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Purim Party 2013/5773 – Sunday, February 24, 2013 – Honoring Pamela Geller, Steve Goldberg, Robert Spencer

Posted by on Feb 19, 2013 in Israel | 0 comments

Orit Arfa from the Creative Zionist Coalition posts:

Purim 2013/5773 – Sunday, February 24, 2013
5 pm: Buffet, hors d’oeurvres, and some Oscar viewing (kosher option)
6 pm: Program, Keter Awards Ceremony & dancing to DJ Nahal

Attire: Costume! (Buy a costume online)
Open kosher wine and beer bar all night!
Hosted valet

Hotel Shangri-La
Penthouse Suite & Rooftop Terrace
1301 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90401

In the tradition of Purim, the evening will be a celebration of Jewish heroism.

“This is what is done for the man whom the king desires to honor!”

THE HONOREES

Mordecai Award for Jewish Heroism
Steve Goldberg
Steve Goldberg serves as a National Vice Chairman of the Zionist Organization of America and as Chair of its LA chapter. A lawyer specializing in commercial litigation, Mr. Goldberg has represented various Jewish organizations and activists in civil rights matters.

Queen Esther Award for Jewish Heroism
Pamela Geller
Pamela Geller is the President of AFDI (American Freedom Defense Initiative), publisher of AtlasShrugs.com and the author of The Post American President: The Obama Administration’s War on America and Stop the Islamization of America: A Practical Guide to the Resistance.

Shushan Award for Righteous Gentile
Robert Spencer
Robert Spencer is the director of Jihad Watch and author of the New York Times bestsellers The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) and The Truth About Muhammad. His latest book is Did Muhammad Exist?.

Haman Award for Jew-hating Villainy
Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas is a Palestinian political leader, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization and President of the Palestinian National Authority. He wrote his doctoral dissertation denying the Holocaust and poses as a moderate while secretly advocating the destruction of Israel.

Click here to purchase tickets/sponsorships*

$72 General Admission
$54 Young Professionals
$36 Student
$72 E-tribute Scroll message
Royal Courtier: $180, includes 2 tickets + e-Tribute Scroll message + listing in program
Royal Adviser: $306, includes 4 tickets + e-Tribute Scroll message + listing in program

*Does not include processing fee. Ticket purchases are tax-deductible. In the Purim tradition of “gifts to the needy,” discounts available. All proceeds go towards the benefit of Creative Zionist Coalition. Hotel Shangri-la is bearing the Purim ball’s expense.

For more information, contact Orit Arfa at oritarfa@gmail.com

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Obama’s Jackie Mason Moment

Posted by on May 27, 2011 in Israel |

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach writes:

President Obama’s speech at AIPAC straddled the line of a Jackie Mason
standup routine. It turns out that when the president said last Thursday that Israel should return to its ’67 borders, it wasn’t exactly what he meant. Who said I was referring to 1967? I meant 1867. I didn’t mean CE, I meant BCE. And why did you assume I was talking about Israel’s border? I was talking about French Guyana’s borders.

This was the first time I actually felt sorry for Obama – an incongruous statement to make about such a talented individual who also just happens to be the most powerful man in the world.

So why did he elicit my sympathy? Because you could see, both in his body language and the utter absence of passion, that he had been defeated. The president dithered, bobbed and weaved. He came into a room filled with 10,000 pro-Israel activists knowing he’d blown it, not just with the American Jewish community but with history as well.

For months, Arab democracy has been breaking out all over the world but Obama had yet to give one major policy speech on this unprecedented uprising. Yet when he finally chose to do so and thus recapture the American president’s traditional mantle as leader of the free world, he could not help but insert a highly inflammatory line about Israel that was immediately seized on by the media, thereby extinguishing the speech’s other content. And even on the Israel front he was forced to so dilute the ’67 border statement that it became utterly meaningless

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Israel’s Housing Prices Boom

Posted by on Dec 12, 2010 in Israel |

Almost all of the land in Israel is owned by the central government. People buy 100-year leases and the like.

Until the last ten years, Israel had a strongly socialist economy. Now it is an envy of the world.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

Meanwhile, some economists warn that Israel’s housing bubble is heading for a bust. If interest rates rise again, payments on adjustable-rate loans, which make up about two-thirds of the total mortgage market activity, will increase, potentially leading to defaults.

“People paying 3,000 shekels [about $800] today could soon find themselves paying 5,000 shekels [$1333], and it’s going to be a big problem,” said Ayelet Nir, chief economist at IBI Ltd., an Israeli investment broker.

Although foreclosures historically have not been a problem in Israel, where down payments average 30% to 40%, much of the recent activity has been fueled by investors and speculators, accounting for as much as half of the recent apartment sales in Tel Aviv.

A quick fix would be to continue raising interest rates, but the Bank of Israel is under pressure to prevent them from deviating too much from U.S. rates. The growing gap has strengthened Israel’s currency against the dollar and made its exports — which account for half of the country’s GDP — more expensive abroad.

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Advocating For Israel

Posted by on Oct 28, 2010 in Israel |

Confronting Israel De-legitimization

A keynote presentation and panel discussion featuring
Dr. Daryl Temkin, Founder, Israel Institute Alternative Energy Advancement
Mr. Jacob Dayan, Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles
Dr. Roberta Seid, Education/Research Director for StandWithUs

The past months have been filled with a rapidly growing number of national and international events aimed at delegitimizing the state of Israel. From Iran’s Holocaust denial movement, to the Gaza Flotilla incident, to last month’s Time Magazine cover story “Why Israel Doesn’t Care About Peace,” and the Berkeley, USC, and UCSD attempts to pass Israel divestment resolutions, Israel is continually and unfairly pummeled without end. Here in Los Angeles, the Annenberg Space for Photography in Century City recently displayed National Geographic’s disturbing photographic exhibit entitled “Water: Our Thirsty World,” that glaringly singled out Israel for harsh, inaccurate criticism and with a litany of classic anti-Semitic canards.

This program will be a presentation, discussion and community response to the negative portrayal of Israel and to the international movements to delegitimize Israel.

Thursday, October 28, 2010 at 7:30 pm
LUXE Hotel
11461 Sunset Boulevard
Bel Air, CA 90049

$20 on and after October 26 and at the door

Valet parking is available at the hotel for $5.00

Refreshments will be served. Dietary laws observed

Space is limited. Registration is required. For more information email talia@camera.org or call 310-855-9606

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The Case For Israel

Posted by on Jul 16, 2010 in Israel |

Scott emails: Israel is under attack—not only by terrorists who deny its basic right to exist, but also in the court of world opinion, which seeks to marginalize Israel as a human rights pariah that sanctions apartheid.

Rising in vigorous defense of the Jewish homeland in this landmark
documentary, Alan Dershowitz, distinguished Harvard Law School
professor and outspoken champion of human rights, presents evidence
from leading diplomats, historians, legal experts and government
officials on both sides of the political spectrum to make the
definitive case for Israel’s legitimacy and right to self-defense.

Come see a free screening of “The Case for Israel”, this Sunday 7/18 at:

8:15 PM:
Bais Midrash Toras Hashem
12422 Chandler Boulevard
The public is invited at no charge
For more info, call 818-980-6934

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Pro Israel Rally Today

Posted by on Jun 1, 2010 in Israel |

Event: TODAY: Pro-Israel Rally in front of the Turkish Consulate General.
Start Time: Today, June 1 at 5:00pm
End Time: Today, June 1 at 7:00pm
Where: 6300 Wilshire Blvd. LA

From Israel’s Consul General in Los Angeles:

Israel regrets all loss of human life and injuries which came as result of the unfortunate events aboard the vessel Mavi Marmara on Monday, May 31.

The responsibility for the consequences of this politically motivated publicity stunt aimed at capturing the attention of the international media, rests on the organizers of the flotilla, which included elements with links to Hamas – a murderous terrorist organization which smuggles arms aimed at killing Israeli citizens.

Background

Since Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, more than 10,000 rockets and mortars have been fired on our civilian population. As a result, Israel had no other option but to impose a naval blockade in order to stem the flow of such munitions.

Israel appealed to the convoys of ships to dock at the Israeli port of Ashdod so that humanitarian supplies could be delivered to Gaza via land through existing crossings after being checked for dangerous materials. The flotilla rejected the offer, and one of the organizers themselves said that issue was not about the delivery of humanitarian aid, but rather about breaking the ‘siege’. All attempts at dialogue and reaching an understanding were rejected, leaving no doubt that this was as an act of provocation having nothing to do with a genuine concert for the wellbeing of Gazans. Ships forcing their way into Gaza will do nothing to aid the people there.

International Maritime Law

Israel said that it would use all means at its disposal to prevent the vessels from violating Israeli and international law.

Under international law, a maritime blockage is recognized as a legitimate tool during a time of armed conflict. A blockade may be imposed at sea, including international waters, so long as it does not bar access to the ports and coasts of neutral states. International maritime law clearly states that when a maritime blockade is in effect, no boats – including both civilian and enemy – can enter the blockaded area. Any vessel that violates or attempts to violate a maritime blockade may be captured over even attacked under international law.

Israeli response

When it became clear that the flotilla of 6 vessels intended to break the blockade, Israel attempted to intercept the boats and then boarded the vessels to escort them to Ashdod. Due to the large number of vessels, there was an operational need to undertake measures to enforce the blockade a certain distance from our shores.

Five of boats proceeded to Ashdod without incident, while active resistance was encountered on the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara. Aboard the ship, Israeli forces were savagely beaten with lead pipes, knives and pistols prepared in advanced by the crew. Several Israeli soldiers were wounded as result of the confrontations, including one who is in critical condition.

Israel will continue to act decisively to protect its sovereignty and right to protect itself. No other nation would accept a violation of this sort.

Humanitarian situation in Gaza

There is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Thousands of tons of food, goods and equipment are transferred to residents daily by Israel and international organizations such as the United Nations.

Since January 2009, more than 1 million tons of humanitarian aid have been transferred. That is approximately one ton of aid for each man, woman and child in Gaza.

During the first quarter of 2010 alone, almost 100,000 tons of supplies have been provided, including: 48,000 tons of food products; approximately 550 of milk powder and baby food; 2,700 tons of rice; 40,000 tons of wheat; 185 tons of aggregates; 2,000 tons of clothing and footwear; 20 tons of iron; 25 tons of cement; and more than 1,000 tons of medicine and medical equipment.

In a typical week, 15,000 tons of supplies enter Gaza including truckloads of meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, fish, vegetables, milk powder, baby food, wheat and other essential goods.

Similarly, fuel and electricity needs are being met, and hundreds of Gazans receive medical treatment in Israel.

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Camera.org Events

Posted by on Feb 9, 2010 in Israel |

A Dangerous Neighborhood: Israel’s Challenges for 2010
CAMERA invites you to a Lecture by

Yaakov Katz
Military Correspondant and Defense Analyst for the Jerusalem Post.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010
7:00 PM

American Jewish University
Gindi Auditorium
15600 Mulholland Drive
Bel Air, CA 90077

Admission: $10

Register online at www.camera.org/events

Subject: Seats are filling up fast; register today for Shabbat dinner with Khaled Abu Toameh on 2/19

Don’t miss CAMERA YP’s Shabbat dinner with Israeli Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh on February 19 in Beverly Hills.

Register online at: www.camera.org/events.

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Two Great Israel Events In February

Posted by on Feb 8, 2010 in Bnai David, Israel |

Rav Yosef Kanefsky writes from BnaiDavid.com:

Please circle two dates on your February calendars for two great Israel events:

The first is Saturday night, Feb. 20, when we’ll be enjoying the Israeli hit movie Noodle at the Lions Gate theater in Culver City. http://www.israelifilms.co.il/40420/Noodle
The film is truly delightful, the theater will be all ours that night, and where else can you still see a movie for just $8?!  We chose Noodle both because it truly transports us to Israel for the evening, and because in its own beautiful way raises important questions about the pressing and complex social issue of foreign workers in Tel Aviv. And I’m delighted to share that the Deputy Consul General, Gil Artzyeli, who is an expert on this topic, will be sharing some thoughts and taking our questions after the film is over.  Please be sure to RSVP today to Vivian Lurie at kessian@aol.com .

On Tuesday evening the 23rd, Bnei Akiva will be holding its annual Evening of Jewish Heroism (click on it).  This event is an important expression of our solidarity with Israel, our support for the work of Bnei Akiva, and it is always  a deeply inspiring event, re-affirming our faith in the Jewish people and in the inner strength if the State of Israel. The above link has all of the details, and I urge you to participate. As a shul, let’s stand up and be counted at this significant community event.

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Author George Gilder Speaks At The Skirball Jan. 12

Posted by on Jan 7, 2010 in Israel |

CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America) invites you to a lecture and book signing with George Gilder, author of the groundbreaking new book, THE ISRAEL TEST.

In THE ISRAEL TEST, technology guru George Gilder looks at Israel as it transitions into the twenty-first century and sees a nation that, alongside the United States, is a leader of human civilization, technological progress, and scientific advance.

This event is free of charge, however, for security reasons RSVP with full contact information is required. Please respond to Talia Shulman Gold at talia@camera.org or call 818-783-4437.

Copies of THE ISRAEL TEST will be available for purchase at the discounted rate of $15 (original list price $27.95).

Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Time:
7:00pm – 10:00pm
Location:
Skirball Cultural Center, Magnin Auditorium
Street:
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd.
City/Town:
Los Angeles, CA

George Gilder is author of fifteen books, including the international best-seller WEALTH & POVERTY, voted by National Review as one of the most important works of the twentieth century, and MICROCOSM, selected by Wired as the second most important technology book of the era.

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Beth Jacob’s Rabbi Kalman Topp Visits Israel

Posted by on Oct 26, 2009 in beth jacob, Israel, R. Kalman Topp |

He writes: Dear Friend,

I’m writing this email to let you know that I just arrived in Israel for a unique and exciting trip.

Under the leadership of the Israeli Consulate of Los Angeles, twenty Rabbis from the area from all denominations are travelling together on a brief whirlwind tour of Israel. Over the course of the two and a half days, we are going from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to the Negev and back.

We just began our packed itinerary which will include a visit to the Rogozin High School (a school in Tel Aviv supported by the Jewish Federation of Greater L.A.), a meeting with President Shimon Peres, an intelligence briefing with Major General Amos Yedlin, a visit to Yad Vashem, a visit and some volunteering at the Hazon Yeshaya soup kitchen in Jerusalem, a visit to the Ben Gurion University and Project Ayalim in the Negev and much more.

The purpose of the trip is for us to be educated and inspired and in time to give that over to our congregations. Moreover, the fact that Rabbis, representing congregations from all denominations, are in Israel together is not only a strong display of solidarity with Israel but also an impressive declaration of Jewish unity. Being that I’m representing our Beth Jacob congregation, all of you can be proud to be involved in this show of solidarity and unity.

I am returning, please G-d, Thursday morning, and this Shabbat I hope to share with you more about the trip.

With best regards from Israel and wishes of peace and strength for Am Yisrael,

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What You Can Do For Israel

Posted by on Jan 7, 2009 in Israel |

From Bnai David-Judea:

There are so many ways in which we can express our support for Israel at this time of need. Below, please find the items that our Israel Action Committee and I want to highlight for this evening. These items are:
(1) Tomorrow’s Rally, (2) Our upcoming Annual Israel Appeal, and (3) Contacting our Public Officials

(1) RALLY

Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Time: 12 pm – 2:00 pm
Location: Federal Building in Westwood L.A.
Street: Veteran and Wilshire
StandWithUs, Bnei Akiva and the ILC in cooperation with the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, and Jewish Day Schools across Los Angeles, invite you to STAND IN SUPPORT OF ISRAEL’s RIGHT TO DEFEND ITSELF AGAINST HAMAS

(2) B’NAI DAVID-JUDEA ANNUAL ISRAEL APPEAL

Date: Saturday, January 31, 2009
As you know, it is through this annual appeal that we, as a shul community, support vital organizations in Israel. This year’s designated recipients include an organization that provides rehabilitative services to wounded soldiers, and one that provides social and economic support to Sderot. (The other recipients are programs addressing poverty and social ills in Israel). Over the coming Shabbatot you will be able to find pamphlets about the various recipient organizations for this year. Let’s begin now to think about how we will be able to respond to the appeal on the 31st.

If you are interested in also making an immediate, direct contribution to an organization that is directly involved in the present crisis, we recommend
Operation Take a Break which provides a respite from the conditions that residents of the South are living under. www.connectionsisrael.com/donate
or

Package From Home which delivers care packages to IDF Soldiers in Gaza www.apackagefromhome.org/

(3) POLITICAL SUPPORT – SENATORS AND CONGRESSMAN

This is a VERY EASY way to email elected officials regarding Israel. Using the link below, provided by AIPAC, you simply type in your name and address and an email letter is sent to your Senators (in California Boxer and Feinstein) and Congressman (for most people Waxman). In addition, the cite then lets you type in the name of other email addresses to let those people lend their support. It takes less than a minute.

http://capwiz.com/aipac/issues/alert/?alertid=12364041&type=CO

POLITICAL SUPPORT – MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA
Update from Elliot Brandt at AIPAC :
I’ve heard from the Mayor’s office, and his staff let me know that they have received countless calls of appreciation and gratitude. For as much they have gotten calls that were critical of the Mayor’s support for Israel, as of now the positive calls far outweigh the negative ones. In speaking with the Mayor’s staff, they asked that going forward, we please call (213) 978-0721, as this is a number that will allow them to handle what is becoming a very large volume of calls.

B’nai David-Judea
Israel Action Committee
310-276-9269
admin@bnaidavid.com

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Historic Jewish Unity Event Being Planned for Anniversary of Mercaz Haraz Massacre

Posted by on Jan 6, 2009 in Israel |

New York, New York, January 4th 2008 – The historic Jewish event will be a worldwide broadcast of eight Torah scrolls being dedicated in memory of the eight boys who were murdered while learning Torah. The event will take place on the one-year anniversary of the attack, February 24th, 2009 in Jerusalem, Israel at Yeshivat Mercaz Harav. The event hopes to attract tens of thousands of people participating live at the dedication, while hundreds of thousands view the live broadcast online.

In addition to the Torah scroll dedication, a global learning initiative and mitzvah (good deeds) campaign in memory of the victims who devoted their lives to these causes has been launched. “The purpose of this is to create an unprecedented celebration of unity to commemorate these eight students and the Torah to which they were so committed,” explains Jeremy Joszef of Woodmere, NY, one of the project’s organizers.

An anonymous family from the New York area is funding the project and event, while a small group of young adults along with hundreds of volunteers from around the world are organizing it. The volunteers are using all avenues of communication in order to spread the event to all corners of the world. They have already reached 50,000 people in less than a month and continue to build momentum as the event draws closer.

The project is operating under the title of “B’lev Echad,” the Hebrew term for “one heart.” It is not being associated with any specific organization in the hopes that it will attract Jews from across the religious and political spectrum. “We could have easily gotten any organization to back us, but we specifically did not want to attach ourselves to any organization and bring in any politics,” the anonymous family emphasized. “We didn’t want to turn off any types of people from any community.”

Participants who sign up will receive specific instructions regarding what to learn, with content geared toward both young people and adults. Schools will receive resource material, including signage, preparatory learning packets, and details about the 8-for-8 mitzvah campaign including suggested projects. All this information and more can be found at blevechad.com

About B’lev Echad – B’lev Echad is a grassroots organization that is committed to involving everyone who is interested in participating in a meaningful and inspirational tribute. B’lev Echad is apolitical by design and as such is able to transcend borders regardless of religious persuasion/commitment and political affiliation and agenda. B’lev Echad is being funded by a family from the New York area and seeks no other funding.

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BLUE AND WHITE ON WILSHIRE -THE RAISING OF THE ISRAELI FLAG

Posted by on Sep 21, 2008 in Israel |

Event Info
Host:
CONSULATE GENERAL OF ISRAEL
Type:
Causes – Rally
Network:
Global
Time and Place
Date:
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Time:
12:30pm – 3:00pm
Location:
CONSULATE GENERAL OF ISRAEL
Street:
6380 WILSHIRE BLVD
City/Town:
Los Angeles, CA

Contact Info
Phone:
3238525544
Email:
PRESS@LOSANGELES.MFA.GOV.IL
PLEASE JOIN THE CONSULATE GENERAL OF ISRAEL IN LOS ANGELES AS WE JOIN TOGETHER AS ONE COMMUNITY AS WE RAISE OUR BLUE AND WHITE FLAG OVER THE ISRAELI CONSULATE IN A SPECIAL EVENT WITH MACY GRAY, BOB SAGET, NOA TISHBY AND MUCH MORE.
THIS WILL BE THE FIRST TIME EVER THAT THE ISRAELI FLAG WILL BE WAVING DAILY ABOVE THE CONSULATE .
WILSHIRE BLVD WILL BE CLOSED BETWEEN SAN VICENTE AND FAIRFAX . YOU MUST ENTER WILSHIRE FROM FAIRFAX BLVD .
FOR MORE INFO PLEASE GO TO OUR WEBSITE -WWW.ISRAELICONSULATELA.ORG

BRING YOUR FRIENDS SHOW YOUR PRIDE COME AND REPRESENT!!!
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Rabbi Leah Kroll Makes Aliyah

Posted by on Sep 4, 2008 in Israel |

Tom Tugend writes:

Rabbi Leah KrollRabbi Leah Kroll

Rabbi Leah Kroll has been dreaming about living in Israel since she was a teenager at a Jewish summer camp in California, and now at 55, she has said goodbye to her mother, three adult children and one grandchild, boarded an El Al jet and made aliyah.

The Los Angeles native comes from a long line of Zionists, but it was the little emotional tugs that helped make up her mind.

“Every time I visited Israel and landed at Ben-Gurion Airport, I would stand in the foreign visitors line and look with envy at the people standing in the Israeli citizen line,” she recalled, sitting in her spacious Sherman Oaks home crammed with cartons and suitcases just before her departure.

“In Israel, I feel my soul nourished,” she said. “I feel nourished when I go to the supermarket on Thursday and complete strangers greet me with, ‘Shabbat shalom,’ and when cab drivers wish me, ‘chag sameach.’”

She had a less-elated feeling when she spent time in Israel 2006 at the outbreak of the Second Lebanon War and saw American tourists scurrying to the airport to get out of the country.

“I was embarrassed as an American Jew,” she said. “We always talk a big game; we proclaim that we are one, but now when the chips were down….”

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South African Rabbi Says Israel Is Not An Apartheid State

Posted by on Aug 3, 2008 in Israel |

(IsraelNN.com) South African Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein has strongly defended Israel against charges that it practices Apartheid, which was the official policy of the separation of the black majority by the former white government in the country.
Writing in the Times of South Africa, he stated that the only analogy between Israel and South Africa is that both countries were forced into an armed struggle because there was no partner for peace.

He wrote that the accusations against Israel of Apartheid “defame the Jewish state and also diminish the victims of the real apartheid — the men, women and children of our beloved South Africa — who suffered for centuries under arrogant, heartless colonialism, and then for decades under the brutal apartheid policies of racial superiority, oppression and separation inflicted by the National Party. If everything is apartheid, then nothing is apartheid.”
Former American President Jimmy Carter last year published a controversial book entitled Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid in which he accused Israel of practicing the policy of Apartheid by building the security barrier against suicide bombers.
“All citizens vote on the same voters’ roll in regular, multiparty elections, and there are Arab parties and Arab members of other parties in Israel’s parliament,” the rabbi told his readers.

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A Quiet Hero In Jerusalem

Posted by on Jul 10, 2008 in Israel |

David Suissa writes:

Andrea, who is from New York, a single mother of six and has the energy of several rowdy kids, is bracing herself for a difficult few months ahead. One question she’ll need to resolve is what to do with the silver-and- gold bracelet. She’s thinking that after the 30 days of mourning, maybe the girls can give it to Libby’s daughter in a special ceremony at Shalva. She’s not sure.

She tells me that I just barely missed seeing Libby when I visited Shalva — apparently, she arrived a few minutes after I left.

The truth is, it doesn’t really matter whether I met Libby Goren or not. It doesn’t matter whether any of us ever met any of the victims.

There’s something about moments of intense tragedy that shocks us into intimacy. The losses feel like personal losses. The tragedy may be 8,000 miles away, and we may be in Pico-Robertson or Paris or Montreal or Argentina, but we feel like the victims are right next to us — that we know them.

In my case, I got to know a little more about Elizabeth “Libby” Goren-Friedman just by seeing the faces on those young girls at Shalva whom she treated like her own.

Those same young girls who are probably wondering right now why she hasn’t shown up this week.

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Taking On The Charedim In Israel

Posted by on Jul 10, 2008 in Charedi, Israel |

Gary Rosenblatt writes:

Rabbi Benjamin (Benny) Lau does not look the part of a revolutionary.

At 47, his youthful appearance, warm smile and engaging personality have helped him become a popular Orthodox rabbinic figure in Jerusalem, where he has revitalized the Ramban community synagogue in Katamon and heads the beit midrash program at Beit Morasha, a communal and educational leadership institute for observant men and women.

He also lectures at Bar-Ilan University (where he received a Ph.D.) and teaches at both a boys’ and girls’ yeshiva high school in Jerusalem.

The rabbi is soft-spoken, but his message of late — in sermons, lectures, newspaper columns and interviews — is blunt and compelling, offering up sharp criticism of the Chief Rabbinate and its role in the deteriorating relationship between religion and state in Israel.

Rabbi Lau, himself the nephew of former Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, is leading a campaign among like-minded, more tolerant Orthodox rabbis to wrest control of the Chief Rabbinate from the influence of a group of elderly ultra-Orthodox, anti-Zionist haredi religious leaders whose dictates often are followed by the two state-appointed chief rabbis.

Rabbi Lau says he and his colleagues, primarily from the rabbinic group, Tzohar (Hebrew for window), seek to restore a sense of compassion toward all Israeli Jews, no matter their level of observance.

“We can’t accept it,” Rabbi Lau says of the haredi style, which demands the strictest levels of adherence to Jewish law. “We are the Zionists and we should be the ones with the power. It’s not normal for the state to be the captive of the haredim,” who don’t acknowledge the authority of the state.

He says he would prefer that more senior rabbis in his camp take the lead in this campaign, “but I look around and see that the responsibility is on our shoulders, and it cannot wait. We are very close to the end of the relationship” between religion and the state, he says, as Israelis become increasingly disenfranchised with the Judaism they see practiced and adjudicated by the Chief Rabbinate.

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Chief Rabbi Shouldn’t Serve As Rabbinic Judge

Posted by on Jul 9, 2008 in Israel, Rabbis |

From Haaretz:

Attorney General Menachem Mazuz yesterday told the High Court of Justice that Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger should cease to serve as a dayan (rabbinic judge) on the Supreme Rabbinic Court.

Mazuz added that the committee charged with selecting rabbinic court judges was also responsible for ending their tenures.

Mazuz’s position came in response to a petition submitted by attorney Boaz Arad on behalf of the Ometz – Citizens for Good Government and Social Justice movement, which is opposed to a decision by the judicial selection committee in February not to dismiss Metzger over the free accommodation and benefits he received from hotels.

The police began investigating the affair in December 2004, in the wake of an investigative report on television, which stated that Metzger had received free accommodation at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem during Passover.

The report also referred to three other incidents in which the chief rabbi supposedly received benefits from hotels in Jerusalem. In April 2006, after the police had investigated the various affairs, Mazuz decided to close the file for lack of evidence. But at the same time, Mazuz called on Metzger to take some responsibility and draw personal conclusions.

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Plane Waits 90 Minutes For Tardy Rabbi

Posted by on Jul 9, 2008 in Israel, Rabbis |

From Haaretz:

A group of ultra-Orthodox passengers delayed for about 90 minutes the takeoff of a scheduled El Al flight from Kiev to Ben-Gurion Airport last month because their rabbi was late in getting to the airport, according to a passenger on the flight. El Al and its Ukrainian partner have a monopoly on the route.

“The passengers were in their seats. The flight attendants were ordered to close the doors when a Haredi passenger suddenly came running from the back of the plane to the front,” the businessman related. He said the flight was scheduled to take off at 11:35 P.M. on June 19.

According to the passenger who spoke to Haaretz about the incident, about 35 minutes after the scheduled takeoff time the pilot announced that after consulting with Tel Aviv he was instructed to wait for the rabbi, who arrived about an hour later with two or three other ultra-Orthodox men. The rabbi, a man in his 70s, according to the witness, took his seat and told his fellow passengers, “Every delay is for the best.”

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Prayer Rally for Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu

Posted by on Jul 2, 2008 in Israel |

(IsraelNN.com) A large prayer rally for the health of the Former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu was held at the Sanhedria Cemetery in Jerusalem Monday. The prayer took place at the grave of Rabbi Yehuda Tzedaka, Rabbi Eliyahu’s uncle.

Rabbi Shmuel Bnayahu, Rabbi David Basri and Rabbi Moshe Tzadka, the present Head of Porat Yosef Yeshiva, where Rabbi Eliyahu studied, said prayers for Rabbi Eliyahu’s recovery.

Rabbi Eliyahu is one of the spiritual leaders of the Religious Zionist movement and is considered an authority by both Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews. He is a longtime supporter of Jonathan Pollard and became his spiritual mentor while Pollard was in prison.

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Conversion & Controversy In Israel

Posted by on Jul 2, 2008 in Conversion, Israel |

Two Conservative Jews in Israel write for the Jerusalem Post:

Over 1,000 people took part in a support rally for Rabbi Haim Druckman early last month. It was the first, and certainly the largest, religious Zionist rally for an issue other than the Land of Israel.

Something, without a doubt, is happening among the knitted kipot (skullcaps) Jewish community. They sense they are fighting for house and home. The Chief Rabbinate – established by their own fathers, who also set its tone – has been grabbed away from them. The haredim are taking over! You knitted types are out. Any day now you’ll also be disqualified from testifying in religious courts.

But there’s no making light of the sense of dread among religious Zionists. They have good reason to worry. Given Israel’s current legal structure, in which religion is interwoven with politics, the revocation of Rabbi Druckman’s conversions has serious repercussions. Thousands of converts whose Judaism has been revoked will not be able to marry through the rabbinate. In other words, they will be prevented from registering their status as “married” in the State of Israel – a nation that chose to grant a monopoly to the Chief Rabbinate for every matter related to personal status.

It is tempting to needle the leaders of the religious Zionist movement by reminding them that, when the power was in their hands, they acted with the same lordship over the Conservative and Reform movements. But that is not the point. Religious Zionism has a large constituency, and its concern for the People of Israel as a whole – not just for those sporting knitted kipot – is heartfelt and genuine. We must all hope that, at this historic moment, they will act responsibly, according to the dictates of their conscience. It will require rabbinical courage to bring about the creation of religious Zionist courts that operate parallel to the Chief Rabbinate.

THE ESTABLISHMENT of a religious Zionist court that performs conversions according to its standards, and whose rabbis marry converts in adherence with the religion of Moses and Israel, would be a revolution in Israel. Early on, granted, couples married in this manner will not be able to change their martial status officially at the Interior Ministry. But when tens of thousands of couples follow suit, the law will change. Revolutions can also begin from the ground up. Today already, 20 percent of all “Jewish” couples marrying in Israel do not do so via the Rabbinate. The majority, to the dismay of all of us, do not even marry in a Jewish wedding. Modern Orthodoxy, which can amplify the outcry of “rejected” couples for all to hear, has the strength to steer this unfortunate trend in another direction.

Rabbi Barry Schlesinger is president of the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly. Atty. Yizhar Hess is executive director of the Conservative Movement in Israel.

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British Jews Celebrate Israel’s 60th Anniversary

Posted by on Jul 1, 2008 in Britain, Israel |

LONDON (JTA)—With a pair of massive rallies for Israel held simultaneously in London’s Trafalgar Square and Manchester’s Heaton Park on Sunday, British Jewry may be signaling that its transformation is at hand.

Some 30,000 participants attended the public shows of support for Israel, which were inspired by New York’s annual Salute-to-Israel parade.

Several thousand people waving Israeli and British flags marched from the Ritz Hotel to Trafalgar Square followed by dozens of carnival floats, cyclists, dancers and bands. At Trafalgar Square, an Israeli Cabinet minister, Britain’s secretary of state for Education and Britain’s chief rabbi all addressed the crowd. Israeli musicians performed between the speeches.

“I’m sure that my father, who served here as an officer in the British army, couldn’t have imagined that some day tens of thousands of Jews would be waving Israeli flags here in Trafalgar Square,” said Jeremy Newmark, chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, who helped organize the events.

Observers and critics alike said the unprecedented show of pride and self-confidence at the rallies is a sign that British Jewry is shaking off its reputation for being timid and low key.

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The Americanization Of Israel

Posted by on Jul 1, 2008 in Israel |

Rabbi Steve Pruzansky writes for Jewish Action (a magazine of the Orthodox Union):

America has long served as the world’s cultural trendsetter. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Israel.

Although English is a second language in Israel, this fact fails to convey the extent of America’s infiltration into Israeli society. It is not that you can get by without speaking Hebrew; indeed, it is difficult to embrace the society without speaking Hebrew. But English idioms have become commonplace in Israeli speech—and not just the “ya” endings of yesteryear (“televizya,” “protektsiya”). Listen to any Israeli speak—be it an ordinary citizen or a media personality—and he will sprinkle his sentences with words or phrases like “why not,” “time,” “time out,” “so what,” “OK,” “chance,” “conflict” (pronounced “con-FLICT,” plural “con-FLICT-im”), not to mention technical terms like “Internet,” “e-mail,” “fax,” “high-definition” and literally hundreds of other words, all of which are transliterated into Hebrew in the press. No doubt this is partly the influence of globalization, here known, of course, as “globalizatzya.”

Rather than grasp for a Hebrew word, it is often easier to just say it in English, with the occasional conversionary suffixes. Preparing for a public speech a few weeks ago, I looked up the word “speculative.” I need not have; the Hebrew is “speculativi.” Occasionally, the pronunciations and etymologies are humorous. Liat Collins, who writes a language column in The Jerusalem Post, reported an argument she had had with her commander in the army many years ago, who gave her an “ool-ti-mah-tum,” claiming it was a Hebrew word and correcting her (she is British) when she insisted on pronouncing it “UL-ti-mah-tum.”

As an aside, part of me wishes that “Saturday” would enter the Israeli lexicon in order to avoid hearing such non sequiturs as “On Shabbat, we drove to the Galil for a picnic.” Another part of me feels that at least use of the word “Shabbat” helps keep the idea of Shabbat alive, even if it is not observed properly.

The most amusing illustration of American influence that I have seen is “Halailah,” Israel’s The Tonight Show. “From Kikar Dizengoff in Tel Avivvvvv, it’s Halailah—starring Lior Schleiiiiiiiiin!” It is rank mimicry of the late night talk shows in America—featuring the host, the monologue (I never would have thought that Asarah B’Tevet could be mined for comic material!), the set—complete with the desk, the backdrop of Tel Aviv (instead of New York City or Hollywood), the sofa chairs, the band and the banter with the bandleader.

Certainly, the culture as it is has little general appeal to the more traditional elements in society. Religious Jews are blessed with a plethora of shiurim—every night of the week, and on an immense variety of topics—in almost every community in the country. But it is very difficult to combat a cultural behemoth like the United States. The revolution against Greek culture that occurred during the Second Temple era began right here in Modiin. Yet, it is worth recalling that despite the Chanukah victory, less than 100 years later, Simon the Maccabee’s own great-grandsons, who bore the fine Greek names Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, fought each other for the throne and self-destructed.

A country with its own culture shapes its own destiny, and develops a strong sense of national pride. American culture may be dominant in the world, but, in truth, it is scarcely felt in countries like Russia or China, each of which has a rich cultural tradition of its own. An indigenous Israeli culture exists, but it is overwhelmed by America’s. Israelis write books, yet the bookstores are mainly filled with Hebrew translations of American best sellers. In time and given the right circumstances, Israel will surely develop a culture that is uniquely Jewish and that touches the mind, heart and soul. It is part of building a state, liberating the Jewish spirit from centuries of exile and shaping the national character that will engender “a kingdom of priests and a holy people.”

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Top New York Jews Moving To Israel

Posted by on Jun 30, 2008 in Israel, New York |

From the Jerusalem Post:

Rabbi Ari Berman had until June 1 to decide whether he would make Israel his permanent home. That’s the deadline his synagogue, The Jewish Center, one of the largest modern Orthodox synagogues in the US, gave him when he took a sabbatical last year and advised them he might never come back.

He did come back, but only to say good-bye.

Berman is one of several prominent Orthodox leaders ranging from rabbis to Orthodox feminists in the New York area who will be making aliya this summer.

The annual sendoff organized by the Jewish Agency, which took place Thursday in New York, honored 250 of the 900 New Yorkers expected to move to Israel. That number is about one third of the 3,000 North American olim this year.

The sendoff follows recent calls by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for a dramatic change in the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora.

“Now, for the first time since the destruction of the Second Temple, Israel is the largest concentration of Jews in the world and the overwhelming majority of Jews live in security. The era of mass aliya from countries of distress may have come to a close,” Olmert declared.

To accommodate that change, the Jewish Agency has gradually shifted its approach towards aliya, moving from the all-or-nothing approach towards a more flexible one. Earlier this month, the JA and the government announced a co-sponsored program called “flexible aliya” under which Jews from around the world will be able to move to Israel for a period ranging from several months to several years, during which they will be able to work, study and volunteer in the country.

Meanwhile, Orthodox Jews continue to represent roughly 60 percent of North American olim.

Berman, who has been the rabbi at the Jewish Center since 2000, said he is moving to Israel because “the Jewish future is in the State of Israel.” By that he does not mean the Diaspora has no place. Quite the opposite, Berman said Diaspora Jewry is critical for Israel. But he wants to raise his children in a “fully Jewish environment and culture.” Berman and his family will move

Other Orthodox rabbis who are making aliya this year include: Rabbi Shalom Rosner, Rabbi of Woodmere Congregation in Long Island, who heads the Beit Midrash program at Yeshiva University, who is moving to Nofe Hashemesh, a new part of Beit Shemesh where he will be a rabbi of a new synagogue; Rabbi Dovid Wadler, principal at Moshe Aaron Yeshiva High School in Highland Park, NJ; and Rabbi David Silverstein, a teacher at SAR, a yeshiva school in Riverdale, NY and assistant rabbi at Riverdale Jewish Center, who will be joining Yeshivat Hesder in Petah Tikva.

Jenny Rosenfeld, 27, who has worked to break the taboos on talking about sexuality in the Orthodox world, will also be among this year’s olim, with her husband Pinchas Roth, who made aliya at 10, and their three-month-old daughter, Neshama.

In 2005, Rosenfeld co-founded Tzelem, a special project of Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future that provides educational resources about intimacy and sexuality to the Orthodox community.

 

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Israel’s Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Accused Of Sexually Harassing Men

Posted by on Jun 30, 2008 in Israel, Rabbis |

From the Jerusalem Post:

Rabbis and employees within the Chief Rabbinate said Sunday that the latest allegations published in the local news media against Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger have dealt a serious blow to worker motivation.

“I ran into someone over the weekend who asked me if I am still working in the rabbinate. I was embarrassed to tell him that I am,” said a senior rabbi who preferred to remain anonymous.

The rabbi said he and his colleagues are cynical about Metzger, who – they feel – does not provide a positive role model for religious leadership. Adding that Metzger’s negative press coverage, whether true or not, has had adverse effects on the overall morale of the organization.

“People lack the motivation they once had with previous chief rabbis,” he said.

Another rabbi, who said he was not convinced of the allegations directed at Metzger since the chief rabbi has many enemies, nevertheless admitted that the image of the Chief Rabbinate had been hurt.

“Rabbi Metzger is also having difficulty convincing rabbinate employees to carry out his decisions,” he said.

In the latest flurry of rumors surrounding the chief rabbi, the daily Ma’ariv published testimony by an anonymous 23-year-old French photographer who claimed that Metzger sexually propositioned him.

According to the off-the-record claims, Metzger met the photographer during an interfaith conference in Seville, Spain, in 2006.

Amir Dan, Metzger’s PR representative, called the allegations “an evil conspiracy.”

“The mendacious comments attributed to Rabbi Metzger were never uttered,” said Dan.

“Ma’ariv published this article and they’re planning to publish another disparaging article this coming weekend. The timing of this story now, two weeks before an important Supreme Court case involving the chief rabbi, is not coincidental.

“Rather, it serves interests that want to hurt Rabbi Metzger in any way possible. The rabbi will not give in to the denigration campaign being waged against him just as he has not capitulated in the past.”

In 2003, Ma’ariv published a story claiming that Metzger had sexually harassed four men. Three years later, Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz ruled not to indict Metzger on charges that the chief rabbi allegedly received illegal free stays at various Jerusalem hotels. But the attorney general also issued a damning report of Metzger in which he recommended that the chief rabbi resign. Mazuz said that if he did not do so willingly, Metzger should be forced out of his post.

Metzger later won a High Court case in which he petitioned to annul Mazuz’s recommendations. The rabbi suspended himself from serving as a rabbinical judge while he defended the charges for free hotel stays.

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