Gadhafi is a Bond Villain

Well any doubt lingering about Gadhafi's sanity can now be safely dismissed. According to CNN:

 Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on Thursday blamed the violence in his country on young people, who he said are taking some sort of pills and being exploited by Osama bin Laden.

Which has led me to the conclusion - Those bond villains were not that far from the truth. Sure they were one dimensional insane characters but hey it seems real life is imitating art. There is even the classic Bondesque twist..the villain was a member of the UN Human Rights Council - never would have expected him to turn out to be the arch killing madman! However I understand how the world was fooled for so long about Gadhafi. Contrary to what we have been taught to believe in how to spot crazy villains ( dismissing the culturally explainable signs such as the repression and killing of libyan citizins), Gadhafi does not wear a bowler hat, not does he appear in public holding a cat. 

Why Rabbanim love sex offenders.

Ynet is reporting on a letter of support sent to Ex-President, now sex offender Katzav by some prominent Dati-Leumi Rabbanim.Anyone following the Jewish blogsphere has probably noticed ongoing scandals as rabbanim come to defence of convicted sex offenders (e.g Weingarten). The question is what pushes these rabbanim to go out of their way to defend these guys?

It is easy enough to explain why the religious establishment feels it needs to defend former role models, behind bars. How is it possible that someone who learnt so much torah, was really a monster in a black hat? How is it possible that so much torah learning did not manage to soften his heart and make him a mench?

It is harder for me to understand the Katzav story. Why are the rabbanim trying so hard to defend him? There is a possible answer - they really do believe he is innocent. There are lots of Israelies who share that belief at some level, but regardless of whether you believe Katzav is a rapist, I think no one believes he is a good guy anymore. The Katzav story makes me wonder, if there is some strong Rabbinic impulse to deny the likelihood of sex offences being committed by anyone who at least wore a kippah.It is a mental barrier, that refuses to accept that those offences are within the realm of possibiilities of anyone who is somewhat religious. Admitting otherwise might make life almost unbearable.

No Longer A Halachic Argument

Harav Yoel Ben-Nun has managed to put into words, what many of us have been feeling. The fact that there was going to be a demonstration against Harav Ovadia's Psak Halacha regarding conversions, is the final proof that we are not dealing with a Halachic argument, but with a political one. The very idea that you could hold a rally against a psak Halacha is ridiculous. If you disagree - prove your point by the force of your arguments.

(I'll point out that Harav Yoel  has some very harsh words against Harav Elyashiv, which are sure to make Harav Yoel's life much more difficult).

How To Build IKEA Again : Israellycool

Israeliscool has put up this little Gem. One of the two IKEA stores in Israel burned down last week, and hence this cartoon:

How To Build IKEA Again : Israellycool

I'll point out that those arab workers look really cute..

Understanding the Israeli Left Wing

Recently the Israeli Education Minister announced that schools would be encouraged to have school trips to Hebron to see the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

This immediately turned into a political affair, with the left and the right weighing in, and with no real surprises by either side. 

"Former MK and Gush Shalom founder Uri Avnery said that “Gideon Sa’ar has ceased to be the minister of education and turned into Israel’s minister of propaganda, aiming to instill an extreme right-wing ideology” into Israel’s school system.
“Every year we hear the heartrending stories of pupils whose parents can’t afford the required fee and therefore can’t participate in school trips with their classmates, and feel ashamed and humiliated,” Avneri continued.
“Instead of helping these cases, Minister Sa’ar is opening the public treasury wide to finance trips that are nothing but a political provocation in the service of the settlers. 

And Ynet managed to find some leftist school boy -

But Yotam Berger, a high school student and member of Peace Now's youth group, opposes the plan. He and his friends have even written a petition against it and are collecting signatures.  "We think it is very important to discuss Jewish values, but it must be done through joint lessons for Jews and Arabs. It should not be done through total disregard for the Palestinian public and the harming of democracy," Berger said. "Just as religious students are not made to drive on Saturday, students must not be forced to visit a place in which democracy does not exist and a military force occupies a civilian population. The education minister's initiative reeks of politics and is intended to promote a right-wing agenda," the petition says.
 

Here is what I don't understand. Even people with a left wing leaning (such as myself) must acknowledge the Jewish link to the city. You can go see an important site such as the Tomb of the Patriarchs without it being "Political". Even if in your worldview in the future it should become Palestinian territory, it will not negate the three thousand years of Jewish history in the spot.

This is an example of a left wing view which I can never participate in. It has slowly moved from a worldview which was willing to give up parts of our ancestral homeland due to considerations of Morality and/or security, and moved to just denying any right of Jews to the land.  Gone are the days when the left would cry over every centimeter it would be willing to give up. 

Kafka would be so proud!

It turns out that there is an ongoing dispute over the inheritance of Franz Kafka..and it is taking place in the family courts in Israel. Ha'aretz is reporting on some of the weird stuff happening in the trial. It seems that due to a computer bug, the Judge can't access the files of the case - and that the trial is filled with baseless accusations between the family which claims the inheritance rights, and the National Library.

The Least Religious - Religious Dating site?

The following Dating website has been advertising itself quite heavily on all the Israeli Religious websites. It brands itself as a big free Dating website specifically for religious Jews. However what caught my eye was the fact that not even one of the people who they show on their banners - looks remotely religious. I couldn't spot a Kippah on any head, and lets just say that none of the religious girls I know dress the way the girls in the banner do..

Some Documentaries Making the rounds

This Documentary of Harav Ovadia Yosef has gotten some attention in Israel - mostly for the favorable view on Harav Ovadia. I've not had the chance to view it yet, so I can't really comment on it:


Untitled from bhol on Vimeo.

Also getting alot of attention has been this documentary about the Jewish Burqa cult:

Who signed the Pashkevil?

A few weeks ago I posted some of the Pashkevilim that were being posted against Harav Ovadia Yosef, and Harav Amar. These were signed by some of the great Haredi Rabbanim.

In a weird twist, that sheds new light on who exactly are the leaders of the haredi world, One of these Haredi Rabbanim -  Harav Vozner has declared that despite his signature being published on one of the Pashkevilim denouncing Harav Ovadia - he did not actually sign that pashkevil, and had he known about its contents he would not have agreed for his name to be on it. Kikar Hashabat  summarized the confusion as follows:

"Did he sign or didn't he sign? Lets try and sort it out: Haredi Machers asked Harav Vozner to sign a Pashkevil to do with strengthening conversion in accordance with the spirit of Halacha. Harav Vozner agreed - and his signature was added to the Pashkevil against Harav Ovadia's Psak.

חתם או לא חתם? בואו נעשה סדר: עסקנים ביקשו מהגר"ש וואזנר להצטרף למודעה שמחזקת את עניין הגיור על-פי רוח ההלכה. הגר"ש אישר, וחתימתו הודבקה על מודעה נגד פסיקתו של מרן הגר"ע.

The real question is how could anyone with a public role allow his name to be used so freely. I'm having some trouble accepting the telling of events Kikar Hashabat would have us believe. Anyone who could not guess that any Pashkevil about conversion, printed in the last few weeks was referring to Rav Ovadia - is clearly someone who has is not following the news too closely. That is perfectly acceptable in a great torah personality. However if you happen to be that kind of great torah personality – please refrain from letting your name be printed on Pashkevilim that adorn Jerusalem walls.

Sidenote: I would be grateful for anyone who could suggest a good translation for the word עסקנים.