Tel-Chai Nation

This is an outrage. A gun control activist group in New Hampshire put Tamerlan Tsarnaev on their list of victims of gun violence (Hat tip: Hot Air):

The event [in Concord, New Hampshire] had people supporting the Mayors Against Illegal Guns movement, founded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, reading the names of those “killed with guns” since the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary outside their “No More Names” bus[…]

Some of the loudest shouts came when a reader spoke the name of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects who was killed by police during a gunfight.

“He’s a terrorist,” several protesters shouted.

What else could the vile scum who shamelessly pulled that stunt be promoting? The idea that police shouldn't have guns either? What MAIG has done is offensive to the victims of Tsarnaev in Boston and desecrates their memory. Bloomberg has a lot of explaining to do for why he's founded a group like that if they're going to include violent criminals on their lists.

Labels: anti-americanism, dhimmitude, islam, jihad, Moonbattery, terrorism, United States

The American Thinker found that the EU's stood up to the UN's dhimmitude and the OIC's dominance:

The European Parliament (EP) in Strasbourg passed two resolutions Thursday, each detailing a set of recommendations to protect the rights of journalists to speak and print freely. 21

"The EU, as a community of values, should aspire to lead in ensuring the free word, whether blogged or spoken, and information, whether researched or photographed, are protected. Journalists and a free, pluralist media, are essential for democracies and checks on power. Freedom of speech and freedom after speech are at the core of open and free societies," said Marietje Schaake (ALDE, NL), rapporteur for press and media freedom in the world. The EP is the directly elected parliament of the European Union. [...]

Both moves by the EP stand in contrast to the more restrictive policies endorsed by the United Nations (UN) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The OIC has endorsed "blasphemy laws" -- the same type of law denounced by the EP in today's resolution. Although now blasphemy laws are often euphemistically referred to as laws protecting the "defamation of religion," the concept remains the same -- laws that punish non-incitement speech about religion. The UN has worked with the OIC to help codify this type of speech restriction as international law.

This is a positive development, considering the EU does still suffer from some dhimmitude themselves. Now it'll be additionally appreciated if they're willing to cut out any demands that Israel label produce from Judea/Samaria.

Labels: dhimmitude, Europe, islam, UN corruption

Isi Leibler says that Israel could sure use a rabbi of David Stav's caliber to repair the country's image of religion, and gives some history of how the chief rabbinate ended up in such a dire strait:

The early chief rabbis, both Sephardi and Ashkenazi, were passionately Zionist and sought to deal with contemporary issues facing the new state. They integrated Jewish national holidays such as Independence Day into the religious calendar and composed special prayers for the welfare of the state and the Israel Defense Forces. The nation as a whole also regarded them as moral leaders.

But alas, over recent decades, with the political decline of the National Religious Party and the rise of the ultra-Orthodox political groups, haredim have effectively hijacked the Chief Rabbinate, an institution which they had always regarded with utter contempt. They appointed rabbis, who even if not actually anti-Zionist were willing to unconditionally accept their directives on religious issues. More recently they selected truly mediocre puppets. That Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, in opposing conscription of haredim, could state: "When yeshiva attendance is low, as on holiday evenings or prior to the Sabbath, more IDF soldiers are injured and killed," exemplifies the primitive depths to which the Chief Rabbinate has sunk, which shames us all.

Proof of how little respect they even have for biblical Moses' arguments on self-defense.

As for Stav, the really angering part is if Netanyahu decides to go against him:

...there have been rumors that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may encourage Likud representatives to vote against Stav in order to placate the haredim, out of the consideration that they may one day renew their political alliance with him.

If this proves to be the case, Netanyahu will have betrayed the national religious camp and would be held accountable for torpedoing this unique opportunity to bring the Chief Rabbinate back into the mainstream and restore the national religious approach for which it was created. Extending haredi control of the Chief Rabbinate will also have profoundly negative ramifications on the various religion and state issues to be determined over the next few years, including critical marriage and conversion questions and the fulfillment of haredi obligations in the military draft or national service and productive employment.

To a large extent, haredi domination of Israeli political life was a byproduct of opportunism displayed by the secular political parties. If, by his actions, Netanyahu tips the balance against the national religious rabbinate he will be responsible for enabling haredim to continue to retain power by exploiting the indifference of secular Israelis to crucial religious social issues which threaten to undermine Jewish values.

And he'll be potentially jeopardizing his party's electoral chances even more. He'd do well to support a Zionist rabbi who also understands the importance of making Judaism more welcome for everybody, in contrast to the very unappealing manner in which the Haredis dominating the rabbinate are doing.

Labels: haredi corruption, Israel, Judaism, military

There was an anti-Israel campaign in the UK trying to get the Pet Shop Boys to cancel their concert here. Fortunately, the duo running the show stood strong. For now, anyway. And the plus is that the duo also made clear that Israel, unlike African concerts in the past, does not run segregated seating at its concert halls.

Labels: anti-semitism, islam, Israel, londonistan, showbiz

Tom Fitton at Big Peace wrote about the FBI's dhimmitude in the past few years:

Judicial Watch recently released hundreds of pages of FBI memos and other documents revealing that, in 2012, the agency purged its anti-terrorism training curricula of material determined by an undisclosed group of “Subject Matter Experts” (SME) to be “offensive” to Muslims. The excised material included references linking the Muslim Brotherhood to terrorism, tying al Qaeda to the 1993 World Trade Center and Khobar Towers bombings, and suggesting that “young male immigrants of Middle Eastern appearance … may fit the terrorist profile best.”

These discoveries all stem from our investigation of a February 8, 2012, meeting between FBI Director Robert Mueller and various Islamic organizations. During the meeting, Mueller reportedly assured the Islamic groups in attendance that the agency had ordered the removal of presentations and curricula on Islam from FBI offices around the country that were deemed “offensive.”

Fitton says that as the jihad in Boston shows, the country is less safe if Muslim sensibilities are going to be put ahead of public safety.

Labels: anti-americanism, dhimmitude, islam, jihad, political corruption, terrorism, United States

Shas's spiritual leader has crossed the line yet again, attacking rabbi David Stav because he doesn't like his beliefs in ensuring that Judaism will be more welcome for everybody:

Religious-Zionist leaders slammed Shas on Sunday after Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual head of the Shas movement whose rulings on halakha (Jewish law) are widely respected, unleashed harsh invective against Rabbi David Stav, one of the candidates for the past of Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi.

Choosing Rabbi Stav would be “like putting an idol in the sanctuary of the Temple,” Rabbi Yosef declared Saturday night, during his weekly Torah class.

“Anyone who appoints a religious judge who is not worthy is like someone who brings an idolatrous offering upon the alter of the Temple. Putting an idol in the Temple – a person who isn’t worthy… He has no fear of Heaven,” Rabbi Yosef said.

“They say he was tested, what is that worth? Doeg the Admoni was a great scholar in the time of King Saul, and our rabbis say he had no part in the world to come,” he added.

“They testified before me that [Rabbi Stav] is dangerous to Judaism, is dangerous to the Rabbinate. Should I keep silent?” he asked.

Rabbi Rafi Feuerstein runs the Tzohar rabbinic group along with Rabbi Stav. He said he respects Rabbi Yosef – but that the venerable religious leader has been misled by those close to him.

“What the rabbi said pains me. I respect Rabbi Yosef and his rulings are important,” Rabbi Feuerstein told Reshet Bet. However, he continued, “A Byzantine court controls his words; after all, Rabbi Yosef has never met Rabbi Stav.”

“A group of uncultured ‘businessmen’ surrounds Rabbi Yosef,” he added.

However, he said, there is some good in Rabbi Yosef’s harsh criticism. “The cat is out of the bag. The criticism of Rabbi Stav makes the conflict clearer to the Israeli public.”

True, it shows just how poor the approach some of the Haredi leaderships have to disagreement.

The disappointment didn't end there. Shortly after this tirade was launched, several Haredi lunatics tried to assault Stav in Bnei Brak:

A group of youths shoved Rabbi David Stav and hurled epithets at him at a wedding on Sunday evening, a day after Shas spiritual mentor Rabbi Ovadia Yosef unleashed a scathing verbal attack on the candidate for the post of Israel’s Ashkenazi chief rabbi, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

Stav was at the wedding of the daughter of Shmuel Rabinovitch, the rabbi of the Western Wall, when the incident occurred. [...]

During the wedding, when Stav joined the celebratory dancing, Shas MK Ariel Atias immediately left the dance floor, the report said. Some of the youths then reportedly tried to trip up Stav while cursing him. According to one person who was at the wedding, when Stav later left the hall, “dozens of people surrounded him” and called him names. Others were embarrassed by the behavior of the youths and apologized to Stav, who “quickly left the premises,” one wedding guest was quoted as saying.

Stav serves as head of Tzohar, an organization that says it seeks to make Judaism more accessible to all Israelis, religious and secular alike. His candidacy is opposed by the ultra-Orthodox and conservative religious Zionist camp on the grounds that he is too liberal. Stav has cultivated an image as an alternative to a rabbinate dominated by the ultra-Orthodox, and is waging a public campaign that has won him a strong base of popular support. He also enjoys the backing of MKs in the coalition and in the opposition.

On Sunday, Education Minister Shai Piron, himself a member of the Zionist religious camp, questioned the place of Yosef’s statement and whether it was even allowed under traditional Jewish law. “Why? Why does Rabbi Ovadiah have to curse [Rabbi Stav],” he wrote on Facebook. “Does he think that that this will bring people closer to Torah and to Judaism? Does he think that to speak this about a person he has never met is moral? Halachic? Jewish?”

In a statement, Tzohar called Yosef’s remarks a testimony to “the urgent need for change across the rabbinate” and said he should “repent and ask forgiveness.”

I fully agree there. Yosef has long been a major embarrassment, a pinnacle example of how isolated Haredi communities like his are from the rest of society here. It makes no difference whether he's been misled by his other colleagues or not, his attitude is horrific and a textbook example of how not to lead a career as a rabbi.

The attack on Stav has brought him a lot of support, and he made the following statement on his Facebook page:

I want to personally thank the thousands of emails, texts and phone calls I received today from rabbis, community leaders and many of you, to strengthen me and my family in light of the personal attacks against me. I do not take this hug for granted, and I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart.

I'm torn by the divisive atmosphere that has been created around the Chief Rabbinate election, but when I chose to go on that path, I did not seek to promote myself, rather I was thinking of the path of the Torah and the mission of returning to the Chief Rabbinate the path of Rav Abraham Isaac Kook zt"l.

These are not easy times for me and my family, so I thank you for the strength and the support. I will continue to do everything in order to connect the nation of Israel with its heritage and its Torah, and to ensure bringing together the hearts of religious, secular, Haredi Ashkenazim, Sephardim and the entire house of Israel.

The sad part is that thanks to all this horror, he may not have much of a chance now at being elected chief rabbi, because of a rift this has created, and because the government cabinet appointed a panel for electing the chief rabbis. At least that's what one writer for Israel Hayom feels. David Weinberg's also lamented how anyone can desecrate the beliefs in the Torah for the sake of a vile diatribe. So too has Dr. Haim Shine. And the Jerusalem Post editors say this is the latest in a long history of quarrels among rabbis who can be highly opinionated.

The point's been made by all those op-ed writers that Yosef represents the worst in how to approach dissent in his determination to keep hold of the chief rabbinate. He would do well to apologize and not act like he never has to say he's sorry.

Update: the Rabbinical Council of America has voiced its support for Stav too.

Labels: haredi corruption, Israel, Judaism, Moonbattery

The sick Turkish premier has gone about justifying his actions against opposition to his totalitarian rule:

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday it was his "duty" to order riot police to evict activists occupying an Istanbul park that became a center of defiance against his rule, even as the government crackdown continued across town with tear gas fired at protesters trying to regroup.

In a thunderous speech to hundreds of thousands of supporters in western Istanbul, Erdogan also railed against foreign media coverage of the unrest amid criticism over his government's handling of the protests that left his international image battered, and exposed deep rifts within Turkish society. [...]

Protesters are angry over the eviction of overwhelmingly peaceful activists at Gezi Park, next to Taksim Square, who oppose government plans to rip down its trees and erect a replica Ottoman-era barracks. But the protests quickly spiraled into a widespread denunciation of what many say is Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian way of governing, charges he vehemently denies.

Sad he's got his share of supporters. They're all misleading and deluding themselves. The man is nothing more than a tyrant, plain and simple, and should be deposed from his premiership.

Labels: islam, jihad, political corruption, turkey

If there's anyone who's really hostile to setting up an egalitarian section at the Kotel, it's the PLO and the Islamofascists:

The Palestinian Authority will not permit Israel to change the entrance to the Temple Mount in order to facilitate the building of an egalitarian prayer area near the Western Wall, PA Religious Affairs Minister Mahmoud Habbash told The Jerusalem Post in Ramallah on Thursday morning.

And any Israeli attempt to “Judaize” holy sites in Jerusalem would be viewed by Arabs and Muslims as a declaration of war, Habbash warned.

Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky’s plan would allow for the construction of an additional section of the Western Wall Plaza at the southern end of the Kotel – equal in size and height to the northern prayer area for egalitarian worship – and accessible as part of one unified Western Wall complex with a single entrance.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has told Sharansky to meet with National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror to deal with sensitive issues surrounding Mughrabi Bridge.

“Any changes in Haram a-Sharif [Temple Mount] are unacceptable to the Palestinians and the Arab side,” Habbash said in a meeting with Israeli journalists organized by the One Voice organization. “It’s a change of our heritage site and I believe such changes may push all of us to new conflicts and problems.”

It sounds like a hint of violence. As Joel Pollak says, the PLO is against gender equality, and indeed, it does make sense.

Labels: anti-semitism, islam, Israel, Jerusalem, jihad, misogyny

The jihadist murderer at Fort Hood has until now been allowed to represent himself as lawyer at his impending trial:

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A military judge is expected to rule on Friday on whether to grant accused Fort Hood gunman Major Nidal Hasan more time to prepare as he represents himself in a murder trial for a 2009 Texas shooting rampage that killed 13 people.

The judge, Colonel Tara Osborn, could also decide whether to order Hasan's legal team to stay in place despite its objections as he leads his own defense - the latest wrinkle in a case that has seen myriad delays and legal tangles. [...]

Hasan, a U.S.-born Muslim, wants to argue that he was defending the Afghan Taliban when he opened fire, and may get a ruling from Osborn on whether he will be allowed to pursue that argument at trial. [...]

Osborn appointed three military lawyers to serve as standby counsel. They have said it would be unethical to advise Hasan on his proposed argument that he was protecting the Taliban and have asked Osborn not to require them to participate in that defense.

While it's become typical in some cases for creeps like Hasan to represent themselves, when I thought about it, the idea of Hasan speaking as a lawyer to the very people whose lives he destroyed smells repugnant. But at the same time, the army lawyers appointed have a good point that it wouldn't be ethical to defend Hasan based on such a sick defense tactic. This really is turning out to be a very frustrating case, and the worst part is that Hasan is no doubt hoping to aggravate everybody involved.

Labels: Afghanistan, anti-americanism, islam, jihad, military, terrorism, United States

If this is correct, it's something that needs to be worried about and dealt with:

A new poll published by Ariel University shows that the number of Israelis who support maintaining Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria (Shomron) is shrinking. However, a majority still oppose a major withdrawal in the region.

Israelis are increasingly coming to see Judea and Samaria communities as a financial burden, and are growing less likely to see them as necessary for security, according to the survey, which tracked trends in responses as well as the current public sentiment.

A growing number of Israelis see the communities as an “obstacle to peace.” Fewer see Israelis living in Judea and Samaria as being “like any other Israeli citizen.”

Forty-eight percent of respondents described themselves as “right wing” politically, down from 57%. An increasing number said they were “centrist” or “left wing.”

Respondents were also asked about their opinion on what Israel should do with its communities in Judea and Samaria. While the survey found a decrease in support for annexation of all of Judea and Samaria, more Israelis said they supported annexing just part of the region.

The most dramatic changes pollsters noted were a more than two-fold increase in the number of respondents who said they support a large-scale withdrawal from Judea and Samaria – from 10% to 23% - and a major decrease in the number who said they oppose the demolition of any Israeli community in the region (24%, down from 46%).

When asked if Israel should “fight to the end against the hilltop youth and Jewish lawbreakers in Judea and Samaria,” 37% of respondents said “yes,” compared to 22% in a previous poll.

The poll found an increase in support among Israelis for transferring Israeli-Arab communities to Palestinian Authority control under a future peace deal. There was also an increase in demand for the PA to respect Jewish rights in Judea and Samaria, with more Israelis saying the PA should be willing to accept Israelis living in the region as citizens, and should guarantee continued Jewish access to Jewish holy sites.

They see nothing wrong with ceding land that, aside from being Jewish, could also be used to fire rockets from, as the Hamas has been and will still end up doing? And they don't understand what taqqiya is? Because that's what the PLO goes by, and would not for even a second respect Jewish access to holy sites.

One of the spokesmen for Hevron's Jewish community said:

A recent study by Ariel University showing decreasing support for the Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria (Shomron) should be a wake-up call, says Noam Arnon, one of the leaders of Hevron’s Jewish community.

Most Israelis still support Judea and Samaria, he said. But the trend indicated by the survey shows a need for a serious response.

The new media of today’s generation has had a deep impact on society, Arnon told Arutz Sheva’s Yoni Kempinski. The Yesha Council and other Judea and Samaria leaders must learn to “speak the new speak, the new media,” he said.

Every week, Arnon takes hundreds of people to tour Hevron. The personal encounter with Jewish history is “very, very effective” he reported.

Arnon suggested ways that the Yesha Council could help Israelis forge a similar connection with other parts of the land.

He also explained why the public’s theoretical willingness to give up Judea and Samaria for peace is dangerous, even when most Israelis believe there is no peace partner.

If they were taught more about the beliefs in the Koran, that could help forge an understanding of what's dangerous.

Labels: dhimmitude, islam, Israel

The International Business Times wrote about Marine Le Pen's battle against Islamofascism in France, and also notes she was more respectable about Judaism this time:

Le Pen asserted that the problem with Islam is its visibility, i.e., women wearing veils and burqas, people eating halal and observing prayers in public. Even though there are extremists in every religion, she said that “Catholicism or Judaism ... respect France’s secularism, because they do not have any visible signs.”

If this was recently she made this statement, it's certainly a lot better than the time she said kippas (skullcaps) should be banned along with burkas, which was stupid not just because she failed to avoid potential moral equations, but also because Muslim women's religious garb is more the cause of concern here, not Jewish men's. Or just women's garb and not men's, if it matters. And kippas do not conceal the face/head like a veil does.

They also bring up the subject of the EU parliament revoking her immunity. Since it's based on her criticism of Islam, that's why it certainly is cause for concern, since they're obviously not acting altruistically. She could help herself now by avoiding making any more statements that Jewish (and Christian) Europeans would consider offensive, since they're the least of France and Europe's problems and at a time like this it would be better not to alienate the wrong crowds. The FN may have a chance of winning nearly 20 percent in the Europarliament, so she'd best concentrate on the real dangers that are Islam. That way, she might even be forgiven by anybody who got mad at her earlier.

Labels: anti-semitism, Christianity, dhimmitude, Europe, France, islam, jihad, Judaism, misogyny, political corruption

James Richard Edwards writes about how jihadists Trojan-horsed into Europe:

HOUSTON, June 14, 2013 ― The Muslim Brotherhood described their grand plan for cultural jihad to destroy the West in a 1982 document, The Project:

“Cultural invasion … A kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within and sabotaging its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers [Muslims] so that it is eliminated and God’s religion Islam is made victorious.”

In Western Europe, Islam has achieved much of its goal of eroding Western values, culture and institutions from the inside. Islam has very keenly used the failed concept of multiculturalism to exponentially increase the Muslim population in Western Europe while concurrently instituting a policy of creeping yet deliberate institutionalizing of Islamic “states” within the host countries.

There are a few tactics that have greatly helped Muslims to achieve these goals. First, Muslims have demanded that the host nations incrementally adopt various aspects of Sharia law and Islamic traditions, or else risk being deemed discriminatory or “Islamophobic.” Meanwhile, Islamic immigrants increasingly elect not to assimilate into their host societies, choosing instead to cultivate ethnic separatism and push for the creation of a (Muslim-only) state-within-a-state. Finally, Western leaders acquiesce to many Muslim demands in order to avoid further Muslim violence and crime that has plagued Europe over the last two decades.

The ultimate goal of Islam and every practicing Muslim, “moderate” or not, is to further the cause of a global caliphate in which every nation would be Islamic and governed by Sharia law. In pursuit of this goal, Islam divides the world into two groups, the “House of Islam/Submission” (dar-al Islam) and the “House of War” (dar-al harb). The root word for Islam in Arabic is “al-Silm,” which means “submission” or “surrender.”

The House of Submission therefore, includes all of the countries of the world that are governed by Sharia law and have submitted themselves to Islam. Any country that has not submitted to Islam and Sharia law is considered a part of the “House of War.” The goal of every single practicing Muslim is to enslave and submit every country to Islam and Sharia law.

And multiculturalism is the leading cause of the downfall in Europe:

Multiculturalism sounds like a wonderful idea on paper: many different cultures living in harmony in one host nation that doesn’t require or even suggest integration. In reality though, it is another utopian conception by liberal elites that sounds wonderful but ends up being extremely detrimental and an utter failure.

Mainly because sick cultural mindsets are the most incompatible part of the whole mishmash.

Labels: dhimmitude, Europe, immigration, islam, jihad, misogyny, Moonbattery, political corruption, terrorism

The IDF is going to step up efforts to aid Haredi soldiers who've been attacked by isolationist Haredis opposed to army service:

In the wake of multiple complaints from ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) soldiers who say they have been harassed for enlisting in the Israel Defense Forces, the army said it would ask law enforcement officials to help prevent such incitement and threats.

The IDF said it would ask Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein to instruct police to identify the individuals who have been threatening the Haredi soldiers. Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Danny Efroni is formulating a request that would prompt police to probe incidents of harassment and to take action against those responsible.

In the two weeks since the Perry Committee, tasked with formulating draft legislation for Haredi recruitment, submitted its recommendations, the army has received dozens of complaints from Haredi soldiers who say members of their community have abused them verbally over their decision to enlist. Some have even complained of violence against them.

With the increased attention on the issue of conscription, the hostility toward military service and also toward those who serve has increased among the Haredi public. The IDF Manpower Directorate at the General Staff has opened a hotline for dealing with soldiers’ complaints and thus far dozens of calls have been documented. The General Staff has also expressed concern that the phenomenon could lower the rate of enlistment among Haredim in the coming months.

Haredi soldiers in the Nahal Haredi battalion and those serving in technological and logistical roles in the track known as Shahar (an acronym for the track that integrates Haredim into the army) have reported experiencing jeers and humiliations. A number of soldiers have complained that their car tires have been punctured and others have found posters in their stairwells or on the doors of their homes that demean Haredim who choose to serve in the army.

Soldiers have said they have received demands to quit the army and have been told they would not be welcome to worship in their neighborhood synagogues on the Sabbath. There have also been reports of children being expelled from ultra-Orthodox kindergartens because of their fathers’ army service.

The army has allowed a number of Haredi soldiers who have been harassed to report for duty in civilian clothing instead of in uniform, to avoid attracting unwanted attention. “The Haredi soldiers’ complaints are coming in from all around the country – from Safed, Bnei Brak, Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh and other towns," an army source said. "It is a widespread phenomenon.”

From January through May of this year, 202 Haredi males enlisted in the army's Shahar track, twice the number during the same period last year and the number of recruits to Nahal Haredi has nearly doubled as compared to last year as well. However, Shahar is expected to recruit the bulk of its new troops this September – and by then the influence of the negative attitude among some in the Haredi public may have a ripple effect.

Meanwhile, sources familiar with Haredi conscription procedures have said that the enlistment figures for this year are somewhat deceptive. They say fewer conscripts are coming from large Ashkenazi communities in central Israel (such as Bnei Brak) and more Sephardi men from outlying areas, where opposition to military service remains low, are enlisting.

"The incitement campaign underway against Haredi recruits is extremely disturbing and there is no doubt it will have repercussions on recruitment," a senior IDF officer told Haaretz on Wednesday. "I hope the state will act to stop the incitement and the violence. We are concerned for the soldiers’ safety.”

IDF representatives who appeared before the Perry Committee warned that such incitement could also lead to physical harm to Haredi soldiers.

It is indeed disturbing and unfortunately, just about every Haredi neighborhood in this country is bound to have some extremists dwelling amongst them.

The IDF directors have discussed this with Haredi members, and the good news is that morale remains high:

"Despite the latest incidents, we're under the impression that motivation among haredi soldiers is growing," a high-ranking Military Intelligence Directorate (MID) officer told Ynet.

"A decisive majority is proud to wear the IDF uniform, and we're happy with the increase in the number of recruits to the directorate."

Over the last year, MID has accepted a large number of haredi recruits, and currently some 500 haredi soldiers, among them 100 officers, serve in its ranks.

According to the high-ranking officer, most of these serve in the 8200 unit in various technical roles.

"These soldiers are eager to serve, have voiced their wish to continue and integrate, show everyone what they contribute," he said. "But a man in uniform who is treated with hostility by his surroundings – that's completely unacceptable to us. Fortunately, we haven't heard of any haredi soldier who wished to terminate his service due to these incidents, just the opposite."

And that's encouraging news. That said, they should increase security in the Haredi neighborhoods to help protect these soldiers from the extremists. Security cameras are a good start, but still more is needed.

Labels: haredi corruption, Israel, military, Moonbattery

An improvement's been made, one the Haredi parties vehemently opposed in all their inability to recognize modernity:

A bill to reserve four spots on the committee that appoints rabbinical judges for women was passed into law in the early hours of Tuesday morning, but not before haredi MKs repeatedly stalled the legislative process due to their vehement opposition to the terms of measure.

Every single MK of the haredi parties, numbering 19 in total, filed procedural reservations to the bill, with several of those members using the full 30 minutes of debate time allocated for every reservation to stall the passage of the law. The bill finally passed its second and third readings (final) at 4 a.m.

In addition to the four spots it reserves for women, the law will also expand the panel from 10 to 11 members, with the extra member being a qualified female rabbinical courts advocate.

The law means that at least one of government delegates to the panel, one of the Knesset delegates and one of the Israel Bar Association delegates will be a woman. The rabbinical courts advocate will be the fourth female member.

MK Aliza Lavie (Yesh Atid) – one of the architects of the law, along with Bayit Yehudi’s Shuli Muallem and Meretz chairwoman Zahava Gal-On – said that she had fulfilled one of her promises upon being elected to the Knesset with the passage of the law.

“Four women on the committee for appointing rabbinical judges is the beginning [of a process] to rectify the discrimination against women that exists today in the rabbinical courts system,” Lavie said after the law was passed.

“The mixed variety of committee members will lead to the appointment of more moderate and attentive rabbinical judges, who are more involved in the Israeli society of 2013,” the Yesh Atid MK said.

Gal-On said that the law corrected the “skewed reality in which only men make decisions on issues that relate principally on the lives of women.”

Women’s rights activists see the committee as a crucial forum to advance women’s divorce rights since they believe that the appointment of more moderate rabbinical judges will lead to greater protection for women from extortion in divorce proceedings, which forms a large part of the work of the rabbinical courts system.

“The rabbinical courts are controlled today by reactionary rabbis, all of whom are men, with a proven record of discrimination against women, the extortion of women whose husbands refuse to grant a bill of divorce and a disregard for property law,” Gal-On added.

Though Gal-On a leftist be, there is some truth to what she says: there are judges out there who've let corruption prevail, and even allowed some disgraceful husbands who refuse to grant a divorce agreement to get away with their offenses. Hence, this approval of the law is a vital step for this country moving forward. A pity the Haredi parties have to be so backwards, and so disrespectful of the memory of biblical Deborah.

Labels: haredi corruption, Israel, Knesset, misogyny, Moonbattery

The International Business Times reported that the most horrific Muslim hatemonger in Britain today hopes to establish a caliphate in the UK:

A Muslim majority will one day impose sharia law in Britain, the US and much of western Europe, according to radical cleric Anjem Choudary.

Muslims will dominate the West and impose a return to the harsh moral code of the 13th century Arabian caliphate, Choudary told the US network CBN News. The interview has just emerged on a rightwing website, which has published the interview for the first time in the UK.

The interview was recorded shortly after Choudary's Sharia4UK group was banned by Whitehall.

"Innevitably, I'm convinced, I'm 100% certain that the sharia will be implemented in America and in Britain one day," said the preacher, who had been linked to Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebolawe, the two suspects in the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich.

He also went on to preach against America:

Choudary told the US network's correspondent in London that Sharia4UK had given birth to Sharia4America, Sharia4Holland and Sharia4Belgium.

"We have the Sharia4America project, where we put down what we consider to be an alternative to liberal democracy, freedom and the kind of life people lead in America," he said.

"Ultimately, the Americans will be defeated. They're going to be defeated back home, they will be defeated militarily, and they're not going to get the resources.

"They will go from the recession into a complete downfall."

Sickening. They say the authorities are continuing to monitor him, but it's clear they have no interest in enforcing the law, or they would have arrested Choudary already for the violence he's caused and is still hell-bent on leading to.

Labels: anti-americanism, dhimmitude, islam, jihad, londonistan

This despite their abhorrence of Ahmedinejad and dictatorial tactics. The Times of Israel (via World Net Daily) says:

NEW YORK — Iranians favor implementing Sharia law in Iran by a huge majority — 83 percent to just 15 opposed — according to a new survey of Iranians published Tuesday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

A majority of Iranian Muslims already believe that is the case in the country. Over one-third, 37%, believe Iran’s current system follows Sharia law “very closely,” while another 45% say it follows Muslim religious law “somewhat closely.” Among the 13% who believe Sharia law is largely not being implemented in Iran, a large majority, 78%, believe it should be.

The survey, published three days before Friday’s Iranian presidential election, found strong support for Islamic-inspired government in the country, despite the belief of many Westerners that the 2009 elections signaled a desire among Iranians to liberalize or overthrow the religious institutions that control the Iranian state.

That's the elephant in the room - despite ostensible detestment of totalitarianism, they fail to grasp that all Ahmedinejad's steps stem from Islam. The religion is all they know, and with little or nothing to provide an alternative to think about, they can only think to condone more of the same and ultimately remain unchanged. As a result, even if the Iranian dictatorship as it stands now is one day defeated, the replacement will be no different if no other belief systems are allowed space to provide alternatives. And, as a result, more nuclear warfare and other such horrors will continue to remain a threat in Iran.

Labels: iran, islam, jihad

During the opening of a new memorial exhibition at Auschwitz, the prime minister gave the following speech:

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu visited Auschwitz on Thursday with Iran very much on his mind, saying one of the key lessons the Jews took from the Holocaust was not to expect "others to do the work for us." "The leaders of the Allies knew about the Holocaust in real time," Netanyahu said at the opening of a new permanent exhibit called "Shoah" in Block 27 at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.

"They understood exactly what was happening in the death camps. They were asked to act, they could have acted, and they did not. To us Jews the lesson is clear. We must not be complacent in the face of threats of annihilation. We must not bury our heads in the sand or allow others to do the work for us. We will never be helpless again," he said.

Netanyahu, who in the past has drawn parallels between Iran's nuclear march and call for the destruction of Israel to the Nazi intention to wipe out the Jews, said "even today we hear threats of the destruction of the Jewish people, and the world behaves as usual.

"From here, Auschwitz-Birekanu, the place that attests to the desire to destroy our people, I -- the Prime Minister of Israel, the state of the Jewish People -- say to all the nations of the world: The State of Israel will do whatever is necessary to prevent another holocaust. Even today there is someone who declares his intention to destroy millions of Jews and wipe their state off the map."

Netanyahu said the difference between then and now was that today "we have an independent state and a strong army, which allow us to protect our people and to stop this criminal intent." Netanyahu disputed the notion that the world's attitude toward the Jews has changed after the Holocaust. "What has really changed?" he asked.

"The hatred of Jews changes form, but it remains -- if not [based on] racial superiority, than [on] religious superiority. And the world's apathy toward this hatred remains the same." Netanyahu said that the world has swiftly become accustomed again to those declaring that they want to destroy millions of Jews.

Likewise, he said, "the indecision of the enlightened countries regarding whether to act against extreme regimes that threaten us and the peace of the world is also something that has not changed."

The only thing that has changed, he said, "is our ability and determination to act to defend ourselves and prevent another Holocaust."

Absolutely right. But the query that remains is if the government has the political/diplomatic guts to prove their capabilities in defense.

Labels: anti-semitism, Europe, iran, islam, Israel, jihad, terrorism, war on terror

The Forward sums it up correctly about the Satmar sect's behavior during their anti-Israel demonstration in NYC earlier in the week:

If you needed social services from New York’s fervently pro-Israel mainstream Jewish community, would you organize a tremendous anti-Israel rally in its backyard?

Despite assurances that it wasn’t their intention to do so, that appears to be exactly what the Satmar Hasidic community did on June 9, when they gathered a reported 30,000 men in lower Manhattan to protest Israeli efforts to draft thousands of ultra-Orthodox men into the army.

Satmar Hasidim are known for their anti-Zionist theology, but organizers insisted before the protest that they would focus specifically on the Israeli draft. Yet despite a strictly enforced ban on anti-Israel placards, speakers addressing the crowd in Yiddish voiced anti-Zionist sentiment.

“Today’s rally is a declaration of war against the enemies of God and the enemies of religion,” said the Monsey, N.Y.-based Rabbi Yaakov Weiss, who was the protest’s opening and closing speaker. “We hope the evil Zionists will not be successful in destroying our holy Torah studies.”

Speakers used the Yiddish word reshoim, or evil people, to describe Israeli politicians specifically and Zionists generally. And Rabbi Nachman Stauber, who leads a Satmar yeshiva in Queens, made a comparison in his address between Zionists and Amalek, the biblical Jews’ greatest enemy.

Here we go again, as the Satmar deny any connections between the Torah and Zionism. They can blabber all they like in defense of their abominable tirades, but it's clear that they are as anti-Israel as they come.

Interestingly, a poster that promoted army enlistment was taken down in Williamsburg after the fact was discovered:

“Shall your brothers go into battle while you remain here?” the poster screamed in large red print, encouraging Charedim in New York to take to the streets in support of the struggle faced by their brothers in Israel. Taken from the bible, the words are spoken by Moses as he chastises the tribes of Reuben and Gad both of which propose settling in Transjordan rather than Israel, and imply that they do not wish to take up arms for the conquest of Israel. The bible story takes place right as the Israelites are about to enter Israel after fleeing slavery in Egypt. Moses subsequently commands the tribes that they must fight for Israel.

The source noted that this biblical phrase wherein Moses commands the tribes who wish to opt out of military service to in fact take up arms for Israel, would appear to promote IDF enlistment rather than reject it. The source said that the posters were on “every street pole” but that the Charedim in the area seemed to wise up soon after, as they were taken down not too long after the error was spotted.

Proof they don't respect the Torah, nor Moses. What right have they to be calling themselves Haredis anyway? Those who live in Israel should definitely not be relying on our tax shekels.

Update: they don't respect passersby who aren't Haredi either: Gothamist got a letter from a guy who'd passed through the rally who said:

I was stuck in a cab with my fiancé for about 20 minutes. We decided to walk once we realized that we wouldn't be going anywhere soon.

We got out and started waking straight through the crowds since that was the fastest way downtown. They looked like they wanted to tear us apart. My fiancé was wearing summer shorts and we just got back from volunteering for the Big Apple BBQ wearing Big Bob Gibson's t-shirts covered in pork logos. It's like they could smell it on us.

I wish I was making this up, but we were scared for our lives. The main part of the rally was thousands deep and no one would make room for us to walk through. Many men sneered at my lady and crossed their arms at me in disgust, spit in our paths as we made our way upstream.

I saw a half dozen men synchronize-peeing on a wall, three others peeing in a phone booth, and a couple of kids scattered about peeing on the curbside of their mini vans.

Gross. And not only do they not respect the Torah, they don't respect ladies either. This is just why isolationist mindsets can be harmful.

Labels: haredi corruption, Israel, Judaism, military, misogyny, Moonbattery, New York, United States