Israel’s News Blog Magazine: Daily Stories Video and Photos

The quote above is taken from a 1821 play by Heinrich Heine called “Almansor”. In the play itself, the quote is referring to the burning of the Muslim Quran by the Christian Inquisition in Spain. However the quote is most associated with the May 10, 1933 burning of Jewish books by a Nazi crowd in Berlin’s “Babelplatz” (Babylon Plaza). Today, there is a monument standing in that place:

Last Thursday a book burning event took place in the city of Or Yehuda, a small city outside of Tel-Aviv. The event was a local reaction to the intensive activity of Christian missionaries from the sect of “Messianic Judaism” in one of the city’s neighborhoods. The missionaries went door-to-door and distributed written materials, including the New Testament.

The collection of the books was arranged by Assistant Mayor Uzi Aharon, a lawyer, and a representative of the “Shas” party — an ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) political party, that has representation in the Knesset as well. In an interview to the press today, Mr. Aharon denied initiating the fire itself, claiming it was a spontaneous action of some people. Nevertheless, he did not offer an apology, and stated out that “the residents of Or Yehuda are people with values and a strong orientation towards the Jewish religion and the Jewish tradition”. In addition he proposed during the interview for the government to alter the law that deals with religious conversations, in order to prevent the Messianic Jews from continuing their missionary activities.

In response to the burning of their books, the Messianic Jews demand the opening of an investigation by the police.

I mention the association between the 1933 book burning and the Or Yehuda book burning without further commentary. I would like to hear your comments and find out whether you think these two events can be compared together or not.

Babelplatz Photo by Aaron Siirila; Or Yehuda photo and Source by NRG Ma’ariv

Recent fighting in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon has made many wonder who is really in charge there. The fighting began several days ago following a clamp down by the Sunni Muslim dominated government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora - himself a Sunni Muslim - on a media network run by none other than Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah’s Hezbollah organization. PM Siniora must have pushed the Shiite Sheikh and his organization a bit too far, as Nasrallah went on the air declaring in a fiery speech that Siniora and his “so-called” government’s actions were nothing less than an act of war against the Hezbollah.

Nasrallah’s tirade was almost immediately followed by Shiite gunmen setting up positions in various sections of the Capital, which forced Siniora to order the Lebanese army to send out troops with tanks and armored personnel carriers, as to try and show Nasrallah and his followers that the government meant business. All that can be said about these events is that the fighting which took place over the past few days in both Beirut and Tripoli indicates the Hezbollah appears to have the upper hand in this new conflict that many fear could turn into another civil war, like the one that almost destroyed the country back in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

The situation went from bad to worse with large areas of Beirut again becoming a war zone, and people being afraid to leave their homes, or even to purchase basic necessities.
Although the situation has begun to improve a bit since the fighting broke out (which coincidentally was about the same time that Israel was celebrating it’s 60th Independence Day), the relative calm only occurs because Nasrallah and the Hezbollah backed off a bit, for their own personal reasons. Most likely, the Hezbollah isn’t inclined to assume control of the entire country, and so its people are content to consolidate their hold on areas like West Beirut, along with their known strongholds in southern Lebanon.

Obviously, the Israeli government and military are keeping a wary eye on the developments in the north, as was noted by Defense Minister Ehud Barak during a visit to a kibbutz in southern Israel after a Hamas attack that took place there. Barak said that the IDF is “keeping one eye open in the south and another eye open in the north in regards to what is happening in Lebanon”.

That may be indeed a good idea, as Israel’s worst nightmare would be a Hezbollah-governed Lebanon on its northern border. The 2006 war is still on many people’s mind in Israel, especially those living in the north. The actions of Nasrallah’s organization during the past few days clearly indicate that Fouad Siniora and his government are not in charge of their country’s affairs — in fact, far from it. So, who’s really in charge in the “country of the cedars”? You, the reader, can draw your own conclusions.

Today we’re informed that another major earthquake struck the surface of the earth. This time it’s the people of China who suffer the wrath of the planet. So far we’ve heard of 3500(!!) casualties, and the numbers are expected to rise.

Israel itself sits on top of the Great Rift Valley, also known as the Syrian-African Rupture. It is a distinct geographical trough that marks the junction of several geological faults. Over the years, many experts warn the Israeli public that they should be prepared for a mega earthquake hitting this tiny country, sooner or later. Now, it is true that several devastating earthquakes ran wild across the planet in the past few years, and that the countries afflicted (Turkey, Iran, Indonesia, to name a few) suffered heavy losses and great economical setbacks, and yet, they managed to recover, able to keep their heads above the tide. This wouldn’t be the case of Israel if such a disaster strikes unexpectedly.

Israel is a small state, only slightly larger than New Jersey, and most of Israel’s population is concentrated on the banks of the Mediterranean shore, in cities such as Tel-Aviv and Haifa. No wonder the Israeli government is so concerned about the Iranian threat — One nuclear bomb is enough to wipe out the state of Israel, and most of its population. Well, Prime Minister Olmert is definitely anxious with the Iranian A-Bomb, but what about the threat of natural disasters, such as earthquakes and droughts?

Numerous panel reports have been presented to the Israeli cabinet in the past decade urging the state authorities to take measures in preparation of a potential natural disaster. It was when the accumulating data persuaded news editors to feature this story prominently on TV and across the written media, that things “started to roll”. As we’ve been accustomed to in Israel, governmental agenda follows editorial agenda. Recently, we do hear about new protocols which the emergency services have prepared for such disasters, and even the government itself set up several web sites in order to educate the Israeli public as to what to do in such situations (so far, in Hebrew alone).

There is definitely much more to do, and I hope to see these official efforts taking one notch up. In the meantime, our prayers are aimed at the people of China.

I am getting the feeling that as we approach our 60th anniversary we are moving closer towards some sort of corruption climax. As an optimist I would like to think that we are cleaning house before the special birthday (this Wednesday night…). Today our Minister of Finance (Ex) was finally accused of theft - big time theft. In his capacity as Chairman of the Employees Organization he allegedly store 4 Million Shekel - 2.5 of which ended in his pocket. He is also charged with faking expenses and restaurants receipts for over 115,000 Shekels. Among the various charges (and there are a few) he is charged with money laundering, theft, embezzlement, forgery of corporate documents and breech of trust.

Since he is an Knesset Member (OY VEY !!!!) and he was caught not only with his hand in the cookie jar but with the entire cookie jar, he has the next 30 days to ask for immunity.

All this happened this morning while Shula Zaken, head of Olmert’s Office (EX again..) was interrogated for six hours as to her involvement in a corruption investigation that involves…..you guessed it - Olmert himself. So he was investigated last week and she was there today (not cooperating by the way……) and then Hirshson “stole” the headlines today.

Now last week, another oldie but goodie, member of Knesset Avigdor Liberman called a press conference where he complains about the horrible way he’s being treated by the Police and what a terrible witch hunt is being going through - over the last 12 years there has been an ongoing investigation. Police claims that he is not forthcoming and is not cooperating with the investigation.

Finally we have the “old news” that Shlomo Benizri of SHAS was sentenced to 18 months in the big house for accepting bribes. He was deputy Minister of Health, Minister of Health and Minister of Labour. Very impressive…. Anyway he was caught taking bribes, attempting to destry evidence and interfering with an investigation and lots of good stuff.

So you see - as we approach Wednesday’s celebrations we will hopefully have a little less crap in the Knesset

Today we mark the Holocaust Memorial Day. Last year, the entire country was shaken after watching the documentary film “The Morals of Restitution“ (Musar Hashilumin) . The film, created by the socially-conscious journalists Orly Vilnai Federbush and Guy Meroz, revealed the shameful economic conditions of so many of the holocaust survivors who live in Israel. More than 80,000 Shoah survivors live in atrocious poverty without some of the most basic means such as food and medicine. One survivor told the cameras shockingly that she had to go back to Germany, a place of her persecution, due to Israel’s lack of financial support. The film raised a pointing finger at the Jewish institutions including the Israeli banks, JNF (Jewish National Fund) and the Claims Conference, an organization established for the primary purpose of transferring restitution funds from Germany, for withholding payments of survivors who are literally dying in the meantime.

How could this happen in Israel, a state built by and for Jews? This is the question the audience of this documentary is left with. There was a point where things seemed as they were about to change. People protested and the Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made a speech emphasizing the importance of the Holocaust survivors for this country while promising to distribute special funds. It all turned out to be a mere media spectacle – survivors were given a one-time allowance of a few dozen NIS and were left forgotten again.

A year has passed since. In a sequel broadcast last night the journalists returned to further investigate how and whether things have changed. They didn’t. Many of the survivors passed away while others continue in their daily suffering. The sequel shows how the Claims Conference organization has turned into a corrupt money making machine accumulating fortunes for its own benefits and agenda.

In light of this, one must wonder how these people live with themselves. More importantly, how does our society allows this to happen? It is about time that we not only remember but wake up from our apathy and take action to protect these people from death in disgrace. The only positive thing emerging from this issue is the courage of the creators to speak out which highlights the true purpose of journalism.

Don’t say we don’t get around. We for this from our man in San Diego, direct from Solana Beach. As a country that’s really all about the sea, Israel has had little experience with Sharks. There were a couple of Shark attacks in Eilat way back, but nothing major.

Once in a while we hear about some sharks being observed by fishermen but generally the only reason they would be found in the Red Sea would be because they were disoriented, lost or just old and looking for a final resting place.

Hope this is the last they hear about it in California…

Thank you Moshe!

If you run into people in Israel strangely scratching their heads, they might be German artists. Seven young artists from Berlin have chosen to express themselves in a very extraordinary way; they are spending seven nights and days in an Israeli museum in the company of lice.
Why? That’s a great question.

Is it art, gimmick, or the art of the gimmicks? This gallery has been loaded with provocations. Did these Germans intend to associate this unusual exhibition with the Holocaust? The Holocaust is still a very touchy subject in Israel. Holocaust survivors and their families might be offended, especially so close to Holocaust Memorial Day.

“We were aware that, as Germans in Israel, there was a risk we may be misunderstood, that we would open up wounds People ask about it - we had one woman who came and thanked us for making such a great statement against the fascist rhetoric of German history”, said one of the artist to the press.

Another artist explained that the group is exploring the theme of hosting.
I am a great supporter in freedom of speech, but some things just give the impression of being tasteless, even for the sake of art.
These German artists can enjoy their freedom of scratching. I am keeping away from this gallery.

Source:Ynet

In the midst of cleaning for Pesach—or, as they say, making the house kosher for the holiday—I have been pondering the use of the term kosher as it is being applied to Israel’s “kosher buses”.

The segregation of women on some public transportation in and between religious neighborhoods—literally, sending them to the back of the bus—has caused a outpouring of anger in many circles here and overseas. As always, it falls to the victims themselves to campaign against the infringement of their civil and human rights. Women who do not want to be relegated to the back seats, and who have been humiliated and even attacked for this refusal, are now appealing to Israel’s courts to challenge this arrangement on public buses. They are being supported by overseas groups, including a campaign by the U.S. affiliate of the International Council of Jewish Women, the National Council of Jewish Women, and initial reactions from the judges in these cases agree that there is a clear violation of women’s rights as protected by the law.

For those of us who remember the first acts of the civil rights’ movement in the United States, we are very aware of the significance of segregated buses. We can also attest to the fact that these violations of civil and human rights inevitably lead to violence—in this case, violence specifically targeted against women.

And here is the true point of the “bus situation.” This is not really about seating on buses, or any real attempt to preserve modesty between the sexes. If those behind the segregation of men and women were really acting in the interest of modesty, they should have perhaps followed the example of countries like Mexico who provide women with separate “grope-free” public transportation.

Every woman who has ever used public transportation has experienced sexual harassment of one type or another. The idea of “grope-free” transportation offers separate transportation for women so that they can travel comfortably, without having to fight off the wandering hands and lewd looks of male passengers. Had the “kosher” bus initiators made similar arrangements for the women in their community, I doubt whether there would have been any uproar. In fact, the argument could have been made that there was some forward thinking in this policy, just as there is a strong argument to be made for separate education for boys and girls. (In many research studies, the latter has actually been shown to serve the scholastic and intellectual development of the girls.)

But the point of segregated buses is not to protect the women. Insisting that the women travel at the back of the bus is a symbolic act of patriarchal oppression in a community that feels it has to remind its women of their “proper place.” It has nothing to do with religion, and it is not remotely “kosher.” It is another tactic to enforce the status quo in a community that fears the cracks of gender equality are growing wider.

As we get ready for the Pesach holiday, let us remember that the message of the holiday is freedom. Any perversion of that message is simply not kosher.

Written by Leah A.

It was only until after I came on Aliyah with my family nearly ten years ago and after settling down did I realize that I live in a bubble. A hard concept to imagine, but coming from Kew Gardens Hills, NY, I thought it was there that I dwelled in a happy bubble. Yet, that was not the case. Now being one of the “Anglo’im”, I have come to grips with the fact that we live in a small world of our own. If you are an Anglo and live in Israel, no matter how long you’ve lived here, in all likelihood, you interact, befriend and socialize primarily with other Anglos as well. You may make some Israeli friends here and there, and in more rare instances, you befriend South Americans, French, Russians, Ethiopians as well as other Jews from the Diaspora. But by and large, your circles consist primarily of Anglos. The only exotic Anglos you know (if you are a ‘Yank’ like me) are those from the UK, South Africa, Australia or New Zealand.

Our purpose as olim is to integrate into Israeli society - to become Israelis. Yet, from what I see, people tend to cling onto their native cultures. Language and accent, being the major barrier between Anglos and Israelis, is one of the greatest obstacles which divides our communities to mainstream Israelis. This is true in all sets and subsets of the religious and non-religous oleh communities in the country.

What is striking though, in religious communities throughout the country where many Anglos now call home, English is the common language found throughout these cities. English postings clutter community bulletin boards in shops and libraries; English lectures in public places; English ganei yeladim and now they’re opening up an acreditied Yeshiva High School for boys in Bayit Vegan, Jerusalem which is for English speakers only.

Though it defeats the entire purpose of aliyah and klita (immigration and absorption), the purpose of opening this school is to address a need that is great in the Anglo communities where young teenagers have been having a very difficult time adjusting to the Israeli yeshiva system. Most of these youngsters either had difficulties adjusting to the Israeli school system, be it socially or communicatively. However the question arises, how is this going to help them in the long run? Furthermore, many boys ending up at this Yeshiva will attend because they want to be in an English environment and not necessarily because they merely didn’t “fit in”. In the long run, these boys will not really be able to function in Israeli society, (including the IDF) and in essence, they are being taught and bred to live outside of Israel.

Ironic, though many, if not most religious Anglo communities in Israel have come on aliyah because of their religious convictions, the establishment of this Yeshiva can facilitate yeridah (moving from Israel). Though I’m sure that there are students who, plain and simple have a serious problem learning and living in a foriegn language, there are most, who with help, can overcome this obstacle and mainstream into young Israeli society. In the short run, since many of these students socialize exclusively with their fellow Anglos, it even adds a new barrier between themselves and Israeli society.

For those of us who grew up in the diaspora, many of us lived on the other side of an invisible wall that divided us and the Gentile world, as it has been for many centuries. Friendships and social relationships were maintained at an arms-length distance, especially amongst the orthodox communities. Assimilation has been a huge “no-no” and the secular societies were to remain off limits.

How can this be so in Israel when the concept of absorption has a much sweeter taste than assimilation?

Israeli politicians appear to be more and more under investigation for a variety of offenses these days. While some activities fall under what might be considered as misdemeanors, others are outright criminal; and should any of the perpetrators be tried and convicted, they could not only be out of politics forever but could face periods of time in prison too.

Many of the pictured individuals are either government cabinet or former cabinet officials, including Shas Party MK Shlomo Benizri, who may wind up following his former party boss Aryeh Deri, who spent 2 years in the slammer for a number of criminal activities, including bribery, and misappropriation of government funds for his own purposes. Benizri himself was recently convicted for charges dealing with corruption. Another prominent member, Kadima Party member and present chairman of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Tzahi Hanegbi, has been under indictment for a number of offenses, such as bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. Some of these charges go back to when Hanegbi was Justice Minister under the Natanyahu government.

Avigdor Lieberman, Israel Beitanu Party chairman and former cabinet minister in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s government, has been under suspicion for years on a number of offenses, including some questionable business interests connected to a travel company that his daughter presently runs. Another (former) cabinet minister, Avraham Hirchson, served as Finance Minister until it was discovered that he was outright involved in taking government funds to help his son who had gotten himself in trouble over large gambling debts. Hirchson was a close crony to P.M. Olmert, who is said to be responsible for Hirchson receiving the said cabinet post. If convicted, Hirshson could face a lengthily prison term, as well as a substantial fine.

But perhaps the most noted member of this political “rogues gallery” is none other than Prime Minister Olmert himself. The Prime Minister, with the aid of his legal advisors and even Attorney General Meny Mazuz, has been able to steer his way through avirtual maize of “legal challenges” ranging from some property he purchased in Jerusalem using inside information, to violation of public trust concerning what is now being referred as the “Bank Leumi Affair”. Olmert has let off the hook by Mazuz in this incidence but many people outside his own political party are still talking about this affair which was often on the news in 2007. Olmert is also alleged to be involved in granting approved industry status to a company his law partner, Uri Messer, was involved with, saving the company more than $11 million in taxes.

One guy who got left out of this photo clip is former Likud and Kadima M.K. Omri Sharon, who was convicted of misuse of party funds when his father, Arik Shahon was running for election as Prime Minister in 2000/01. Omri was convicted and sentenced to 7 months in prison, which he began serving in February, 2008.

There are of course other political notables who have been involved recently in questionable activities; but the ones included here are some of the most prominent. All in all, the year 2007 was a very “interesting” year in so far as political hanky panky goes.