Sworn enemies seek care in Israel

I wonder why a resident of Aza (Gaza) has to travel all the way to Haifa for medical treatment.

Why does a resident of the so-called Palestinian Authority area of occupied Israel, have to travel to Jerusalem for medical care?

According to http://www.distance24.org, the distance between Gaza City and Haifa is nearly 100 miles. Gaza City to Cairo is roughly 220 miles, Gaza is not attacking Egypt as it attacks Israel. On the other hand, Jordan’s capital of Amman is only 93 miles.

All mileage figures are “as the crow flies.”

Palestine Airways Limited has one flight a day on odd-numbered days to Amman, with a return flight to Gaza International Airport (GZA) on even-numbered days. A similar arrangement is advertised for Gaza International to Cairo International. (See http://www.gazaairport.com/tic.html# .) There are no flights to Haifa or even Lod (although there are flights from Cairo and Amman to Lod.) There apparently are no airports of any size in what is incorrectly called the “West Bank” (a term left over from Jordan’s occupation following its invasion of Israel in 1948.

Even without air transportation, “Palestinians” can go to hospitals in Jordan. Syria, for the moment, is not an option.

A recent decision by the PA is to discourage its citizens from seeking medical treatment in Israel since the PA is supposed to pay for its citizen’s care.

IN SYRIA injured fighters are brought to IDF frontline medical facilities (think “MASH”); those who require greater treatment are sent to Haifa or Jerusalem. Neither the incumbent Syrian government nor the potential future Syrian government pays for Syrian care.

What the Syrians SHOULD be doing, since Israel is the enemy, is sending the wounded to Jordanian military hospitals; let Jordanian medics deal with them. Jordan can bill the fighters’ sponsors for their care. (Can anyone see Israel sending a bill to Iran? Not hardly.)

OK. People say “Well, if the Israelis provide top notch medical care these people whose primary goal in life is to wipe out Israel and all non-Muslims in it – that includes Christians, don’t forget – that these people will have a change of heart.

It doesn’t work that way. At least one woman whose life Israeli medics saved returned with a bomb to kill those same medics. Muslim mentality. Exception or rule?

Israeli Jews and Israeli Muslims can, and do co-exist – peacefully. Even with rockets falling on Haifa, a Muslim family – with the grandmother in traditional Arab garb – walked along a beach heavily populated with Israeli Jews. No one assaulted them, no one told them to “go back where you came from,” and no one called them names . . . even as rockets fired by Muslim rocketeers rained down on the city.

The difference is that the Muslims from Aza and the Muslims from the so-called West Bank are enemies of Israel and should NOT be treated in Israel facilities. Likewise the Syrians who will, once control is restored, will take up arms against Israel.

If a person lives in Aza, there is no excuse for that person to go to an Israeli hospital; there are other options available, including the Arab capitals of Amman and Cairo.

Supremes rule for average Israeli

 

Israel’s civil supreme court just ruled that, unless the petitioners wish otherwise, post get (divorce) issues will be settled in civil family court.

The rabbis still will grant, or withhold at their whim, divorces.

This issue never should have come about, but having seen the rabbinical courts at work, I am glad for the supremes’ decision.

Too often in a divorce, the woman gets a huge settlement, even when the wife is an obvious adulteress (living openly with her lover, in at least one case I personally know about, her Muslim lover).

And the pain continues.

Not only is there an on-the-spot payout, the wife gets half of any sale of property held by the couple before the divorce. Never mind if the wife never contributed a prutah, she gets half if the property is sold.

I know these things for a fact.

This is just one more issue with which the Israeli rabbinute keeps Judaism in the dark ages – they are the ayatollahs of Judaism.

Conversions? The Israeli rabbinute has ruled that only a few rabbis in the US can perform “Israeli acceptable” conversions. Even in Israel, the rabbinate refuses to accept conversions from an especially created conversion organization led by a well known rabbi. Conversions according to Rambam are not good enough; conversions must be in accordance with the Litvaks of Jerusalem, “modern Jews” who reject the ruling of their betters. Of course Rambam was Sefardi, so I suppose that makes him unacceptable to the Litvaks.

The rabbinute over the years became like the schoolyard bully; the supremes reined it in. Had the rabbinute had the interest of the Jewish people first and foremost, it would have been even-handed on divorces; it would have considered the children before the parents when custody was contested, and it would not try to control rabbis outside of Israel. Finally, it would never strip a convert of the conversion because the convert failed to follow all the mitzvoth of the Torah and the rules of the talmuds. This happened to one woman following a divorce; she was declared by the bullies to not be a Jew, meaning that her children also were not Jewish which must have been a surprise to the children.

Because of this and similar decisions, non-haredi Israelis are turning against the rabbinate; some also turning against the religion that the rabbis represent. The reality is that many Jewish Israelis get married outside of Israel, some in a religious setting, most not. An increasing number of Israelis have found ways to have a civil marriage in Israel.

There ARE rabbis – important rabbis such as Israel Meir Lau – who are not bullies, rabbis who respect and have the respect of their own (in R. Lau’s case, Ashkenazim) and others (e.g., Sefardi and Mizrachi Jews).

Maybe the fact that the haridim are in the opposition in the current Knesset is a good thing. Hopefully Biet HaYehudi will find a middle ground between the Litvaks and the average Israeli Jew; while the Litvaks will lose some power, Judaism will gain from it.

All this from a person who, when he lived in Israel, was a strong supporter of NRP, -מפלגת הדתית לישראל- (even though I wear a knitted kippa).

Fool’s errand

The president of the U.S. tells hand-picked Israelis in a Jerusalem venue other than the Knesset, that

“The Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and justice must also be recognized. Put yourself in their shoes – look at the world through their eyes. It is not fair that a Palestinian child cannot grow up in a state of her own, and lives with the presence of a foreign army that controls the movements of her parents every single day. It is not just when settler violence goes unpunished. It is not right to prevent Palestinians from farming their lands; to restrict a student’s ability to move around the West Bank; or to displace Palestinian families from their home. Neither occupation nor expulsion is the answer. Just as Israelis built a state in their homeland, Palestinians have a right to be a free people in their own land.”

How about if the U.S. president put himself in an average Israeli’s shoes; maybe one who lives in Sdrot or Ashdod, within range of “Palestinian” missiles.

How about if the U.S. president REALLY looked at life for Arabs – Moslems and Christians – in Israel and compare that to life for Moslems in Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Iraq, Iran, or Saudia. Note I deliberately omitted Syria because some left wingers would claim that is unfair.

How about if the U.S. president looked at Americans living in fear in the major metro areas: New York, Miami, Los Angeles – and don’t forget his towns, Chicago and Washington D.C. When someone in mugged on a street in the U.S., unless the person is homeless or otherwise disadvantaged, the cops make an effort to locate an capture the perpetrator; sometimes the courts actually send the muggers to jail.

In Israel, not only is the average citizen a possible mugging victim, but he also is a very likely terrorist ‘s victim; large rocks thrown at passing cars, fire bombs thrown from the abomination on the Temple Mount, knife attacks, and attacks using vehicles (cars, construction equipment). Worse, at least under the previous government – and I see no reason to expect a change as long as Netanyahu remains prime minister – the cops rarely jailed a Muslim terrorists but a Jew doing the same thing – which doesn’t make the crime right – is arrested, quickly found guilty, and jailed. Even when a Muslim IS jailed, he gets an early release, along with hundreds of others – in return for a single Israeli body.

If Obama thinks there is injustice in Israel, he’s right.


The tables are stacked against the Zionists. Israelis are told to “settle the land” are then prevented from building homes or watch as the army destroys their homes; the government under the present prime minister is as two-headed as Janus. A perfect compliment to the U.S. president. Even a bill of sale will not suffice for the government and its army enforcers. Likud: Today’s Labor. Menachem Begin must be turning in his grave.

The U.S. president may PHYSICALLY be in Israel, but he is not SEEING life in Israel; not for Israeli Jews and not for Israeli Moslems, and not for Israeli Christians.

He also (apparently) is demanding of Israel what his ally, Saudia, won’t provide: freedom to its people. Granted, Israeli censorship is much more effective then in the U.S. but it compares well with England which ruled the area until partition.

Once again, the president has wasted American taxpayer dollars, and Israeli taxpayer shekels on a junket that has, save for numerous photo ops, no value to America or Israel, and little value to the Jordanians in Israel (a/k/a “Palestinians”) who are learning that his words are just so much hot air.

It used to be that “talk is cheap,” but when American pols hit the air,nothing is cheap.

Eyes than cannot see

The Muslim Obama is today in Ramallah telling the terrorist Abu Mazen, a/k/a Mahmoud Abbas, that the U.S. – not just Obama, but the entire US population – supports the establishment of a “Palestinian state” in Israel.

Never mind that

a) There IS a “Palestinian state; it’s called Jordan.

b) That the Muslim residents of the Israeli territory are sworn to Israel’s total destruction; just look at the PLO’s letter heads and insignia.

c) That the Muslims of Aza, who would be part of Obama’s “Palestinian state” are firing missiles into Israel EVEN AS OBAMA IS PROMOTING A STATE FOR TERRORISTS.

I wonder what the Muslim Obama’s reaction would be if Canadian separatists – those good folk in Quebec - fired not one but, say, 40 missiles into the US, hitting Detroit, Boston, Seattle. Would he approach the separatists and tell them he supports a French-speaking nation within Canada’s borders?

Fat chance.

We are invaded from Mexico – illegal people and very illegal dope – yet while he talks, nothing is done. Well, not nothing; the illegals are pushed to the head of the line for U.S. citizenship. (He’s only following the path of previous presidents, both Democrat and Republican.)

There are those who blame the “Arab spring” on Obama pronouncements. Despite being a Muslim, Obama apparently fails to realize – of realizes but ignores – the fact that the Muslim mentality is different than the Euro-American mentality. Muslim mentality is closer to Oriental mentality where life has little or no value.

It would be interesting to hear what Obama told Abu Mazen is anyone dared tell Obama that Muslims were firing rockets into Israel from Aza. Of course Abu Mazen cannot control Hamas is Aza. Obama wants Israel to surrender its security for a “Palestinian state” that does not even have a single ruler, democratically elected or otherwise. (By the way, who says all nations must have US-style democracies; in some place, e.g., Cuba, they just don’t work.)

Israel is not the U.S. and Obama has never been threatened by Muslim terrorists; while the country over which he rules has been attacked by Muslims on several occasions and while his fellow Muslims promote hatred for this country from within the country, because he, personally, has avoided being anywhere near the attacks, he must think its all a figment of someone’s imagination.

Pity he was not in Sdrot when the rockets fell there this morning (3/21/13). Maybe running to a shelter might give him a new perspective on life next to a terrorist “state.”

Obama might not be America’s worst president – Jimmy Carter has that dishonor in the bag – but he certainly is one of the worst. At least Sarah Palin could see Russia from her state; Obama can’t see beyond his nose as he keep proving with his questionable (because everything is left in question) foreign “policy."

Rabbis for our time

R. Israel Meir Lau

R. Haim Meir Drukman

Although I follow Sefardi rabbis, there are two Ashkenazi rabbis that have earned my respect, both for what they teach and how they act.

R. Israel Meir Lau I was "introduced" to R. Lau by my Syrian, son-of-a-rabbi brother-in-law (once removed)* who gifted me with a book R. Lau wrote when he was Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv. He later was Chief Ashkenazi rabbi of Israel.

I learned to respect the rabbi as I read his book, "יהדות הלכה למעשה". In it he cites halacha, noting that there are differences of approach according to the traditions of the many different groups that constitute Judaism.

Unlike the haridim of Mea Sharim or Been Brak, R. Lau realizes - as do most non-Shas Sefardim and Mizrahim - that "a Jew is a Jew" regardless of how he covers his head (velvet kippa or knitted kippa) or not at all. The Law - from the Torah as interpreted by the rabbis of the talmuds and the likes of the universally accepted Maran and Rash"i - is The Law. The rabbis, particularly those of the haridim, have remade The Law to suit themselves and have ostracized everyone who fails to follow their version of how they think The Law should be applied.

R. Haim Meir Drukman Perhaps there is something in the name Meir -מאור in Hebrew, Meir (ma-or) means "light" - like R. Lau is a Jew who might be called "modern Orthodox." Certainly he, like R. Lau, believes that "a Jew is a Jew" even if a converted Jew fails to keep all possible mitzvot. (I challenge anyone, even the most makped haredi - and that probably is redundant - to name any Jew alive in 2013/5773 who follows all the mitzvot he - or she - is obliged to follow.)

R. Drukman lives as a modern man in Israel. He ran, to the haredi establishment's displeasure, conversion programs for new immigrants and, in particular, for members of the IDF. In 1964 he founded the Ohr Etzion B'nei Akiva Yeshiva High school, where he remains Rosh Yeshiva. In 1977 he established the Ohr Etzion Yeshiva, which for many years was the largest Hesder Yeshiva in the country, and in 1995 founded the Ohr MeOfir academy for high school graduates of the Ethiopian community. Since 1996 he has also been the head of the Center for Bnei Akiva Yeshivot and ulpanot in Israel.

For those not familiar with the hesder yeshiva movement, the yeshiva students join the IDF and combine both military service and talmud study.

To me, what the haridim call "Judaism" is exclusionary and, in many respects, gives Israel's enemies justification for what they do - specifically refusing to sell property to a Jew; the good rabbis of the haredi sector ruled that Jews could not sell land to an Arab. Of course many of these same Jews don't recognize Israel as a modern state.

Judaism needs more leaders of the caliber of rabbis Lau and Drukman. Imagine, with leaders such as those two, maybe even Sefardim/Mizrahim could find common ground with their Ashkenazi cousins. (Of course the Ashkenazim would have to allow kitniyot during Pesach, but … )

* Shlomo is my sister-in-law's husband, but defining him that way is awkward.

When Jerusalem become Al-Quds

"Palestine" for Muslims only

If Israel's sitting prime minister, Benyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu, continues on this current path and appoints Tzipi Livni to negotiate with the so-called Palestinian leadership-du-jour, Jews can forget about Jerusalem. It won't be Jerusalem any more, it will be Al-Quds.

"Next year in Al-Quds" somehow doesn't have the same ring as "Next Year in Jerusalem."

But that's OK.

Mahmoud Abbas, a/k/a the terrorist Abu Mazen, promises that “there will be no peace, security, or stability unless [all Israelis are] evacuated from our holy city and the eternal capital of our state.” Of course, if the "Palestinian" flag is to be believed, if Abbas & Friends get their way, there will be NO Israel. Abbas has said that "no Jews would be allowed to live anywhere in a Palestinian state."

This is only a little more severe than when Jordan ruled Jerusalem and what liberals - Jews and otherwise - call the "West Bank" and what the very liberals call "occupied 'Palestine'" - never mind that it was historically known a Judea and Samaria, but only from Biblical times.

According to a "Palestinian" Authority survey in 2011 found that nearly three-quarters of the Muslim respondents – 72 percent – support the denial of thousands of years of Jewish history in Jerusalem .

The fact that the abomination still sits on the Temple mount and that the Waqf controls all access to the area is thanks to one-time Moshe Dayan gave it away after the Army captured Jerusalem from - not "Palestinians" - Jordan's army.

Interesting, is it not, that when the Ottoman Turks and the English controlled Israel, and when Jordan controlled Jerusalem and the so-called "West Bank," there never was any talk of a "Palestinian" state. The only people who ever fought for the land were the Jews.

To better understand what can be expected when Jerusalem becomes Al-Quds, look at Mecca and Medina. Only Muslims are allowed in Mecca, and only Muslims are allowed in the center of Medina.

Jews, of course, are not the only ones who will be forced out, first from Al-Quds then later from "Palestine"; all non-Muslims will be banned from the country. No Jews, no Christians, no Buddhists (recall what the Muslims did to the statues of the Buddha Pakistan and the Maldives, the latter where Islam is the official religion and open practice of any other religion is forbidden and liable to prosecution, no Bahia even though Bahia is an off-shoot of Islam, The only questions are, will "Palestine" be Sunni, Shiite, Wahabi, or other variation Islam and how long will it be before internecine, inter-Islam war destroys "Palestine," the country that never was.

Bottom line: Unless you are a Muslim planning a visit to Al-Quds, you better go now, before Netanyahu & Company give the country away, piece by piece, starting with Al-Quds, nee' Jerusalem.

Raising funds efficiently Reaching many more for much less

I occasionally rant about schnorers coming from Israel to collect donations in the U.S. and Canada. I'm relatively certain they go elsewhere as well.

My complaint always is; How much money is wasted flying across the ocean, renting a car and chauffer, paying for lodging and kosher food - money that COULD be going to the fund for which the schnorer is schnoring?

I was advised that some of these gentlemen - for they almost always are men, most often with a rabbinical title - are "sponsored" by someone who picks up their expenses. Perhaps that's why one candidly told me that despite the costs cited above, "it's worth it" to abandon wife, children, and, perhaps, job to come to America.

I often recommend that funds should dispense with the Traveling Israeli and engage local or national organizations to work on the fund's behalf. Could a "Rent-a-Schnorer" organization cost any more than the Traveling Israeli? Certainly the roshi yeshivot (heads of talmudic academies) would be able to spend more time doing what they are supposed to be doing - managing the yeshivot they head.

But there's another way !

I didn't think about it until I clicked on a link on a Jewish Press page. The link took me to https://www.meirpanim.org/campaign/2013/pesach/.

The link took to me the American Friends of Meir Panim. The organization's raision d'etre is "fighting poverty in Israel"; it says so right on the Web page.

I don't know how much the Web page cost the American Friends etc.; very likely it was designed and coded gratis by a Friend. I suspect the host for the Friends' site either offers it free or a Friend funds it - I had a site that cost me $60/year so it is NOT an expensive operation- and that the link was donated by the Jewish Press. I also suspect that the Jewish Press link is but one of many links to the Friends' contribution page.

The page allows donors to contribute via the Internet. It also provides a telephone number for people who don't trust the Internet. There even is a physical address where donors may send checks marked "For Deposit Only" to assure the funds go where they are needed.

The Friends' site accepts the Big 4 in credit cards plus PayPal.

I am NOT suggesting that the American Friends of Meir Panim is the only organization that helps the needy in Israel; I know of many other legitimate organizations, some providing general assistance and others with specific constituencies.

What I AM suggesting is that other fund raising organizations can get much more "bang for their buck" following the lead (leed) of the American Friends of Meir Panim.

Imagine a schnorer going to my small congregation and collecting - maybe - $10 or $20.

Now, look at the Friends' site. Donors are encouraged to give at least $72 - each. The Friends of course will accept lesser amounts or amounts not listed (all multiples of חי save for $500, $1,000, and $10,000 levels). Want to gibe $18? Go ahead. How about $151? A good Sefardi number; click on the Other box and enter $151.

I have a young friend whose father is a rosh yeshiva in Israel. His father has a Web site and he uses it for many things, including fund raising.

I subscribe to a number of rabbis' emailings - all from time to time appeal for funds.

Yes, there can be overhead - there always is overhead, but it may be covered by one or two primary donors - but given the Return On Investment (ROI), and that's what it SHOULD be all about , Schnoring the Electronic Way is the only sensible, cost-effective way to solicit funds.

Schnorers still can make direct appeals to congregational leaders - send an email with the relevant documents attached. The leadership then can recommend that the congregants consider donating to the cause.

Final thought. When considering giving to an organization, remember that there are needy in our own communities. We need - we must - attend to their needs first, and then help the needy elsewhere. Look for a local food bank; check with your congregation, the JCC, and the Federation; find out how you can help those in your community. It's not charity, it's an obligation.

Food for the poor, food for thought

This morning we had a schnorer collecting money to help the poor buy Passover provisions.

Without going in to my opinion of schnorers from Israel coming to the States to beg, I will suggest that Rambam - Moses ben Maimon, a/k/a Maimonides - was right when he told us that our charity - check that, our obligation - begins at home and works outward:

* Family
* Jewish Community
* City
* Country
* Israel
* Rest of the World

While it is commendable to donate to schnorers from Israel, or, for that matter, any place, we need to set aside a greater portion for the poor in our midst. Trust me, there ARE Jewish poor, especially in this economy.

While we are told that even a poor person must give צדקה - and to repeat my earlier point, tzdakah is NOT "charity," it is an obligation that falls on all of us - we should distribute our resources to others based on Rambam's approach (ibid.).

Here in southeast Florida we have several food banks. There's a Jewish - therefore "kosher products" - food bank almost within walking distance. My wife occasionally works there and the food bank is a frequent debit entry into the check book. As it should be.

Typically, in Conservative and Reform congregations, the schnorer approaches the religious leader who gives from the congregation's Discretionary Fund. In so-called "Orthodox" congregations, the schnorers approach the rabbi who then lets the congregants know it's OK to donate; the schnorer's purpose it legitimate.

Here, most schnorers check in with a committee that issues - rubber stamps, actually - a document certifying the schnorer's purpose.

Pesach - Passover - is nigh. Passover prices likewise are both "nigh" and "high." Local food banks need help, both financial and physical.

If you don't know if there is a food bank - Jewish or otherwise - in your community, ask a rabbi or synagogue administrator. Check at the JCC or Federation office.

Failing that, check on line. I used the Dogpile (http://www.dogpile.com) search engine to find "Jewish food banks in South Florida" and got several hits. Unfortunately, the hits failed to include my nearby food bank. (Turns out "We Are One" lacks a Web presence, ergo no hit.)

Now - a note to food merchants.

I understand why prices are raised for the Passover buying season.

Supply and demand.

The manufacturers and wholesalers raise their prices as the demand from Jews who might keep "semi-kosher" for a meal or two increases. (Semi-kosher in that the food left the market kosher, then went into a non-kosher utensil to cook, later to be served on non-kosher plates and eaten with non-kosher knives, forks, and spoons. Still, if it is the thought that counts. . .) I cannot fault the food chain for the higher prices given the sudden, and brief, demand.

But we keep kosher year round.

It would be nice if one of the markets offered us either (a) coupons valid for Pesach products or (b) a discount card valid for Pesach products.

We have many kosher markets in the area; if any one offered a break to its regular customers on Pesach prices, we’d probably make that our primarily market. As would our circle of friends (mostly Sefardim/Mizrachim, so Bet Yosef/Halak meat is in order.)

I suggested this in the past, but the words always fell on deaf ears.

Back to the point: It's fine to give, directly or indirectly (via the congregation's Discretionary Fund), to out-of-town schorners, but remember to take care of the Jews in your own community.

And once Pesach is over, remember that people still have to eat; just because you celebrated memunah doesn't mean you should cease giving to the food bank.

Find a food bank in your community - ask at the synagogue, the JCC, the Federation - and support it however much you are able.