Stanley E. Rose http://jta.org/user/profile/46444 en-us marcus@infolink.com.br Copyright 2009 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Let us not be led astray. Spain's justification for disqualifying the Israeli team has nothing to do with where the university is located. It has to do with the fact that Spain is one of the most anti-semitic countries in Europe. On the surface, this appears to be an anomaly. Spain has practically no Jews. They were all expelled in 1492, and although laws forbidding Jews to live in Spain were rescinded in the mid XIXth century, very few Jews have opted to live there. During WWII, Franco, who was "suspected" of having Jewish blood, allowed Jews, particularly Jews of Sephardi origen, to use Spain as an escape from Nazi-dominated Europe, but they were not allowed to stay beyond a certain period of time. The Jewish communities in Spain live very much in private. Of course, pro-Arab and anti-Israeli sentiments also affect Spaniards' thoughts about Jews in general. Anti-Jewish and anti-Israel material appear frequently in the press and is frequently evident in individual people's attitudes. There is present in Spain a societal sickness called "pureza de sangre," Racial purity. Does that sound vaguely familiar to the readers? Spaniards like to live under the illusion that they are descended from the corageous, pure-blooded Catholic knights and soldiers that, from the year 711 resisted the advances of the the Moslem invaders. Those heroic Christians who at some point were isolated in the very north of Spain, eventually drove the Moslems further and further south until, in 1492, they finally succeeded in cleansing Spain of its impure, non-Catholic population. Their national hero, the great "El Cid," cheated the Jewish moneylenders into funding his wars against the infidels, by giving them chests full of sand to hold in exchange for money.. The purpose of Inquisition, which lasted from the late 1400s well into the XIXth century, was to root out any vestiges of Jews or their descendents who had falsely converted to Catholicism only to retain their money and their exalted positions in Spanish Catholic society. People found to be hiding Jewish candlesticks or who didnt eat pork were burned at the stake. To tell a Spaniard that he has Jewish blood is highly insuslting to them. Right now, Spaniards are having a tough time maintaining their dignity since a recent genetics study revealed that about 20% of modern-day Spaniards have Jewish genes! 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 There is no way that Mr. Tiernan's remarks could be taken any other way except as blatant, Christian anti-semitism, coming from the mouth of an ignoramus whose veins flow with vinegar rather than blood. Mr. Tiernan's attempt to justify his remarks by saying they were taken out of context shows a total respect for humanity. It should be noted that in the United Kingdom, Jews are well represented in all walks of life and are genuinely accepted by the English populace. Ireland, in contrast, has a mere 1730 Jews and their numbers have been steadily declining. So when, as was reported, the remarks made by Mr. Tiernan were heartily received by his audience, it is no wonder the Jews are leaving. While the Archbishop's remarks show concern for the sensibilities of the Jewish community, his sermon on a Tuesday night will do little to change the hearts of the majority of Irish people. The Archbishop's remarks should be read at every Catholic Church in Ireland, and the Archbishop should take steps to excommunicate Mr. Tiernan. News of the incident should be carried to the Vatican and the Gezrman Pope should add his condemnation, in some show of support. Of course, we all know that nothing will be done beyond what has already happened. More and more Jews will continue to leave Ireland and, for all intents and purposes, Ireland will become "Judenrein." The true test of a country is how it treats its Jewish citizens. It is no wonder that Ireland is one of the most backward countries in Europe. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 There seems to be no end to the schemes people will come up with to make money. Even after Jews are dead, the bigots try to dig us up and resell the land. It is expected that people buried in cemeteries will be able to remain there in perpetuity. The accusations against Service Corporation International, which are corroborated by photographic evidence and personal observations, have occurred in other locations, Texas, Florida and Nevada. The company has paid families of the deceased in settlement of class action suits. The owner of the company, Robert Waltrip, is a close personal friend and campaign contributor of former President Bush and Joe Albaugh, Bush's Chief of Staff while Bush was governor of Texas and FEMA Director while Bush was in the White House. Mr. Bush was called upon to testify in the Texas investigation in 1999 but refused. It was alleged that he dismissed a state employee who was investigating the allegations. The Florida and Texas cases involved Jewish cemeteries, as in the California case. http://www.hereinreality.com/funeralgate.htm 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 There seems to be no end to the schemes people will come up with to make money. Even after Jews are dead, the bigots try to dig us up and resell the land. It is expected that people buried in cemeteries will be able to remain there in perpetuity. The accusations against Service Corporation International, which are corroborated by photographic evidence and personal observations, have occurred in other locations, Texas, Florida and Nevada. The company has paid families of the deceased in settlement of class action suits. The owner of the company, Robert Waltrip, is a close personal friend and campaign contributor of former President Bush and Joe Albaugh, Bush's Chief of Staff while Bush was governor of Texas and FEMA Director while Bush was in the White House. Mr. Bush was called upon to testify in the Texas investigation in 1999 but refused. It was alleged that he dismissed a state employee who was investigating the allegations. The Florida and Texas cases involved Jewish cemeteries, as in the California case. http://www.hereinreality.com/funeralgate.htm 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Mussa Aliwat is obviously cut from the same bigoted cloth as Roman Shvedov. It takes a bigot to know a bigot. Of course people of any ilk are allowed to express their opinions here, but no rational person would assert that a man who beat an elderly person and tore his clothes should be given a suspended sentence. I wonder what Mr. Aliwat would have said if the victim had been a mullah on his way home from his mosque. Would he have rounded up his cohorts, sought the perpetrator's house and send a suicide bomber to kill the perpetrator and his family? The decision of the judge to grant a suspended sentence seems, on its face, to be unjust and possibly rooted in the judge's own personal bigotry. It would be helpful to know if there were mitigating circumstances or if there was a plea agreement favorable to the victim. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 In 1948, the state of Israel was born. For the first time since the biblical period, Jews had a place in the world where they could go, practice their religion, and be relatively safe from persecution. Many months ago, I wrote a response where I talked about the many faces of the Jewish people. I spoke of the right of Israelis and all Jews to practice or not practice their Judaism in the way that was meaningful to them. Israel is supposed to be a democratic country. In a democracy, people are given the right to live their lives as they wish, so long as their practices do not cause harm to themselve, their families and their community. Unfortunately, the ultra orthodox community does not agree with the principles of democracy. They believe that because they are the true Jews, who are living a Jewish life according to what they regard as the correct way, it should be their right to force all the rest of the Jews into living the way they do. Such incidents as the recent uproar over a parking lot in Jerusalem being open on Saturday is a perfect example. As a mostly secular Jew, my response to that was: If you don't want to drive a car on Saturday, then don't do it, but don't stuff it down my throat. But let's put this in perspective. At least there is a religious reason for their opposing driving or parking on the Sabbath. The same cannot be said aboiut the the Haredi uproar over the allegedly mentally ill mother who purportedly starved her child. There is no justifiable, religion-based or morality-based reason for the Haredi community to support this woman, other than the fact that she is one of their own. There is nothing that I know, in the Bible, in the Talmud or in any other Jewish writings which states that starving your child is a religious practice that anybody should follow. It defies logic when the Haredi community backs a mentally ill woman who has committed a terrible, unspeakable act. Hitler killed millions of Jewish children. Why is it right for this woman to kill her child? This child needs the protection of the law. This woman needs to be kept away from the child so that she cannot hurt it any further, or to cause suffering to her other children. This woman needs treatment to overcome this mental defect. Why is the Haredi community supporting this woman? Why are they threatening hospital personnel for doing something which is a mitzvah, saving a child from harm? They should know that supporting this woman solely because she is a member of their community casts serious doubt on the sincerity of the Haredi community. To support the actions of a mentally ill person makes the Haredi community look foolish. The Haredi people need to learn that there are battles worth fighting and there are other matters they should steer clear of. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Germany alone does not bear the burden of the death of the 6 million Jews. The indifference of the rest of the world made it impossible for the Jews to leave their European countries and go elsewhere. The United States and other Western-hemisphere countries who were distant from the countries occupied or under imminent threat of being occupied by Hitler's armies, could have made a tremendous difference by allowing European Jews to enter their countries, even if for only a short time. There were, in fact, a few countries that did allow small numbers of Jews in, among them Spain, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. But their contribution was way too small in relation to the total numbers. One place which could have absorbed hundreds of thousands, if not millions, was Palestine, then under British control. The British greatly limited the number of Jews who could enter Palestine because of the strong opposition of the Arab powers. The whys and wherefores about why other countries not under Hitler's grasp denied refuge to the Jews can be explained in many different ways, some which make sense, and some which do not. Plain old-fashioned anti-semitism was certainly a factor. Whatever the justification, the fact that other countries did not allow Jews to take refuge gave Hitler all the fodder he needed to rob Jewish property and then ghettoize and exterminate the Jews. He concluded that since the rest of the world didn't care enough about the Jews to give them refuge, the world would remain silent, indeed indifferent, while he exterminated them. And to a large degree, he was right. Stories smuggled out of Europe about the extermination camps were kept under wraps by the western powers, and no efforts were made to bomb the camps. Ms. Levinsohn asked why the Allies didnt bomb the tracks leading to the death camps. It is unlikely that we will never know the answer. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 The Catholic Church is the largest heirarchy in the western world. It has held sway over western society for two millenia. Because of the sheer size of the Catholic Church, and the fact that they claim to speak the word of God in all things, has allowed them to do whatever they wanted, with no accountability whatsoever. The Catholic Church has been, for the past 2000 years, the worst enemy the Jewish people has ever had. Those of us who live in democratic countries, where the government serves the people, rather than the people serving the government, are upset when the government tries to pull a fast one on us. Consider the recent exposure of the illegal, unconstitutional and immoral actions of the Bush presidency. It is clear, from the exposure of this information, that George Bush used his powerful position to circumvent the law for his own purposes. It is now clear to everyone that George Bush will go down in history as one of the worst presidents this country has ever had. Evil has been exposed by opening up the archives and exposing it to the light of truth. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Pius XII. The Catholic Church says that Pius XII deserves to be beatified, yet they provide no information to support their stance. Their attitude is that they don't have to reveal anything about Pius XII and that nobody has the right to challenge them. That attitude no longer works. The Catholic Church does not exist in a vacuum. We have witnessed criticism, from inside and outside the Church, of the blatantly anti-semitic actions which have taken place under the leadership of the German pope. The Church is finding out that they can't get away with doing whatever they want, when what they are doing is immoral. The best recent example of this was the rehabilitation of a Catholic Bishop who was a Holocaust denier. It has become almost automatic that deceased popes are beatified. And this is generally done in chronological order. There are many in the Church who believe that John XXIII deserves to be beatified, but following protocol, they cannot do this until Pius XII is beatified before him. They know if they do open the archives, they would expose so much about the complicity of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust, beginning with the Concordat with Adolph Hitler, and encompassing the laundering of Nazi gold through the Vatican Bank (Alperin v. Vatican Bank and Franciscan Order, United States District Court for Northern California, Case No. C-99-04941 MMC resistk@yahoo.com tel/fax +1 202-318-206), The Church is trying to hide their tracks by citing a few examples about how Catholics helped Jews during the Holocaust, how churches and convents shielded Jews from extermination, how they converted those Jewish children into Catholics.. But this has nothing to do with Pius XII. It is clear that the Catholic Church can do whatever it wants. If they want to beatify a man who was complicit in the Holocaust, they have every right to do so. However, they must be aware that the decision to make a clearly immoral decision weakens the moral authority of the Catholic Church. Finally, if the Church under Pope Ratzinger, beatifies Pius XII, history will chalk it up to another wedge which the German pope is driving between Jews and Catholics. Ratzinger will go down in history as the twenty-first century's anti-semitic Nazi pope. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Ms. Golombick claims that the only acceptable form of Judaism practiced in Israel is the ultra-orthodox Torah True Judaism, which she claims BenGurion put in place. Notice that she even condemns the Hasidim as "deviants." Golombick seems to be a person who has no compassion and no understanding of the tragedy of the Hasidim who died in proportionately greater numbers than any other Jews in Europe, because of their vulnerability (outward appearance). If Golombick had her way, any Jews wishing to make Aliyah would have to prove that they met her "standards" of religiosity. That would clearly eliminate the millions of Soviet Jews who came to Israel with practically no religion and who have not automatically changed into devout "Torah True Jews." Ms. Golombick's attitude is symptomatic of the sickness of religious fanaticism. Jews were slaughtered by the millions in Europe and in other places, during the past 2000 years, because they refused to accept Catholicism or Islam. Thank G-d, Israel is a democracy, and the ultra-Orthodox leadership do not have the right to slaughter Reform, Conservative, Reconsructionist, Hasidic and any other Jews just because they do not choose to live according to the Ultra-Orthodox party line. The fanatic Orthodox Jews need to learn that the Jews are a people united by many other ties than observance of ultra-Orthodox religion. The Ultra Orthodox Jews want Israel to become a theocracy where Orthodox Jews force all Jews, as much as possible, to practice the Jewish religion in the ultra-orthodox manner, and they expect the government to support them in achieving their goal. I have only the highest admiration for religious Jews, of whatever ilk, who are good, honest people, who contribute to the common good, who treat others with respect, who perform Mitzvot, who raise their children in a Jewish home. Does it make me less of a Jew because I do not choose to get up at the crack of dawn, go to shul and lay t'fillin? What if I decide not to wear tsitsis? What if I don't go to shul every Friday night and Saturday? Should the Israeli government value me less as a person, as a citizen, because I do not do these things? And lastly, why should an army rabbi have the right to tell me that I cannot wear a beard? I hope that the Israeli government reads this newsletter, and I hope they are aware that allowing the radical orthodox to have a stranglehood on the Jewish community sends a very bad impression to Jews all over the world. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Madoff has not said where his investors' money went. We do know that this was the greatest financial swindle in history. We also know that countless thousands of peoples' lives are going to suffer greatly because of Madoff's greed. It is entirely appropriate that he spend the rest of his life in a tiny jail cell, but that is not going to help the people whose lives have been ruined because of him. It does not seem possible that the money is "gone." Ir has to be someplace, and he must know where it went. Madoff says that he is sorry. Let him prove that he is sorry by allowing him to come up with as much of the money as possible. This may lead to the identification and arrest of others who participated in the scam. He should be given an incentive. The greater his cooperation, the larger the incentive. Certainly all of his properties should be sold. However, some provision must be made for his wife to live minimally. As long as she is not implicated in any aspect of this destructive scam, she should be able to keep enough money to support herself. As for Madoff himself, if he is able to recoup a substantial part of the money, he should be allowed to use his mind in the performance of some beneficial community service, such as tutoring school children, or working in a day care center. I hope that when Madoff gets his final sentence, and he sees how bleak the rest of his life is going to be, he will start singing the benefits of restitution. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Pope Ratzinger's apology comes across as disengenuous. The Pope said he would not have handled the manner as he did if he had used the Internet. The truth is, he could have avoided the entire controversy if he (or his staff) had done a little research about Williamson and about the Pius X Society. Many people within the Church could have told him about their opposition to the Vatican II changes to Catholic doctrine and practices, and about Bishop Williamson's Anti-Semitic and Holocaust-denying views. The Pope also said he was hurt and surprised by the volumn of criticism from within the Catholic Church. What he should have admitted honestly was that he was schocked that Catholics would question is infallibility. The Pope and the heirarchy of the Catholic Church believe that they exist in a vacuum and that anything they do or say should not be subject to question or criticism, particularly from other Catholics. It seems that the doctrine of Papal infallibility is crumbling rapidly. What that means is that the Pope must make decisions more carefully and that he must, like it or not, take public opinion into consideration. And that means Catholic and non-Catholic public opinion. Ratzinger came to the Papacy with a reputation for being a conservative, whose role is to move the church to the right in order to heal the rifts. Also, despite the Vatican's efforts to disassociate this Pope from suspicions that he was associated with the Nazis, this has created a stain, deserved or not. He should never have been named Pope, not because he is unqualified, but because the questions about his past put into question much of what he does, particularly when it comes to dealings with the Jews. Remember the firestorm that followed his reinstatement of the Good Friday Prayer for the Jews. That alone caused a major setback in Catholic-Jewish relations equally as damaging as the Williamson fiasco. It is a good thing that he wrote this letter, but he should not expect the negative sentiments to go away because of it. A lot more effort will be needed in the future. He must learn that he is just a man, that he is not G-d or G-d's representative. He is the titular head, the CEO of the Catholic Church, one of the largest corporations on the face of the earth, and as such, he must exercise far greater caution in what he does. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 The lives of Palestinians, particularly children, should not be made pawns of the Palestinian government. There is little Israel can do in the future to bring Palestinians to Israeli hospitals where they can receive far better care than they could ever get in the West Bank or in Gaza. However, those Palestinians who are already in Israel should remain in Israeli hospitals, particularly those who have long-term or life-threatening health issues. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 In Western countries, a person who commits the crime of murder and is found to be incompetent, is sent to a mental institution where the possibility of rehabilitation exists (at least in theory). In most cases, incompetent murderers spend the rest of their lives in an institution for the criminally insane. The perpetrator in this case had previously killed his wife, yet here he was, out on the streets. Why was he let out to kill again? The blame here lies squarely on the Yemeni Government. They put him back on the street. If he can't afford it, the Yemeni government should payi the family the amount that the court determined, and should pay for the family to live in a safe place. If necessary, the should be provided with bodyguards. Failure of the government to take care of this poor family eschews the government's claim that the Jews are able to live peacefully in Yemen. . 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Williamson's "apology" states clearly that he regrets that his remarks on Swedish television put the Pope and the Catholic Church in a bad light. He did not say that the information and feelings he imparted were, regrettably, inaccurate. Let us make no mistake. "Bishop" Williamson is not just a Holocaust denier, he is also an anti-semite. Even if Williamson believes that only 300,000 Jews were killed by the Nazis and their collaborators, that by itself would be enough to cause the average thinking person to be horrified by what happened. Williamson seems to show no empathy. He says he wants to see proof of the extent of the Holocaust, but denies that it exists. The best course of action that the Pope could take would be to assign bishop Williamson to study the Holocaust for one year, and to write a book documenting his "discoveries.". I am sure the Yad Va Shem Museum in Israel and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC would be more than willing to present PROOF to Williamson. At Yad VaShem, he would see the individual records on the three or more millions of individual records they have collected so far. He should be shown the well-known newsreels that we used to see at the end of the war, showing sick, srtarving half-naked Jews, showing bodies being dumped into pits, ashes and bones being shovelled out of the ovens. . He should be made to tour all the camps and to spend time at Auschwitz, site of the largest killing center. He should be forced to read all of the documentation the Nazis kept of their activities. He should spend time with survivors and their descendents, hearing the anguished stories of the victims. If there is any drop of humanity in Williamson, he will be affected by what he has seen, and the result will be a recantation of his prior Holocaust denial. This does not, however, guarantee that Williamson will feel empathy for the victims or their survivors. Hard-core Nazi sympathizers believe that the Nazis were justified in attempting to exterminate the Jews. At that moment, the Pope has to make a crucial decision about Williamson's future. If he does as he should, he will excommunicate Williamsonan.. He should also be made ineligible to receive retirement benefits from the Church. If his Anti-Semitic friends wish to support Williamson, so be it At least the Catholic Church will not be in the position of financially supporting a Nazi sympathizer and Holocaust denier., Do I believe that the Pope will follow a plan of action similar to this? Not willingly. The Catholic Church prefers to solve its problems by hiding them under a rug. However, at least in the case of Mr. Williamson, the world has its finger on Ratzinger's pulse. If he does not take the right action, he risks doing further damage to the already badly-bruised facade of the Catholic Church. However, a greater problem for him is the fact that he is seen widely as covering up his perceived sympathy for the Nazis. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Let there be no misunderstanding. The hierarchy of the Catholic Church feels that the Church has moved too far to the left in many matters, among them the ways the Church deals with the Jews. It was anathema to many Catholics that Vatican II absolved the Jews of deicide, and allowed that G-d did not reject the Jews. The selection of a highly conservative German, particularly one who had roots in the Nazi Party, was a deliberate action. Pope Ratzinger is trying to walk a tight rope: claiming to be a friend of the Jews, claiming that he was not a Nazi sympathizer, knowing full well the many ways in which the Catholic Church aided the Nazis, during as well as after the war. At the same time, he knows it can be "political suicide" for the Catholic Church if he appears to be too hostile toward the Jews. The Williamson issue is a prime example of how much of the world, including Catholics, saw through what he was trying to do. When a leader attempts to pull bad things off and then tries to cover it up by disengenuous damage control, when this happens again and again, as has been the case with this Pope, it tends to weaken that leader's credibility. Pope Ratzinger is off to a bad start, and he must be watched like a hawk. It was nothing less than a bold-faced lie when Pope Ratzinger claimed that he was unaware of the Holocaust denial and pro-Nazi ideology espoused by Rev. Williamson. Pope Ratzinger was a university professor, highly educated, highly learned. For him to claim that he was unaware of the strong anti-Jewish sentiment of the Pius XII society was beyond belief. And to claim that he did not know the particulars of Williamson's anti-semitism is not only disengenuous, it shows his weakness by shifting the blame on his staff who may or may not have been part of the problem. I hope that the powerful people in the Jewish community will keep their eyes and ears open wide regarding this Pope, and to challenge him whenever it appears that he is trying to do something harmful to us. The Catholics may consider him "infallible," but he is far from that as far as we are concerned. He is a human being who brushes his teeth every morning the same way we do, and he is a reflection of the society into which he was born and in which he participated. The selection of a Pope is very similar to the selection of United States Supreme Court Justices. Presidents who have the privilege and responsibility of naming Supreme Court Justices, try to select men and women who reflect that President's values and morals. Presidents have attempted to manipulate the country's value system by selecting justices who might support or oppose major concerns of the time, such as school integration, abortion, gay rights, etc. The selection of Pope Ratzinger was a similar move on the part of the Catholic heirarchy, who are trying to re-shape the future of world Catholicism. The sad part is that the Catholic Church is the largest single spokesperson in the Christian world, and their actions have, over the centuries, had grave consequences for the Jewish people. It is frightening to think that, in some sense, our continued existence depends on the attitude of the heirarchy of the Catholic Church. Pius XII could have singlehandedly changed the course of the Holocaust. What might the Jewish community's situation be today if Pius had been a man of courage? This Pope must be watched at every step, because he could lead the world down the same evil path. I would like to add that the decision of the Argentine government to expel Mr. Williamson shows tremendous courage on its part. The Catholic Church is moving to the right, with deliberate speed. It is also taking advantage of the fact that Israel is on the hot seat right now. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark." (Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 4, line 90) Anthony Weiner did not ask all of the necessary questions. His next question should have been: If Mr. Ram can participate, why should the UAE exclude Ms. Pe'er? Without an affirmative response, Mr. Ram should refuse to participate. And not only Israel, but all other countries whose athletes would be participating in the tournament, should refuse to allow their athletes to attend. It is time for all honorable countries to step up to the line. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 The Catholic Church, under the leadership of a German, conservative pontiff, is moving inexorably to the right. The steps that the Church has taken under his leadership are raising hackles among Jews and Protestants, and the Church seems to thumbing its nose at us in a rather "holier than thou" attitude Pope Benedict's assertion that he was unaware of Mons. Williamson's Holocaust denial is disingenuous. The Pope claims that he was unaware of those activities. That puts his claim on the level of the U.S. politicians who have written to President Obama withdrawing their names from consideration for positions in his cabinet, due to their not having paid their taxes. While it is reasonable to understand how this information did not make it to Mr. Obama's desk before he nominated those individuals, it is not feasible to claim that the German Pope was unaware of Mons. Williamson's Holocaust Denial. Mr. Williamson has been on the scene for some time and his views are widely known. However, assuming that the Pontiff did not know about Mons. Wiliamson's activities, the Pope should have immediately withdrawn his offer of reinstatement. The bottom line is that the pontiff reinstated the Holocaust Denial even after he was fully apprised of it. For the pontiff to proceed with the reinstatement is tacit approval of the right to deny the Holocaust, and it opens up the door for the wave of Holocaust Denial. The German Pope began to dig a hole when he decided to reinstate the Good Friday prayer for the Jews. Since then he has been digging and widening the hole. If the Jewish community were to say that the German Pope is Antisemitic, that would seem to be a denial of statements the Pope has made in the past. We do not know whether the German Pope has been sincere in his statements over the years, but for the sake of Jewish//Catholic relations, let us accept that he has been sincere. This leaves us with the finding that the Pope is highly insensitive to the feelings and sensibilities of the Jews. The Catholic Church does not need to follow a man who creates roadblocks between Jews and Catholics. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 The world press has been totally taken in by the death figures issued by the Palestinians. Italy's Corriere della Sera reported that after a thorough investigation, they found that 600 or less were killed, and that most of them were palestinian gunmen and terrorists. Further, the world has forgotten that, since the year 2000, 1177 Israelis have been killed by Palestinian violence and terrorism. It is amazing that everybody condemns Israel for what they do, but nobody raises a hand to condemn the Palestinians for bombing southern Israel's cities, for blowing up buses loaded with Jewish passengers, or for going berzerk with building equipment. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 The conservative element of the College of Cardinals selected Ratzinger as Pope because they believe the Catholic Church has moved too far to the left, beginning with Vatican II. The turnaround in the Church hierarchy is evidenced by the fact that the Cardinals selected a man whose roots were in the Nazi Party. In theory, a Pope should be a man about whom there is no equivocationt. Any doubt that people might have had about Ratzinger was affirmed when he reinstated the Good Friday prayer for the Jews. Since that time, it has been downhill for Catholic/Jewish relations. The Catholic Church is not, and can never be the friend of the Jews. The Catholic Church's only interest in the Jews is to convince us to become Catholics or to pursue, critize and hurt us, through the use of propaganda and false sincerity for our good will. The Jewish community has suffered major persecutions in the past, most notedly through the Crusades. The heart of almost every European is a Catholic heart, and the hatred of the Jews which the Catholic Church teaches, is what led to the slaughter of millions of Jews throughout European history. We should also remember that Martin Luther, the first real Protestant, was also a virulent anti-semite. And for those who may have forgotten, Adolph Hitler was a Catholic. Perhaps that is why the Church was so willing to sign the Concordat. I am very fearful about the survival of Judiasm in Europe. I am afraid that the turnaround of the Catholic Church's, in its recent actions toward the Jews, such as the reinstastement of Holocaust denier Williamson, coupled with the world's condemnation of Israel's series of actions against the Palestinians, not just the recent Gaza war, are going to mean very hard times ahead for Jews. This upset in Europe will spur the Iranian government to speed up its completion of nuclear weapons, which places Israel at great risk. I believe, if all of this takes place as I fear, the recent actions of the Catholic Church will have succeeded in the Church's goals to convert as many as possible and kill off the rest of us. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 It is my lifelong belief that post-war Germans do not give a damn about what happened to the Jews from 1933 to 1945.. Their only interest in the Holocaust lies in what the institutionalization of hatred and the industrialization of extermination did to the German people. The issue that concerns the Germans is that not even the most insensitive, soldier or Concentration Camp guard could not be personally troubled at shooting human beings and seeing their naked, blood-oozing bodies writhing at the bottom of the pit at Babi Yar, or the bodies that were dragged out of the wagons operated by the Einsatzgruppen and buried in mass graves. Even the mass shooting of rats from the sewer would cause some emotional reaction in the average human being with a heart and a soul, so how could the destruction of Jewish human beings not upset the Germans in some way? The Germans do not regard Holocaust Remembrance as involving the Jews at all. To invite the Chairman of the Jewish community to the floor of parliament or, God forbid, invite her to speak, would totally upset the real purpose of Holocaust Remembrance. The Jews are still the enemy, because it was us who forced them to kill us. German propaganda of the time showed us a vile, evil, diseased, etc., and it taught that to kill Jews was a benefit to mankind. Following their logic, they were in the right to kill the Jews, but they failed to kill all of us because the war ended. Had they been given time, there would not be a Jew on the face of the European continent. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 After the Sept. 11 tragedy in NYC, Mayor Giuliani called upon rabbis, ministers and clerics of many religions to participate in a non-denominational prayer service at one of the NYC baseball stadiums. Among the participants was a Missouri Synod Lutheran Minister, a group of approx. 2.5 million adherents in the US. Following the service, the Minister was suspended by the Missouri Synod for participating in the ecumenical service, because according to their doctrine, participation in a multi-faith service put those other religions on an equal plane with the Missouri Synod Lutherans. Their doctrine claims that only members of the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church were considered worthy to go to Heaven. The outcry from the public was swift and sharp. The general tone of the criticism was that there are a lot of religions in this country who believe that they alone have all the answers and that only their members can achieve life everlasting in Heaven. For the Missouri Synod Lutherans to make that claim was highly offensive to all other Americans. The criticism also stressed that the tragic death of 3000 in the WTC affected people of all religions, and that the Minister's participation had nothing to do with who had all the answers about life after death. It had to do with helping the people of the United States to deal with the tragedy. The Missouri Synod quietly repealed the minister's suspension, largely because they were embarrassed by the public's criticism of their policy. Now we come to the Orthodox Rabbi who participated in the national prayer service for the inauguration of President Obama. The first thing that struck me was the fear that the Orthodox Rabbis had about giving legitimacy to Christians to claim that Jews who go into Christian Churches give fodder to the Christian desire to convert Jews. The next point that struck me was that Jews who went into Christian Churches, particularly large and beautiful ones like the National Cathedral, would be so impressed by the facility and by the pomp and splendor, that they would make haste to convert to Christianity. If the Rabbis think that Jews are not solidly rooted in their religion, and that by simply going into a Christian Church, they would be totally overwhelmed that they would prostrate themselves in front of the Minister and beg him to convert them to Christianity, then Judaism is sorely lacking in keeping its adherents in the Jewish community. To remain aloof and not support events such as the cathedral prayer service, also sends a message that we are somehow better than the Christians, and that we fear being contaminated by them. Thankfully, there was another rabbi who participated in the service. Let us hope and pray that the general public did not become aware of the ridiculous narrowminded policies conveyed by the Ultra Orthodox community. Whatever religion we have, we are also citizens of the United States, and we need to show our support for the President. The whole purpose of the multi-faith prayer service was for people of all faiths to express their support for the new president, and to let him and all Americans know that members of all faiths would be praying for the success of his policies, particularly his efforts to improve the economy and to help settle the Mideast crisis. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Cardinal Martino's one-sided remarks about Israel's incursion into the Gaza Strip show that the Catholic Church, like most of the world, has no understand of the psychology of fear under which the Isrealis live, every moment of every day. Bombs are constantly launched into Israel's south, but have the capacity to go much farther. Buses are bomed and many Israelis are killed or wounded. Palestinian workers in Israel commandeer construction tractors and use them to destroy Israeli property. How long should Israel have waited to take steps to stop the bombs coming out of Gaza? Having showed restraint in past similar incidents, the result was that the Palestinians regrouped and continued their efforts with renewed strength. Is the loss of life disproportionate to the number of Israelis injured or killed by the recent bombs? Yes, because the Palestinians locate their rocket launchers in areas populated by civilians, and use those civilians as pawns, throwing the disproportionate casualties in Israel's face. Israel was born out of the ashes of the Holocaust, and Israel's population was increased over the years by Jews from Europe and North Africa, who fled persecution in their homelands. Jews are still suffering persecution in some countries. Israel has lived under a state of war since before the War of Independence in 1948, and it is still the fervent goal of nearly the entire Islamic world, to kill every Jew they can and drive the rest into the sea. Rather than criticize Israel for the force of the incursion into Gaza, Israel should be praised for its efforts to insure that its people can live reasonably safe from harm. Not until the Arab world accepts Israel's right to exist, and not until the Arab Governments step up and rein in the terrorist groups, Israel must continue its current policy and defend itself, regardless what the rest of the world feels or thinks. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 There is no common-sense reason for 100,000 Jews to be living in Germany, the nation which led to the near-destruction of European Jewry from 1933 to 1945. It was no more than wishful thinking that Jews could go back to Germany and create a viable Jewish community amongst a people who hate and despise them so much . The Jews should have learned their lessons after 1945. The German people of today are just as anti-semitic as they ever were and ever will be. Yes, Jews have been returning to Germany, and despite some anti-semitic actions, they have begun to forge a semblance of Jewish life there. However, when the going gets a little bit rough, the ugly demon of anti-semitism raises its head and shows us that the Germans may have changed their skins but they have not changed their hearts. Once again we are seeing the German population venting their hatred and blaming the Jews for all their troubles. It is my belief that the only thing the Germans care about is what the Holocaust did to the character of the German people, and how it made them look in the eyes of the world: The historical German hatred of the Jews culminated in the industrialization of mass murder, and, like a virulent disease, it dehumanized a large segment of the German populace to a pack of wolves, swarming across Europe and nearly eliminating the Jewish presence on the European continent. The Germans fear to be shown in the same light today But the signs of potential anti-semitism are all there. Germans are more than just uncomfortable with the resurgence of Jewish life in Germany. . Jews in religious garb are attacked in the streets. Synagogues are defaced. Holocaust memorials are damaged. A recent article in JTA stated that the German government is proud that there were no synagogue burnings in the past year. Is that something to be proud of? For now, instead of burning the synagogues, they just deface them with anti-semitic symbols. These scenes take us back to the 1930s. As long as the economy is bad, German bigots will whip up fury and they will ignite the fires of anti-semitism throughout the German people. As long as the world economy continues to struggle, Germany will be at the spearhead o anti-semitism. And it behooves the Jews to do whatever they can to protect themselves and their communal property. Jews in the 1930s failed to recognize the sickness in the German character. They did not think the Germans were capable of harming them to any great degree. I hope that the German Jews of today, will have the common sense to wake up, smell the evil, and be prepared to leave before they get swept up. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 There are many ways to define what a Jew is. We are not all speakers of Jewish languages: Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, etc. We are not all practitioners of the Jewish religion. We are not all believers, to the contrary, statistics reported in the JTA reveal that the vast majority of Jews are atheists, or what we euphemistically call "Jewish Atheists." Many Jews identify themselves openly as Jews, while some are so assimilated that they do not. Some Jews still live in cultures where revealing their Jewish identity is risky. Some Jews, such as the Conversos, have only a remote historical connection to the Jewish people, but may themselves observe som form of Christianity. In the US, we constantly decry the high rates of intermarriage and assimilation, as if this were something new. However, assimilation to the predominant culture is something that has been going on since the days of the Greeks. For most of the years since the destruction of Israel in 70 c.e., Jews lived separately from the rest of society because those societies prevented us from mixing in. Only in the XIXth century did Jews in Europe begin to assimilate, some going so far as to convert to Christianity or to simply intermarry and lose their Jewish identifies. Many people in pre-war Germany were shocked to find out that the Nazi government considered them Jews when they didn't even know they had Jewish parents or grandparent and had never been inside a synagogue. Today, Israel exists as a place where all Jews can go and become citizens. They are free to live their lives in Israel in the way that meets their needs. That does not mean that, by moving to Israel, they are going to grow payess, wear tsitsis, don a stremel, and refrain from work on Shabbos. Nor should we expect them to. Israel is, after all, only 60 years old, it has an ever-changing population, as manifested by the influx of non-religious Russian Jews in the 1970s and beyond, and more recently the very religious and observant black Jews of Ethiopia. While the ultra-religious in Israel would like to impose their observances on all Jewish Israelis, that is not going to happen, nor should it. Israel is a democratic country, and Israelis have the right and the freedom to choose how they express their Jewishness. And it is not up to us to question or criticize them for their self expression. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00