Well it appears that Israel has declared a cease fire in the Middle East! Or as the Liberal Jews would say those mean Israelis have stopped attacking those poor innocent oppressed Palestinians. For now, I will keep my thoughts to myself about how long this cease fire will last...
As I get ready to prepare for my upcoming movie review… (Now that I finally got a copy of American Psycho thanks to a great deal I found on eBay), I just wanted to add a few more thoughts to last week’s column about the situation in Israel. We will get to that in just a moment, but first a few comments about some other items in the news this week....
*HERO PILOT
Kudos to Chelsey Sullenberger for having the brilliance to land that plane safely in the Hudson River. This event gave me a firsthand look how news coverage has entered a new era. I first heard about it moments after it happened when I saw that my Facebook Live Feed contained an eyewitness account from my old college friend Sue W who proclaimed in loud headlines on her status that she just saw a plane had crashed into the Hudson River.
From that point on, the news coverage was endless. Channel 4 News had team coverage featuring 9 reporters who at one point were lined up in a 3x3 grid causing me to yell out.."I'll take Gabe Pressman for the block!" And if there is any guy that could get any chic he wants,… it has to be that pilot! Imagine his pickup line – “Hey baby.. I’m the pilot that landed that plane”. He already has a fan club on Facebook and I think women will soon be tossing their panties at him. And how odd that this happened the day after the death of Ricardo Montalban. We went from Mr, Roarke to talking about "Ze Plane". I wonder if Montalban's coffin will be made of Rich Corinthian Leather?
*HEATH CAMPBELL
Last December we wrote about Heath Campbell the Nazi wanna be who named his kid Adolf Hitler and ratted out Shop Rite to the local news media because they refused to bake him a “Happy Birthday Adolf Hitler” cake. This turned into a national news story. Of course those bastards at Wal Mart were more than happy to bake the offending cake!
Last month I pointed out that Heath and his wife refuse to work and collect welfare and speculated about how long it would take for DYFS to come in and take his kids away. Thankfully, those kids are now out and in a better home. But the issue is not just that he gave his 3 kids Nazi-related names... it is the kind of home those kids are being raised in. During his anti Shop Rite media blitz he was very eager to show off his welfare rented home and all the Nazi memorabilia he happily has displayed there. It looks like he shot himself in the foot; he apparently caught the attention of DYFS, and they were able to get his kids out of there.
Too bad I don’t know where he lives. I’d like to go outside his home and sing to the tune of the legendary soup commercial...
Mmmm Mmmm Gone
Mmmm Mmmm Gone
That’s what Campbell’s kids are
Mmmm Mmmm Gone.
Nothing like seeing the downfall of an Anti-Semite. That leads us today's topic about the war against Terrorism being waged in Gaza, a war which now includes a PR war against the Anti-Semites who continue to turn the terrorist victims into the bad guys!
*FACEBOOK STATUS REPORTS
A lot of people on FB are showing their support for the plight of our Israeli brethren by posting updates provided by Qassamcount.com. A lot of people, myself included have been complaining about the media coverage of Israel's war against terrorism. Some call it the liberal media - I think it's because news editors are not too well educated about the Middle East situation and don't know how to put the situation in the right perspective. So when they blast headlines announcing "UN school students killed by Israeli army"... I know that the real headline is "Hamas terrorists use school children as human shields". Qassamcount allows you to subscribe and then sends a headline out as your status report with a regular update of the latest terrorism inflicted by Hamas.. i.e. 12 rockets hit Israel Friday, etc. I think it's a great idea to spread the word about what is really going on and get away from the fake headlines we see on the news.
A friend of mine was telling me that someone he knows had a response to his accurate Qassam headline with a comment from a terrorist supporter that he finds the status report to be propaganda and it's reprehensible!
Huh?
First of all if any of my FB friends made such a comment, I would unfriend them quicker than you can say free Burger King sandwich!
How dare one of these terrorist supporters say that an update about the victim of a Hamas terrorist rocket attack is "reprehensible propaganda"?? That particular update even talked about a rocket that hit an Israeli school!! I can only imagine what this terrorist supporter would have said if Facebook had been around on 9-11. 2000 people died on American soil today in terrorist attacks... oh wait a minute that is reprehensible propaganda... how about those poor hijackers that died today? Screw the victims. It's just amazing how stupid the internet can make some people look!!
*LAST WEEK'S COMMENT SECTION
This week while the Giants are not playing in the NFC Title Game, I hearken back to last year’s game which I missed due to DAS’s wedding. My disclaimer is that I disagree with A LOT of stuff that he says, but he really is one heckuva nice guy. I just don't understand his compassion towards this "Palestinian plight". If a liberal Jew was drowning and a Hamas person walked by... he would throw him a brick. Actually he would tie the brick to his leg first and then throw a 2nd one at him. Then he would probably cut his finger while throwing the brick, and as the liberal drowns his last words would be "I feel so bad that you just cut yourself!"
So as DAS celebrates his 1st wedding anniversary this weekend – I must admit that I am not as compassionate, and I wanted to address some of his devil’s advocate points. And I do mean that literally because terrorists are evil regardless of what their PR spin machine tells us is their reasonable cause.
I continue to say that most of this Pro Hamas rhetoric is pure Anti Semitism, especially based on some of the garbage I hear at their moronic rallies. I also question why taxpayer money is paying for their security.. especially when some cops got injured at last week’s Pro Terrorist Rally. Let those losers pay for their own security. I posted a comment on Loran’s blog the other day... by the way he has a great article in this week's Jewish State.... In my comments there, I speculated about what would happen if somebody in Connecticut launched a Hamas rocket that landed smack in the middle of a Pro Terrorist Rally in New York. You know that all you would hear is “hate crime” and the demand to “prosecute that rocket launcher to the fullest extent of the law!”
In their hypocritical minds it is wrong to launch rockets at protesters.. but if the target is a Jew then it is perfectly OK.
DAS brought up a point I had not heard… but then again I really don't pay attention to too much of what liberal Jews talk about. (By the way, I don't think DAS is really that liberal on this topic so these anti-liberal comments are not directed at him) I see that there is an excellent program going on locally where you can donate $53 to Freedom to Play. That money gives an Israeli kid a day trip to a safe location so they can play like a child should,... without having to worry about being attacked by a Hamas Rocket. Of course if you go to a liberal Jew for a donation to this cause, all you hear is "Waaa Waaaa the "poor Palestinians""
So DAS asked me....why should a non Orthodox Jew defend Israel when non Orthodox Judaism is not “recognized” in The Holy Land?
I thought this was kind of bizarre but in retrospect there is a bit of a rift between Orthodox and non Orthodox. There are Orthodox that will not accept the kosher certification of a Non Orthodox Rabbi and the big question in Israel is “Who is a Jew?” By definition, if your mother is Jewish, you're Jewish, but apparently there are some non-Orthodox that are recognizing patri-lineal situations where the Dad but not the Mom is Jewish.
And then how about the conversions? Not only do the Orthodox question the non Orthodox Kosher certifications, but non Orthodox conversions are also raising questions. That fact, combined with sons and daughters of Jewish fathers (and non Jewish mothers) professing to be card carrying Jews has produced a very sticky situation.
I once paid a shiva call where they were about to begin services I knew that one member of the 10 man minyan was the son of a Jewish father and non Jewish mother. A similar issue could come up if the person had a non Orthodox conversion. This is a big deal to the Orthodox.. There are certain prayers Orthodox say in a minyan that they do not say with less than 10 men present. And if they say that blessing, they feel very bad if they say God's name in vain during prayers. They feel just as bad as you would if you went to to your baseball Fantasy draft and instead of saying "Albert Pujols" your mouth said "Albert Schweitzer" instead.
The thing is, I really don’t know how this rift can ever be resolved. How do you convince Orthodox to accept these “changes”? You can't... they live their lives steeped in tradition and they haven't changed the rules for 5000 years. It seems a lot of other non Ortho groups were created by people who didn't want to live by the strict Orthodox rules. Now, how can we go back and tell Orthodox that they have to live by our levels of acceptance? We can't pout if they won't eat at a Non Orthodox certified restaurant or accept a conversion that doesn't follow their book of rules that they have followed to the letter for all these years. Personally, I don't label myself as Orthodox, and I never get offended if the ultra Orthodox don't feel that my house is not "kosher enough" because it is thanks to their virtual zero intermarriage rate that I know that Judaism will continue for generations.
Somewhere along the line, some slick PR type figured out that this rift between the Orthodox Rabbinate in Israel and the non Orthodox would be a perfect way to drive a wedge between the non Orthodox and the hero Israel soldiers that are fighting a very tough battle.
Here is a message to the Non Orthodox: Don’t listen to that.. it's just some PR balderdash that is meant to divide my Jewish brothers and sisters. It's pure garbage... Israel is there for ALL Jews.. Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, etc... And since Israel is there for all sects of Judaism, it's important that we be there for Israel too!
CLASSIC CLIP OF THE WEEK:
In honor of DAS's anniversary this wknd - here is a clip from his wedding last year where I give him some advice that he actually listened to!! How if only I could get him to put Qassam Count on his facebook status!
3 comments:
How do you convince Orthodox to accept these “changes”? You can't... they live their lives steeped in tradition and they haven't changed the rules for 5000 years.
5000 years? I presume the exaggeration is on purpose ;)
I don't care if some Orthodox congregation doesn't consider my family to be Jewish ... it's no skin off of my back. The issue is that I am being told to support a Jewish state because I am Jewish and that state, based on the influence of people who are even less committed to the founding ideology of said state than I am, doesn't recognize the religion I practice to be a valid form of Judaism.
I don't care that some Orthodox Rabbi might refuse to officiate at the wedding of my daughter. I do care that, should my family make aliyah, my daughter would have to go to Cyprus to get married. The issue is not one being made by some slick PR person to divide the Jewish community, but rather it really is an issue.
If my daughter can't get married in Israel because she is not Jewish as far as they are concerned, why should I have any special care for Israel based on my Jewishness.
Look, the reason why you and I both feel that so much criticism of Israel is anti-Semitism pure and simple is that, if some non-Jewish state called Schmizrayel did the same things Israel did, all those critics of Israel wouldn't give a rat's patouie about it.
But the same thing applies to many (Jewish) supporters of Israel: if it were Schmizrayel, they wouldn't be defending it so hard.
At one level, I find this to be somewhat problematic as it gives the anti-Semites "proof" about Jewish dual loyalties. OTOH, we Jews are a people set apart and we do have certain mutual obligations to each other. I do and should care specially about the survival of my fellow Jews in Israel.
But the de facto reason why many Jews "support" the state of Israel is that it is the Jewish state. Nu? Why should we Jews whose families are effectively disenfranchised from Judaism as it exists in Israel support Israel any more than we would support Schmizrayel if Israel won't recognize our religion as Jewish. If Israel wouldn't recognize a Masorti Rabbi in Israel marrying my daughter, why should I care for them any more than I would care for Schmizrayel? Is Israel really there for ALL sects of Judaism? for ALL Jews? what about those who can't even get married there?
Interestingly, for what it's worth, my wife, who is more affected by the lack of equal recognition for liberal Judaism than I, isn't as worked up about this issue as I am.
Anyway, I'll put the Qassam count up as part of a total casualty count -- you know me ... I'm all liberal and even handed and stuff.
And just to be a persnickety red-head :)
You know that all you would hear is “hate crime” and the demand to “prosecute that rocket launcher to the fullest extent of the law!”
Nu? Then Israel should abduct some of those Hamas terrorists and put 'em on trial (actually, Israel has to do this according to Pirkei Avos: capital crimes -- and Hamas terrorists certain commit those -- which are not prosecuted in courts of law, bring averos to the Holy Land ... but it's hard to prosecute someone if you've killed them, even in a targeted bombing). But would the demand be for NY to start bombing CT?
Let's work our way backwards here...
If CT was launching rockets, the NYC police would find the location of the rockets and organize a SWAT team to abduct the criminals launching them. But what happens then if the SWAT team tries to go in there and is blocked from abducting them by other people??
As for your other point... I think it is a slick PR war because the issue here is not that Israel doesnt accept non Orthodox Jewish people, but non Ortho are asking others to accept "changes".
Case in point, a person who converts can't expect to be married by an Orthodox Rabbi because he (or she... nah, just kidding) would not accept that person as "Jewish", so theoretically that is asking an Ortho Rabbi to perform an intermarriage.
I don't think the government really cares about who observes what, but if a question comes up about compromising Orthodox values, then there is an issue.
And I dont see how you can see how the Israeli gov't is rejecting non Orthodox... they are just protecting the Orthos.
(Such an odd discussion to have with a person who bears such an uncanny resemblance to Rabbi Dworken!)
One other point: Mentioning Qasam victims along with all casualties on facebook status? Huh? Do you include the hijackers when you discuss the number of victims of 9-11?
A terrorist is a terrorist and there is no way that you can equate the life of a dead terrorist with that of an innocent Israeli injued in a rocket attack!!
Terrorists are NOT victims no matter what the liberal playbook says!
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