Temple Mount protest #1 and Silwan

Jewish date: 17 Tammuz 5771 (Parashath Maṭṭoth).

Today’s holidays: The Fast of Tammuz (Judaism), Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week of Ordinary Time (Roman Catholicism), Feast Day of St. Dr. Doom/St. Thulsa Doom (Church of the SubGenius), Feast Day of the Magi: Krishna (Thelema).

Greetings.

Topic 1: Today is the 17th of Tammuz, a fast day commemorating the breaching of the walls of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), leading to the destruction of the Second Temple. You can find out more about it on the Orthodox Union’s Web-site.

Note: I am fasting, and it may show in the quality of my writing today.

Topic 2: A month ago, I wrote about my visit to the Temple Mount, which I was upset about, both in terms of what I had to do to get up there without being harassed and what I saw up there. This was not the end of the matter. As documented in “Protest: Stop Temple Mount Discrimination, Desecration”, last Thursday I took part in a demonstration against discrimination against Jews on the Temple Mount and of the Waqf’s treatment of the place. I am the guy with the sign saying אנחנו לא ד׳ימיים (“We are not dhimmis”), a refusal to accept Islamic domination. The protest took place at Gesher hamMesharim (the Strings Bridge) in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem). I asked the obvious question why the protest was not taking place somewhere more relevant to the Temple Mount. According to the organizer, holding the protest at the Western Wall would likely get us arrested. Instead, we (something like ten people) stood at the side of a major road with signs, chanting and talking with interested passersby in Hebrew and English. The number of protesters may have been small, but at least we got news coverage. Another protest is planned this Thursday.

Topic 3: I spent Shabbath in Kefar hatTemanim/Silwan, an illegally built neighborhood in Yerushalayim. The place I was at was Beth Yonathan, one of the few Jewish-owned and -occupied structures in the neighborhood; it contains several apartments and a synagogue/kolel (a sort of organization for Torah study). The rest of the neighborhood was built by Muslim Arabs, and much of the building was done in a national park—land which belongs to the state. The lack of legality shows. Many of the buildings are in bad condition. The roads are too narrow, too steep, frequently missing sidewalks, and blatantly unsafe. I whole-heartedly support government plans to bulldoze the structures built in the national park.

There is the graffiti everywhere, predominantly in Arabic.

This picture was taken on Saturday night on the way out of Silwan. See that Arabic graffiti? That is Allāhu akbar (الله أكبر, “Allah is great”), a phrase made infamous for its use by Islamic terrorists. I also saw a circled swastika graffiti on Shabbath afternoon. (Sorry, no photographs from during Shabbath.)

The anti-Semitism was not limited to graffiti. The Jews in Silwan live under the constant protection of guards and police, and it is needed, even just to take a walk. A stupid kid actually threw a rock at the army vehicle which took me and some other Jews from a parking lot to Beth Yonathan. Beth Yonathan’s multi-layered windows have cracks and bullet holes.

So why are Jews voluntarily living in such a hostile place? Jews and Muslims are fighting a low-level war over Israel. One of the tactics Muslims are using in the West for expanding the dominion of Islam is the creation of no-go zones, places where only Muslims can enter safely. (See “The 751 No-Go Zones of France” and “Muslim Autonomous Zones in the West?” for examples.) Israel is no exception, with the short-term, self-professed goal of the Palestinian Authority being the creation of a State of Palestine, essentially a very large no-go zone, since Jews in “Palestine” is somehow anathema. Silwan is just a smaller-scale attempt. Since Zionist Jews hold they have a duty to settle the land, no-go zones are anathema to them. Their living in such a hostile place is a concrete denial of Islamic domination.

Also: One can tell that there a sizable number of Muslims in Silwan due to the regular calls to prayer from minarets, such as this one near the parking lot:

The call to prayer was easily hearable within Beth Yonathan. There were also a lot of fireworks set off on Shabbath night, which was explained to me—I hope I am getting this right—as that Ramaḍān is coming soon, and unmarried Muslims are trying to get married ahead of then due to a prohibition of marrying then; the fireworks are part of the celebration. (Anyone sufficiently knowledgeable about Islam, please let me know if this is correct or not.)

Peace and have an easy fast.

’Aharon/Aaron

The theology of Equal Rites (Discworld Series, book 3)

Greetings.

Jewish date:  5 Siwan 5770 (Parashath Naso’).

Today’s holidays:  Day 49 of the ‘Omer/‘Erev Shavu‘oth (Judaism), Feast Day of John I (Roman Catholicism), Feast Day of St. Leonary Nimoy (Church of the SubGenius), Feast Day of Elias Ashmole (Thelema).

Note:  There will be no blogging by me for the next two days due to the Jewish holiday of Shavu‘oth.

Worthy cause of the day:  “Friends of the Earth U.S.:  Say 'No!' to Offsets, 'Yes!' to Real Climate Solutions”, “Repower America | Tell Your Senators: Time to act!”, “An inconvenient truth about the climate bill”, and “Help Wild Tigers Survive - The Petition Site”.

Cover of Equal Rites

Topic 1:  Equal Rites (Discworld Series, book 3) by Terry Pratchett.


WARNING:  SOME SPOILERS.


This is not a theological story.  It is not even a non-theological story with major theological elements.  The central theme of this story is magic performed by men versus magic performed by women as they are treated in fantasy:  the male magic of wizardry is considered good, while the female magic of wizardry is considered bad.  This is definitely not the first book to attack this cliché, i.e., the Oz books of L. Frank Baum featured good witches and bad wizards alongside bad witches and good wizards.  Pratchett has different method of handling this problem:  a dying wizard bequeaths his “wizardness” to a newborn baby girl, Eskarina “Esk” Smith, not knowing she is a girl.  This one act forces Esk and many of the other characters to try to find some way of dealing with the anomaly of a female wizard, whether to try to turn her into a witch or to accept her as a wizard.  In the process the worlds of witches and wizards collide, and your humble author decides to not spoil you on how things turn out in the end, as the state of sexual politics at the end of the story is not a theological issue.  (OK, I know:  there is a sexual political aspect of religion, especially these days when sexual equality or lack thereof is a real issue.  But the wizards-versus-witches issue is given as much theological depth here as the matter of feminism is given theological depth in The Marvelous Land of Oz.  Perhaps in another book...)

There are, nevertheless, a few theological elements in Equal Rites.  Pratchett does mention the cliché of witches worshiping a mother goddess and dancing naked in the woods—and he immediately dismisses it as a common delusion (at least so far as the Discworld is concerned).  Also noted in passing is the notion that religion makes people act unnaturally, leading them to visit witches to help them deal with the consequences.  There is real truth in this.  Much natural behavior (murder, rape, violence, infidelity, domination, promiscuity, etc.) is forbidden or strictly controlled by religion.  Pratchett give this a bit of a negative spin, but even adamantly anti-religious secularists normally advocate some degree control of such natural behaviors, if only for utilitarian reasons.  If some unnatural behavior is necessary for a more pleasant and safer society, so be it.

Also present is the notion that thought creates reality, which the wizard prodigy (and proto-love interest of Esk) Simon lectures on at Unseen University.  In our reality this is, of course, wrong.  Unfortunately, some people implicitly treat it as true by means of the fallacy of wishful thinking, and there are even a few works (The Secret, What the Bleep Do We Know?) which argue (badly) for the explicit version.  The counterfactual belief in thought creating reality shows up as a plot element in the form of the Things which dwell in the Dungeon Dimensions.  The Things threaten Esk and Simon, but once Esk realizes they are merely ideas without independent existence, they atrophy and evaporate.

Overall classification:  Humorous fantasy, but not for children.  Don’t beware of Things.

Theological rating:  ☈.  (Absurdist.)

Note:  I do not yet own a copy of Mort (Discworld Series, book 4), so it will be a while until I review it.  I could skip to the next book in the series I have, but I would rather review the series in order.  Anyone wishing to speed things up is welcome to send me copies of Discworld books I do not already own.

Topic 2:  The daily dose of anti-Semitism:  “Anti-Israel Detractors Go Postal to Stamp Out Israel (May 16, 2010)” and “"You Lied to Me, Jew Producer": Comedy Central Shocker”.  Irony may be found in “Rachel Corrie Died for This?”  “Journalist says only truth will set Palestine free” deals with the question of what it really means to be “pro-Palestinian”.  “Israeli-Palestinian conflict rages on Wikipedia” deals with a relatively recent method of trying to get a set of beliefs enshrined as the truth.

Topic 3:  For today’s religious humor: “I IS AMISH LOLCAT.”  (Sorry, they made no provision for embedding this one.  You will have to click on the link.)

Peace and ḥagh sameaḥ.

Aaron

Near-death experiences are not proof of an afterlife

Greetings.

Jewish date:  24 Nisan 5770 (Parashath Shemini).

Today’s holidays:  Day 9 of the ‘Omer (Judaism), Birthday of the Buddha (Buddhism), Thursday in the Octave of Easter (Roman Catholicism), Feast for the Three Days of the Writing of the Book of the Law (Thelema), Feast of St. Geronimo (Church of the Subgenius).

Worthy causes of the day:  “ColorOfChange.org:  Keep the Internet open” and “Save the Critically Endangered Mexican Gray Wolves - The Petition Site”.

Image of a ketamine molecule via Wikipedia

Topic 1:  “The Ketamine Model of the Near Death Experience: A Central Role for the NMDA Receptor”. This may go over the heads of many readers.  The gist is that the author, Dr. Karl L. R. Jansen, claims that near-death experiences (NDEs)—the whole light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel business—can be reproduced by use of the drug ketamine.  That is not why I am noting this paper.  Instead, I would like to note this fragment:

Unfortunately, some scientists have been deterred from conducting research upon the NDE by claims that NDE's are evidence for life after death, and sensationalist media reports which impart the air of a pseudoscience to NDE studies. Irrespective of religous beliefs, NDE's are not evidence for life after death on simple logical grounds: death is defined as the final, irreversible end. Anyone who 'returned' did not, by definition, die - although their mind, brain and body may have been in a very unusual state.

One might quibble with Dr. Jansen on the definition of death; clinical death, in which the heart stops beating and the lungs stop breathing occasionally is reversible.  But, yes, a near-death experience is an experience which one may have near death.  Proof of an afterlife would require communication from someone who is actually dead.

Note:  I do believe in an afterlife, but only because I believe in a religion which holds by the existence of an afterlife—not due to any evidence which demonstrates that an afterlife exists.

Topic 2:  More on current anti-Semitism:  “Return of the Living Dead” and “FT: Promoting Demonization & Boycotts”.  The first article deals with the recent claim that the Gazan boy Muhammad Zen Ismail Al-Farmawi was killed by the Israeli Defense Forces.  Reports of his demise were premature, as he was found to be in Egyptian custody after illegally crossing the border.  This is only the latest in a series of events reported by “Palestinians” which turned out to be wildly inaccurate and biased to make Israel look bad.  The second deals with abuse of the term “apartheid” to make it apply to Israel.  (Shades of Nineteen Eighty-Four.)

Topic 3:  For today’s religious humor:  “I think I’ll pass, but thanks!”  (And I very much doubt that is what was intended when they made that movie.)

Peace.

Aaron

The ridiculous Jerusalem incident and the US’s lack of a chief rabbi

Greetings.

Jewish date:  4 Nisan 5770 (Parashath Wayyiqra’).

Today’s holidays:  Saint Joseph's Day (Roman Catholicism), Bahá’í Month of Fasting (Bahá’í Faith), Eve of the Holy Season (Thelema), Mojoday (Discordianism).

Worthy causes of the day:  “Save the Internet: Take Action!:  Stop the Great Internet Rip-Off”, “American Heart Association - Reinventing Healthcare:  Time to Act: Tell Your Representative to "Vote YES"”, “Heart Disease and Stroke. You’re the Cure.:  Tell your Senator NOW is the time to protect South Carolina kids”, and “Save BioGems: Take Action: Stop Pebble Mine”.

Topic 1:  More on the ridiculous Jerusalem incident:  “Special Report: Making Sense of the Jerusalem Crisis” dismantles the ideas that adding new housing to Ramath Shelomo prevents peace between Israel and stateless Arabs and that the Ḥurvah Synagogue undermines the Temple Mount (from 330 meters away).  Also noted is that the stateless Arabs thought this would be a great time to name a public square after terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, who in 1978 murdered 38 and wounded 71; it is a glaring double standard to consider planning to build housing a provocation but not honoring a murderer.  Rav Shmuley Boteach argues in “Obama’s Bullying of Israel” that Israel is under no obligation to do whatever the United States government wants it to do.  Israel is an independent country with a functional government, not US territory, and the duty of its government is to act in Israel’s best interest, not that of the US.  Correctly noted is that the governments of other nations who receive aid from the US are not held by anyone to do whatever the US wants them to.  Yaakov Kirschen in his Dry Bones cartoon also puts in his two cents in “Latest News (1990)” and “The Response”.

Topic 2:  Also by Rav Boteach:  “Why America Has No Chief Rabbi”.  Rav Boteach argues that the lack of an obligatory rabbinical hierarchy in the USA is a good thing.  Rabbis here are free to innovate and act as they believe right, as they are not beholden to a system in which they must take politics into account.  A rigid hierarchy collectively works to protect itself and can easily stifle anything that does not fit well with what the hierarchy is trying to do.  Though Rav Boteach contrasts the USA with the UK, arguably the problem exists elsewhere and even within the USA in more hierarchically organized groups.  It also is not limited to Judaism.  Contrast the USA and Europe in general; the USA, without any official state religion or obligatory religious hierarchies, is the most religious country in the West, while Europe, which has multiple official state religions, is infamous for religious indifference and secularism.  I hope that the Chief Rabbinate of Israel takes this to mind; I have already heard about too many scandals and political maneuvers over there.  When we get a Sanhedhrin again, they last thing we need is for it to be try to squash people trying to take initiative in doing what YHWH wants.

Topic 3:  For today’s religious humor:  Since Pesaḥ (Passover) will be soon:  “The 2010 Facebook Haggadah” and “Robots of the R&D Institute for Intelligent Robotic Systems, Computer Science Department”:


Peace and Shabbath shalom.

Aaron

Never blindly trust a translation II

Greetings.

Jewish date:  5 Shevaṭ 5770 (Parashath Bo’).

Today’s holidays:  Feast Days of Fabian and Sebastian (Roman Catholicism).

Worthy cause of the day:  “Take Action: General Mills Palm Oil Causes Rainforest Destruction”.

Topic 1:  Recently I complained about the inherent flaws of translations.  I gave two examples then showing that a bad translation can give impressions which are wrong.  And now I give another one.  In my reading of the New Testament in Koinē Greek, I am working on the first chapter of Luke, and it so happens that in Luke 1:26 describes Mary as enmnēsteumenēn.  The parallel passage in Mark, verse 1:18, describes her as mnēsteutheisēs.  These words—the same word, expressed a bit differently—is conventionally translated in English as “betrothed”—and this translation is wrong.  From the way the same word is used in the Septuagint versions of Exodus 22:15, Deuteronomy 20:7, Deuteronomy 22:23, Deuteronomy 22:25, Deuteronomy 22:27-28, and Hosea 2:21-22, it clearly means something significantly different.  Judaism recognizes two stages to marriage, ’erusin and nissu’in.  ’Erusin, which is usually contracted by by the groom giving the bride a ring, is not betrothal.  (There is not even a real concept of betrothal in Judaism.)  After ’erusin, the bride is considered a married woman, and if she sleeps with any man other than her husband, she commits adultery.  It is with nissu’in, however, that the husband brings his wife into his domain (symbolically), and the marriage can be consummated.  (It should go without saying that Judaism forbids premarital sex.)  Mary, at the time discussed by these verses, is a me’oreseth and thus already Joseph’s wife, but without the marriage being consummated.  It is for this reason that Joseph in Matthew 1:19 plans to divorce Mary:  she has presumably committed adultery, for which Jewish law requires divorce.  If they had not been actually, then she would not have been forbidden to him, even what she had presumably done is prohibited.  Thus by mistranslation of a single term, the whole incident is given an incorrect interpretation.

Topic 2:  More reports of current anti-Semitism:  “Global National Issues On-Air Clarification After HRC Complaint (January 19, 2010)” and “BBC: Denying Jewish Jerusalem”.  For a twist, “Israel: Bringing Hope Amidst Haiti's Rubble” reports on positive reporting about Israel for a change.

Topic 3:  For today’s religious humor:  “LOLcat bible book uv Fluffeh, ch 7 v 10 by wonphatcat”:

(Hint:  Matthew 4:18 and Mark 1:17.)

Peace.

Aaron

Banning the veil and the impossibility of peace in our time

Greetings.

Jewish date:  4 Shevaṭ 5770 (Parashath Bo’).

Today’s holidays:  Tuesday of the Second Week of Ordinary Time (Roman Catholicism).

Topic 1:  “Sarkozy party chief: France must ban full Muslim veil”:  France is considering yet another law interfering with freedom of religion.  Just like the religious clothing ban in French public schools, banning the veil for anyone wishing to become a French citizen attacks a symbol, not what the symbol stands for.  And not necessarily what the symbol stands for to the person who wears it, but rather what Sarkozy and company interpret it to mean.  Better that France outright not allow Islamists and anyone else intent on forcing others to conform to their religion to become citizens than to play such games.

Topic 2:  More articles on the Arab-Israeli War:  “Peace blocked by pro-Hamas media and Gaza activists” (by a “Palestinian”!), “Palestinians Need a Generation or Two” (on why a real peace is currently impossible), and “Pilar Rahola is a Spanish politician, journalist and activist” (on European hypocrisy on the Arab-Israeli War).

Topic 3:  For today’s religious humor:  “kitekat died 4 ur sins - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats”:


Peace.

Aaron

There is more to Christmas than presents

Image of Charlie Brown via Wikipedia

Greetings.

Jewish date:  23 Kislew 5770 (Parashath Wayyeshev).

Today’s holiday:  Thursday of the Second Week of Advent (Roman Catholicism).

Worthy causes of the day:  “MoveOn.org Political Action: Reform MUST include a public option”, “Petition: We Need Progressive Senators To Fight | Progressive Change Campaign Committee”, and “The failure to establish a public option is President Obama's failure alone.  Sign our petition to President Obama fight for what he said he believed in.”

Topic 1:  More current anti-Semitism:  “Guardian's Dodgy Death Toll” and “UNRWA: Perpetuating the Misery”, which deal with baseless statistics and the United Nations and Arab states doing what they can to keep the so-called “Palestinians” living in misery so they have an excuse to blame Israel.

Topic 2:  My favorite Christmas special, which the other day showed up on Hulu:  A Charlie Brown Christmas.

It is admittedly strange for an Orthodox Jew to have a favorite Christmas special, but it makes sense in the context of this blog.  A typical Christmas special deals with one of more characters doing something to get into the spirit of giving or things going wrong with Santa Claus’s gift-giving duties.  A Charlie Brown Christmas, possibly uniquely, actually mentions with what Christmas is supposed to be about:  the birth of Jesus.  Linus quotes the Gospels on this point, and the plot centers around the characters preparing for a Nativity play.  Also, rather than gifts, love is emphasized.  The difference is subtle.  While giving gifts may be an act of love, there are other expressions of love.  Charlie Brown shows love for a tiny nebbish of a Christmas tree, accepting it despite its shortcomings when no one else wants it.  He brings it to his friends to get the troupe in the proper Christmas spirit, and though they reject it, he still loves it.  When he thinks he has killed it when he tries to decorate it, his friends realize their error and decorate it themselves.  They realize that Charlie Brown was right and accept him.  Rather than emphasizing the presents and Santa Claus, the theology and morality of holiday is emphasized.

Peace.

Aaron

Perversity in jihad

Greetings.

Jewish date:  14 Kislew 5770 (Parashath Wayyishlaḥ).

Today’s holidays:  Tuesday of the First Week of Advent (Roman Catholicism), Feast Day of Sir Aleister Crowley (Thelema).

Worthy causes of the day:  “Save Africa's Great Cats and Rare Canids - The Petition Site” and “Tell Harry Reid: Don't let them filibuster the public option.”  Also, please note this interesting publicity video:  “Pink Gloves Dance to Jay Sean's Down for Breast Cancer Awareness”.

I am still working on my review of The Matrix Triology.  Hopefully you should get that tomorrow.  In the meantime, I give you two items on the sheer perversity of the Israeli-Arab War, “Nasrallah Throws A Bone to the Refugees” and The Dry Bones cartoon “Delivery Systems (1994)”.

Peace.

Aaron

Anti-Semitism in “peace plans”

Greetings.

Jewish date:  10 Kislew 5770 (Parashath Wayyeṣe’).

Today’s holidays:  Friday of the Thirty-Fourth Week of Ordinary Time (Roman Catholicism), Feast of Harry Smith (Thelema), Eidul-Adha (Islam).

Worthy cause of the day:  “End Water Pollution from Mountaintop Removal Mining - The Petition Site”.

Today’s topic:  “No Jews Allowed”.  This The Dry Bones cartoon deals with a fundamental asymmetry in many “peace plans” meant to handle the Israeli-Arab War:  Jews are supposed to completely evacuate “Arab” areas, while Arabs are supposed to be able to live everywhere in Israel.  This is anti-Semitic, no matter how anyone tries to sugar-coat it.  And, no, this is not specific to Barack Obama.  This is commonly proposed, especially by Arabs and Muslims.

Peace and Shabbath shalom.

Aaron

Is dread Cthulhu a symbol of the Christmas spirit?

Greetings.

Jewish date:  2 Kislew 5770 (Parashath Toledhoth).

Today’s holiday:  Thursday of the Thirty-Third Week of Ordinary Time (Roman Catholicism).

Worthy causes of the day:  “Alliance for Climate Protection | Send a message to the EPA: Tell the EPA you support strong fuel efficiency standards” and “Take Action: Will President Obama Attend the Copenhagen Climate Talks?”

Topic 1:  Latest anti-Semitism articles:  “Under Attack: HR Accused by UK TV Documentary” and “What Does "Pro-Palestinian" Really Mean?”.  I like the second one especially since it makes the good point that being anti-Jewish, anti-Israeli, and anti-Zionist is not the same thing as being pro-“Palestinian”.  Attacking Jews accomplishes spreading hate.  It does nothing that actually benefits the so-called “Palestinians”, who have been treated as pawns by other Muslims in political games and tyrannized by their own leaders.  Aiding and abetting the continuing abuse of the “Palestinians” does nothing to help them.

Topic 2:  A bit of humor:  Even this long before Christmas, Christmas humor has started spreading.  The first of two I have collected so far is “Cthulu Holiday Decorations”.  Cthulhu, you will remember, is a fictional pseudo-deity who does not care for humanity at all.  The other is “Just Who is This Guy?”:

Notice that Santa Claus combines three traits people do not usually appreciate.  This is a bit odd for the symbol of a favorite holiday of love and joy.

Peace.

Aaron

More Arab/Islamic politicking

Greetings.

Jewish date:  18 Tishri 5770.


Today’s holidays:  Ḥol hamMo‘edh Sukkoth (Judaism), Samhain (Wicca).

Image via Wikipedia

Topic 2:  Yesterday I wrote about Muslims on the Temple Mount rioting under suspicious circumstances.  Suspicion is very much warranted:  Israeli police found wheelbarrows filled with rocks on the Temple Mount.  This indicates that the rock-throwing was not spontaneous but rather planned.  The Palestinian Authority, of course, claims the find was staged.  (As if the Palestinian Authority was actually trustworthy.  The key word here is taqiyya.)  They also still have the audacity to still complain about Israeli “aggression” and engage in paranoia.  It should be obvious that  it is illegitimate to manufacture a complaint against anyone.  If one has a legitimate complaint, one can make it based upon facts and evidence.  If one has to stage an incident, then one probably has nothing on which to base a complaint.  (Either that or one is one is so unbelievably stupid as to lie when telling the truth would do a better job.)  For people who are supposed to be big on honor like the Arabs, this sort of stunt is disgustingly dishonorable, and all those who have participated in this charade owe the entire State of Israel a serious apology—at the very least.

Aaron

Jimmy Carter, anti-Semitism, and Eastwick

Greetings.

Jewish date:  13 Tishri 5770.

Today’s holiday:  Holy Protection of the Theotokos (Greek Orthodox Christianity).

Worthy causes of the day:  Give blood, please.  I just got called asking for a donation of platelets, and I scheduled an appointment for the day after Simḥath Torah.  If you can give blood, please do so and save a life.  Also:  “I SUPPORT A PUBLIC OPTION”, “Call them out: Tell Harry Reid to expose the Democrats who want to filibuster a public option”, “Send a message to your Senators (Support Senate clean energy legislation)”, and “Responsible Teen Sex-Education Programs”.

Progress on my sukkah:  Furniture and an electric light have been installed.  The decorations are going up today (YHWH willing).  Also:  see the Dry Bones cartoon “Sukkot (1994)”.

Topic 1:  “Jimmy Carter’s Price Tag”.  This article by Rav Shmuely Boteach argues that Jimmy Carter is not an anti-Semite.  This may sound surprising, considering Carter’s one-sided criticism of Israel (e.g., Palestine Peace Not Apartheid).  Rav Boteach argues that Carter is actually a “useful idiot” who takes the moral shortcut of assuming that in any conflict, the weaker of the two parties is always right (“underdogma”).  Unless one’s moral system explicitly claims the weak are always right and the strong are always wrong—and I am not aware of any formally declared moral system which does—this is a fallacy.  Morality is usually conceived of dealing with how one behaves, and there is nothing impossible or even unlikely about the strong doing good and the weak doing evil.  Power simply makes it easier to do evil on a larger scale.  However, the ability to do great evil does not always translate into doing great evil.  In the Israeli-Arab War (in progress since the 1920s), if Israel has really been committing genocide as its detractors have claimed, it has been doing an unbelievably incompetent job of it.  Israel has a larger population, a stronger military, a higher level of education, and more resources than the so-called “Palestinians”.  Israel has repeatedly beaten off invading armies.  If they really wanted to wipe out the “Palestinians”, who are more of a nuisance to Israeli society than an actual danger, they could have done so easily long ago.  Instead, only a few thousand “Palestinians” (at most) have died at Israeli hands—out of a population of a few million.  This puts the chances of a “Palestinian” being killed by Israelis in the neighborhood of 0.1%.  This is completely inconsistent with genocide; it is completely consistent with Israel fighting a defensive war against the “Palestinians”.

Topic 2:  “Israel: As Fanatical as Iran?”:  This Honest Reporting report documents a variation on tu quoque (“Hey, Israel’s just as bad as Iran.  Why aren’t you picking on them instead?”), a bizarre accusation involving chewing gun, and one-sidedness in the Goldstone Report.

Topic 3:  They had another episode of Eastwick on television last night, “Reaping and Sewing”, and you must all now suffer along with me.  I am kicking myself (figuratively) over not realizing before my last Eastwick post that the concept of working magic via wishes is very similar to the concept behind the monstrously stupid film and book The Secret, in which one is supposed to get whatever one thinks about (“the law of attraction”, which apparently does not work for me).  In the world of Eastwick, however, Darryl claims that it really does work for Joanna.  In this episode, Joanna continues her investigation of Darryl van Horne and strongly suspects that he has stolen the identity of a dead child; Darryl has certainly done something magical to cover up his true past, and it is not like Satan would have his own birth certificate or Social Security number.  The rest of the theology and magic is pretty much the same as in the previous episode:  premonitions, the ethics of controlling other people through magic, and unintended conjuring.

Time for me to move on to other things I have to do...

Aaron