former Sephardi Chief Rabbi Eliahu Bakshi-Doron yesterday called for an end to the Orthodox monopoly on conducting marriages in Israel, stating that the law “merely focuses more hate on the religious establishment," fails to consider the needs of thousands of non-Jews living in Israel, and is irrelevant in any case as growing numbers of Israeli Jews choose to marry overseas in civil ceremonies.
I hold these truths to be self-evident; the Orthodox establishment’s insistence on retaining a monopoly on marriages is completely counter-productive, and probably has a lot to do with jobs for the boys.
However, without detracting in any way from the importance of Rav Bakshi-Doron’s statement, I would be interested in a clarification. Is Rav Bakshi-Doron merely calling for allowing civil marriages, or for allowing non-Orthodox (ie. Reform and Conservative) forms of Jewish marriage as well? He has in the past been known for his sharp dismissal of the Reform movement, and I find it hard to believe that by advocating an end to the Orthodox monopoly, he means opening up the field to everyone and anyone. Now, that would be a bombshell.

UPDATE: Unlike Ha'aretz, the Jerusalem Post quite clearly states that R.BD was advocating civil marriage alone -- although it also quotes him advocating "'free choice' in choosing a form of marriage." When will he carry that thought to its logical conclusion? It may be that the moment the religious establishment in Israel shows some willingness to talk, it will find non-Orthodox partners more willing to come to mutually agreeable arrangements than it imagines.

Lock 'em up

Men who refuse to comply with rabbinical court rulings to grant their wives a "get" allowing them to divorce will be sent to 14 days in solitary confinement, in accordance with a new law approved in its second and third readings on Tuesday by the Knesset.

Here we go again

What's with Ma'ariv's terrible headline writing?
This time, the paper makes a blanket statement that "NYC tap water found to be not kosher." (In the Hebrew version as well -- where people maintaining that the tap water is still Kosher are given one line at the bottom paragraph and come across as marginal.) Looks like they couldn't even be bothered to properly read the NYT article they copied off...

So much for Israeli Intelligence

According to Ha'aretz,

"Carlos Castano, a right-wing militia leader in Colombia, was recently smuggled into Israel, AFP reported Tuesday. But Israeli Foreign Ministry and Interior Ministry officials who checked this story said they found no evidence that Castano had entered Israel. They noted, however, that it is possible that he entered the country under a different name."

Yes guys, that's what "smuggled into" usually means...

IBS and the American literary tradition

The New Yorker places I.B. Singer's writing in its American context.

Has the sheratzim-in-the-water "scandal" reached boiling point?

The dreaded Sheretz 

This, my friends, is the infamous sheretz, or bug, in the New York City water system, courtesy of the NYT. So far, of course, the sheratzim-in-the-water scandal hasn't quite taken off in the same way as the wig controversy (although the NYT does say that “officials at Yeshiva Toras Emes Kamenitz elementary school have spent hundreds of dollars installing plumbing gear behind the walls to filter the drinking water,” and that “Saul Kessler, who sells wholesale water filters and installs full-home filtration systems in Queens, said he has gotten 100 phone calls from homeowners."). But you know what they say about a picture being worth 1,000 words....

Oldest person in the world dies at 114

According to her nephew Rene Matos, her longevity stemmed from "a very easy life -- easy in the sense that she didn't have too much to worry about."
If true, that would follow the same line of thought taken by Britain’s one-time oldest man, a Jewish gentleman called Harry Shoerats, who died in 1984 age 111. In a famous interview with the BBC, he once credited his longevity to "Three things. First: I am a lifelong vegetarian; second: for the last 80 years I began each day with a big glass of whisky; and third: I never got involved with the politics of my local synagogue."
I love that story.

Bridal classes by dummies

According to the Jerusalem Post, the Reform movement is mounting a legal challenge to that ongoing embarrassment which is the pre-marital Bridal Classes offered by the Israeli religious councils.
It’s hard to think of one single other institution which turns secular and traditional women off Judaism as much as these obligatory classes. It’s not that they’re unnecessary; on the contrary, it is important for Jewish women and men of all streams to understand something of traditional Jewish attitudes to marriage and sex before they stand under the chuppah. But there’s no use telling a woman who’s never heard of ‘family purity’ (or any woman, for that matter) that she’ll never conceive, or will fall ill, because she does not check herself properly during her menstrual cycle. And I know too many secular women who still recoil when they remember being given advice on how to ‘keep their husbands happy’ straight out of the 1950s.
Unfortunately, many haredi people simply do not know how to talk to secular people; their lives and realities are so far removed they cannot even begin to understand them. The result, in the Bridal Classes at least, is teachers whose condescension and ignorance are legendary, and students who are turned off Judaism, perhaps forever.
The religious councils have had more than enough time to fix these widespread and well-known problems. If they haven’t by now, they never will. And yet, unlike Reform, I don’t want these classes to be cancelled; again, it's important for people to understand what their own heritage has to say about one of the most important steps of their lives.
The solution is to allow secular and non-Orthodox groups to run their own pre-marital courses. While they might include important discussions about expectations in marriage, good couple-hood, the Jewish marriage ceremony etc., they would also cover an agreed core syllabus about family purity. And perhaps finally, the subject could be taught in ways appropriate for a diverse population.

When Harry met a gangster

Harry meets, and contemplates knocking off, a senior Israeli mobster (in crappy sandals).

Why did the haredi man cross the street?

'Cos the woman was on his side.
According to Ma'ariv, the Admor Mevishna Street in Bnei Brak will now be segregated-- men on one side, women on the other.
I remember when they first suggested seperate buses, the joke was, what's next, segregated streets? So, what's next, seperate cities (perhaps husbands and wives can meet on neutral ground at appointed visiting hours)?

UPDATE: Apparently the men are supposed to walk on the west side of the street, women on the east. The majority of the shops are on the east.

Interfaith interference

The British government sets out to ‘win the hearts and minds’ of its Muslim youth – and comes up with a disturbing plan, with implications for all religions practiced in the UK. According to the London Times,

“In future the government plans to boost the careers of moderate clerics who back Blair’s line on terrorism... Among those identified by the government in the documents is Amr Khaled, 36, an accountant-turned-lay preacher who came to prominence in Egypt in the late 1990s and now lives in Britain.
“The government will also seek to “promote awareness” of foreign-based imams, including Hamza Yusuf and Suhaib Webb. Yusuf is an adviser to President George W Bush and is described as the “rock star of the new Muslim generation”.... The Home Office is setting up a series of government-backed training courses for a new generation of British imams likely to be modelled (sic) on Yusuf and Webb.”

While Britain is entitled to refuse entry to, or deport, men and women who are dedicated to its destruction, the government should probably think several times before interfering in Muslim culture and religion. The Muslim decision to fight the drift towards religious fundamentalism must come from within; No Western government can – or should - do it for them.

Israel declares Europe ‘non-relevant’

If you ignore your troubles, will they just go away? Israel seems to think so.
Earlier today, its High Court rejected a petition to stop Zvi Hefetz becoming the next Israeli Ambassador to Britain. We now can safely assume that the businessman, who has little diplomatic experience and a heavy Russian accent in English, will soon be on a London-bound plane to fill one of Israel’s most important diplomatic positions.
Through this bizarre appointment, Israel seems to be turning its nose up at even its best friends in Europe, as if to say, ‘we know you’re against us anyway, so we’re not going to bother communicating or engaging with you in any serious or professional manner. Hopefully, by ignoring you, you will just cease to exist as far as we are concerned.’
Well, of course they won’t – although it might feel good to pretend for a moment. If anything, Europe will become more and more relevant as Israel limits its ability to exercise damage-control.
By sending someone whose sole qualification for the ambassadorship seems to be that he is a friend of Omri Sharon’s, Israel has forfeited its right to complain that Europe is ‘against’ it.

SawYouInTheRabbisOffice

Another week, another three articles on the Jewish singles “crisis.”
This time the culprit is the NY Jewish Week, which in a package deal, addresses the high number of Israeli singles; ‘spiritual’ events for singles; and the new, badly-designed dating site, SawYouAtSinai.com, which has snagged a series of rabbinic endorsements.
Which begs the question – why would a site which is nothing more than a convenient vehicle to get in touch with matchmakers need them? Isn’t this just another example of the Orthodox community’s increasing dread of being labeled non-conformist, in every activity, big and small, whether there are halachic implications or not?
I (and others) continue to be puzzled by this overwhelming fear of 'independence' -- or rather, of being seen as ‘independent.’ How is the Orthodox community going to ever break out of this?

A belated welcome

It’s been a week since I started Bloghead, and I’d finally like to welcome everyone to my brand-new blog. I finally feel it’s taking shape, especially since I (or more accurately, my husband, Danny) added links and a blogroll, and an improved system for comments – which I hope people will start using more frequently.... Why has everyone been so shy?
I won’t be blogging Wed.-Thurs. because of Shavuot, but should be back online on Friday (late-ish). In the meanwhile, I wish you all a Chag Sameach!

Miriam

Sorry, more Nazis

"Nazi" is a nickname Shanaaz Ismail has had for 34 years - but the sight of it on her personalised number plates has upset Jewish people.
So after a request from the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, the provincial department of transport has asked Ismail to change the offending number plates bearing the words "Nazi - WP".

Personally I'd change the nickname as well as the numberplate.

The Jew who fell in love with a Nazi

My favorite part of the story takes place after he asked her to marry him:

"'In my desperation I told him the truth, I told him I was Jewish. Then I told him to sleep on it, but he said he had lied to me too and that he was married and getting a divorce and had a daughter.' ‘So we’re quits,’ he replied, and said again that we should marry. I said yes.”

So basically they knew nothing about each other. Not to mention that he was a Nazi.

Free Walid Shoebat!

According to Protocols, Palestinian terrorist-turned-lover-of-Zion Walid Shoebat will be speaking at UCLA Hillel this Tuesday.
Shoebat, a convert to Christianity, certainly has been doing the rounds: just a couple of weeks ago he was the guest of Aish in London, he’s due next month in Atlanta, and a quick Google search reveals that in the last few months, he’s spoken to Jewish audiences in Berkeley, Riverdale, Montreal, Winnipeg and Toronto, amongst other places.
Mr. Shoebat is an odd character: some reports have him donning a kippah and saying “Ani Tzioni” in Hebrew during his speeches, whilst others have him “allowing’ Palestinians to continue living in an Israel that includes “Judea and Samaria” – “as long as they pledge allegiance to Israel and become Israeli citizens.” (As a Zionist, has he thought this one-state-solution through properly?). I personally find it strange, even a little creepy, for him to have switched sides so completely that he seems to be actually rooting for his former enemy. Frankly, I would have found him more reliable and more compelling had he emerged with a more nuanced message.
Still, far be it from me to criticize Mr. Shoebat, a man willing to admit where he was wrong, and campaign for justice, perhaps at risk to his life. And there is no real harm in Jewish organizations listening to his story, either: it is reassuring and comforting to know that even a former Palestinian terrorist concedes we’re right.
My question is: what’s the point? He’s preaching to the converted. Why does Mr. Shoebat, who claims his aim is to spread his story and message as widely as possible, waste his time talking to Jewish organization upon Jewish organization – when it’s the waverers and opponents he needs to convince?
A cynic would suggest Mr. Shoebat was earning a lot of money for each talk – but I’ve found no mention of what happens to his fees.
The real lesson is about one of the weaknesses of the Jewish community’s hasbara efforts. Instead of focusing on a really aggressive campaign to defend and promote Israel, we spend way too much energy sending each other emails about the “matzav,” and listening to our own side reassure us we’re right, because it makes us feel better.
We made a similar mistake with Irshad Manji, author of The Trouble with Islam, who with the publication of her book became the darling of every Jewish organization, overnight. Manji, who wrote her book specifically in order to challenge and revitalize her fellow Muslims, suddenly found herself talking instead to dozens of Jewish audiences, who experienced a collective emotional catharsis as they heard their thoughts about Islam validated by a Muslim. (At least Manji, if she followed the lines of her book, had much to say about the historical development of Islam and what can be done to help its moderates; Shoebat, as far as I can make out, has little more to offer beyond his personal story and some wildly unrealistic projections – see above).
Surely our long-term goals would be much better served if we spent our free evenings listening to, and learning the lessons from, our opponents; listening to, and learning the lesson from, strategic thinkers; campaigning to get fairer coverage; sending mass-emails about the matzav to someone other than our Jewish best friends; or frankly, doing the washing-up. At least we would free up Mr. Shoebat, Ms. Manji and their likes to talk to the people who really need to hear them -- which is not us.

UPDATE: Manji, a Muslim, was the star speaker at a conference last week entitled, "Canadian Jewish Women Speak."

American Muslim soldiers

Too-short article in the Washington Times on an American Muslim soldier in Iraq; I hope someone else will pick up the story and elaborate.