Meanwhile, while everyone in the rest of the world is focused on terrorism, Arafat, and Israel’s diplomatic skirmish with Syria, the real news in Israel is the latest chapter in the religious versus secular divide:
The cabinet voted to dismantle the Religious Affairs Ministry Wednesday and transfer authority over the rabbinical courts to the Justice Ministry headed by Shinui leader Yosef Lapid, a move that infuriated the National Religious Party and triggered a coalition crisis.
[ . . . ]
Eitam warned after his meeting with the chief Rabbis Wednesday that if the Cabinet’s decision to transfer control of the country’s rabbinical courts to the Justice Ministry were to pass in the Knesset, the National Religious Party would quit the coalition government. “We will not cooperate with Shinui’s secular humanism. This is not a question of jobs; this is a critical debate on the Jewish character of Israel. A government without the NRP may be legal, but it won’t be legitimate,” Eitam said Wednesday evening.
Any step that Israel takes to transfer more power to secular administration is a positive one, in my opinion. But Lapid is such a hated symbol among the large Orthodox population in Israel, that this likely came as a slap in the face to them at a time when unity is more important than division.
The problem is that the Orthodox rabbinate has altogether too much power in Israel – they decide everything from weddings and divorces to what sort of meat Israeli restaurants can buy (even non-kosher ones). And the most upset people are often the Conservative and Reform Jews, who feel slighted.
This division between Orthodox and secular is no small issue in Israel. In many ways, it’s almost a more difficult division than the one between Jews and Arabs, because the religious feel they have a “claim” on the secular Jews and should be encouraging them to live more religiously. This leads to a lot of resentment and conflict, not to mention tug-of-war political grappling. The fallout from today’s decision promises to be significant.
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As usual, Mark Steyn hits the nail right on the head when he discusses the cultural roots of Palestinian terror:
The Palestinian death cult negates all the assumptions of western sentimental pacifism: If only the vengeful old generals got out of the way, there’d be no war. But such common humanity as one can find on the West Bank resides, if only in their cynicism, in the leadership: old Arafat may shower glory and honor on his youthful martyrs but he’s human enough to keep his own kid in Paris, well away from the suicide-bomber belts. It’s hard to picture Saeb Erekat or Hanan Ashrawi or any of the other aging terror apologists who hog the airwaves at CNN and the BBC celebrating the death of their own loved ones the way Miss Jaradat’s brother did. “We are receiving congratulations from people,” said Thaher Jaradat. “Why should we cry? It is like her wedding day, the happiest day for her.”
[ . . . ]
On the West Bank, almost all the humdrum transactions of daily life take place in a culture that glorifies depravity: you walk down a street named after a suicide bomber to drop your child in a school that celebrates suicide-bombing and then pick up some groceries in a corner store whose walls are plastered with portraits of suicide bombers.
Steyn goes on to claim that by giving Arafat’s leadership legitimacy, the world has ensured that a future Palestinian state would be nothing but a terorrist entity. And this sort of terrorist leadership should not be rewarded.
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I wonder why anything the French government does surprises me anymore. This sure doesn’t:
Syria’s drive for a U.N. resolution condemning an Israeli air raid on its territory stalled in the Security Council for another day on Wednesday as Damascus looked for possible compromise with a divided Europe.
All four of the council’s European Union states — France, Britain, Spain and Germany — have signaled Syria that its draft resolution had to be more balanced to win their support.
But while Britain was insisting, along with Washington, that the resolution must condemn Saturday’s deadly suicide bombing in Haifa, Israel, to win its vote, France was making no such demand, diplomats said.
After all, it was only a bunch of Jews who were murdered. Why should France concern itself?
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He’ll be back . . .
Exit polls in California were predicting a victory for Arnold Schwarzenegger and a massive defeat for Governor Gray Davis in today’s recall election.
But it ain’t over till the fat lady sings. And in this case, she ain’t gonna be singing for some time. There will probably be a long string of challenges to the vote before any result is confirmed.
It does seem fitting that California should have a movie star as a governor. After all, the skills needed to be an actor are quite similar to those needed for politics; namely, the ability to memorize lines that someone else is feeding you, and to make people believe that you’re being sincere. Heck, I figure they might as well elect all movie stars to office – at least it’s one place they’re sure to be able to make absolutely no difference whatsoever.
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Israel Asper has passed away.
Asper, 71, was the owner of CanWestGlobal, the Canadian media conglomerate that owned, among other things, Global Television and the Montreal Gazette.
“The company feels a sense of profound loss on the passing of our founder, who distinguished himself as a visionary business leader, a caring leader in his encouragement and financial support of worthy causes, and as a champion of Israel,” a news release sent to staff said.
Unfortunately, Asper became a symbol to the anti-Israel crowd of every rotton Jewish stereotype in the book: a wealthy capitalist, owner of a company fuelling media convergence, and an outspoken supporter of Israel. It is my hope that, with his passing, they will maintain a modicum of respect for the man.
I highly doubt it, though. They haven’t demonstrated their ability to be respectful.
Asper was a controversial figure to some, but all he really did was become successful and then use his success to attempt to advance causes he believed in. He will be sorely missed.
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It seems to me that people ought to be used to the routine by now. Closing services have been the same in all the years I can remember. Yes, the service will go long. Yes, the Rabbi and the synagogue president will make long thank-you speeches to rival those at the Academy Awards. Yes, we’ll have to take the time to do arvit and havdalah before they blow the shofar and let us go home and eat. This isn’t news, people! It’s been like this every year! But people react to it like they do to the first snowfall of each winter – with disappointment, as if they were hoping that maybe it wouldn’t happen this year.
Oh well. 364 days till next Yom Kippur.
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Have an easy fast, everyone.
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Israel has bombed a terrorist camp inside Syria in retaliation for yesterday’s Haifa bombing:
Palestinian sources in Beirut said Israeli warplanes raided a facility belonging to Ahmed Jibril’s Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), injuring one man. In addition to PFLP members, terrorists from Islamic Jihad, Hamas and al Qaeda also utilized the camp for training. Among the buildings hit in the raid was a weapons workshop used by Islamic Jihad.
Military sources said that the base was selected as a target because of the central role that Islamic Jihad played in the Haifa bombing. The decision to carry out the raid was made in response to the bombing 12 hours earlier in Haifa.
“The Islamic Jihad, like other terror organisations … enjoys the support and backing of countries in the region – foremost Iran and Syria,” the army statement said.
Syria is screaming of course, and issued a statement denying that the target was a terrorist camp, calling it a “civilian target” – which is a bit hard to swallow, considering the video footage released by the IDF showing a tour of the camp . . . and the fact that the Palestinians also claim it’s a training camp. Considering terror-sponsoring Syria is on the UN Security Council, we can probably expect another resolution in short order, condemning Israel without making any mention of the terrorist attack that killed 20 innocent Israelis.
30 years ago today was the start of the Yom Kippur war. But it seems unlikely that Syria will attack militarily. 2003 is not 1973 and even the Syrians aren’t that dumb.
This may have been a risky move for Israel . . . but it’s probably a necessary one, to expose to the world that the so-called “underdog” is really backed and sponsored by some of the world’s strongest countries.
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Yet another suicide bombing in Israel – this one in a Haifa restaurant. At least 19 killed, including a 1-week-old baby girl, and over 60 injured.
This makes me sick. But what makes me sicker is the reaction that the bomber’s family had to the news that their daughter was now a murderer:
Jaradat, who had finished her legal studies in Jordan five years ago, was supposed to finish her required apprenticeship next week before qualifying as a lawyer, her family said.
They were shocked to hear she was responsible for the bombing, “but we are receiving congratulations from people,” Thaher Jaradat, her younger brother said. “Why should we cry? It is like her wedding today, the happiest day for her,” he said.
What peace process? What peace partner? When they stop rejoicing in the death of innocent people, then, maybe there will be something to talk about. Until then, just more sadness, more violence, more tears.
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Our neighbours to the south aren’t wasting much time in further restricting the rights of women, by legislating a ban on partial-birth abortions:
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a ban on “partial birth abortions,” bringing anti-abortion forces within easy reach of a long-sought victory.
The U.S. Senate is expected to act within weeks, sending it to President Bush, who plans to sign it.
The procedure, often distorted by anti-abortion activists and misunderstood by most (male) legislators, is really only used when a fetus is severely deformed and there’s a risk to the life or health of the pregnant mother. But this new law aims to eliminate it, without providing an exception to protect the health of pregnant women:
Opponents of the ban say it is unconstitutional because it does not provide an exception to protect the health of a pregnant woman. Some also argue that the bill will actually apply to other more common abortion techniques, not just one particularly troublesome one.
New York Democrat Louise Slaughter said that backers of the ban are distorting it to suggest that it is a common procedure undertaken cavalierly on healthy fetuses. She argued that it is most often used when there are severe fetal deformities. “These are not children who will be born and run around the room,” she said.
I’m no fan of abortion but I think that the worst thing a government can do is to restrict the rights of a woman to choose. And this bill isn’t even aimed at people who callously abuse abortion as a form of birth control. Instead, it’s aimed at women whose health or even life may be at risk from a troubled pregnancy.
This is Congress practicing medicine – and not too well, for that matter. Legislators should stay away from meddling with the private reproductive rights of women.
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