What's Your Jew I.Q.?

"A nation which does not know what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor what it is trying to do."

--- Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States

A Non-Kosher Way to Think...

This past week, Israeli (Russian) billionaire businessman, Arkadi Gaydamak, bought the Tiv Ta'am supermarket chain, which, until now, was one of the largest suppliers of pork products in Israel.

Gadamak has declared his intent to make the Tiv Ta'am supermarket chain kosher, dramatically reducing the number of places selling pork product in Israel.

So far so good.

Things get a bit complicated, however, when Gaydamak explain his reasoning for turning Tiv Ta'am kosher.

"I believe that in a Jewish state, in which there is a large Muslim minority, selling pork is a provocation."

If Israel is a Jewish State, then why does it matter how large or small the Muslim population is?

Simply put, what Gaydamak should have said was:

"I believe that in a Jewish State, selling pork is a provocation."

A provocation towards Jews!

If any animal serves as the symbol of all that is non-kosher and anti-Judaism, it is the pig.

However, there is an additional reason why we should be troubled by Gaydamak's remarks. Namely, his remarks serve as an indictment against the Jewish People.

Gaydamak knows that Muslims won't accept pork being sold in their community - and he is not interested in offending their sensibilities, as is made clear by his statement.

Gaydamak doesn't seem to be overly concerned of offending the majority of Jews living in the Jewish State of Israel, and that reflects shamefully both upon Gaydamak and all Jews who call the Jewish State home.

What a PA collapse would mean for Israel

What a PA collapse would mean for Israel?

Herb Keinon of the Jerusalem Post, recently offered an analysis of this question.

Faced with the possibility that the PA could collapse, Israel is essentially faced with two unattractive choices: drop the three conditions established when Hamas came into power and deal with a Hamas-led PA, under the logic that some address is better than none at all, or side with Fatah in its battle with Hamas.

With these two options, I'm can't help but insist on seeing what's behind door #3, Let's Make a Deal style.

Keinon concedes that both Fatah and Hamas are enemies of the Jewish State, however, he lacks the courage to suggest the only viable, albeit unattractive, option that exists, namely, a declaration of war on the PA / PLO / Hamas.

No, it's won't be pretty, and yes, the international community will cry out in righteous indignation, but it sure beats the alternatives.

The time has come for the Jewish People to stand up for their rights and stop apologizing to the world for wanting to live as proud Jews in our Homeland.

Enough.

Jewish & Israel blog Awards... I'm in the Finals!

Thanks to the support of many of you, my blog, Israel Perspectives, has reached the final round of the Jewish & Israel Blog Awards for 2007 (JIBs for short) - within the Best Right-Wing Political blog category.

I'm up against some stiff competition, so I guess I need to do some campaigning in order to prove that my right-wing credentials are second to none.

Therefore, a vote for Israel Perspectives is...:

* A vote in favor of Jewish sovereignty over the Temple Mount (Temple Consciousness)
* A vote in favor of Israel being a truly Jewish State
* A vote in favor of all the Jewish People returning home (The Aliyah Revolution)
* A vote against any two / three / four state solutions
* A vote in favor of taking an active role in ensuring all of the above (Neo-Zionism)

Voting in the final round has already begun, and will be open until May 16th, 10pm, US EST.

Please take 20 seconds to vote for my blog, and if you really are generous, maybe another 20 seconds to encourage some other people to vote for me as well.

Thanks again for all your support.

From Temple Consciousness to Temple Consensus?

Ever since the liberation of the Temple Mount 40 years ago, those who have been pushing for the Jewish People to assume a greater connection with the Mount, as well as promoting Temple consciousness have been in the minority.

Until now, that is...

Increasing number of rabbis are allowing Jews to enter Temple Mount

An increasing number of religious Zionist rabbis are allowing their followers to enter the Temple Mount, contrary to the religious consensus on the matter.

This weekend, the rabbis Haim Druckman and Avraham Zukerman, of the Bnei Akiva youth movement, and Tzafania Drori, chief rabbi of Kiryat Shmona, are set to join this growing group with an ad in the Orthodox media. The rabbis, who are major figures in the religious Zionist movement, will call on Jews wishing to enter the Temple Mount "in purity, to ascend at this time to the to the places permitted for Jews to enter."

The three rabbis are known for their principle support for letting Jews on to the Temple Mount. But they had not yet expressed their stand formally, because of the religious sensitivity of the issue. Now, in honor of the 40th anniversary of Jerusalem's unification, with many right-wing movements placing the Temple Mount on their agenda, the rabbis have decided to call publicly on Jews to go to the Mount.

In publishing the ad, they will be joining dozens of other rabbis of the religious Zionist stream, among them rabbis in West Bank settlements, who in recent years have allowed Jews to go to the Temple Mount within the bounds of Jewish law.

It's taken forty years, but perhaps the relationship of the Jewish People to the Temple Mount is beginning to change for the better.

Additionally, let's not overlook the moral to this story.

For many years, there have been a handful of dedicated individuals and organizations who have devoted themselves to promoting Temple Consciousness. At first they were viewed as radicals or a fringe element, but over time, as can be seen from the above story, their efforts have begun to produce results, and their messages and ideology are slowly but surely working there way into the consensus.

Temple consciousness... Neo-Zionism... The Aliyah Revolution...

It's all just a matter of time.

Is every Jew really responsible for one another? (Kol Yisrael areivim zeh la'zeh?)

Drivers ignore dying man on road



(Click here if video doesn't download.)

Shocking.

Disturbing.

Appalling.

These are just a few of the words that come to mind.

Can it be that Israeli society has become so cold, unforgiving and apathetic (as Avi Dichter, Israel's Internal Security minister, asserts)?

Before casting blame and making sweeping judgements, it's important to place this tragic event in the proper context.

On the morning of March 13th, 1964, 29 year old Kitty Genovese was brutally murdered just outside her New York apartment.

For over 30 minutes, 40 of Ms. Genovese's neighbors watched the brutal attack, doing absolutely nothing. Only 35 minutes after the attack had begun did someone finally call the police.

In order to determine if New Yorkers were in fact cold and heartless, or, if perhaps there was another explanation as to why no one responded to Ms. Genovese's cries for help, a series of experiments were conducted.

The researchers consistently found that as the number of bystanders increased, the likelihood that any one of them would help decreased.

This phenomenon is known as the "bystander effect".

If we are by ourselves when an emergency occurs, we perceive ourselves to be 100% responsible for taking action. However, when there are 10 bystanders, we each perceive ourselves to have only a tenth of the responsibility. The higher the number of bystanders, the less obligated each individual is likely to feel to intervene.

Another explanation given is...

If we are unsure of our own perceptions and interpretations, or if the situation is ambiguous, we look to others for help in defining what is going on. If others appear calm, we may decide that whatever is happening doesn't require our assistance.

When these findings are applied to Israel society, I believe that we can better understand why this tragic event occurred, and how similar occurrences can be prevented in the future..

Frankly, over the last two decades, as corruption and deceit infected many of the seats of power within Israeli society - particularly the government - average Israelis came to feel that they were no longer able to make a difference. Israeli society was now ruled by the law of the jungle - everyone for themselves and the survival of the fittest - and whoever didn't play by those rules would come to be viewed as friers / (suckers) - the absolute worst thing you can call an Israeli.

It is not a matter of Israeli society being populated by cold and heartless individuals, quite to the contrary. However, the foreign values that have consciously been imported from abroad (courtesy of Israel's ruling elites), such as individualism and materialism have come to replace the authentic Jewish values of self-sacrifice and of caring for the needs of the community.

We are taught in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of our Fathers, 5:22):

Whoever possesses these three qualities belongs to the disciples of Abraham our father: a generous eye, a humble spirit, and a meek soul.

But he who possesses the three opposite qualities--an evil eye, a proud spirit, and a haughty soul--is of the disciples of Bilam the wicked.

So, what is the solution?

I believe that each and every one of us needs to take upon themselves a sense of personal responsibility for making the Jewish State of Israel the best it can possibly be.

True, there are many challenges within Israeli society, and we can't possibly overcome all of them with our limited abilities and resources, but, returning once again to Pirkei Avot, 2:21:

It is not incumbent upon you to finish the task. Yet, you are not free to desist from it.

Sex in the Holy City - Part 4: Sluts R' Us

It's been a long time coming, but the 4th installment of "Sex in the Holy City" has arrived!

(Click for Part I, Part II and Part III)

Israel to put its babes forward in Maxim-um PR effort

The beer 'n' babes magazine Maxim will send photographers to Israel next week for an Israeli women photo shoot that Foreign Ministry officials hope redefines what the magazine's hormone-charged readers think when they hear television reporters say "the situation in Israel is hot."

"All the surveys we have done shows that the biggest hasbara problem that Israel has is with males from the age of 18-35," said David Saranga, the consul for media and public affairs at Israel's consulate in New York... "In order to change their perception of Israel as only a land of conflict, we want to present to them an Israel that interests them..."

The Israeli models, Saranga said, "were a "Trojan horse" to present Israel as a modern country with nice beaches and pretty women. "Many Americans don't even know we have beaches," he said. "We want to show that we are a normal society like all others."

Is the reason why the State of Israel is hated by so many because, up until now, these people didn't realize that in Israel there are trashy looking women prancing around on our beaches?

For arguments sake, let's imagine that this marketing campaign could in fact sway some testosterone charged 18 - 35 year old men to have a more favorable impression of Israel - it's still wrong!

There is no goal that is so important as to merit the encouragement of young, Jewish girls in Israel to act like sluts - and all for the entire world to see, to boot.

Where is our sense of Jewish national pride? Of Jewish national shame?

The Jewish People, throughout our history, have never won any popularity contests, and we likely never will. However, despite all the harsh persecutions, we always maintained our self-respect and dignity, and remained true to our Heritage.

Remember! We are the Jewish People - sons of Prophets and Kings - let's start acting like it.

Hadar

Even in poverty a Jew is a prince
Whether slave or tramp
You have been created the son of kings
Crowned with the diadem of David
Whether in light or in darkness
Always remember the crown

Ze'ev Jabotinsky - The Song of Betar (Translated from Hebrew)

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