Ortho-blog Failed Messiah predicts a failed Rabbi Riskin

Blogger Failed Messiah responds to a jpost article that reports on modern Orthodox outrage at the Haredi coup d'etat in the rabbinic court system in Israel. I agree with what he says. While the MO rabbis were not looking, the Haredim honed their political skills.

Here's part of FM's post:

Personally, I think this is a case of too little, too late. The MO-NRP world wasted its time on land and expanding Jewish 'control' over the West Bank and Gaza. While it did so, haredim hijacked the apparatus of state religion, making life worse for everyone but, perhaps, a few haredim themselves. And, at the same time, secular Israelis and the Israeli center ? made up mostly of traditional Jews who at one time valued rabbis and Orthodoxy, if not as a daily way of life then as an ideal ? have moved farther away from religion and have increasingly hostile views of Orthodoxy and of rabbis.

Both Netanyahu and Olmert need the haredim to have a chance of forming a government in the next election. Therefore, neither will risk alienating haredi leadership. This means a new MO-NRP religious court system is dead in the water. It also means MO-NRP leadership has again failed, and that is no surprise ? they have consistently failed most every test for last 40 years.

Israeli President Goes Bananas

From the BBC:

Israeli papers slam Katsav tirade

Israeli PM Ehud Olmert has called for Katsav's resignation Israeli papers have stepped up pressure on President Moshe Katsav to quit over allegations of rape, after his furious denials at a press conference on Wednesday. Commentators believe Mr Katsav's emotional performance and angry attacks on his accusers have made things worse for him, with one describing the president as "raging". There is a consensus that Mr Katsav, who has requested leave of absence, can no longer stay in office. YOSSI VERTER IN HAARETZ One has to tell the truth: The media treated Katsav harshly in the last six months. Such is the media. But after yesterday's horror show at 3 President Street, it is difficult to feel any pangs of conscience. NITZAN KIDAR IN HATZOFE The president decided yesterday to shoulder the responsibility, at least partially, while scattering accusations in every possible direction - only not against himself. With such grave accusations hanging over his head, Katsav should have put down the keys and gone home. AMNON DANKNER IN MAARIV A person who says such things in such a way about the police, the attorney general and the media can be many things but he cannot be president. EDITORIAL IN HAARETZ If the president has indeed committed the acts attributed to him, there is no reason to expect him to begin acting honourably now. If the president has decided not to resign, there is no choice but to oust him. DAVID HOROWITZ IN JERUSALEM POST For some 50 minutes on Wednesday night, a raging, emotional President Moshe Katsav sprayed furious accusations. He vowed a "world war" to save his name. But this is a battle, as he now acknowledged, that Katsav, innocent or not, cannot continue to wage from the president's residence. EDITORIAL IN YEDIOT AHARONOT He could have ended the affair quietly, reached agreement with the attorney general, the police and even the first plaintiff and gone home. However, he decided to fight and what is he left with? SIMA KADMON IN YEDIOT AHARONOT The president of the state lives in a movie. But we live in a horror movie: A monstrous charge sheet hangs over the head of the president and in the Knesset they still find it difficult to depose him. BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.

Chief Rabbi's Son Embarrasses Worldwide Rabbinate With Moronic Pronouncements

YNET has reported that Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, son of Former Chief Sephardic Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, says that Jews resettling of Gush Katif is the cure for the rampant corruption of the government.

In a new pamphlet he absurdly accuses Israeli PM Olmert of taking bribes from antiSemites and Arabs. In the most inane rabbinic free associative and non-sequiteurial thinking of the year, Eliyahu says the remedy for this is to "restore the truth" - yes - by Jews moving back to Gaza.

Rabbis, your Israeli colleague is mocking you and devaluing your profession. Won't you raise a voice? The story:

Safed rabbi calls for return to Gush Katif

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu publishes opinion on Gaza disengagement, its instigators, how to turn back time; 'we must save Israel from Sharon's corrupt followers,' he says

by Efrat Weiss

Shmuel Eliyahu, Chief Rabbi of the northern city of Safed, called for the re-settlement of Gush Katif, a bloc of Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza Strip evacuated as part of the disengagement plan.

"We must save the State of Israel from the corrupt, (former Prime Minister) Ariel Sharon's followers… We must return to Gush Katif; we need 100 brave men to come with equipment and sleeping bags… It is ours; we were expelled under false pretenses, and we must restore the truth," the rabbi said in an article published over the weekend.

The article, titled "Return to Katif," was published in "Salvation Springs," a pamphlet distributed over the weekend in synagogues throughout Israel.

Rabbi Eliyahu, son of Former Chief Sephardic Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, is very popular in the community, especially amongst the youth.

In the article, the rabbi wrote: "If you were told tomorrow that behind (Prime Minister Ehud) Olmert's decision to back the 'disengagement' stood money – lots of money which he received under the table – would you fall off your seats? Probably not. And if you were told that this money was European, coming from anti-Semitic or Arab organizations, it would not be surprising."

Eliyahu continued to criticize "Sharon's followers," calling them corrupt and blinded by greed.

"We must take initiative, we must return to Gush Katif. What could happen? We'll be kicked out? We will return again and another seven times… The media may present us as delusional, but eventually they will understand that we have no other way. Eventually the truth will lead the way," he added.

Rabbi Eliyahu ended his letter calling for recruits for the re-settlement, saying they would come armed with weapons and "restore the truth," adding that this idea should be expanded throughout Israel.

Davos Leaders: "Enough is Enough" in the Middle East

The AP Reports that the Middle East will get plenty of attention at the World Economic Forum. With no-content session titles like, "Enough is Enough" - expect a lot of rhetoric to be generated and no substantive proposals to emerge. Anyway, don't the oil companies want the turmoil to continue to keep supplies low and prices high?

Middle East Big Issue at World Forum
By Bradley S. Klapper, Associated Press Writer

Middle East Turmoil to Take Center Stage at World Economic Forum

GENEVA (AP) -- Middle East turmoil will take center stage at this year's World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, with Israeli and Palestinian officials, Middle Eastern leaders and Iraqi politicians attending, organizers said Wednesday.

The lineup for this year's meeting lacks a big-hitter from The White House, but several Bush administration officials and presidential hopefuls will attend. The guest list includes Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and key Shia, Sunni and Kurdish politicians from Iraq.

Israel will be represented by Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni at the Forum, which begins next Wednesday just a couple of weeks before a meeting between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as part of a U.S. effort to breathe life into moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

"The Middle East issue is the most crucial issue for the world at this moment," said Klaus Schwab, head of the foundation that hosts the annual meeting of more than 1,000 business and political leaders and officials in Davos.

One Middle East session is titled "Enough is Enough." Another on the future of the region includes European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and ex-Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, a frequent guest...

Funny comments on stupid Ha'aretz news stories

Ha'aretz has a slow news day today. The paper is running some pretty thin stories.

One story is about Rabbi Marc Schneier speaking in a Mosque today in honor of Martin Luther King day - excuse me - wrong day, wrong religion, but precision doesn't count in the rabbinate.

The other story is about PM Olmert getting an eyelid lift surgery - without telling anyone! Talk about trying to stir up the news. I don't think he was in grave danger during the simple plastic surgery.

Most entertaining are the comments which Ha'aretz permits to be appended to these articles. Examples: On Schneier, "You take schnurring to a whole new level"; On Olmert, "Let`s all chip in and get olmert a brain lift". Cute stuff. Well earned sarcasm.

Times: Israel Economy Strong. No Catastrophe Looming.

I live in Teaneck, NJ, a highly educated mainly Orthodox Jewish community. My friends lean to the right politically and have a habit of bashing the government of Israel. Olmert is often called a moron, an idiot, a failure, etc. The way they make it sound, Israel is going to hell in a handbasket. This is a version of what some call "Catastrophic Zionism." These people who believe in CZ love and support an imaginary Israel that is one step from catastrophe.

I sit and listen and then say that the facts tell a different story. The government is sound, the society is solid and the economy is good. Israel has problems and is doing a very good job of managing them. There will not be "peace" with the Arabs but there are a lot of intelligent leaders managing the conflict.

Sorry friends. You can go ahead and inhabit your CZ universe. Reality reports to us that there is no looming catastrophe.

Here is page three of the NY Times today on the Israeli economy. Not a bad year-end report:

Amid Political Upheaval, Israeli Economy Stays Healthy
By GREG MYRE
JERUSALEM, Dec. 26 — For Israel, it has been a typically tumultuous year: Ariel Sharon, then the prime minister, collapsed into a coma on Jan. 4, the radical Islamic group Hamas won Palestinian elections later that month, and Israel fought a monthlong war in Lebanon this summer.

But despite the political turmoil and spasms of violence, Israel, it seems, has figured out how to keep its economy charging forward.

It was the country’s third straight year of strong growth, with the economy expanding nearly 5 percent. The stock market has been hitting record highs; unemployment is at a 10-year low. Israel’s central bank is lowering interest rates to 4.5 percent on Jan. 1, putting them well below rates in the United States, an almost unprecedented development. The Israeli shekel is trading at 4.2 to the dollar, its strongest level in five years.

Further, Warren E. Buffett, the billionaire investor, paid $4 billion for an Israeli company, and Donald Trump is developing a 70-story luxury residential tower on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

“Israelis look at the economy, and they’ve essentially been through these disturbances in the past, and they know the economy is pretty robust and it tends to come back,” said Stanley Fischer, the governor of the Bank of Israel. “Things that happen here have a smaller impact on markets than I think they would abroad.”

While the Israeli economy has been thriving, the Palestinian economy has moved in the opposite direction, contracting by an estimated 10 to 15 percent this year, according to the Palestine Monetary Authority.

For Israel, the business that best illustrates the economy’s resilience this year is the company Mr. Buffett bought, Iscar Metalworking Company, a global leader in the manufacture of precision metal-cutting tools.

In May, Mr. Buffet bought 80 percent of the company, which has its headquarters on an isolated hilltop in northern Israel that offers a panoramic view of the nearby border with Lebanon.

Barely two months later, a cross-border raid by Hezbollah guerrillas ignited 34 days of fighting that pushed Israeli troops into Lebanon and drew heavy rocket barrages against northern Israel.

One rocket slammed into the Tefen Industrial Park, where Iscar is situated, causing minor damage to a building belonging to another company. Many more rockets crashed nearby during the weeks of war.

Many Iscar workers moved their families away from the border region, but the company maintained production, with only occasional slowdowns.

“It took us a brief time to adjust, but we didn’t miss a single shipment,” said Eitan Wertheimer, Iscar’s chairman. “For our customers around the world, there was no war.”

The northern city of Haifa came under almost daily rocket attacks, and ships stopped entering Haifa’s port, the country’s largest. Some exporters shipped their goods by air at much higher expense in order to meet deadlines.

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, which has been setting records throughout the year, seemingly shrugged off the war; it was slightly higher at the end of the conflict in August than before it started in July.

At the beginning of the year, Israel’s economy was forecast to grow at around 5.5 percent, and will come in at about 4.8 percent, according to Mr. Fischer, who attributed the dip to the war.

The article goes on - I recommend that you bookmark the Times country page for Israel.

OK to Nuke Iran?

Seymour Hersh usually says something in his New Yorker articles. But in his latest he takes 6000 words to ask questions which he does not answer and to repeat obvious facts.

The question is spelled out in the subtitle of the article whose title is "THE NEXT ACT" and whose subtitle is "Is a damaged Administration less likely to attack Iran, or more?" Hersh just doesn't answer.

Then he tells us obvious things about the situation in the region, things that everyone knows:

A nuclear-armed Iran would not only threaten Israel. It could trigger a strategic-arms race throughout the Middle East, as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt—all led by Sunni governments—would be compelled to take steps to defend themselves. The Bush Administration, if it does take military action against Iran, would have support from Democrats as well as Republicans. Senators Hillary Clinton, of New York, and Evan Bayh, of Indiana, who are potential Democratic Presidential candidates, have warned that Iran cannot be permitted to build a bomb and that—as Clinton said earlier this year—“we cannot take any option off the table.” Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has also endorsed this view. Last May, Olmert was given a rousing reception when he addressed a joint session of Congress and declared, “A nuclear Iran means a terrorist state could achieve the primary mission for which terrorists live and die—the mass destruction of innocent human life. This challenge, which I believe is the test of our time, is one the West cannot afford to fail.”

Despite such rhetoric, Leslie Gelb, a former State Department official who is a president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, said he believes that, “when push comes to shove, the Israelis will have a hard time selling the idea that an Iranian nuclear capability is imminent. The military and the State Department will be flat against a preëmptive bombing campaign.” Gelb said he hoped that Gates’s appointment would add weight to America’s most pressing issue—“to get some level of Iranian restraint inside Iraq. In the next year or two, we’re much more likely to be negotiating with Iran than bombing it.”

All in all it's a wordy disappointing article that neither causes me any alarm nor makes me more secure about the threats from those meshuggenas in Iran.

NY Times: We have no clue why Christians are Zionists

The Times started a series of articles on the Christian Zionists. We covered this for the Jewish Standard several months ago -- in a review of David Brog's book and two accompanying interviews -- and so far we did a lot better job of analyzing the phenomenon. We tried to explain the theology and religious motives of these folks.

So far the Times does not give a clue. It's quite a mixed up article, jumping around from Hagee to Dobson to Eckstein and not really telling us much at all. In short, they have no idea why Christians are Zionists. Here is the start of the disappointing article:

For Evangelicals, Supporting Israel Is ‘God’s Foreign Policy’
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 — As Israeli bombs fell on Lebanon for a second week last July, the Rev. John Hagee of San Antonio arrived in Washington with 3,500 evangelicals for the first annual conference of his newly founded organization, Christians United For Israel.

At a dinner addressed by the Israeli ambassador, a handful of Republican senators and the chairman of the Republican Party, Mr. Hagee read greetings from President Bush and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel and dispatched the crowd with a message for their representatives in Congress. Tell them “to let Israel do their job” of destroying the Lebanese militia, Hezbollah, Mr. Hagee said.

He called the conflict “a battle between good and evil” and said support for Israel was “God’s foreign policy.”

The next day he took the same message to the White House.

Jewish Outrage Over Olmert-Kebab Art

Recall last year when all of Islam was up in arms because of some cartoons? Well Jews can get upset by art too. But ironically in my town some Jews would like this!

AUSTRALIAN Jewish leaders have expressed outrage over an artwork in a Sydney gallery, which shows four images of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s head skewered by a kebab stick.

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies CEO Vic Alhadeff said the painting, titled Ehud Olmert Kebab, is “obscene” and “crosses the line of acceptable decency”.

“Political commentary and debate are part of a democratic society, but to have an artwork that depicts anybody’s head on a skewer ... is offensive.”

Alhadeff added that the exhibition at the Mori Gallery, which includes multimedia works by 45 Arab artists in response to the recent war in Lebanon, is “indicative of a double standard”. The show is titled t’fouh, an Arabic expression meaning “to spit on you”.

I'll stand together with 73% of Israeli Jews - proud of the government and the IDF

Olmert under fire over cease-fire Jerusalem Post

The JP is not known for its love of EO. And yet buried deep in this story is one clear fact of the matter:

A Dahaf Institute poll in Yediot Aharonot found, however, that only 17% of Israelis, including just 13% of Israeli Jews believed that Israel would lose the war, while 37% of Israelis and 40% of Israeli Jews believed Israel would win. The poll reported that 66% of Israelis and 73% of Israeli Jews approved of Olmert's management of the war.

And I must say that JP writers like Caroline Glick -- she must be on the Hezbollah payroll to publish a rant that calls this war, "An unmitigated disaster."

Olmert: Hamas has a different concept of life

PM Olmert is quite pessimistic about negotiating with Hamas as he spells out in an interview with TIME.com:

TIME: Would you consider going back to negotiations rather than continue with the unilateral strategy? Do you see any prospect for negotiations with Hamas if they moderate their rhetoric?

Olmert: They can't just change their rhetoric. They need to change their entire way of life, they need to change entirely their state of mind about Israel's existence. It's so much deeper than rhetoric. To just believe that if Ismail Haniyeh tomorrow starts using different words, that will make the difference? No way. This is a typical fundamentalist, extremist religious movement that does not think in political terms the way we're accustomed to. Therefore I'm not very optimistic they can change overnight. They can change their rhetoric but they can't change substance.

Their inability to accept the existence of two states and their total dedication to an Islamic religious fundamentalist state all across the Middle East to Africa to Asia is still their most dominant driving force. Don't get it wrong, some of them are very sophisticated, well educated people. But they have a different concept of life.

I agree 100%. Hamas promotes a total culture of violence. There is no reason to talk with them.