Ezzie and Babka have posts that remind me that the world is continually changing. One of these days someone is going to promote all of these products alongside a big heaping glass of soy milk.
Don’t Israelify Us
Ynet has a story that covers an important issue regarding Israeli Arabs.
Knesset Member Jamal Zahalka (Balad) took part in a protest conference against a government initiative to draft Arab youths for national service, and expressed his opposition to the idea on Saturday.
“Anyone who does national service will become a leper and Arab society will throw him up from its midst,” the minister told Ynet.
The Higher Arab Monitoring Committee of Israeli Arabs, one of the conference’s organizers, is taking a more moderate stance, and says it is carrying out an unending argument with those who chose to volunteer, and has launched a campaign to minimize the number of volunteers.
During the last year, the number of Arab-Israeli volunteers for national service doubled from 280 to 560. “If we did not launch our campaign, we would be seeing a number several times higher, and maybe even thousands would choose to volunteer for national service,” the Committee’s CEO, Abd Anbatawi said.
This is a problem. Your country asks that you be a part of it. Your country tries to protect and serve you and asks that you give something back. You take from your country but choose not to give. It begs the question of whether you really wish to be a part of the country.
Rebuked By RWAC
RWAC authors one of my favorite blogs. I find it to be well written and truly interesting. I appreciate his position and why he takes the stands that he does.
But sometimes I think that he and I are both grateful that we belong to different shuls. It is probably better that way. Anyhoo, this post caught my eye.
Why Do You Pray
My best friend and I spend all sorts of time debating and discussing all sorts of stuff. The title of this post sort of sums it all up. We had been discussing whether I actually believe in the moshiach (messiah) and whether I daven (pray) for him to come.
I am a little short on time so I can’t dig into this the way I want to, but I suppose that I can really sum up our conversation to be “Why do you pray?”
It deserves a real response. I’ll try to come back and give it later.
(Feel free to share your own thoughts/comments.)
Ann Coulter’s Most Recent Mumblings
I haven’t written about her for a whole variety of reasons, not the least of which has been time. But I thought that I would point out a link that I think is worth a look. Bookworm has a post that caught my eye because it was sensible.
The grouchy old bear pointed me to this article on WND. It contains all sorts of gems such as:
America is still quite friendly towards Jews, but the incessant attacks on Christianity by the likes of Deutsch, Forman and Abe Foxman have grown increasingly tiresome. Given this irritating behavior, and the historical fact that Jews have worn out their welcome in literally dozens of countries over the centuries, it is the height of foolishness for a small number of misguided individuals to demand that 80 percent of the American population remain silent about the tenets of its religious faith. Christians are dying for their faith in the Sudan, in North Korea, in China, Vietnam and Myanmar; they are not about to shut their mouths simply because a few Jews in the media disapprove of their beliefs.
and
Despite its flaws, America has been one of the best friends the Jews have ever had. It would not only be a tragedy, it would be a stupid and wasteful one if Americans were provoked into developing the instinctive anti-semitism that currently pervades Europe, the Middle East and so much of the rest of the world.
I do believe that we were just told to shut up and sit in the back of the bus, not to mention that the ignoramus repeats common antisemitic canards to try and make his point.
Well Voxy, Jews have been dying for our faith for quite a spell longer than you, but that is not the point. And frankly there is a disconnect between citing anti-Xtian issues in foreign countries in the context of this story. There is no correlation between the two. That is just a red herring.
Cutting to the chase, I don’t really care all that much about Coulter’s comments. I think that they were ignorant, unfounded and that they foster discord. She likes that kind of thing, so let her feel the results of her comments.
But the remarks you made were asinine and unreasonable. There is no war on Xtianity in the U.S. It may make you feel badly that people ask that the US Constitution be upheld. It may make you feel badly that some people prefer not to have religion stuffed in their face, but that is just too damned bad.
Jewish "intactivists" in U.S. stop circumcising
I think that some of these people have some serious issues. I have never once felt cheated, upset or irritated at all about my own bris. I couldn’t have been prouder than at my son’s brit milah.
NEW YORK (Reuters) – In most respects, Michelle Chernikoff Anderson is a rabbi’s dream congregant. She sings in the choir and takes classes at her synagogue.
But, like an increasing number of Jews in the United States, she has decided not to circumcise her son, rejecting the traditional notion that it is a Biblically prescribed sign of the Jewish relationship with God.
“I see circumcision as a blood ritual that I can let go of,” said Anderson, who lives in Southern California.
That is relatively meaningless lead and comment. It doesn’t give any sort of real detail or reason why she doesn’t want to do it.
Reiss, who calls himself an “intactivist,” maintains a roster of 50 officiants who conduct nonsurgical alternatives to the bris, traditionally performed on the eighth day after a boy’s birth. He says he fields as many as five queries weekly from conflicted parents.
Wow, five whole queries. Percentage wise that has got to be quite small. Certainly I understand that people are going to pick and choose the mitzvot that they follow, but there are some that you just do not ignore.
Judaism is divided on the matter of converts. Reform Judaism does not require it, Orthodox and Conservative movements do.
Circumcision’s detractors also claim the procedure reduces sexual sensation and endurance.
“I haven’t attempted foreskin restoration surgery, but I’ve thought about it,” said Matthew Taylor, an active Bay Area Jew who resents his own circumcision and who preaches on the evils of the practice to Jewish friends .
But author Julius Lester, who became a Reform convert to Judaism in 1982 and underwent circumcision to feel Jewish, said the procedure also boosted his sex life.
“Circumcised there are far more subtle sensations, and staying power is much, much longer,” he said. “From a sexual point of view, I wish I’d gotten circumcised many years earlier.”