Tag Archives for Israel

Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Row over Water Bill

How utterly mundane.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem has warned that it may shut its doors to pilgrims in protest at a dispute with an Israeli water company.

The church, where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, has had its bank account frozen at the request of Hagihon over an unpaid $2.3m bill.

The dispute has left hundreds of priests, monks and teachers unpaid.

The church has traditionally not been charged for water, but Hagihon says it is owed money for the past 15 years.

According to the Israeli newspaper Maariv, there was a tacit agreement between the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem – which, along with the Armenian Orthodox Patriarchate and the Roman Catholic Franciscan Custos, is jointly responsible for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre’s administration – and a former mayor of the city that the church would be exempt from water bills.

But in 2004, Hagihon sent a demand to the church for 3.7m shekels ($950,000; £590,000). It was backdated to when the company took over the water supply in the late 1990s.

The Patriarchate reportedly believed it was a mistake because Hagihon did not press it to pay. The company is now demanding that the bill, which has risen to 9m shekels ($2.3m; £1.4m) including interest, be settled.

A Hagihon spokesman said Israeli law did not permit any exemptions.

Thank goodness “The other Christian denominations which jointly manage the church are said to support the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in its battle.”, unlike in another similarly-shared church over there where they fight…

Kafka Papers Battle Decided in Israel’s Favour

Insert your own joke about the saga being ‘Kafkaesque’…

An Israeli court has ruled that a collection of Franz Kafka’s works must be handed to Israel’s national library.

The ruling settles a long legal dispute over ownership of the documents.

Kafka gave the writings to his friend Max Brod, whose secretary insisted he left them to her. After her death, her daughters refused to hand them over.

It is thought the manuscripts might include unpublished material by Kafka. Brod ignored his friend’s request to burn his work when he died.

Instead, Brod published the literature, which turned Kafka into one of the 20th Century’s most noted novelists.

Brod fled Czechoslovakia in 1939, after Germany invaded, for Palestine. Upon his death in 1968 he bequeathed his collection to his secretary Esther Hoffe.

But a Tel Aviv family court ruled on Sunday that Brod had explicitly ordered Hoffe to catalogue and transfer his collection “to the library of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem or the Tel Aviv municipal library, or any other public institution in Israel or abroad”.

Hoffe in fact kept most of the collection locked away, and sold some of it.

Isn’t it funny how we feel no guilt, as a society, about blithely ignoring a dead person’s wishes, publishing things like private diaries never meant to be seen by the public (Samuel Pepys, Anne Frank, and others), and the like?  Sad, IMO.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Men Offered Blurry Glasses to Keep Israeli Women Out of Sight

That way, they don’t have to look down at their feet all the time.

It’s the latest prescription for extreme ultra-Orthodox Jewish men who shun contact with the opposite sex: Glasses that blur their vision, so they don’t have to see women they consider to be immodestly dressed.

In an effort to maintain their strictly devout lifestyle, the ultra-Orthodox have separated the sexes on buses, sidewalks and other public spaces in their neighbourhoods. Their interpretation of Jewish law forbids contact between men and women who are not married.

Walls in their neighbourhoods feature signs exhorting women to wear closed-necked, long-sleeved blouses and long skirts. Extremists have accosted women they consider to have flouted the code.

Now they’re trying to keep them out of clear sight altogether.

The ultra-Orthodox community’s unofficial “modesty patrols” are selling glasses with special blur-inducing stickers on their lenses. The glasses provide clear vision for up to a few meters so as not to impede movement, but anything beyond that gets blurry — including women. It’s not known how many have been sold.

For men forced to venture outside their insular communities, hoods and shields that block peripheral vision are also being offered.

The glasses are going for the “modest” price of $6.

No word yet whether the glasses are also available on Bathurst Street, in Toronto. ;)

Man Threatens Legal Action Over Al-Quds Rally Arrest

As well he should; the police shouldn’t be taking sides…

A Jewish man says he’s contemplating legal action, claiming to have been arrested for bringing his dog to an Islamic group’s anti-Israel demonstration at Queen’s Park on Saturday.

Allan Einstoss, 47, was handcuffed and detained by police during a controversial Al-Quds Day rally at Queen’s Park.

Al-Quds Day is a yearly international event created in 1979 by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini to mark the end of Ramadan and to call for the destruction of Israel and the creation a Palestinian state.

Several other groups, including the hard-line Jewish Defence League, also attended the rally to counter the Al-Quds message — a message they say spreads anti-Semitism.

Einstoss, who has no group affiliation but went to oppose the Al-Quds doctrine, said he’d spent over an hour “mingling” among members of the crowd with Cupcake, his 165-pound English Mastiff.

Cupcake, a trained therapy dog that will begin visiting patients at Sunnybrook hospital this fall, was on a leash during the rally, and wore an Israeli flag around its neck.

Some devout Muslims consider dogs to be unclean and make efforts to avoid them.

Einstoss said after two young Muslim women asked about Cupcake, he was told by a male Al-Quds demonstrator he was “not allowed to go near our women” with the dog. Einstoss said that after exclaiming his right to go where he pleased, he walked away with Cupcake, but was “punched in the chest” by another demonstrator.

Einstoss shoved back, and within seconds was grabbed by several officers.

He claimed that while in custody, one officer called him “insensitive” for attending an Islamic rally with a dog.

Einstoss added his assailant wasn’t even questioned by police.

The officer allegedly threatened Einstoss with charges of incitement to riot and assault. After around 30 minutes, Einstoss was let go after agreeing to leave Queen’s Park.

(Not the first time in Toronto that the police have taken sides at a political rally, either…)

Ezra Levant’s op-ed on the incident (as well as a related incident) is spot on.

So let’s get this straight.

An annual hate-the-Jews day called Al-Quds Day, invented by the late Iranian dictator Ayatollah Khomeini, was “celebrated” at the Ontario Legislature. One protester even showed up with the flag of the terrorist group, Hezbollah — easily spotted, given that it’s a picture of a fist grasping a machine gun.

So that’s all fine — anti-Israel demonization, pro-Iran propaganda, with the flag of a banned terrorist group.

Not only is that fine by the speaker of the Ontario Legislature, but a full complement of Toronto city police were there, too.  But when a pro-Israel counter-protester unfurled an Israeli flag, he was warned by police that if he didn’t move along, he’d be arrested, and charged with incitement to riot.

Did you get that? Fly the flag of a terrorist organization, get Toronto police protection. Fly the flag of the democratic state of Israel, and Toronto police tell you to pack it, or face criminal charges.

Another counter-protester was arrested for walking his dog at the protest site. See, some fundamentalist Muslims find dogs to be unclean. So the Toronto police arrested the dog owner after a minor scuffle with one of the protesters. It was a licensed dog, on a leash. But Shariah law was the law of the day at Queen’s Park on Saturday.

Just to restate: The pro-Iran, pro-Khomeini protesters, flying a Hezbollah flag, were receiving police protection. But a pro-democracy counter-protester was handcuffed for walking his dog “insensitively.” Got it.

In Canada, we believe in freedom of speech — even for Jew-hating, dictatorship-praising bigots. Even if they’re mouthing Iran’s foreign policy propaganda. Even if they’re flying terrorist flags.

Well, that’s not quite true, is it? I mean, it’s true for those kind of anti-Semites. But would a group of white supremacists be able to hold a rally at Queen’s Park, flying swastika flags, saying the exact same thing about Jews and Israel?  Would police have intervened to arrest counter-protesters then?

Exactly!

Tel Aviv Declared World’s Best Gay Travel Destination

Not following their Torah or Talmud, are they…

Israel’s LGBT community has a reason to be proud: It has officially been proclaimed the best gay travel destination of 2011.

In a world-wide survey conducted by GayCities.com and American Airlines, 43 percent of voters cast their ballot in favor of the White City, followed by New York City with 14 per cent, Toronto with 7 per cent, Sao Paulo with 6 per cent, Madrid and London with 5 per cent each and New Orleans and Mexico City with 4 per cent each.

‘Miss Holocaust Survivor’ Crowned in Israel, Stirring Smiles and Controversy

Her mother would have been so proud.

I hear she kicked ass in the swimsuit competition.

Thursday’s contest was among the many unconventional beauty pageants that have sprouted up over the years. The war-torn countries of Angola and Cambodia have held “Miss Landmine” contests for survivors of land mine explosions, Star Trek fans enjoy the “Miss Klingon Empire” contest in Atlanta, and plus-sized women in Thailand compete for the honour of “Miss Jumbo Queen.” There are also a senior citizens’ pageants in the U.S.

But what about victims of Klingon massacres?  Shouldn’t they have their own beauty pageant, too?

U.S., Israel Developed Flame Computer Virus to Slow Iranian Nuclear Efforts, Officials Say

America and Israel, working together against Israel`s enemies…

The United States and Israel jointly developed a sophisticated computer virus nicknamed Flame that collected intelligence in preparation for cyber-sabotage aimed at slowing Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon, according to Western officials with knowledge of the effort.

The massive piece of malware secretly mapped and monitored Iran’s computer networks, sending back a steady stream of intelligence to prepare for a cyber­warfare campaign, according to the officials.

The effort, involving the National Security Agency, the CIA and Israel’s military, has included the use of destructive software such as the Stuxnet virus to cause malfunctions in Iran’s nuclear-enrichment equipment.

The emerging details about Flame provide new clues to what is thought to be the first sustained campaign of cyber-sabotage against an adversary of the United States.

Keoni ‘Crosses the Jewbicon’

That is, comes out as an anti-Zionist, with good reason, IMO.

I’ve just discovered something – you and I (if you are a US citizen who pays taxes of any sort) are all Zionists now. Oh yes, we sure are. Whether you like it or not. If you are of Palestinian descent, who has relatives currently living the perpetual war zone in the Middle East right now, you are just as much a Zionist as any Israeli citizen or IDF soldier.
Republicrat or Democan, it makes no difference….their really is only one real political party in the USA today, and that’s AIPAC.
USA? More like the USZ.
We are Israel’s little bitch.
Think I’m kidding or exaggerating?
Have a look at the recently passed H.R. 4133

H.R. 4133 would state that it is U.S. policy to: reaffirm the commitment to Israel’s security as a Jewish state; provide Israel with the  military capabilities to defend itself by itself against any threats;  veto any one-sided anti-Israel resolutions at the United Nations  Security Council; support Israel’s inherent right to self-defense;  expand military and civilian cooperation; assist in a negotiated  settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that results in two  states living side by side in peace and security and to encourage  Israel’s neighbors to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish  state.

This country is hopelessly indebted, rising unemployment, and sinking further and further towards economic collapse, and our so-called leaders are voting to send more money and military hardware to a foreign country halfway around the globe? Nice to see our elected leaders got there priorities straight! Never mind all the problems here at home, it’s Zion we must support above all else!

Spot on, Keoni.

Hebrew U Discovery Reshapes Understanding of Temple

New discoveries shed light on design of Solomon’s Temple.  (Hat Tip: God and the Machine)

A Hebrew University archeologist has discovered artifacts from a 3,000 year old community that have created a new understanding of how Solomon’s Temple was built, the university announced on Monday. Professor Yosef Garfinkel, the Yigal Yadin Professor of Archaeology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, revealed models of items excavated in Khirbet Qeiyafa, a fortified city in the Valley of Elah, about 30 km southwest of Jerusalem.

The religious community, which Garfinkel believes was Jewish based on the lack of pig bones and graven images, kept small shrines in rooms of three buildings. The small ritual objects are box-like in shape and made from basalt stone or clay. The shrines predate King Solomon’s Temple by at least 30 years, but utilize important architectural designs written in the Torah that describe how the Temple should be constructed.