YudelLine

Sunday, July 25

"On Tisha B'Av, police arrested three members of the Kach group after they were caught distributing leaflets calling for "foreigners to be removed from the Temple Mount" and for "the abomination to be moved to Syria or Iran and the Third Temple built" [where the mosques now stand]. One of the activists was carrying a large box containing cassettes and pamphlets of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, leader of the Kach movement, but these were not distributed.

Speaking of Hurban Bayit: Man, 78, loses house over unpaid $324 mortgage bill (Boston Globe)

Bar Ilan Research (1) Yeshiva high schoolers are losing their faith (Ha'aretz)

"The percentage of yeshiva high school graduates in Israel who define themselves as "totally religious" has dropped to 69 percent from 77 percent nine years ago, according to a new study by Avraham Leslau of the Sociological Institute for the Study of Communities at Bar-Ilan University."

Bar Ilan Research (2) A rose arose (Ha'aretz)

"Bar-Ilan University's Prof. Leshem has discovered that ingredients in the Viagra pill promote freshness and extend the shelf life of fruit and vegetables for as much as seven days. "

America discovers Barak: Barak obviously doesn't understand American Jews (JJ Goldberg)

"The gap is straightforward. Barak believes the Palestinians and Syrians are ready for peace, probably on terms Israel can safely accept. Most American Jews aren't convinced.

"The result: Barak is preparing for a full-court press toward peace with the Arabs, while much of American Jewry is still waging war against them.

"This translates into a welter of Jewish initiatives in Congress to give Israel protections it may not want: restricting Palestinian aid, limiting U.S. participation in theoretical Golan peacekeeping forces, preventing Washington from rewarding hardline Arab regimes when they soften."

Hate Watch: Suspects in Sacramento synagogue arson tied to 2nd hate group (Jewish Bulletin)

"Two brothers charged Monday in the murder of a gay Redding-area couple have been linked to a hate group called Christian Identity, which has spawned some of the most brutal attacks on unwitting victims the country has known.

"Christian Identity followers have been linked to numerous violent crimes.

• Longtime member Eric Rudolph, who remains at large, is a suspect in bombings of abortion clinics in Birmingham, Ala., and Atlanta, and at a gay nightclub and the Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta.
• Ohio resident Larry Wayne Harris, involved with the Aryan Nations, a Colorado-based offshoot of the umbrella group, was arrested in 1995 for illegally obtaining bubonic plague germs by mail. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud, was placed on probation and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.
• In Spokane, Wash., another splinter group, the Phineas Priesthood, set off bombs on one side of the city in 1996 so it could rob banks on the other side."

Yudel's Plug: If you haven't already read my dvar Torah showing how the Talmud rewrote the story of Phineas, aka Pinchas, to be an attack on God's harsh judgment rather than a defense of zealotry, you can do so now.

Santa Nigia: Hand holding a touchy subject for Catholics (Denver Post)

"For years American Catholics, and many Europeans, have held hands during the recitation of the Lord's Prayer, called the "Our Father'' by Catholics. The practice, which is both loved and hated, will come up for consideration when the Denver Archdiocese holds a liturgy conference here in September. "I hate holding hands with anybody in public,'' said Michelle White of Lakewood. "I dread it. It's not like you have a choice. My religion is very private.''"

Thursday, July 22

"The Court's decision sets a precedent, which means that, unlike the previous policy of all of Israel's governments till now, prayer by one man which is not done as protest and which does not potentially disturb the public peace is allowed on the Temple Mount."

When in Rome: Conservatives yield Western Wall to Orthodox (JPost)

"Acceding to an 11th-hour appeal from Internal Security Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, members of the Masorti (Conservative) Movement who had planned to hold a Tisha Be'av service at the Western Wall decided yesterday afternoon to pray instead at the Haas Promenade in Armon Hanatziv, overlooking the Temple Mount.

"When we get appeals from people like that, who show real concern for the safety of our own people, we can't reject them," said Rabbi Ehud Bandel, president of the Masorti Movement."

"Tel Aviv businesses began to close their doors at 7 P.M. last night - the Ninth of Av - in accordance with an order by the municipality's supervisor, which sent notice to all businesses involved in entertainment - cinemas, restaurants, cafes and discotheques - to remain closed until 5 this morning. Inspectors were dispatched onto the city's streets with instructions to level fines of hundreds of shekels on places disregarding the order."

With Allies Like These: WWII documents show UK nixed plan to save Jews (JPost)

"Britain stymied a secret US plan to save thousands of Jews from Nazi concentration camps during World War II because it feared they would emigrate to Palestine, according to British government papers that were declassified yesterday."

Wednesday, July 21

On the Eve of Tisha B'Av: Polarization threatens national security, Shin Bet chief warns

"Social cohesion is becoming more and more important, as national security issues increasingly pose a challenge not just to the IDF and the defense establishment, but to society as a whole. Terror and non-conventional weapons are becoming ever more significant threats, creating a long-term potential for undermining citizens' perceptions of personal security."

Speaking of Polarization: Education Ministry workers attacked for immodest dress (Ha'aretz)

"Haredim once against attacked secular women employed at the Education Ministry in Jerusalem yesterday, despite stepped-up efforts by the police to prevent such violence over the past month."

Speaking of Security Threats: Non-conventional warfare becomes conventional (Ha'aretz)

"The IDF's new operational assumption about the likelihood of non-conventional war has led to some fundamental changes in training soldiers. Last week, the IDF let Ha'aretz into a Negev base to see how it's done"

Now For Good News: Israel, Diaspora attempt to build a bridge and a common language

"In a two-day seminar in Jerusalem, 280 North Americans and nearly 100 mostly secular Israelis delved into ancient and modern Jewish texts in an attempt to discover if there is still something in common between the two communities.

Last week's meeting with American Jews was not the first. In another Kolot project, groups in New York and Jerusalem are studying parallel texts, sharing their thoughts in virtual havrutot via the Internet and later meeting to study together in person.

``The idea is that the Torah is the only thing we share," Motti Bar-Or said. ``Let's open a new dimension in Israel-Diaspora relations that is not about giving money and the centrality of Israel, but is about saying that there is something important happening in the Diaspora that we can bring to Israel.'' "

"Key figures in the American Jewish community report that Hoenlein is considering resigning from his post as head of the umbrella organization and that he is interested in taking charge of the Lauder Foundation, which funds educational projects in Eastern Europe. Apparently, Lauder made the proposal himself to his close friend."

"An Israeli astronaut and payload of Israeli experiments will be launched on a U.S. space shuttle next year, and Clinton and Barak agreed to establish a committee made up of NASA and the Israel Space Agency for the ``development of practical applications in the peaceful use of space." "

Goodbye: A daring troubadour: Meir Ariel, 1942 - 1999 (Ha'aretz)

""He was more fair to himself than anyone, the best man I ever knew," Hanan Yovel said yesterday of songwriter, composer and singer Meir Ariel, who died suddenly yesterday morning in Ichilov hospital at the age of 57."

Present Company Excepted: Media get carried away by JFK Jr.'s death (Jon Katz, Freedom Forum)

"Journalism, a medium historically charged with providing perspective, deflating power and celebrity and keeping both in check, is — thanks mostly to its unthinking embrace of technology — becoming an engine of the scandalous, the glamorous, the powerful and the famous."

Tuesday, July 20

Finally, A Jewish Angle: Expert: Kennedys have risk-taking gene (JPost)

"The Kennedys are not star-crossed, cursed, or unlucky; they "undoubtedly bear" the novelty-seeking and risk-taking gene discovered in Israel that makes members impulsive, adventurous, and tend to take chances with drugs, sex, speed, and other potentially dangerous activities."

Briefing Barak (1) Ettinger's back in town (Akiva Eldar in Ha'aretz)

Rabin and Shimon Peres also thought that an open line to the White House was all they needed and they neglected Congress and the Jewish community. It was a breach that beckoned Netanyahu and his friends both in the Jewish community and among the Republicans. Barak, who surrounded himself with advisors, decided he didn't need an advisor on Diaspora affairs, because he has a minister for the Diaspora. Indeed, the minister, Rabbi Michael Melchior, is an expert on the Diaspora in Europe

Briefing Barak (2) A honey-coated trap by Israel's 'friends' (Akiva Eldar in Ha'aretz)

"When he arrived in the United States in the spring of 1995, Yitzhak Rabin was surprised to discover that the leaders of the pro-Israel lobby, the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), had set a honey-coated trap for him."

Briefing Barak (3) Clinton's three-cornered hat (Akiva Eldar in Ha'aretz)

" Despite repeated requests by two prime ministers (Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres), the chairman of the Congressional Foreign Relations Committee, the right-wing Jew Benjamin Gilman, has forestalled the administration's initiative to give the PA special aid of no more than $10 million. He did this with the help of material he received from representatives of the Likud and the Jewish right about infringements of the Oslo agreement by the Palestinians."

"What must be understood is that these Republicans are being instructed in the meaning of pro-Israel by a number of pro-Likud staffers and by advisors like Doug Feith, Frank Gaffney, Dan Pipes and Mort Klein (president of the ZOA [Zionist Organization of America])."

"The aide further denied that Barak's refraining from attending services was linked to the "Reform issue," concerns Barak might have been prevailed upon officially to recognize non-orthodox Jewish institutions and thus offend his haredi coalition partners.

However, another worker in the Prime Minister's Office who was present at the time disagreed, saying such concerns were behind Barak's absence."

Don't Mourn - Organize! Raising funds for the Third Temple (Ha'aretz)

"All funds donated to the treasury will be traded for gold... which will be saved until the temple is ready for construction."

Tits for Tots: Breast-fed and Fit for Life (Wired News)

"Prolonged exclusive breast feeding reduced the risk of being obese or overweight among school age children in Bavaria who were born in the early 1990s."

Family Values: Gingriches may divorce (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Monday, July 19

Price of Victory: Hillary's hypocrisy (Salon)

Hillary's milk cartel is a price break for the wealthy on the backs of the poor!

On the Other Hand: Rabbi We Love Defends Woman We Hate

The Forward has a piece about my hometown rabbi, Shaya Kilimnick, and the Hillary campaign. Before moving to Rochester, Rabbi Kilimnick served in Little Rock. Telling the Forward he has been contacted about being involved in the campaign, Rabbi Kilimnick was quoted as saying "I would talk on her behalf. I would be an advocate."

"The smoke screen of the carpetbagger issue really isn't relevant," he was quoted by the Forward's Seth Gitell, who mispelled his name. "Upstate New York has issues that are not really known to the people downstate. I think Hillary will be more sensitive to those areas coming from out of state.... For my senator, I want somebody who's gong to think about my members and their businesesses and their quality of life."

Actually, for my senator, I'd rather have Rabbi Kilimnick.

Meet the New Boss: Ran Cohen: Shabbat shop closures are provocative

"Industry and Trade Minister Ran Cohen intends to lambaste Labor and Social Affairs Minister Eli Yishai during today's cabinet session, for the latter's decision to close two stores that were open yesterday in Gan Shmuel, near Hadera."

Jerusalem Conference Postmortem: Orthodox feminists must be heard (JPost Op Ed)

"Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau preferred to stay away, citing "scheduling conflicts."

Scheduling, of course, had nothing to do with it. At one point, the chief rabbi was in the very same convention center where the feminist meetings were taking place, one room away, delivering greetings to a different group."

A Nod to the News: The Last Kennedy (Salon)

"In fact, in all the Kennedy tragedies, down to the present, there has been a powerful element of hubris, a defying of fate and the gods, as though members of this family had to be more than mere mortals, just to prove they were Kennedys."

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