thisisbabylon.net

Fighting the good fight against anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, NYU, through its new "experiment" at interfaith coexistence, is doing a wonderful job, according to the Jewish Week:

In the kosher cafeteria at New York University, a Jewish student holds up a piece of pepper steak from his lunch, displaying it to his friends.

“What does this look like?” he asks.

The friends stop chatting for a moment to train their eyes on his fork. They are dressed for a warm spring day, some in sweatpants, others in jeans, a few wearing yarmulkes and one young woman in a hijab, a traditional Muslim head covering.

They laugh. “Israel,” someone shouts, and it is true, the piece of steak looks just like the Jewish state. “I’m going to eat Israel!” says Jonathan Einalhori, holding the steak aloft. “No, wait,” someone else says. “Have one of the Muslims eat Israel.”

They laugh again, and Einalhori eats his lunch.

Two weeks earlier, these students had barely met, before a spring break trip to New Orleans, to volunteer after the devastating Hurricane Katrina, brought the 15 Jewish and 15 Muslim students together to work on building new homes and new friendships.

Gutting houses and helping to build new ones in the Chalmette neighborhood of New Orleans, far from the frenzied, academic environment of NYU, the students were taken out of their usual roles and free to explore each others’ cultures and traditions. Though they expected to find many places of divergence in their beliefs, experiences and lifestyles, they were surprised to find as well how much they have in common.

“It wasn’t like we came to some brilliant conclusion that will bring world peace,” said Kate Gribetz, a freshman from Manhattan. “But we found we had so many commonalities, it’s not worth it to dwell on one difference.”

In New Orleans, when their work on the houses was complete, the students attended a Jumu’ah service, Islam’s Friday afternoon prayers, and a Shabbat service on Friday night. Each group learned about the others’ prayers and traditions, while at the same time, they say, deepening their own faith.

“Seeing the passion Muslims had toward their religion inspired me to have more toward mine,” says Gribetz, who was raised Modern Orthodox.

The students who traveled to New Orleans, and many in the community, attribute the warm feelings between Muslims and Jews to the sincere friendship that has developed between two men who, not long ago, were students themselves: Rabbi Yehuda Sarna and Brother Khalid Latif, the rabbi and imam at NYU.

Rabbi Sarna, 28, and Brother Latif, 24, began as coworkers but soon became friends. When the controversy over the anti-Muslim Danish cartoons arose in 2005, Rabbi Sarna supported sit-ins and protests by Muslim student groups. When former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to speak at NYU last fall, Brother Latif helped lead a post-speech discussion on relations between Israel and Lebanon. When the war broke out last summer, both men called each other, not only to plan how to deal with the fallout on campus, but simply to check in.

“We are able to model the kind of relationship which people should have,” says Rabbi Sarna. “We’re not just politically correct, but friends with mutual respect about each others’ religion.”

Rabbi Sarna concedes that because both men are traditional on their respective religious spectrums, the students in New Orleans felt comfortable taking part in unfamiliar worship services, flirting with each others’ stereotypes and becoming genuinely close.

“It wasn’t a hippie, ‘Kumbaya’ feeling that people should lay down their guns,” says Rabbi Sarna. “By the end of the trip the Jewish students [saw the Muslims] as cousins, people worshipping the same God in a different way.”

Posted by Y-Love at 04:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

With a hat tip to my boy Talut, a beautiful story on Muslim-Jewish unity from Northwest Arkansas. From the Morning News:

Jewish congregation "thrilled" to work with Muslim contractor on new building

FAYETTEVILLE -- Who knew religious divisions could be solved in an Olive Garden?

Fadil Bayyari and Jeremy Hess laid the groundwork a few weeks ago for Bayyari, a Muslim, to build a new home for Temple Shalom, Fayetteville's Jewish congregation. By the time the endless salad and breadsticks arrived, Bayyari reached an understanding with Hess, head of the temple's building committee. The coming together of faiths often pitted against one another wasn't lost on either.

"Even though this is a Jewish worship place, it is great we can represent the community," Hess said.

Bayyari, a Springdale general contractor, will donate his services to Temple Shalom as they proceed with plans for a $1 million building at the intersection of Sang Avenue and Cleveland Street. Bret Park, the architect designing the new Temple Shalom, said it is too early to calculate how valuable Bayyari's donation will be.

"We don't know how much the materials are going to be," Park said. "We haven't gotten there yet."

The symbolism of the men working together is more significant than bricks and mortar, temple president Bill Feldman said. Bayyari and Feldman agreed demonstrating the positive side of Muslim-Jewish relations is important locally and internationally. "We are able to get beyond the differences in the United States," Bayyari said. "Why can't they?"

Bayyari said he approached Hess through a friend in the local Rotary Club about lending his services. He said he thought it would be an important way to show his support. Bayyari previously built a mosque for Fayetteville's Muslim community.

"We are all children of God when you look at it," Bayyari said.

He noted that, if you trace Islam and Judaism to their roots, both begin with Abraham. He said meeting with Hess he saw how the two faiths shared common themes, and so did the people.

"We grew up in the same house, except his father was Jewish and my father was a Muslim," Bayyari said.

Posted by Y-Love at 05:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

From the French Journal Chretien:

Christian radio talk-show host Janet Parshall, a high-profile American evangelical known for her strong support of Israel, has dropped out of a Jerusalem conference sponsored by a Christian caucus of the Israeli Parliament...

Parshall says she is also troubled that the strict religious political party Shas has yet again introduced legislation in the Knesset that would give up to a one-year prison sentence for people who share the gospel in Israel.

"I thought, wait a minute : we can’t just blindly support Israel," she observes. "We have to be able to tell them, as a friend, [that] you can’t do that. You can’t silence us. "

The Christian radio commentator says Israel understands by now who evangelical Christians are...Also, Parshall points out, there is the added problem of censoring Christian evangelism, i.e., that "as Israel begins to move deeper and deeper in that direction, they start to replicate their Islamic neighbors."

Meanwhile, the evangelical spokeswoman notes, she believes an "evolution" has occurred in the Christian pro-Israel lobby, often characterized by "a kind of blind support that says no matter what Israel does, Israel can do no wrong."

However, Parshall contends, "I don’t believe that of our government and I certainly don’t believe that of the Israeli government. And friends tell friends, in love, when they see things that they think are wrong."

But Parshall says there are some in the Christian pro-Israel lobby who harbor such a "blind allegiance to Israel" that they even foster a belief that there is a different plan of salvation for the Jews. "That’s not true," she insists. "Scripture says there’s one name under heaven whereby all men will be saved."

Christians should not have to "choose between the cross or Israel," the American evangelical says.

And again, the legislation is talking about minors, and does not impact Christian worship at all. Furthermore, it most negatively impacts Jewish outreach organizations. Ms. Parshall must realize that Jewish identity -- and that identity's being unique from a Christian one -- is a very important idea for many Jews, especially in Israel, and her mission, which she refers to as "spreading love", negates that concept.

Ms. Parshall forgets -- many Israelis are in Israel because of the cross.

Posted by Y-Love at 04:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

The Los Angeles Jewish Journal today reviewed a new book, "Black Jews, Jews, and Other Heroes", by Howard M. Lenhoff, former president of the American Association of Ethiopian Jews (AAEJ). Mr. Lenhoff's book explores the Ethiopian Jews, "from the perspective of an advocate who helped forge a consensus behind the mass aliyah in the 1970s and 1980s":

Roughly 20 years ago, Sudan, whose western Darfur region has been engulfed in genocide for four years, watched another other tragedy unfold -- the deaths of thousands of Ethiopian Jews trying to escape to Israel via Operation Moses.

Nearly one-fifth of the fleeing Falashas perished on their journey due to murder, famine, drought and various illnesses. But tens of thousands reached the Holy Land; and the ancient Jewish community (known to themselves as Beta Yisrael), which had an almost invisible presence in Israel until the late 1970s, now numbers more than 100,000 people.

Former activist Howard Lenhoff, author of "Black Jews, Jews, and Other Heroes," might not consider himself one of his book's eponymous heroes. He never traveled to Ethiopia, never risked his life, never engaged in the kind of swashbuckling derring-do of some of his colleagues.

Yet he played a critical role as president of the American Association of Ethiopian Jews (AAEJ) in negotiating with and, in some cases, applying pressure to the Israeli government and the Jewish Agency to change policy on Ethiopian Jews.

Typical of the response of the Jewish establishment in the 1970s was this remark by one American Jewish woman: "These blacks are not Jews."

And today, black Jews are much more visible, the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel numbers 100,000.

Only by condemning past mistakes can we hope to make future progress. Baruch Hashem so much progress has been made and may it be G-d's Will that one day, all Jews will feel themselves equal beneficiaries of all the Divine gifts inherent in the Holy Land.

Posted by Y-Love at 03:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Today's Jerusalem Post contains a beautiful piece from Agudath Israel's Avi Shafran. In it, he details some of the ways, from educational materials to magazines, haredi Orthodox Jews are smeared and basically lied on:

A major American publisher of educational texts recently showed impressive responsibility and resolve by pledging to destroy its inventory of a book because of its false characterization of Orthodox Jews' beliefs.

The problematic passage - in a volume of Scholastic Library's Enchantment of the World (second series, published under Scholastic's "Children's Press" imprint) - asserts that, in Israel, "some ultra-Orthodox Jews want to limit the definition of who actually qualifies [for automatic citizenship as a Jew, under the country's Law of Return]. They believe that Reform and Conservative Jews are not really Jews at all because they are not strict in their observance of all the religious laws."

When the passage was called to the attention of Agudath Israel of America by a school librarian in Brooklyn, we immediately contacted Scholastic to point out the falsity of the contention that Orthodox Jews reject any Jew's Jewishness because of a less strict level, or even complete lack, of observance.

Where did the defamatory error originate? According to a Scholastic official, the publisher had relied on "a high-ranking member of American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprises" for the original formulation. AICE is, in its own words, "a leading content provider for students and organizations interested in Jewish history, culture and politics."

AICE probably does much good work and likely provides a good deal of accurate information. But that only makes the issue all the more troubling.

Equally troubling is the fact that, entirely under-the-radar, many Jews are being taught other fiendish fables about Orthodox Jews.

A NUMBER of such reports have come to my attention, but I recall one with a particular wince.

It was several years ago, when a letter to the editor appeared in the magazine Reform Judaism. The letter had been written by a Jewish teenager in response to an article in an earlier issue of the periodical contending that Orthodox Jews have contempt for Jews who are not like themselves.

...After identifying myself and apologizing profusely for calling her out of the blue, I spoke my piece: "God forbid! Orthodox Jews don't hate you! Our argument is with Reform Judaism - not Reform Jews. We have serious disagreements with the philosophy of the movement with which your family is affiliated. As you get older and learn more, you can evaluate those concerns for yourself. But you and your family are our precious Jewish brothers and sisters!"

A pause, and then she responded.

"You sound like a nice person," she said, "but I can't accept what you're saying."

I was stunned. "Why not?"

"Because I've been taught otherwise, for years."

"But it isn't true!"

"Maybe," responded Michelle, "but we've spent many classes in my Temple school discussing Orthodox attitudes, and I can't just suddenly take your word against all that I've been taught."

The Orthodox Jew has the privilege of having a book of law -- the Shulchan Aruch, the Divinely-guided Code of Jewish Law -- which dictates the standards of how we are to behave. Advocating divisions between Jews, intra-Semitic hatred, doubting Jewish lineage without any proof further than which "type of Jew" the person self-identifies as -- these things are unquestionably assur and violate the Scriptural commandment of loving fellow Jews (and if they were non-Jews there would be whole other issues). The Orthodox Jew saying such things can -- and should -- be called up for violating Scriptural Law.

But the Reform movement doesn't officially recognize Jewish Law as binding. Of course, the movement recognizes nebulous, uncodified concepts like "image of G-d" and "fixing up the world" but they have no binding code. I don't know how one would begin the process of mass eradication of prejudice in a religious school without saying something to the effect of "G-d doesn't like X behavior, and He said so at such-and-such." And, if the "Temple school" truly subscribes to the ideal of "personal autonomy" Reform Judaism subscribes to, then I'd wager that her teacher was freestyling.

In which case I'd wager he was only projecting his own feelings, or else repeating that which he heard 20 years prior or from someone Orthodox and uneducated. Regardless, he was not giving the take of the Jewish Tradition on the subject.

And when an Orthodox leader tries to set the story straight, he is not believed.

The truth is love and unity.

Posted by Y-Love at 04:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

MNNOnline.org, the Missionary News Network, is not too happy about proposed Israeli legislation:

Israel's theocratic party known as the Shas faction has declared war on missionaries. The group's Ultra-Orthodox leader, MK Yakov Margi, introduced a bill on March 13 urging a strengthening of Israel's laws against proselytism.

The article continues:

The new proposal would completely forbid preaching and proselytism altogether. Under the proposal, violators would face a years' imprisonment for preaching conversion. According to VCM, under current Israeli law, anyone offering money or material products in exchange for conversion faces five years in prison or a monetary fine.

The person on the accepting end of the offer also faces punishment. Anyone acting in favor of, or conducting a conversion ceremony on, a minor faces six month in jail. The law, however, does not address attempts to convert adults over the age of 18, making it completely legitimate.

Please. Get a damn grip.

Examining the article further:

Penner says the law reveals an ugly undercurrent facing Christians and Messianic Jews in Israel.

Every week for the past three years, he explains, the Messianic Jewish congregation in Arad, Israel has faced opposition from ultra orthodox Jews. Recent reports indicate the congregation regularly faces jeers and insults. They are spat upon and their homes are frequent targets for tomatoes and eggs. Noisy demonstrations are common, with the approval of the police.

The opposition turned violent on February 25, when a member of the church was beaten in the parking lot of his Chess and Bible Shop. The same shop was firebombed in 2005 by opponents to his evangelistic work.

Who got jeers? Who got eggs and tomatoes? Not the gentile Christians, but the Messianic Jews. Why is this?

Israel is a pluralistic society with freedom of religion. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are all freely practiced (in theory) throughout Israel's borders. However, Messianic Judaism is based upon the principle of coercion and coaxing -- "you can believe in JC and still be Jewish" is their mantra -- something which Israel was set up to be a refuge from.

Jews the world over have had to fight forced conversion in every era from the Inquisition down to Chosen People Ministries, and have only one parcel of real estate to run to where being Jewish is not something they have to defend...and then even there, in the one place where a star of David flies high on the flag in the sky, the one "Jewish state", there they have to defend Judaism?

Jews from places where Judaism was repressed are coming to Israel with fledgling Jewish identities, many knowing only "I don't believe in JC" as "what Jews believe", and then they are confronted with multimillion dollar campaigns and ministers well versed in social psychology and brainwashing/propaganda techniques -- they are often no match for the superior arguing power and lose the Jewish faith entirely.

If not faith in G-d altogether.

Strengthen the "body of Christ" with the hundreds of millions of non-Jews who already call it home. Add churches, ministries, charities, and even missions. But please.

Let Jews be Jews somewhere in the world.

Posted by Y-Love at 04:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Meet Kamal Salim, a self-titled "reformed terrorist", a former "fundamentalist Muslim" who preaches about Christianity in increasingly popular pulpits:

A man in a kaffiyeh is preaching to mainstream crowds of "middle Americans". That's got to be accomplishing something as far as interfaith unity and racism are concerned.

Posted by Y-Love at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Adding onto these videos, we have this:

Tell me again why basic principles aren't stressed in Jewish schools and ba'al teshuvah institutions.

Posted by Y-Love at 09:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

From today's Washington Post and with a hat tip to my favorite mujahid, Brian -- Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter, has some stinging words regarding life under W's self-appointed crusade against "terror":

The "war on terror" has created a culture of fear in America. The Bush administration's elevation of these three words into a national mantra since the horrific events of 9/11 has had a pernicious impact on American democracy, on America's psyche and on U.S. standing in the world. Using this phrase has actually undermined our ability to effectively confront the real challenges we face from fanatics who may use terrorism against us...

Constant reference to a "war on terror" did accomplish one major objective: It stimulated the emergence of a culture of fear. Fear obscures reason, intensifies emotions and makes it easier for demagogic politicians to mobilize the public on behalf of the policies they want to pursue. The war of choice in Iraq could never have gained the congressional support it got without the psychological linkage between the shock of 9/11 and the postulated existence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

Support for President Bush in the 2004 elections was also mobilized in part by the notion that "a nation at war" does not change its commander in chief in midstream. The sense of a pervasive but otherwise imprecise danger was thus channeled in a politically expedient direction by the mobilizing appeal of being "at war."...

That America has become insecure and more paranoid is hardly debatable. A recent study reported that in 2003, Congress identified 160 sites as potentially important national targets for would-be terrorists. With lobbyists weighing in, by the end of that year the list had grown to 1,849; by the end of 2004, to 28,360; by 2005, to 77,769.

The national database of possible targets now has some 300,000 items in it, including the Sears Tower in Chicago and an Illinois Apple and Pork Festival.

The entertainment industry has also jumped into the act. Hence the TV serials and films in which the evil characters have recognizable Arab features, sometimes highlighted by religious gestures, that exploit public anxiety and stimulate Islamophobia....

Where is the U.S. leader ready to say, "Enough of this hysteria, stop this paranoia"? Even in the face of future terrorist attacks, the likelihood of which cannot be denied, let us show some sense. Let us be true to our traditions.

In whipping up the American populace into a frenzy of fear, W's "war on terror" (a war which, according to Hoax author Van Hoffman, is by definition unwinnable as it is a war against a tactic and not an enemy) began to alternatively flip between being the "War on Islam" and the "War on the Arab World", interchangeably.

Only by stopping the racism-driven hysteria can we really focus on who we should have been fighting against the entire time: the murderers, the actual terrorists who want to kill us, and not the millions of innocent humans who happen to look and pray like them.

Remember, all the Islamophobia and "ethnic profiling" in the world wouldn't have caught Timothy McVeigh.

Posted by Y-Love at 05:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Yay.....advertising!

From The Nevada Journal:

It turns out most patients are deluded about their own behavior, said Nancy Metcalf, a senior project editor at Consumer Reports.

The Yonkers-based magazine conducted a national survey of 39,090 patients and 335 doctors for last month's issue - and found a big gap between what two camps believe.

"Patients think they mostly or completely follow their treatment, but 59 percent of doctors say that's their No. 1 complaint about patients," Metcalf said.

It depends on how you define "follow." Patients told to walk regularly think they are following orders if they hit the trail once or twice a week when the doctor had four times in mind.

What's worse, Metcalf said, is 75 percent of patients don't take their medicine as prescribed.

Dr. Deborah Shapiro, an internist at Rockland Pulmonary and Medical Associates in West Nyack, said patients who don't take their medications are just the beginning.

"My biggest problem is probably patients who, one, don't take their medicine, and two, who come in demanding special care based on what they saw on TV, what they read or what their friends told them," Shapiro said. Turning to the Internet for medical information was a gripe of 41 percent of doctors in the Consumer Reports survey.

Although three out of four doctors complained about patients asking for drugs they saw advertised on TV, 67 percent said they sometimes cave in and write out the prescriptions.

In the Consumer Reports survey, 28 percent of doctors criticized patients for requesting drugs that are flat-out unnecessary.

Pharmaceutical marketing reform NOW.

Posted by Y-Love at 02:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

On the way back from a recent performance, I found myself on the last flight into JFK of the night. The quintessential "red-eye" flight, to get me into New York at 6:30 AM. On the plane, literally a matter of seconds after the planes' wheels were retracted into the undercarriage of the aircraft, a baby a few rows ahead of me started crying.

Like screaming...her...head...off. Hysterically. Perhaps her ears popped for the first time. Perhaps she was feeling queasy. Regardless, she screamed, and screamed, and screamed. Continuously. Most opera singer's lungs pale in comparison to this child's. Pavarotti would be envious. Seemingly tireless flight attendants darted back and forth in the darkness, trying to stop this from becoming a bigger issue than it was already becoming. "Would you like anything?" was repeated to this child's parents over and over as the mother -- increasingly becoming exasperated, embarrassed, flustered, and panicky herself -- coaxed, coddled, and rocked in vain to try and quiet her precious little air siren.

Sleeping in any row numbered higher than 30 became quickly prohibited by this infant's shrill edict. After a few minutes -- of course it seemed like hours -- people began to give up on the sleep and order coffee, check the inflight movie, or (if they were me) write. I did manage to eke out about an aggregated 90 minutes of sleep, 10 minutes here, 20 minutes there. Much of it was after this child fell asleep, which was soon after we began our "initial descent".

We all lost our minds on that flight. I was almost in tears begging for the Heavenly Court to find me worthy of even a minute's snooze. The flight attendants got no rest, and I'm sure those in the higher class seating were not immune.

But of course, who apologizes -- and who feels the need to? That's what kids do. Infants cry. They scream. It can be annoying, it can be nerve racking, it can break glass, but what can you do -- it's a fact of life. We all screamed as infants, and our infants (may G-d bless all those desiring to have children with families b'm'heira) will scream to us. And so on and so on, ad infinitum.

But the fact remains, we were all awake that night.

And now, enter this video:

This guy apparently got fed up with his neighbor's kids. (Oh yeah, they're "Orthodox Jews", right off the bat. He's got "some Orthodox Jews" in his driveway. Check the title of the page, "Orthodox Jew kids") His Sanford & Son-esque choice of decor aside (maximalist design?), he takes this firecracker to his roof in an attempt to terrorize these children.

What do they say? Something ending in "fire." One runs. Not even worthy of the "lol" he gives it. However, let's examine what the poster, XzIpK, says on the page:

AMEX26:
Then move someplace else. At lease they dont have sex at twelve years old or mug and kill their friends. Why cant you see the good in life. Look around in the filth that you live in, clean it up and then start making videos of kids

XzIpK:
I can't move anyplace else. When I graduate college, then most definatley I will. They are ignorant, and dont give a shit about surrounded neighbors. My other neighbor and I already called the cops to try and get their parents to be more strict with them. They did at least 5k in damage between my sisters car and my neighbors car. Fuck them, they dont give me respect, I dont give them respect. Simple as that.

(I also find this hard to believe and here's why: if we're talking about "at least $5,000" in damage, I find it hard to believe anyone just "writes that off as a loss". This is beyond respect at that point, it's either a lawsuit or some type of arbitration. Police do not just get called "for the hell of it", if you pursue police involvement, it almost follows logically that you're going to do something after that. In addition, I would not say that, based on what I've seen on youTube, that XzIpK even deserves credibility, nor am I saying that it's even presumable that he wasn't a raging anti-Semite to begin with. But for the purpose of this piece, I'll assume that he's not a bigot from before this incident and that it is true, and ultimately, even the facts of the case are to a degree irrelevant, if XzIpK believes this is what happened, that will be the stimulus that dictates his reactions)

At this point, it's time for a fence. Mr. Wilson's yard was off-limits to Dennis the Menace -- is there some sort of understood "free license" that every child has to play wherever they see fit? I remember when I was little, yes, we also played in other people's yards, along their fences, etc. However, I also know my mother would have let me have it, had she learned that I did five thousand dollars worth of damage to two people's cars.

And if XzIpK has become anti-Semitic because of this, or has let loose his latent anti-Semitism, then something far worse has happened. Those children did a lot more damage to a lot more than a couple of cars. And at this point, it becomes that tragic afterthought: because, as we know from psychology, stimuli remain imprinted on our brains long after they are removed from our views. The imprint of whatever happened to XzIpK's sister's car, the sound of the "annoying as f*ck" kids' playing, whatever -- this will remain with XzIpK for quite some time.

Can't someone buy these kids a Wii or something? At least until XzIpK finishes college?

Posted by Y-Love at 07:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I love advertising. I consider it an art form. I love marketing.

I have never worked in these fields, but this is where my passion lies. I love watching people as they get on the bus, which digital appliances they clutch and which they let drop while fumbling for a Metrocard, which brand names they have plastered over themselves, etc. I love logos. I love slogans, jingles, all those little pieces of corporate mind control designed to make us "buy, buy, buy!". It's applied art.

I also deplore the public displays of pornography which pass as advertising. Calvin Klein should still be repenting over that teen girl's crotch he plastered in view of millions of Manhattanites. There is no reason -- especially considering it actually damages ad recall -- for sex to be used the way it is in advertising. From girls' eating disorders to suicides, adver-porn has been pointed to as "the reason" many horrible things "happened".
These past few days in Ashkelon, YNet news reports, a (presumably charedi) group of people has been vandalizing smutty billboards. The immodestly dressed women present an offensive eyesore to them and they want to have a life free of such filth:

Signs featuring pictures of models have been vandalized in the city of Ashkelon in recent days. The city's residents believe that haredi groups were responsible for covering the signs with generous amounts of paint.

The signs' franchiser, Yossi Pertok, was furious over the incident.

Pertok, like many other residents, believes that strictly Orthodox groups offended by the pictures were behind the act.

"I told the municipality that if this phenomenon does not stop we will have a fanatic city," he said.

Religious groups in the city said that they had nothing to do with the sign destruction. Amram Ben David, a city council member on behalf of the National Religious Party, denied involvement and said that he did not support violence.

"Nonetheless, I plan to deal with the issue using the most legal means, and there are quite a lot of ways to do so. I am referring to removing all those signs of abomination in our city. The situation is getting worse and the religious public is not the only one complaining about it, but also the secular public."

But here's my problem with this: do you know what percentage of Jews in Ashkelon are charedi Orthodox? 0.1%! It's a majority secular city, with a growing Torah population, but still majority secular. I'm on fire for Torah too, but you can't expect but so much when you're constituting 0.1% of the population.

OK, so the representatives in Ashkelon are religious. But the people aren't. You can't just GET 100,000 people to return to G-d by throwing paint on billboards. And no doubt, this hampers the efforts of outreach organizations -- who wants to be like guys who throw paint on billboards? In Jerusalem, you have the "black belt", neighborhood after neighborhood of rows and rows of G-d-praising religious Jews, consisting of almost 30% of the population of the city. (And maybe up to 65%.) In Brooklyn, you have 60+% Orthodoxy. Places like this, one could understand the claim of "get that filth out of my neighborhood."

But when you're 0.1% of the population, your task is different. You can't go about the task of preservation. When you have a city where 80% of the population is foreign born (and you know that means a lot of Russians and other immigrants from Europe) maybe you might want to start with "shalom" and not "get that filth out of my face". Outreach not closing out.

According to the charedi survey, there is no charedi neighborhood in Ashkelon. Maybe that should be a priority -- a bloc of real estate sort of dictates "we make the rules here". But surely this was a faux pas by any measurement.

Judaism is a religion with a long, beautiful tradition, and the history of the Jewish Nation was begun by no less than the Creator Himself; to make someone think all Judaism is is a bunch of guys who throw paint is a horrible travesty. And, really, it's just like Rabbi Ga'on says: we are all going to have to one day, face G-d at the end of 120 years and give an accounting for our souls.

What do these people expect to hear in Heaven: "You damaged the property of this hardworking advertising executive, but good job at keeping your 0.1% of the population a small minority with no outreach! Great color, and praiseworthy is your brushstroke!"?

Think of the big picture, rabotai!

Posted by Y-Love at 01:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In a statement that the Independent Catholic News all but glossed over, Bishop William Kenney CP, Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham, and Spokesperson on European Affairs for the Catholic Bishops, spoke about what he described as "a vociferous and aggressive secularism in certain parts of Europe."

Romania is about to enter the European Union, and is not as secular as many of its other European counterparts. Romania, it is being assumed, will eventually "get with it" and renounce some of its religious traditions in favor of the more "enlightened" secularism.

The Birmingham Diocese gives Bishop Kenney's statements in a bit more context:

"At a time when there is a vociferous and aggressive secularism in certain parts of Europe it must be said that all people who have any faith, and not just Christians, are going to need to stand together for the values which Europe and not least Romania stand for."

Are citizens of faith not marginalized here too? Are words like "fundamentalist" and "fanatic" not thrown around with the same venom as "racist" on this side of the ocean?

As in Europe, so too in America. All people who have any faith are going to need to stand to gether for the values which we ourselves stand for. Even if those values transcend America.

Posted by Y-Love at 06:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

In Connecticut, an interfaith rally draws Christians, Jews, and Muslims together under the "Tent of Abraham":

Dr. Adeeb [Kareem, president of the American Institute for Islamic and Arabic Studies,] "The common denominator arising out of this dialogue is that it will disarm the scoundrels from using religion as a pretext for aggression," he said.

From the New York University news, one student describes spring break as being punctuated by interfaith unity:

Never could I have possibly imagined a trip that would end with Jews and Muslims sharing their meals in the kosher cafeteria. Or with Muslims asking me if I am coming to Shabbat dinner on Friday night. Or with Jewish students sitting around a bonfire shouting "Takbir," an exclamation Muslims use to proclaim the greatness of Allah.

The Muslim Council of Britain, not an organization known for linking up with "secular Muslims", made an unprecedented show of interfaith unity in London:

Inayat Bunglawala, secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said his organization's ties with the Muslim Brotherhood shouldn't be a barrier to ties between the two communities, as they don't seek to undermine Jews in the UK. He added that the Muslim Brotherhood believes the creation of Israel was a tragic mistake.

He said he understood the issue of Hamas was problematic: "They have no intention to recognize Israel. Until they move on, that I can understand why it is a point of contention."

"I wish progress would be made on the Middle East peace process but don't see why that should prevent good ties between Jews and Muslims here," he said.

They came to find common points of humanity, not to debate politics, war or religion.

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Such was the purpose recently for the event ‘Speaking Across Differences,’ where about 150 Muslim, Christian and Jewish residents of Downtown Brooklyn and Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill gathered in the cafeteria at the High School for International Studies, 284 Baltic Street.

“The reality is that change doesn’t happen with big, grand, global statements but happens in small increments on a human level,” said Marcia Kannry, founder and president of the non-profit Dialogue Project, Inc., which put the event together.

Wonderful people all of them. As are all people who make it a point to build bridges and not walls.

Ken yirbu.

Posted by Y-Love at 02:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Just blaze!

Is the phrase "bong hits" offensive? That's the question which is about to appear in the Supreme Court.

Good thing it was a religious organization which used it. Instead of, oh, Cypress Hill or something.

Then it might be, you know, offensive.

Posted by Y-Love at 01:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

This article on CrownHeights.Info makes me want to cry in light of an email I received not too long ago.

A young man in California said that he was Jewish, and was becoming more interested in Judaism. Of course, I'm always eager to help someone on their path towards G-d (as opposed to away from Him) , so I emailed him back. He asked me two strange questions:

One, could one "be a religious Jew" even if they didn't accept the Lubavitcher Rebbe as the Messiah, and two, where could one go to become religious if they didn't.

I was flabbergasted. How could it have gotten to this point -- that this young man thought that the only way to be a religious Jew would be to accept this man as Messiah? I wrote to him adamantly that he should seek a mainstream Orthodox yeshiva and detach himself from whichever Chaba"d house he was associating with -- whichever shaliach was running the place was obviously doing more harm than good in his life.

And now we have this.

A few months ago I was walking in Times Square in New York City and there were two Chabadniks handing out literature proclaiming that the Rebbe, Menachem Schneerson, was the Messiah (Moshiach). They were in competition with a guy up the street with a sign proclaiming the end of the world and that Jesus will save us if we believe in him.

Being a curious person, or maybe just a contentious one, I approached the Chabad-Lubavitchers and asked how the Rebbe could be the Messiah since he died in 1994 and was buried in Queens? They responded that he really wasn't dead and that the person buried in the grave in Queens was his father-in-law. I walked away amused and a little irritated that these jokers were there in the name of Judaism.

Last month my wife, Lynne, and I were in the subterranean 42nd Street subway station and another Chabad Chasid was distributing literature. Not to offend him, heaven forbid, I took what he was offering. It is this handout that I want to discuss. Hold on to your seats, because this stuff is amazing (that's a polite adjective for ludicrous).

“America's efforts to safeguard peace around the world are critical elements in actualizing the redemption, as proclaimed by the prophet of our generation, the Lubavitcher Rebbe king Messiah (Moshiach) shlita (who lives forever)... America can be proud...in meriting the blessing of exceeding success with which the Rebbe king Messiah shlita blessed the U.S. armed forces in their holy mission in Iraq.”

It, of course, doesn't stop there:

There's more: On Jan. 31, 1992 the United States and the Soviet Union signed a bilateral nuclear disarmament treaty. The next day the Rebbe declared this the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy of peace. Most important, “the Rebbe king Messiah shlita (who lives forever) stated that the decision of the superpowers to abolish nuclear armament production and establish a new world order based on justice was a direct result of the rabbinic ruling” (by the Rebbe).

It gets even better: The treaty was signed at the United Nations building in New York City “which is the world capital and headquarters of the Rebbe king Messiah shlita.”

I love Chaba"d. It was a dream of mine as a child to have a Lubavitch conversion overseen by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, ztvk"l. He was the closest thing I could imagine to a "holy man" of old, the Chassidic masters whose students lapped up their teachings thirstily as those teachings contained the word of the Living Creator.

It is written that the righteous people can do more from the Next World than they ever could have accomplished in physical bodies. Why restrict the Rebbe -- he is in a far better place now, petitioning for klal Yisra'el with fiery entities in a much nicer neighborhood than Brooklyn has to offer.

The administration in 770 needs to end this now. Chaba"d's outreach work -- unsurpassed in the Jewish world -- is doing far too much good for the Jewish people to allow it to be marred by rogue shlichim.

And the sad thing is, one day, on one of those trains, a Jewish kid from Iowa or Idaho could be riding thinking, "yeah, I'm Jewish, but I don't believe in the religion, I don't believe the Messiah lives in Brooklyn." And he won't do mitzvos. And he will remain disengaged from the Jewish people.

And there will be nothing but a rogue shaliach -- and his black & white copied pamphlets -- to blame.

Posted by Y-Love at 01:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Sometimes, when speaking about Islam or Islamophobia, as a Jew, I often worry about overstepping my boundaries.

It is not my place to criticize Shia or Sunni, to denounce division past a certain extent (what, am I calling for a unified Muslim umma?), or even, past what other Muslims (usually Sheikhs or Imams or madras students) tell me, criticize what I believe to be murderous actions in the name of Islam. I simply try to remind people that it is the Qur'an which Muslims universally must hold faithful to, that there is no pillar of the Islamic faith that requires allegiance to any one sheikh, of the benefits of interfaith peace and Jewish-Muslim unity, things like that.

So I really didn't feel it appropriate to voice my opinion on the Secular Islam summit without a Muslim person speaking to me first about it. But, lo and behold, at ReligionAndSpirituality.com today, Mike Ghouse, president of the Foundation for Pluralism, voiced what was in my head, and a whole lot more.

Mr. Ghouse opens up his piece by stating his context for his statements:

As a Muslim fighting for reform within our Muslim world, I watched the Secular Islam Summit, aired earlier this week on CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck show, with great anticipation. I believe in religious pluralism and the separation of mosque and state. I know Muslims need to speak up against extremism.

But then Mr. Ghouse continues, and his words drop like comets into secularist atmospheres:

...that's not what we got with the "Secular Islam Summit," held at the Hilton Hotel in St. Petersburg, Fla. The summit was supposed to be about Islam, yet there was hardly a Muslim at the podium. With the exception of two panelists — Hasan Mahmud, director of sharia law at the Muslim Canadian Congress, and author Irshad Manji, who believes the Qur'an is the basis for being a Muslim — the summit was filled with Islam bashers, some of them ex-Muslims. The event should have been called the Anti-Islam Summit. It's a shame CNN and Beck got suckered into giving so much air time to this fraudulent gathering of Islam bashers.

The summit was just an attempt by extremists of another persuasion — hatred of Islam — who want to destroy Islam.

Whether it was former Muslim "Ibn Warraq" with his book title, "Why I am Not a Muslim," or Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi, a political and human rights activist, the theme was the same: They want one-fifth of humanity to disappear.

At this "landmark Secular Islam Summit," there were no "moderate" Muslims.

The intent of the conference was bad from the start. Due to this fact, mainstream Muslims, including progressive Muslims, chose not to participate in the conference. Days before the summit, I talked with leaders of groups challenging conservative interpretations of Islam, including Radwan Masmoudi, president of Islam for Democracy, an organization based in Washington, D.C. We decided not to attend the meeting. None of us wanted to become tools in the hands of the anti-Islam extremists. The need to be represented in the summit became less important than speaking out against the intent of the summit, which was Islam-bashing.

An expression of democracy and an expansion of free -- including spiritual -- thinking? Or anti-religious, maybe even Islamophobic, extremism posing as intellect?

In explaining his decision, Masmoudi told me: "...the effort [to reform Islamic societies] must be led by Muslims who are proud of their heritage, religion and culture and who are credible within their community. The people who attended the 'Secular Islam Conference' are neither, and that is why this conference was a complete waste of time and money, except perhaps to provide some anti-Islamic voices a podium from which to speak."

He didn't want to be a tool in the hands of extremists, buying into secularization theory.

Or more simply, he didn't want to be a tool.

Posted by Y-Love at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The author of the very easily misunderstood JihadWatch.org has been invited by the FBI's Indianapolis office to talk to its anti-terrorism task force. The decision to bring in author Robert Spencer offended some area Muslims:

Louay Safi, director of leadership development with the Plainfield-based Islamic Society of North America, said bringing Spencer in to talk of Islam is akin to bringing an anti-Semite to talk about Jews or a Ku Klux Klan member to talk about race.

"Many people in our community will not be happy with it," Safi said.

Spencer is the author of "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam" and "The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion." He is also a director of Jihad Watch, a Web site that calls attention to the activity of Islamic jihadists.

"When they bring in someone like that, it makes it difficult even for us to explain to the Muslim community that (the FBI) is neutral and is not listening to extremists who really hate Muslims," Safi said.

However, explaining his statements, Mr. Spencer said:

Spencer said he is not an "Islamophobe," and that he understands a majority of Muslims are peaceful. But he said there is no mistaking that modern-day jihadists from Osama bin Laden to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi cite the teachings of Islam in rationalizing their attacks.

Imagine a religious Jew is sitting in an all-pork restaurant on the Sabbath and in front of him sits a plate of half-eaten sausage, bacon and ham. Someone comes up and asks him, "Don't you know that what you're doing is completely forbidden and wrong?" If he replied, "Well, the book of Isaiah says 'you shall call the Sabbath a delight', and I think that this bacon here is delightful, so therefore G-d wants me to eat this bacon" would that mean somehow that Judaism had changed? Would it make bacon allowed? Would it make pork eating a central tenet of Judaism?

Imagine he were a rabbi. Would it change anything? Would it make him any more than a sinner, using Scripture to justify his actions?

So too here. We see it -- lo aleinu -- done with our Torah. Christians see it done with their scriptures.

There is no end of twisting that a wicked mind can do to a holy text.

Why is this -- that the murder, extortion, kidnapping, maiming, and bombing we are witnessing is no more than the warped expression of a wicked mind -- not even a possibility? Why must there be proclamations going out against an ideology and people in the media denouncing Islam?

Are people being killed, maimed and injured by little walking Qur'ans with suicide belts? No. Islam -- even the most ultra- of ultra-Wahhabi sects -- has never killed or hurt anyone. People have. People are ordering people to kill people with guns made by people. People will use whatever excuses they can get their hands on, and justifying one's actions with the word of G-d cuts down on the guilt. Until that is realized, to the exclusion of all else, people will continue to point fingers at a 1400 year old religion for what 14 year olds are doing today.

Let them "cite" whatever they want to justify their actions. Usage and veracity are two different things.

Posted by Y-Love at 12:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

She's got the whole bit.

American flag, (mostly) missing teeth, and loud country twang -- and referring to her black neighbors as trash, to the point that she has "black male" written on her trash bag. (Black females are better?)

Now the sad thing about this is that she's "not moving" and that makes me think that her black neighbor, and his child, have not heard the last of her.

I think that eventually, the country should progress towards an "Amber Alert" program or some sort of registry for these type of hate crime offenders.

I wouldn't put much faith in someone who would throw boric acid on a child for being of minority descent.

Posted by Y-Love at 08:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

An article in the Tahoe Daily Tribune today says that "genergraphics" is the future of demographics, that classifying people based on their motivations is highly preferable to classifying people based on their characteristics or thought patterns. Genergraphics is supposed to revolutionize marketing (wait, didn't Web 2.0 do that? didn't social networking do that? didn't social marketing do that? didn't...).

So what does this have to do with the coming of the Messiah (he should come quickly)?

To me, quite a bit.

For instance, let's examine these new classifications:

n "Forgotten" (The Greatest Generation) - born 1935-1945: "traditionalists"

n "Baby Boomers" - 1945-1964: "workaholics"

n "Gen Xers" - 1964-1976: "individualists"

n "Echo Boomers" (Millennials) - 1976-1994: "collaborators"

Generation Y, the "Millenial Generation", the first generation to have grown up with the Internet, was supposed to be brazen, uncaring, and selfish. Yet, violent crime is on a decline, and indeed, these are the "collaborators." Social collaboration, Adobe/Macromedia Contribute software, YouTube, MySpace -- these are the things which are the lifeblood of the younger generation.

Perhaps a generation so raised on collaboration and instant global communication is uniquely poised to reach the goal of 1 Kings 8:60, that "all nations of the world should know that only Hashem is G-d". The "collaborators" will do a Google translation, text it to someone for proofreading, and it will be online, live, in seconds -- today's pace of life. This job, on the converse, as performed by traditionalists, might involve actual handwritten letters (traditional way of communication, "let me let them know I care" a la Hallmark), and might take far longer. Today, as one brand marketing analyst said, "GenY is best equipped to generate significant buzz and accelerate any program with ‘word of mouse.’ The kids in this group are online consistently, have huge networks of friends and talk frequently."

Collaboration, communication, and networking -- all of these things are more conducive to the feelings of love and unity (ahavat chinam) which are described as prerequisite to the Messianic Age.

Perhaps Moshiach will be best welcomed by a group of collaborators and individualists, on their iPhones, declaring the message of redemption for all humanity:

"OMG LYK ELIJAH SO PWNS I <3 KNG DVD"

Posted by Y-Love at 05:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I felt it necessary to repost this piece, from my very good friend Amira. Amira has been a friend of mine via MySpace for several months now, and I think her voice as a strong hijabi muslimah in the face of adversity is always a positive addition.

She's also a convert to Islam, and her piece accents many of the commonalities converts experience upon taking on our new lifestyles:

What Makes Me Different From Converts to Islam.

I'm in one of my moods right now so I'm going to just let it flow. What makes me different from a lot of converts to Islam is a lot of things. Before I begin, I still believe in Allah subahana wa tala, Prophet Muhammad salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam, I mean everything that has to do with the real Islam. I'm still a believer.

When I 1st converted to Islam, I was in a bit of shock because I didn't know if I did that right thing because the day I converted I wasn't in my right mind. A few days later I was just confused and not knowing what I did. I'll tell you one thing. I didn't become someone I'm not like most of "YOU" converts do. I'm still aware of the issues that the world faces.

For example, other religions out in this world, different people, gays,lesbians, transgender( not saying to agree with them but they are still human beings), politics, or anything else us converts knew about growing up and living here in the US or parts of Europe. Why do you act stupid and close minded to things that you have been exposed to since growing up and act ignorant once you accept Islam?

Why are you trying to be someone your not? I'm sick of people like you. Once you accept Islam, everyone around you who isn't Muslim is a "Kaffir", you start being ignorant, you act like your stuff doesn't stink, and everything is "haram" why don't you take a look in the mirror and realize you are acting a fool! The thing about me is I'm not being ignorant about things I was exposed to growing up. I care for human beings who have been violated no matter what their religion is.

The difference between you and I. I help people who are non Muslim and Muslim. That is something you can't stand about me. Look, there are many people in the world who aren't Muslim that need help. Stop acting ignorant and open your mind to people of different faith. Did you ever wonder that maybe helping a non Muslim is a good chance to give Dawah and maybe opening that persons heart to accept Islam? I'm sure you wouldn't give the non Muslim a chance to feel that way. You know what? I would do that and I'll continue to do that and also help my brothers and sisters in Islam.

Another thing about me, I take the chance in school and to tell people around me that Islam is a peaceful religion. I tell men and woman about womens rights in Islam. I tell them that these so called "Islamic Countries" aren't following the real Islam and are making their own man made laws up but adding just a touch of Islamic Laws to make it seem fair. I don't see any of you doing that and I don't expect you to anytime soon. Muslims are always complaining about "Non Muslims" corrupting society and so on. Please, at least Christians and Jews act like human beings inside their place of worship.

They aren't always in a rush to do things and have manners. Instead of worrying about them we need to worry about religion and stop stressing over them! We have faults and the thing about Muslims, we are always judging other Muslims over their race. That is a bunch of crap and you know it. I've never seen Christians or Jews do that. If they do that, I'm not aware of it because they don't keep on like we do.

Anyways, that is all I can say right now and if don't like what I said. I don't really care because I'm my own person and you don't know anything about me.

Salaam'alaikum
Amira

I'm sure All-h is very pleased with Amira and the muslimah she's turning out to be, and the kaffir that she turned out not to be. I think her words are quite relevant, no matter what religion one converted to or from.

Posted by Y-Love at 05:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

This article's title, "How Bush Is Getting Jews To Give Up Judaism And Destroy Israel", perhaps the most sensationally-titled article currently making the rounds at Technorati, caught my eye today, and I would be remiss not to quote such quotables as:

Someone got the brilliant idea that if they could capture the hearts and minds of the evangelicals and other religious groups that they could rise to power in America. A corollary to this view is that if they could capture the hearts and minds of the Jewish political elite, it probably would be the tipping point. That probably was the tipping point....

Bush’s tactics are not subtle. He has the consciousness of a brutal dictator. He will lie, cheat, steal, murder, torture… whatever it takes… to accomplish his ends. I don’t have to prove this. I am only describing strategies Bush has used consistently in accumulating power and in pursuing his wars.

Bush has the same consciousness that Hitler had...

But before this guy is lambasted by every able-bodied index finger G-d has graced to touch a keyboard, let's examine what strikes me as the key point of veracity, if one can find no other:

By aligning with Bush, these Jews have acquired the power they needed to ‘defend’ Israel. The problem is that the power that was acquired was a political payoff. It was a payoff that said, “I will give you the power you are asking for as long as you do not get in my way as I pursue my own goals.”

No, I feel as if this is something much more potentially harmful. Have the right-wing Jewish pundits and their respective populations come to the conclusion of "they won't screw US over"?

Such conclusions almost prove themselves to be hubris -- the proverbial "famous last words" -- in hindsight.

Posted by Y-Love at 05:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ain't it about time?

The New York Times today reports:

A Democratic candidates’ debate sponsored by Fox News set for August from Reno, Nev., was abruptly canceled Friday night with a statement from the Nevada Democratic Party and Harry Reid, the majority leader in the Senate.

But the reasons given for the cancellation — anger over comments about Barack Obama made the night before by Fox News chairman Roger Ailes — give short shrift to an ongoing online campaign by activists at MoveOn.org and by influential blogs like the Daily Kos to have candidates shun the Fox News Channel, which they accuse of being too conservative and too closely allied to the Republican Party.

Fox is not a credible news outlet and their deception needs to be stopped...

Fox isn't a legitimate news channel. It's a right-wing mouthpiece like Rush Limbaugh and the Drudge Report--repeating false Republican talking points to smear Democrats.

Posted by Y-Love at 03:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

A blog from February from a Mr. Hochstein from Tel Aviv expresses his frustration with Jews terming themselves "non-Zionist" as I and others are beginning to do. In the piece entitled, "Anti-Zionist not non-Zionist", Mr. Hochstein laments being lambasted for calling Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the revered codifer of Jewish Law, anti-Zionist:

In a post about a suicide bombing that killed three Israeli Jews in Eilat on Jan. 29, I referred to Rabbi Yosef Sholom Eliashiv as "anti-Zionist." The post appeared at ZioNation, and at Israel: Like This, As If. A reader has taken me to task for referring to Rabbi Eliashiv as "anti-Zionist."

This reader writes:

"I am neither a supporter nor a follower of Rabbi Eliashiv, but I think your dig at him was somewhat unjustified. Firstly, he is not a Zionist, but neither is he an anti-Zionist, as you state. He is not Neturei Karta, but the spiritual leader of part of Agudat Yisrael, a party which has members in the Knesset and supports (sort of) the government."

No dig was intended. I would like to explain the use of the term "anti-Zionist."

Zionism, reduced to its essence, is the assertion that Jews have national rights. A Jew who does not agree with this assertion is, by definition, an anti-Zionist.

This definition may seem harsh, or arbitrary. It is both. It reflects the harshness and the arbitrariness of the world in which Jews have lived, either as a minority without the rights of others, or as a nation battling enemies who reject these rights.

"Non-Zionist" is not a label to apply to a Jew. Jews cannot credibly profess to be agnostic on the question of whether they should be entitled to rights. It can be added that Zionism is what provokes the question and sets its terms.

If no one claimed that Jews have national rights, there might be no question to debate. The claim has been put, though, and only two answers are possible: Yes, or no.

First of all, I believe the Scriptures and Talmud. I can't really examine a Jewish nationalistic claim through any other lens, because I don't believe any other lens has as much timeless validity. So sue me, no, I take that back, because many would like to sue every charedi person I'm sure.

From time immemorial when G-d walked Abraham along the borders of Israel and said "to you and your descendents I shall give this land", there has been an inextricable link between the Jewish people and the land which was Eretz Cana'an which became Israel which split and was subsequently repeatedly conquered and ended up being our Israel today. A link, yes.

But no "right" is ever spoken of in the Torah without a responsibility. Even the most inalienable of human rights, the right to life, is given to the Jewish people in a context ("and you shall live through [the commandments]", Leviticus tells us, for instance). Our worth as humans comes from having been created in the image of our Creator, and not vice versa.

Mr. Hochstein's assertion implies, "Zionism is the idea that Jews have national rights, and Israel is that nation." This leaves the charedi religious person to chalk up his second class status, his underfunded schools, and the social anathemae to which he is subjected up to "the nation of the Jews" -- which he is not allowed to question. After all, it is his nation,