MetaFilter posts tagged with jewish and Israel

X-Mensch

Artw — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 08:38:11 -0800

Yom HaShoah, in history and current day Israel

Brandon Blatcher — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:39:26 -0800

Yom HaShoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, is Israel's day of memorial for those killed during the Holocaust and those who were part of the resistance.

At 10:00 am on Yom HaShoah, sirens are sounded throughout Israel for two minutes. During this time, people cease from action and stand at attention; cars stop, even on the highways; and the whole country comes to a standstill as people pay silent tribute to the dead.

The Sabich

beisny — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 12:40:28 -0800

The Sabich is a popular Israeli pita sandwich based on the traditional Babylonian-Jewish Shabbat morning meal. It it is usually seasoned with Amba, the mango pickle condiment of Indian Origin which the Baghdadi Jewish community of India brought to Baghdad (along with Sambusak, a variant of the Simosa). Professor Sasson Somekh reflects on his childhood in Baghdad and discusses amba, among other things.

Kotel everybody?

albrecht — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:59:39 -0800

A women's prayer group was expelled from the area of Jerusalem's Western Wall on Wednesday for wearing tallitot and reading from the Torah, in violation of an Israeli Supreme Court ruling that restricts these activities to men in the area directly in front of the wall. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the majority of non-Orthodox rabbinical students are female, with the Reform movement being the most female-dominated, leaving some communities struggling to revitalize men's participation in the religion.

The city that sits alone, with a wall in its heart

Joe in Australia — Thu, 21 May 2009 04:23:16 -0800

Mountain air, clear as wine
And the scent of pines
Brought by the twilight breeze
With the sound of bells

Shortly before the Six Day War of 1967 an amateur singer performed [YT] an elegy for the then-divided city of Jerusalem "locked in a dream ... with a wall in its heart". Yerushalayim Shel Zahav [YT], Jerusalem of Gold, became Israel's best-loved song. It was sung by the first Jews to re-enter Jerusalem after the Jordanian occupation and its author added a new stanza commemorating the fact that Jews had "returned to the wells, the market and the squares." The melody is based on a Basque lullaby [YT] sung here by Pello Joxepe.

The True Story of Chanukkah

andoatnp — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 11:54:49 -0800

Chanukkah is the story of a group of warriors (the Maccabees, later the Hasmoneans, led by Mattathias) who rose up against the Greeks (the Seleucids), united the Jews, reclaimed the Temple (Beit HaMikdash), and then lit one day's supply of oil which miraculously lasted for eight days, started a brand new holiday called Chanukkah, and brought Jewish sovereignty and peace to the land of Israel. Except that almost every part of that story is either wrong or completely misleading. 1) Chanukkah as a Civil War Between the Jews To start with, Chanukkah is just as much about a civil war among the Jews as it is about a war between the Greeks and a solidified Jewish force (wikipedia):

Many modern scholars argue that the king may have been intervening in an internal civil war between the traditionalist Jews in the country and the Hellenized elite Jews in Jerusalem. These competed violently over who would be the High Priest, with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like Onias overthrown by Hellenizers with Greek names like Jason and Menelaus. As the conflict escalated, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices the traditionalists had rallied around. This may explain why the king, in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other places and times, banned the traditional religion of a whole people.

The Maccabean uprising itself began with a Jew killing a Jew. ("After Antiochus issued his decrees forbidding Jewish religious practice, a rural Jewish priest from Modiin, Mattathias the Hasmonean, sparked the revolt against the Seleucid Empire by refusing to worship the Greek gods. Mattathias slew a Hellenistic Jew who stepped forward to offer a sacrifice to an idol in Mattathias' place. He and his five sons fled to the wilderness of Judea.") Ironically, although the Hasmoneans started out at war against the Hellenizing and secularizing Jews, as they solidified power they got into another conflict, except this time "the Hasmoneans sided with the Sadducees, the priestly advocates of the authority of Temple Sacrifice, against the Pharisees, the forerunners of the rabbis and the form of rabbinic Judaism we continue to practise today." So when the Orthodox in Israel and the secular Jews in American celebrate Chanukkah, they are both commemorating a military victory by a group that tried to destroy them. For more on Chanukkah as a civil war, see this article in Slate Magazine "The Maccabees and the Hellenists" 2) The Miracle of the Oil that Burned for Eight Days For people who don't believe in miracles, then obviously there wasn't any Chanukkah miracle. But even for those people who do believe in miracles, there is much evidence that there wasn't any magical oil that burned for eight days. The most obvious reason to discount the idea of magical oil burning for eight days is that this supposed miracle isn't referred to in the Book of Maccabees, the most contemporaneous account. The section on the rededication of the Temple merely reads "And so they kept the dedication of the altar eight days" with no mention anywhere of miraculous oils. Similarly, al hanissim, the special prayer said during Chanukkah refers to a miracle, but it's the miracle of a military victory, not of oil that burned for 8 days. The first mention of the magic oil appears in the Talmud, roughly 600 years after the rededication of the Temple. So why was a story invented about oil burning for eight days? Possibly, as a post-hoc explanation to explain why the holiday was eight days long (more on this shortly). Just as likely, to change the tone of the holiday from one of military conquest to God's presence:

So what happened to the story of the oil and the miracle of the lights? Well, that's where the rabbis come in. In the rabbinic sources, we find virtual silence on the topic of Chanukah in the Mishnah. It is only in the Gemara (the later rabbinic material which, along with the Mishna makes up the Talmud) that we find the new story about the oil and the miracle of the lights. By the time of the development of the Talmud, around 200-500 C.E., the Jews were living under Roman rule in Israel and under Persian rule in Babylon. In these circumstances, celebrating stories about military rebellion might not be viewed in too positive a light by the authorities, and the sages also feared that some Jewish hotheads might stir up trouble and cause all kinds of problems for the Jewish community. So the Talmudic sages put a new spin on the established holiday: God wrought a great miracle for the people, enabling the few to triumph over the many, and God showed the people another miracle in the oil, when a flask of ritually pure oil sufficient for one day lasted for all eight days.

3) Chanukkah as the Late Version of Sukkhot So if there wasn't magic oil that burned for eight days, then why is Chanukkah an eight day holiday? Because of what happened after the Maccabean revolt succeeded:

When they took over the Temple and cleaned out all the remnants of the idolatrous Greek worship, they rededicated the Temple and then immediately held a late observance of the eight day festival of Sukkot, the most important festival of Temple times. The next year, to commemorate their victory and the rededication of the Temple, a "late Sukkot" was held again, thereby giving birth to our eight-day celebration of Chanukah - which means "dedication".

And you want to guess what they called this new holiday?

As a result, they celebrated Sukkot late that year — in December, during the Hebrew month of Kislev. In fact, the book of Maccabees doesn't even call the festival Hanukkah. Instead, it refers to the celebration as Sukkot B'kislev — December Sukkot.

4) Additional Chanukkah Trivia About Herod the Great After the Hasmoneans seized power in Israel, they continued their civil war against other Jews. They also began forcibly converting other people in the land to Judaism:

Yet what was most devastating about Hasmonean rule was its retreat from the principles of the Maccabean rebellion. It was the Hasmoneans who introduced into Jewish history the infamous policy of coercive conversion by compelling pagan residents of Galilee and of Idumea either to accept conversion to Judaism or to be killed. This forcible conversion policy, so notorious in later Jewish history, unfortunately was introduce by the Jews themselves.

Then, along comes King Herod, but "since Herod's family had converted to Judaism under duress, his Jewishness had come into question by some elements of Judean society." And if you go on the Western Wall Tunnel Tour in Jerusalem, the tour guide will tell you that Herod rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem to try to prove his commitment to Judaism, but even after all his efforts the Temple Priests refused to recognize his Judaism and would not let him enter the Temple that he built. And don't even get me started on potato lattkes...

Medinat Weimar

Sar HaPanim — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:54:14 -0800

Medinat Weimar wishes to establish a Jewish state in Thuringia, Germany, with the city of Weimar as its capital. A land without a people for a people without a land! Oh, wait ... The site's homepage contains the 13 principles of the movement; a video with anthems and manifesto in four languages (Yiddish, English, Russian, and German - but no Hebrew); and plenty of links. Graduate student pushes for Jewish state in Germany - an article in English from Ha'Aretz on the movement and its founder, Ronen Eidelman. For those who read Hebrew: Don't you feel like establishing a Jewish state in Germany? - a blog entry on Ha'Aretz by regular contributor Benny Tzipper, in which he laments Israel's fading connection to Western culture and points out some of the benefits of moving to the heart of Europe. The Movement for a Jewish State in Thuringia - the entry in Ronen Eidelman's blog on the project. Check out the (not so supportive) reader comments, particularly the first one.

No sushi for Jew!

ericbop — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 07:30:36 -0800

"Today there is no eggroll..." As posted at jewschool, your best source for hip heeb hype,

Asian restaurants across [Israel]detante went on a one-day spring roll strike on Tuesday in protest over government plans to rid kitchens of foreign chefs, and said sushi and noodles would be the next items off the menu. The restaurants are angry at the state’s plans to purge Japanese, Chinese and Thai eateries of Asian cooks and replace them with Israelis as part of a broader program to cut the number of foreigners working in Israel. The Ethnic Restaurant Organization said the country’s 300 Asian restaurants refused to serve spring or egg rolls - among their most popular dishes - on Tuesday, and planned a follow-up strike in two weeks for sushi and noodles. “Today there is no egg roll and in two weeks time there will be no sushi and noodles,” Arnon Volosky, head of the organization, told Reuters... The government argues Israelis can be trained. “Everyone can make Chinese food it’s not impossible to learn,” said Shoshana Strauss, a lawyer working on foreign worker issues for the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor...Volosky said his organization had asked the Supreme Court to force the government to rethink the decision, arguing it could force many out of business or make them inflate prices to cover the salaries needed to secure “expert” visas for chefs. It's too bad they can't follow the American example of Chinese-Jewish food detente.

Life in the Enclave

digaman — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 20:14:32 -0800

The SY Empire: A rare and fascinating look inside the secretive Syrian Jewish community of Brooklyn, which has drawn a bright line against assimilation called the Edict that casts out for life any "SY" who marries a gentile, even if they convert. (Crazy Eddie -- who knew? Seinfeld's mom -- who knew? Isaac Misrahi -- who knew? "J-Dubs" -- who knew?)

Two Jews...

PostIronyIsNotaMyth — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 01:18:17 -0800

An Unholy Act. This is the story of when two Jews disagree. Nothing new there. But a violent confrontation at UCLA brings to light the emerging divide among American Jews in regards to the most contentious issue of modern Jewish identity: Israel.

Herr Goering: Self-Hating Nazi?

matteo — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 00:20:06 -0800

Nazi's relative turns Israel lover. Matias Goering is a direct descendant of Hitler's right-hand man. He also keeps Shabbat, wears a kippa, and identifies with the Greater Israel vision of West Bank settlers. (via jewlicious)

Can Jewish settlers live as Palestinians?

Ty Webb — Mon, 18 Apr 2005 09:58:16 -0800

Can Jewish settlers live as Palestinians? A series of essays from Bitterlemons, which regularly features Isra eli and Pales tinian commentary on the significant issues of the conflict, with the goal of maintaining a constructive dialogue.

Why Rebels Must Be Middle Class

By The Grace of God — Sun, 30 Jan 2005 19:15:21 -0800

Israeli Pro-Palestinian activist Tali Fahima to remain in custody. Tali Fahima grew up in a conservative desert town in Israel and voted Likud for years. As the second intifada erupted she read about the brutality of the occupation on the Internet and eventually travelled to Jenin refugee camp where she met Zakariyeh Zbeideh, a local leader of the terrorist organization and Fatah offshoot, Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigade. She was arrested and jailed in Israel, accused of translating a document for Zbeideh into Arabic. that allowed him to warn fighters marked for Israeli assassination.

Fahima has been under arrest nearly six months. Her case has gained prominence not just because she is an Israeli Jew supporting Palestinian resistance but because she is a Mizrahi, a Sephardic or "Arab" Jew. This group has historically formed a solid bloc of support for aggressive policies against the Palestinians. [MI]

Hatred via weblog.

insomnia_lj — Thu, 16 Oct 2003 06:01:33 -0800

Hatred via weblog. The Jewish Internet Association, a tax-exempt, non-profit California corporation, considers the Internet a battleground, where "every channel must be utilized to resist and convert others to our defense and support." A whois showed they have the same mailing address as palestinefacts.org. However, examining their weblog reveals an agenda that is every bit as hateful as Hamas.

From a recent entry: "The Palestinian Arabs go through a pretense of having a government" .... "This must end. In the past the only way such murderous, bastard regimes have ended was through massive destruction of their people and lands." .... "The same process will be required to end the fraudulant "peace process" and come to the point where there can be a new start."

The JIA site links to a guide for shutting down offensive websites. Do you think the same techniques would work against them too?

Boycott France?

laukf — Wed, 15 May 2002 15:33:31 -0800

Boycott France? An American Jewish Congress trade ad placed in Variety and the Hollywood Reporter compares anti-Semitic violence to that experienced during WWII. Some groups are also calling for a boycott of the Cannes Film Festival. Woody Allen doesn't agree. Can the actions of an idiotic minority really justify a boycott?

Please, Dad, Tell Me: How Do I Stop Being Complicit?

mkultra — Wed, 10 Apr 2002 11:06:21 -0800

Please, Dad, Tell Me: How Do I Stop Being Complicit? I actually came across this in another thread (props to cell divide), but I think it's worth it's own discussion. As a 30-year-old American Jew, this essay completely echoes the exasperation I feel whenever I have a "discussion" (read:argument) with someone of my parents' generation about the Middle East Conflict. It's true that my generation, in America, has never seen widescale Jewish hatred in our lifetime, but has that made us blind or allowed us to gain a better perspective on Israel?

The best solution I've heard so far

aacheson — Tue, 26 Feb 2002 09:30:20 -0800

The best solution I've heard so far to end the mess in Israel. A Saudi Prince suggests plan that trades occupied land in return for the Arab world recognizing the Israeli state. Is it a viable plan? Will Barak have the courage to give it a shot? Could the Arab nations ever recognize a Jewish state? Could Palestine and Israel coexist peacefully next to each other?