Okay, now that I have your attention with that horrible title - imagine seeing it plastered to a street sign in Jerusalem, our holy city, the capital of our Jewish nation. That's right...there it was (picture coming soon). So the Haredim (Ultra-Orthodox) protested again today. To emphasize their opinions, they dumped garbage on the streets of Jerusalem and burned those garbage cans again.
I had a meeting near one of these neighborhoods. My first impression as we drove through the streets was of the garbage, strewn on the sides, piled on the sides and even sometimes in the middle. Then I saw the "carcasses" of the garbage cans...all that remains is the twisted metal, the plastic having melted away completely and the garbage left to be scattered. What disrespect, I thought to myself - of our beautiful city, our holy land.
Last week, they had a demonstration. I walked through the crowd on my way to make some purchases. There they stood on the high wall that surrounds the cemetery. There they congregated to watch the huge protest rally...what disrespect, I thought to myself. Of the dead who lie there in eternal rest, here in the holiest of holy cities.
They are saying it isn't about racism, but rather a battle between the arrogance of a judge who dared to declare the law was above man, or at least their rabbis. There are those who say this began as racism and certainly the words of one mother, saying "In any case, we won't agree to unite the (Ashkenazi and Sephardic) classes" implies that it remains an issue of racism.
When the demonstration was over last week, massive crowds drifted away...many taking buses to get home. Buses...of the Zionist state they condemn, on the roads built by the Zionist state. They paid for the buses with the Zionist money and when they got home, as evening arrived, they turned on the lights in their homes - powered by electricity from the Zionist state.
From outside our borders, they send flotillas filled with those who hate this land. But worse, so much worse, are those who dare, in our holy city, to put up a sign that says, "Arabs YES, Zionists, NO!." Not so many years ago, there were Arabs who tried to blow up those very buses they took from the demonstration. I was filled with fury when I saw the sign. I was filled with disgust.
My first thought was to ask Egged to write, "ZIONIST BUS" on all those green buses these people regularly use; to ask the government to write "ZIONIST GARBAGE SERVICE" on the trucks that pick up the refuse in these neighborhoods. As we drove away, my mind was cluttered with all the thoughts of what they take from this land and how little they give back in any concrete sense.
I have used up all the arguments, argued them from all sides. Yes, I believe that our army fights with the weapons we give them...and the prayers we say for them. But who are we kidding? Do you think these people who post signs that say, "Arabs YES, Zionists, NO" are praying for the Zionist army?
I am not foolish enough to believe that all of the Haredim support a sign that would encourage our enemies and show a preference for them over the very government and institutions who provide them with their medical care, support for their schools, transportation, water, electricity and more. And yet, as I stood there staring at that sign, plastered to our city, I saw no Haredi person try to remove it in shame. I saw none come over and say to me, "we don't feel that way; it's wrong that someone put it up there."
And I thought to myself, what disrespect to our people, our land and yes, to the very God they claim to serve. I think in a very real sense, this debate about Emmanual is filled with more wrongs than rights; more exaggeration than fact...even more bluster than real racism. I think the parents were wrong, the school was wrong, the courts were wrong and the parents were wrong again.
Our religion does not preach that our rabbis are infallible or above the law...God's or man's. More, our religion is based on respect - respect of people, respect of property, respect for the dead, and respect for the living. There was no respect last week in the streets of Jerusalem as tens of thousands of protesters caused massive delays, littered the ground, trampled the cemetery walls, and cursed the Zionist hand that helps make their lives tolerable here.
Yes, blessings come from God, but the electricity comes from the Electric Company, the buses come from Egged. The garbage they threw on our city will be picked up by our sanitation workers and those signs of hatred will be scrubbed away.
But the next time a Haredi man comes over with his hand out asking for a donation, I will ask him if he really wants my Zionist money. Perhaps this is still the anger talking. Perhaps tomorrow I will be calmer. For now, I think of the tremendous disrespect I saw today, on the streets of Jerusalem, on the walls, and in their hearts.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Guest: Why We Should Be Angry at Emanuel
Occasionally, we are happy to present guest bloggers. Here's an interesting and challenging view of the recent Emanuel situation that was sent to us. Reprinted with the permission of the author.
Why We Should Be Angry at Emanuel
By Menachem Lipkin
June 22, 2010
I recently read an article on the Cross Currents blog by Rabbi Dovid Landesman titled "We Are All Emanuel". His basic thesis, and this has been shared by many of late, was that the Emanuel case highlighted the conflict between the state of Israel and Torah values and, of course, in such a conflict we must all side with Torah Values. Some have gone to great lengths to either support or critique the court's decision. While others have cast this case and its outcome as a modern day pogrom. Still others have used it to highlight the nefarious nature of the Supreme Court and its predilection to advance a leftist, anti-religious agenda.
While all of these issues may be worthy of discussion in the abstract, I think that they all miss the most fundamental point. To put it in science fiction terms, this timeline should never have existed. The players in Emanuel, literally, elevated a school yard spat into a national crisis. The issue surrounds a Beit Yaakov school, a member of a system of education that is supposed to be known for its piousness and fidelity to Torah values. Yet somehow, these self-avowed "tremblers before God" managed to make a mockery of His name throughout the entire world.
Most orthodox Jews, even while not necessarily agreeing, understand the nuances that are common within their world. To that end, they rarely have an issue when a school is founded based on those nuances. However, most of the world has no appreciation for these minor differences we often use to subdivide ourselves. To them we all represent Torah and thus there's little understanding when one group literally walls off another. That this issue needlessly spilled into the public arena is an embarrassment for all of us.
When living in a place where secular law is paramount, pious people are mandated to solve their internal religious issues with their own religious courts. That this case was allowed to move beyond that arena is the foremost reason we should be angry at Emanuel. Beyond that, every step of the way there seemed to be another calculated action to make us all look foolish. There was very little civil behavior in the civil courts. Esteemed Rabbis speaking at the rally admonished those who would let this issue rise to the secular courts. Where was this Rabbinic leadership before it got to the courts? Where was the leadership in Emanuel? Where was the wisdom that is supposed to come along with piety that should have resolved this issue at its very inception? Where was the sensitivity to one's fellow, a primary Torah value, that should have guided both sides to be sensitive to each other's needs?
Especially at this point in history when the state of Israel has become like the hated "Jew" of the 1930's and we face the most serious threat to our existence since WWII, it is simply unconscionable that this issue was allowed to reach the world stage. It's totally irrelevant whether you believe it was the Supreme Court that was being foolish, Emanuel's residents, or both. Looking in from the outside we're all Jews in a Jewish state. I don't know how many of you peak into social media like Facebook and Twitter, but this has become pure fodder for the anti-Semites of cyberspace. Regardless of the merits of the case, it is being framed by them as one where "huge masses of Israelis protest in support of racism". Note, to them we are not Chareidim, we are not orthodox, we are all Israelis. Since today's Israeli is yesterday's Jew, this school yard spat has now disgraced every Jew in the world.
I'm angry at Emanuel. We all should be angry at Emanuel for creating a timeline that should never have existed. Far from supporting them by attending rallies and the like, we should be demanding an apology.
Why We Should Be Angry at Emanuel
By Menachem Lipkin
June 22, 2010
I recently read an article on the Cross Currents blog by Rabbi Dovid Landesman titled "We Are All Emanuel". His basic thesis, and this has been shared by many of late, was that the Emanuel case highlighted the conflict between the state of Israel and Torah values and, of course, in such a conflict we must all side with Torah Values. Some have gone to great lengths to either support or critique the court's decision. While others have cast this case and its outcome as a modern day pogrom. Still others have used it to highlight the nefarious nature of the Supreme Court and its predilection to advance a leftist, anti-religious agenda.
While all of these issues may be worthy of discussion in the abstract, I think that they all miss the most fundamental point. To put it in science fiction terms, this timeline should never have existed. The players in Emanuel, literally, elevated a school yard spat into a national crisis. The issue surrounds a Beit Yaakov school, a member of a system of education that is supposed to be known for its piousness and fidelity to Torah values. Yet somehow, these self-avowed "tremblers before God" managed to make a mockery of His name throughout the entire world.
Most orthodox Jews, even while not necessarily agreeing, understand the nuances that are common within their world. To that end, they rarely have an issue when a school is founded based on those nuances. However, most of the world has no appreciation for these minor differences we often use to subdivide ourselves. To them we all represent Torah and thus there's little understanding when one group literally walls off another. That this issue needlessly spilled into the public arena is an embarrassment for all of us.
When living in a place where secular law is paramount, pious people are mandated to solve their internal religious issues with their own religious courts. That this case was allowed to move beyond that arena is the foremost reason we should be angry at Emanuel. Beyond that, every step of the way there seemed to be another calculated action to make us all look foolish. There was very little civil behavior in the civil courts. Esteemed Rabbis speaking at the rally admonished those who would let this issue rise to the secular courts. Where was this Rabbinic leadership before it got to the courts? Where was the leadership in Emanuel? Where was the wisdom that is supposed to come along with piety that should have resolved this issue at its very inception? Where was the sensitivity to one's fellow, a primary Torah value, that should have guided both sides to be sensitive to each other's needs?
Especially at this point in history when the state of Israel has become like the hated "Jew" of the 1930's and we face the most serious threat to our existence since WWII, it is simply unconscionable that this issue was allowed to reach the world stage. It's totally irrelevant whether you believe it was the Supreme Court that was being foolish, Emanuel's residents, or both. Looking in from the outside we're all Jews in a Jewish state. I don't know how many of you peak into social media like Facebook and Twitter, but this has become pure fodder for the anti-Semites of cyberspace. Regardless of the merits of the case, it is being framed by them as one where "huge masses of Israelis protest in support of racism". Note, to them we are not Chareidim, we are not orthodox, we are all Israelis. Since today's Israeli is yesterday's Jew, this school yard spat has now disgraced every Jew in the world.
I'm angry at Emanuel. We all should be angry at Emanuel for creating a timeline that should never have existed. Far from supporting them by attending rallies and the like, we should be demanding an apology.
Monday, June 21, 2010
When You Can't Cry...
You are forced to laugh. Yet another brilliant production from LATMA - probably the organization best handling Israel's PR in the world. Okay, perhaps that is an exaggeration...or, perhaps not.
Speaking of exaggerations - please enjoy this - I certainly did.
Speaking of exaggerations - please enjoy this - I certainly did.
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