UPDATE BELOW
[NB: I am still working on "The Status Quo for Jews, part 2" (see part 1). But I thought I would share this letter I wrote to Honest Reporting in response to their email to me from yesterday, just in case my response does not get to the people it is addressed to. The reason I wrote it has everything to do with Jews accidentally enforcing a Status Quo that is already stacked against us, especially in Israel — even organizations with the very best intentions, as these folks surely do. All emphases and links, except where initialed, were in the original email.]
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Dear Joe, Simon, Yarden and the rest of the Honest Reporting Staff,
I understand that it is your mission, and those who wish to assist, to correct media mishandling of Israel throughout the world. But I think, with all due respect, this time you have gone off the mark.
I will not sign on to the campaign below [in the email I received -CDG] because I consider it an obsequious gesture directed at the nations of the world. Not only was it pushed in our faces on your Web site, but you even wrote us so that we would have a chance to jump on the bandwagon without thinking about the consequences. Is it possible that the decision-makers at Honest Reporting might have thought it through before deciding to go ahead with it?
It is one thing to affirm that we Jews of Israel are against crimes due to hate, up to and including murder. It is quite another to fold into that affirmation what amounts to an accusation of people (especially fellow Jews) who have not been on trial and have not had the benefit of due process of law, as though we have no penalty for the crime of murder (never mind the baggage of racism that may add to an already-adequate penalty which should be levied on guilty parties equally.) - and, for that matter, who have not even been identified, particularly in the matter of the murder of one-year-old Ali Dawabsha and the burning of his family. Only the whole revenant ("settler") community has been accused, tried and convicted en masse in the media, and the police have just today decided that they need clues and are asking for them. The blow-back that has resulted has also been noted, according to Israel National News.
In addition, Carl from the Israel Matzav blog notes: "There was actually a report up in Hebrew on rotter.net yesterday that claimed that suspects had been arrested in connection with the arson, and that they were Arabs. But when I clicked on the link from Twitter, the post had been removed. It is not unheard of in this country for a report like that to be censored by the military censor for some period of time. In other words, the report could still be true." [this quote was found among posts for Monday, Aug. 3, 2015 - CDG]
It is equally possible that this is a Jenin all over again. We don't know yet; so, is it really necessary to join the stampede in the rush to judgment before the facts are known and revealed?
If we cannot wait for the truth to come out, and this is the best we can do as an Israeli nation with our unique mixture of Western and Middle Eastern law (and precious little Jewish law), maybe you are right and the best way to get a fair shake, or a fair hearing, is to attempt to sway public opinion. But I think doing it this way will backfire, just as it has for the Israeli police who attempted to accuse Jews of murder where a Jew dare not go for fear of being murdered himself due to lack of law enforcement (or the presence of a guerrilla war against the Jews in our country? Maybe?).
If, as a result of this letter and the post I have made of it for my blog (you will be able to track responses to it along with everyone else), it is demanded of me to go before the law and justify myself, in whatever way this occurs, I am going to appeal to the Sanhedrin for legal aid as necessary, and I suggest that all Jewish Israelis who find our current system wanting do the same. That is my protest.
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[Dear Pro-Israel Organizations: I did not post this email to single out Honest Reporting. You may want to check for similar inadvertent missteps amongst yourselves. It will help all of us. Thank you.]
UPDATE: Since the initial posting of this article, I have signed more petitions put out by Honest Reporting, including their latest, that wants to let the world know that the "Palestinians" named a street after the terrorist who murdered Jews a few weeks ago. -CDG, 2/11/2015
Very good for telling them off (smartly). This whole mass PR indoctrination against the religious Zionists / so-called Settler community is disgraceful. It reminds me of the leftist hate spurred on by Obama prior to the elections.
ReplyDeleteBut I don't understand your last paragraph referencing the Sanhedrin? Who are the 72 members of this body? Why would you need to go to them?
My last paragraph is what we should do instead of going crazy: go in the direction HaShem wants. His government includes the Sanhedrin (Knesseth haG'dolah - as opposed to the K'tanah one we have now). They are the only part of it that actually has feet on the ground as of now.
ReplyDeleteThe site lists the names at Current Members of the Nascent Sanhedrin. Read the background information carefully; most of the members have not authorized their names to be listed for various reasons.
If they can call the Pope for trial (which the defendant won't attend), why shouldn't we be able to make use of them? I would rather sit in their court than in the secular one because the latter rules by political correctness, the definition of which changes daily.
When I ever finish The Status Quo for Jews, part 2, be"H, the Sanhedrin will be part of it. There's a whole list of rulings they've already made here.
It's a lot better than this: A second look at "Jewish Terrorism" - Context.
...and to make things more confusing for readers who aren't in the know, the High Court of Justice is the the court I don't want to sit in, usually called BAGA"TZ.
ReplyDeleteThe Knesseth haK'tanah is likened to the US Congress, both houses rolled into one.
Time to thank haShem for the miracle that we're not getting nearly as much heat as the rest of the Middle East.
Something else occurred to me, as a result of this past week's events: The nascent Sanhedrin may need to be examined and learned about to see how genuine it is — depending on how it responds to the need for a righteous court at a time when it is clear as a bell that the Baga"tz will not fill the demand. We won't know until we try. Or else, G-d forbid, we will just keep letting the current system administratively detain religious Jews and revenants (haredi or dati) just because of their expressed opinions, regardless of whether they have acted on them or not. And what about if, as a result, it happens to us, r"l?
ReplyDeleteAnd something else: Their relationship to Mashiach. Do they introduce him because he has been among them all along? Does he just come along and win or demand their fealty? Or, does he just create a new Sanhedrin group, leaving them behind?
In any case, we desperately need an alternative. Turning to the current nascent Sanhedrin, rather than the Erev Rav court will at least show HaShem that we want things His way.
In this context I can't help but think about Yosef (whom we now, in retrospect, call the Tzadik) and the rest of our tribal ancestors - that they didn't recognize him until he announced himself. We get taught that things might have turned out a lot better had they recognized him and said so. Perhaps, out of our dire need, mightn't HaShem allow us to see and benefit from the first identifiable part of His government - if we would but call upon them to do their job?
The worst that could happen is they melt away, unable to accomplish what is asked of them, and they would then be replaced with those who will.
Any other thoughts?
CDG,
ReplyDeleteI hope they read and take to heart your well-written sensible message.
I hadn't realized that Honest Reporting had done this (and I appreciate your emphasizing that they probably aren't the only ones).
Thanks for sharing it all with the rest of us.
--Dassie
Dassie, you are most welcome. Thank you for your kind words.
ReplyDeleteEven though I have not been so active lately, quite some time ago I volunteered with my local Federation (very secular at the top, but the group had all types) toward this end, and I heard about some (not-so) interesting approaches this group was trying. I felt that they were taking instructions and passing them on to us to be all things to all people - and the best way to accomplish this was to appeal to the Center. Never mind that the Center has been moving Leftward for decades now.
As you know, this is impossible: In personal relationships, if you want to know whether the individual with you is a friend, he or she will make clear that you are accepted for who you are. The same is true among nations; it particularly applies to our unique Israel and her dear people. So, today, we stand alone, as many others have noted lately. Alone with our Best Friend, haShem.
Shabbat Ekev Shalom to everyone!
Until we really know who these Rabbis are and if there is 72 of them(?), we cannot rely on them. As we have read elsewhere, the Erev Rav are to be found everywhere! No one is immune, unless they reflect true Torah values. One of the roles of Mashiach will be to "smell" who is a (real) Jew. The sensitivity to smell is the highest spiritual dimension.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, it seems that Sherut Leumi has begun to allow "pride" people to join their service. That is alarming frum mothers concerning their daughters. If they don't go to the army, they are required to do social service. What's next??
Gotta run, Shabbat Shalom!
Neshama, thank you for your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteI believe the number is 71 rabbis (just heard R' Yosef Mizrahi say so on the most recent video Devash postes); also my thoughts firmed up over Shabbat.
We must test this Sanhedrin and it will either pass, or not; either be real or Erev Rav. If it doesn't pass, or is Erev Rav, it has to get out of the way so the real one can come. We cannot tolerate anything that isn't 100% real now. Have you not heard that the father of the Arab baby also died from his wounds and the Arabs want to go to outright war with us? We certainly need an alternative now.
10 December 2022: Can J Street still get away with pretending to be 'pro-Israel'? by Jonathan Tobin, originally on JNS.
ReplyDeleteI don't think so. Things are worse than ever today, but a lot of us know better, too.