Opuscula Democrats ask Republicans to do What Dems don’t do

 

WEST VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS are asking West Virginia Republicans to censure a GOP candidate for anti-Semitic remarks.

The request should be honored, but the Republicans also could ask the Democrats to censure the anti-Semitic Democrats who sit in the U.S. House.

 

 

GRANTED, WEST VIRGINIA is not Washington and it didn’t elect the likes of The Squad.

As a matter of fact, most West Virginians who even know what a Jew is, bear us no ill will.

According to the Jewish News Syndicate, June 17, 2020 / JNS - The West Virginia State Democratic Party is calling for the state’s GOP to condemn “anti-Semitic hate speech spread by Robert Karnes,” a Republican state senate candidate.

Karnes, a former West Virginia state senator, won the June 9 primary against incumbent Sen. John Pitsenbarger.

According to the Democratic Party in a Facebook post, Karnes, in a conversation with Mike Pushkin, a Democratic Jewish member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, “pushed a false conspiracy theory that George Soros made his fortune by ‘selling Jews to the Nazis.’ ”

Karnes said that since Pushkin is a Jew, like billionaire liberal activist Soros, Pushkin could “be like George.”

“This kind of hateful, anti-Semitic language has no place in West Virginia, and it certainly has no place in our state’s Capitol,” said West Virginia State Democratic Party chairwoman Belinda Biafore. “I hope chairwoman Melody Potter and the entire WV GOP will do the right thing, and denounce this awful rhetoric.”

Jews in Charleston

Charleston WV has two synagogues. A beautiful Reform synagogue looks over the Kanawah (ka-naw) River. The Conservadox congregation’s building lacks the beauty and view of the Reform building, but it never lacks for a minyan, daily and Shabat.

I lived there for the better part of a year and walked past the State House every Shabat to make minyan. No one looked twice at my red and blue Shabat kippa. In Charleston, Jews are “just people.”

I’m glad to read that some Democrats are speaking out against anti-Semitism. It would be good if they would purge their own houses first; maybe in West Virginia they have.

I hope the Republicans will act on the Democrats’ suggestion.

It’s a pity the anti-racist Democrats can’t get their Members of Congress to behave decently.

On the State House lawn

As I would walk to minyan on Shabat, I passed the State House.

There were, hopefully still are, three monuments.

From right-to-left as you face the front of the Capitol, with your back to the river, the rightmost monument is to a Union soldier. In the center is a statue of Lincoln. On Lincoln’s right is a monument to a Confederate soldier. (Farther down the street, tucked away and almost unnoticed, is a monument to Confederate soldiers who fought in the war; among the names belongs to a black man.)

Charleston is an interesting city, and West Virginia is an interesting state.

It seceded from Virginia to stay in the Union, yet young men and boys from what became West Virginia served in both the Union and Confederate armies. The war is long over, and for the most part, West Virginians honor the past by no longer fighting the war. It’s part of their history; they know it, but it IS history.

Charleston, of course, if not all of West Virginia as the GOP candidate’s anti-Semitic remark proves.

The West Virginia GOP would do well to distance itself from the anti-Semite.

עינים להם ולא יראו * אזנים להם ולא יאזנו

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

Comment on Censure Anti-Semite

Opuscula“Palestinians” Would benefit If areas annexed

ANNEXATION OF “PALESTINIAN” TOWNS in the “Jewish” areas of Yehuda and Shimron would benefit the “Palestinians” as much as the Israelis.

How so?

If even HALF of what is reported is true, then the “Palestinians” will be better off.

   * Better policing; less corruption.

   * Better health care.

   * Better education.

It would not be a “perfect world,” but for the “Palestinians,” life would be better than it is under the heavy thumb of the PLO/PFLP.

 

 

A few quick words about the quotes around “Palestinians.”

   1. There is NO country currently called “Palestine.”

   2. “Palestine” was a name applied to a vast area that included what now is Israel and Jordan.

   3. Jordan, originally “Trans-Jordan,” was the Muslim part of the English Balfour Declaration; the area controlled by the English after World War 1. The English offered the Muslims everything but a small portion of the land known as “historic Israel.”

   4. There was never any push back against Jordan when Jordan controlled the area; no demand for a unique state. This occurred ONLY after Jordan lost the territory after a war of aggression against Israel.

   5. “Palestinians” are Jordanians, but Jordan wants nothing to do with them (after Black September when “Palestinians” attempted to overthrow the king).

   5. There is no “Palestinian “ political history.

   6. There is no “Palestinian” currency; never has been issued

In short, Palestine doesn’t exist except in the minds of Abu Mazen and others of his ilk.

Many people, including those living in the PLO/PFLP-controlled areas, believe that the government that controls their lives is corrupt.

There ARE many things wrong with the (President Donald) Trump “plan,” primarily in failing to recognize the wishes of the people in the area.

There are Muslims currently in areas designated for Israeli control who WANT to be Israelis. There are Muslims in the those areas who prefer to be under PLO/PFLP sovereignty.

There probably are some leftist Jews — in Tel Aviv — who claim they are willing to live in a PLO/PFLP-controlled non-state; knowing, of course, that non-Muslims — in particular, Jews — cannot, by PLO/PFLP law, reside in “Palestine.” Nor can Israeli-owned businesses operate in the PLO/PFLP-controlled area, thus assuring those Muslims who live under Abu Mazen’s controls are guaranteed to earn less than an Israeli company would pay.

According to one UN hand, Israel as an “occupier” is obliged to provide necessary services to the residents. That INCLUDES police protection.

Israel should immediately disband the PLO/PFLP police and collect their U.S.-supplied weapons. It should discharge some IDF soldiers, immediately draft them into the Israel Police, and station them in the “occupied” territories.

Israel already supplies electricity to the PLO/PFLP areas — and the electric company usually does NOT get paid. It shares water with the territories per agreement — except Abu Mazen has canceled all agreements with Israel, so Israel could, theoretically stop water flowing into the area. (It won’t, but …)

Israel could also take over the banks and put an end to Abu Mazen’s “slay for pay” program. In theory, Israel even could print “Occupation” currency so when, if, there ever IS a Palestinian state, it would be weaned from Israel’s shekels, new or otherwise.

Interesting that “Palestinians” deal in Israeli shekels rather than Jordanian dinars. In the early days of Israel, Jordanians who worked in Israel and were paid in lirot [before the new shekels] rushed to exchange the frequently devalued lira for the more stable Jordanian dinar.

While Europe and the Useless Nations whine over Israel assuming jurisdiction of Jewish communities in Yehuda and Shimron, they cannot seem to comprehend how much better off the non-Jewish Arab population would be under Israeli rule, either as occupied residents or as Israeli residents. It is too early to consider citizenship for the people who prefer the Blue and White flag of Israel to the banner of the PLO.

 

 

עינים להם ולא יראו * אזנים להם ולא יאזנו

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

Comment on Annexation

Question for rabbis To ponder on long Summer Shabat

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A PRAYER, composed centuries ago, no longer is relevant?

Does it get edited out of the sedur?

Is it simply skipped, staying in the sedur for “reference”?

 

 

The prayer in question is אשר יצר.

Image from the sedur וזרח השמש, nusach Morocco

When the prayer was composed hundreds of years ago, the statement that if one opening (that was supposed to be) closed is open, or one opening (that was supposed to be open) is closed, it will be impossible to live even for one hour.¹

Today, if an orifice that should open is closed, it can be bypassed. If an orifice is open that should be closed, a surgeon can close it.

A few examples.

A person cannot breathe.

The person may be intubated (a tube put into their mouth and down to their lungs) or a tracheotomy can be performed to allow air to bypass any obstruction (closing an orifice that should be open).

A person cannot eat.

The least invasive way is to add nutrients intravenously. Alternatively, a feeding tube may be inserted via the person’s mouth.

A person cannot excrete waste

Urine can be drained from a bladder with a catheter; this is a common practice for patients who are expected to be bedridden for some time. The catheter also is used to unblock an obstruction that has, effectively, closed an orifice that should be open.

Urine and feces can be removed to a colostomy bag. This often is employed following bowel surgery where a surgeon has temporarily closed a normally open orifice.

Surgeons may close an orifice that simply should not be present. This may be the result of a birth defect.

I am not considering wounds caused by accident or war. These are not “natural” openings. The prayer, at least in this scrivener’s opinion, is limited to those orifices humans have at birth.

There ARE other orifices: ears and nose. Even these now are being “opened” by medical and surgical procedures, for example, cochlear implant surgery may help the deaf hear.

That HaShem has given humans the ability to develop and implement ways to open that which are closed and to close that which are open is praise worthy. But the prayer is passe.

The question remains: What will future sedurim do with the prayer? Will the rabbis drop it or replace it with something that is relevant to our time?

 

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Sources

1. Variations are found in the Mizrachi sedurim דעת " and סדור תפלת ישרים and the Conservative סדור לב ישראל.

עינים להם ולא יראו * אזנים להם ולא יאזנו

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

Comment on אשר יצר

OpusculaSend Sweden’s Ambassador Back to Jordan

SWEDEN HAS DESIGNATED ERIK ULLENHAG, a former minister of integration and leader of the Liberal People’s Party, as its new ambassador to Israel.

Israel needs to reject this man's appointment.

 

 

According to the Jerusalem Post (https://tinyurl.com/yae4lt4e), Ullenhag (right) publicly disassociated himself from support for Israel and opposed members of his party holding an event in the parliament in Stockholm with representatives of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party.

He has been Sweden’s ambassador to Jordan since 2016, and is slated to arrive in Israel in September.

He courted controversy last month when he announced his new posting by tweeting that he was appointed “ambassador to Tel Aviv,” as opposed to Israel. He later thanked people for congratulating him on becoming ambassador to Israel, using the country’s name.

Ullenhag has one other tweet mentioning Israel, and it is a denial that he supports it. In 2014, he defended his participation in a “Kippah March” – protests against attacks on people wearing Jewish symbols – by writing that he was protesting “against antisemitism, not in a manifestation of support for Israel.”

 

Insulting behavior

While any country can nominate anyone it wishes to an ambassadorship, most countries do not send people who have proven ill-will against the host country.

Israel can, and should, refuse to accept him.

It is a process not often done, but according to Mongolian Anand Nyamdavaa on Quora (https://tinyurl.com/y8lgbzh5), Before the Ambassador arrives to the host country, a Letter of Credence is sent to notify the arrival of the Ambassador. Once the host country receives the letter, it issues an Agrément. It is a French term for agreement to receive the ambassador-designate. This agreement takes several weeks. Once the agreement is received, the Ambassador presents Letter of Credence to the Head of State in the host country. She can now formally serve as an Ambassador in the host country.

If the host country doesn't want the particular Ambassador, it drags its feet in issuing the Agrément. After a while it becomes obvious that the Agrément is not forthcoming, so the country quietly withdraws the Ambassador back. This type of soft refusal does not happen often but it is not that rare. It is done quietly so that it doesn't cause embarrassment to the country where the Ambassador is from.

Nyamdavaa noted in his Quora post that Brasil refused to accept Dani Dayan as Israel's ambassador to that country.

The Times of Israel (https://tinyurl.com/ybrfj9uh) claims Brasil’s refusal to accept Dayan was because some left-leaning Brazilians and Israelis — including a group of former senior diplomats — started lobbying the government in Brasilia against accepting Dayan, arguing such a move could be understood as tacit approval for Israel’s settlement enterprise. Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff reportedly informed Jerusalem that she disapproves of Dayan’s appointment.

 

Go home!

An ambassador, indeed, all personnel with diplomatic status, may be ordered to leave a host country, usually within 72 hours.

In the case of Sweden and Israel, why bother to wait until Ullenhag unpacks his bags from the trip from Amman before tossing him out on his ear.

There is no reason, diplomatic or otherwise, for Israel — or any country — to welcome anyone who works against the interests of the state.

Posting Ullenhag as ambassador from Sweden is akin to posting Ilhan Omar or Rashida Tlaib as ambassador to Israel or Louis Eugene Walcott, a/k/a Louis Farrakhan, as ambassador to the UN from the U.S.

Ullenhag’s baggage must — it’s human nature — include Jordan’s current suspicions of Israel and the fact that Jordan’s king sits on a tottering throne thanks to both the true Palestinians (Jordanians) and imitation Palestinians, those living under PLO/PFLP control.

Bottom line: Ullenhag is NOT the person Sweden should be sending to represent it in Israel.

עינים להם ולא יראו * אזנים להם ולא יאזנו

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

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