Orthodox Jewish Holocaust Deniers in Iran?

World slams Holocaust deniers in Iran (Jerusalem Post)





Orthodox rabbis embracing Ahmadinejad?

Amidst the general western dismay at Iran's absurd "Conference on the Holocaust" (whose main objective seems to be to plan another), these Associated Press photographs - published widely - cloud and confuse the issue.

Yes, certainly, it is known that there are anti-Zionist orthodox Jews who do not support Israel for various reasons historical, religious and political, but is it really possible that a Jew would have so little respect for his own Jewishness as to be photographed embracing the Jew-hater Ahmadinejad at a conference such as this?

Well the answer seems to be: It's a big world, there are bound to be some sick, publicity-crazy meshugoim in it.

These nuts have been turning up in the news for years. The important thing to note is that there aren't actually very many of them, it's just that the few there are manage to get around a lot. Their cabal numbers no more 35 or 40 men worldwide: 10-20 each in Israel and the US, and perhaps 5 in London and 1 in Vienna; that's about it.

They use the name "Neturei Karta", because it sounds cool and historical, and there's nothing the real Neturei Karta can do to stop them. (Not that there's much of the real NK left any more: most members have stopped using that name because they don't want to be identified with these kooks. But there are still a few NK institutions: a study hall in Meah Shearim, two schools and a newspaper, and these weirdos are not welcome at any of them.)

But nothing much can be done to stop them prancing around the world, so they continue to appear at every anti-Israel event they can possibly get to, attracting media attention left and right. They are funded by antisemites, so they have no need of any support from other Jews, which they certainly don't and wouldn't get.

Their leader in Israel (or should I say Palestine?), Moshe Hirsch, was found to have been on Yasser Arafat's payroll, and attended his funeral. Documents discosed by Israel's Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center and the Center for Special Studies (CSS) revealed that Arafat paid more than $50,000 to Hirsch, as "foreign minister" of Neturei Karta.

As to why the secular Israeli political and legal establishments leave Hirsch to run around the world when they could easily have him jailed for treason: one theory is that they see the embarrassment to religious Jewry in general (not only ultra-orthodox Jewry) as in their interests.

For an interesting article on a related type of cynicism of the secular Israeli political leadership, see this cogent article by Larry Derfner, a secular jouralist. He writes, inter alia: "I get incensed that every official visitor to Israel has to stop first at Yad Vashem - to be softened up and put on the defensive before the give-and-take of diplomacy with Israel can begin."

Added Dec. 14th: As a result of the publicity during the last few days, the Eda Haredit issued this condemnation. Also, here, Jonathan Rosenblum writes how the British member of the delegation, Ahron Cohen, has been told he is persona-non-grata in the Satmar synagogue in Manchester, where he lives, and similarly at "Rav Huna's" in Golders Green.

Protest rally in London

5 August 2006

Reuters pulls phony Beirut photo

Read the amazing full story at littlegreenfootballs.com



In the most recent in a series of online controversies to take on the mainstream media, a Web blog discredited a Reuters photograph of the fighting in Lebanon, forcing the news agency to issue an apology and remove the image from their archives.

The photograph by Adnan Hajj, shows plumes of smoke rising from downtown Beirut after an IAF bombing. Notice the repeating patterns in the smoke caused by clumsy use of the "clone" tool.

The US-based blog LittleGreenFootballs.com first wrote about the controversy and included a series of detailed animations drawing attention to doctored elements of the photograph. (Take a look at the original blog here, its incredible. There's much more than just the zig-zags in the smoke. )

What next, one wonders?

Are animal biscuits kosher?

Thanks to Canonist for pointing out this hilarious distraction in our troubled times.

To the Editor of Yated Neeman

Dear Editor,

Poschim b’chvod achsanyah. My family loves reading this wonderful newspaper, as it is the only newspaper that truly belongs in a Torah home.

I would like to share with you an experience that I recently had, one that I found very disturbing. I opened up a box of heimishe-brand animal crackers and was terribly dismayed to see that a whole array of non-kosher animals are featured! What are we teaching our children, to eat treife animals?! Are we chas v’shalom teaching our children to eat bears and elephants?

Wishing to hear a response.
I remain,
F. O. G.

Canonist asked: But seriously, how funny can this get? Some of the responses (the site is great for comments) were quite amusing.

Avraham wrote: “I have this great image of armies of little children roaming the Catskill mountains looking for bears to bring home to their bungalows for dinner.

Also: ”Wouldn’t animal crackers of only kosher animals be horribly boring? Fish, chicken, beef, lamb… well I suppose at least there’s giraffe [which is kosher]."

Jewishwhistleblower exclaimed: "Fish and meat together in the same box?"

D said: "Actually, FOG got the issue all wrong. The problem is Eiver Min haChai since the animal crackers certainly represent living creatures rather than ones geshochted, cooked an on a plate."

Jewishwhistleblower pointed out: "Clearly, if the head is still attached to your cracker it hasn’t been properly shechted. Such crackers must not have heads or, chas v’shalom, our children may learn to to eat giraffes that have not been properly shechted."

Bob added: "D, I am being dan l’kav zchus and assuming that FOG holds by the shitta that if you eat them all in one bite it’s muttar."

And finally: "Unsalted crackers are clearly a problem, chas v’shalom. Though perhaps such crackers could be broiled with direct fire, like liver, and then eaten?"

Hmm. Remember the little blue sachets of salt that used to come in bags of crisps years ago? Perhaps they could be introduced into the kosher brands of animal biscuits for educational purposes, and as a condition for receiving kosher certification.

Welcome to the club

A Jerusalem Post article by Mark Stein sums up rather well the Danish-flag-burning saga. Pointing out that:

Thus, NBC... in its coverage of the global riots over the Danish cartoons, has declined to show any of the offending artwork out of "respect" for the Muslim faith.

Which means out of respect for their ability to locate the executive vice-president's home in the suburbs and firebomb his garage.

After pointing out the absurdly unilateral nature of western "multi-cultural sensitivity", he ends with the brilliant line:

...there's very little difference between living under Exquisitely Refined Multicultural Sensitivity and Shari'a. As a famously sensitive Dane once put it:

"To be or not to be, that is the question."