Elder of Ziyon Daily Digest

The Elder of Ziyon Haggadah (2009) - download it now!
Weekend links
Dutch might ban ritual slaughter. Is circumcision next?
Some sober analysis of the "Arab Spring"
Latest Latma - Lo Dayenu
Rock band Journey sues BDS group for (badly) singing their song
Abbas instructs newspapers to stop insulting Hamas
Vittorio was not a peace activist. He was not a human rights activist.
April rocket calendar

The Elder of Ziyon Haggadah (2009) - download it now!

Posted: 15 Apr 2011 10:45 AM PDT

It contains the full Haggadah text, including English (except for Nirtzah.) It includes dozens of commentaries that I found on the Internet, almost all from a religious-Zionist perspective. Many of the commentaries assume that the audience is religious, so there are many transliterations of Hebrew words that I did not translate. I did not write anything original; I just compiled and edited it, pretty quickly.

The Haggadah is in PDF format, suitable for printing. It is 61 pages long and looks decent when printed two-sided on a color printer.

I had always hoped to rewrite it and make a real printed edition, which would entail paraphrasing all the commentaries and expanding it, but I never had the time.

(I seem to remember that a paragraph in Maggid is missing, but I couldn't find it now from a quick glance. Maybe I'll fix it next year.)

About 1500 people downloaded the Haggadah so far.

I still can't believe that there are not more Haggadahs with an explicitly Zionist theme, at least in English. The theme of redemption seems such a natural fit.

(Here's one that is implicitly Zionist, based on the writings of Rav Kook. )

To download the Elder of Ziyon Haggadah, click here and then click on the text that says "Click here to start download from MediaFire."

חג שמח!

Weekend links

Posted: 15 Apr 2011 10:05 AM PDT

Ephraim Karsh looks at how many Arab refugees there were in 1948. His conclusion: 583,000-609,000.

Alan Dershowitz on Norman Finkelstein's support for Hezbollah rockets at Israeli civilians.

NYT says that some US groups helped the Arab uprisings.

Investor's Business Daily on why Israel prospers while Arab regimes suffer.

Krauthammer video interview at JPost.

An Indian region strengthening ties with Israel on fruit crops.

Guess who's building a wall?

The delusion of peace initiatives, at the Begin-Sadat Center.

(h/t Mike, YM, Zvi, oao, Folderol, Benjamin)

Dutch might ban ritual slaughter. Is circumcision next?

Posted: 15 Apr 2011 08:51 AM PDT

Holland is considering banning ritual slaughter. From AP:

One of Europe's first countries to allow Jews to practice their religion openly may soon pass a law banning centuries-old Jewish and Muslim traditions on the ritual slaughter of animals.

In the Netherlands, an unlikely alliance of an animal rights party and the xenophobic Freedom Party is spearheading support for the ban on kosher and halal slaughter methods that critics say inflict unacceptable suffering on animals.

The far right's embrace of the bill, which is expected to go to a parliamentary vote this month, is based mostly on its strident hostility toward the Dutch Muslim population. The Party for the Animals, the world's first such party to be elected to parliament, says humane treatment of animals trumps traditions of tolerance.

Jewish and Muslim groups call the initiative an affront to freedom of religion.

As in most western countries, Dutch law dictates that butchers must stun livestock — render it unconscious — before it can be slaughtered, to minimize the animals' pain and fear. But an exception is made for meat that must be prepared under ancient Jewish and Muslim dietary laws and practices. These demand that animals be slaughtered while still awake, by swiftly cutting the main arteries of their necks with razor-sharp knives.

What scientific studies exist that show that Jewish ritual slaughter is more painful than stunning animals before slaughtering them? I am not aware of any. What I am aware of is how Temple Grandin, possibly the world's foremost expert on animal pain during slaughter, has described when Jewish slaughter - shechita - is done correctly:

When shechitah was performed on each steer, I was amazed that the animal did not move. To find out if shechitah was really painless, I started holding the head of each animal with less and less pressure to see if it would move during shechitah. Even big bulls stayed still when the head holder was so loose they could have easily pulled their heads out....In the hands of the best shochets, the animal does not make a sound or flinch, and drops unconscious in eight to 10 seconds.

So the Ap article is correct: the push to ban ritual slaughter is not based on compassion for animals but on xenophobia for Muslims, which is spilling over into Jews.

In short, the proposed ban is an expression of pure bigotry.

And it is not stopping there. From the apparent success of the campaign against ritual slaughter, the xenophobes have now set their sights on circumcision. An op-ed in de Volkskrant, a major Dutch newspaper, argues that male circumcision is immoral and just as barbaric as stoning or female genital mutilation, and therefore should be outlawed.

Interestingly, the arguments again are not based on any scientific study that shows a negative effects from male circumcision. The arguments are:

- Boys circumcision is a medically futile act on a minor patient.
- Boys Circumcision violates the integrity of the body, the right to religious freedom and the right to autonomy of the child.
- Boys Circumcision is contrary to the rule that minors may only be subjected to medical procedures in cases of illness or changes, or if it can be convincingly demonstrated that the intervention in the interests of the child, such as vaccinations.
- Boys Circumcision has sometimes serious complications.

Of course, religious imperative to this writer does not override the lack of real negative consequences.

How can we prove that the writer is clearly anti-religion, rather than just advocating for the rights of male babies?

It is very simple. The exact same four points can be made about the practice of piercing the ears of young girls. It violates the integrity of the body, it violates the rights of children to make their own choices, and it sometimes has serious complications, including major infections. Yet can one conceive of a Dutch law to criminalize piercings?

In both the cases of the ritual slaughter and circumcision, people who are driven by xenophobia are hiding behind humanitarian rationales to push their agenda of hate. Otherwise, they would be far more interested in coming up with standards where religious rituals such as these can be made as safe and humane as possible.

This is one reason why Jews need to be careful about which far-right groups they associate with. Not all of them are this bad, of course. But some anti-Muslim groups are motivated more by irrational hate of anything associated with Islam rather than for justice and human rights. They can easily become as obsessed with Jews as they are with Muslims.

(h/t Metzada)

Some sober analysis of the "Arab Spring"

Posted: 15 Apr 2011 08:17 AM PDT

From Michael Scott Doran in an IHT/NYT op-ed:

The turmoil in the Middle East is not unique. Half a century ago, a similar series of revolutions shook the ground beneath the Arab rulers. The immediate catalyst was the Suez crisis. After Gamal Abd al-Nasser, the charismatic young Egyptian ruler, nationalized the Suez Canal in July 1956, the British and French, in collusion with Israel, invaded Egypt to topple him. They failed; Nasser emerged triumphant.

...In the 1950s, the dominant ideology, pan-Arabism, focused on external threats: gaining independence from imperialism and confronting Israel. In contrast, today's revolutionary wave is driven by domestic demands: for jobs and political representation. Yet the underlying ethos of both revolutionary waves is very similar. Then, as now, the people in the street believed that the existing order was dominated by corrupt cliques that exploited the power of the state to serve their own interests. In addition, then, as now, the revolutions tended to topple leaders aligned with Washington.

Although there is no personality like Nasser towering over the revolutionary events, there is one state taking a leaf from Nasser's book: Iran. Under Nasser, Egypt opposed British and French imperialism, which it worked to associate in the public mind with Israel. Iran is taking a similar stand today against Britain's "imperial successor," the United States. And like Nasser, Iran has created an anti-status-quo coalition — the resistance bloc which includes Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas.

The bloc's strategy seeks to turn the anarchy of the Middle East to the disadvantage of the United States. As the revolutionary wave expands political participation, the bloc will insinuate itself into the domestic politics of its neighbors. In countries divided along ethnic and sectarian lines, it will use terrorism and work closely with partners on the ground who are willing to make direct alliances, as we have already seen in Iraq and Lebanon. In more homogeneous countries, such as Egypt, the bloc will resort to more subtle and insidious means — for example, inciting violence against Israel through Hamas, in an effort to drive a wedge between Cairo and Washington.

Although the resistance bloc may not be as influential as Nasser was, it is nevertheless poised to turn the turmoil of the region to the detriment of American interests.

And from John Bolton in the WSJ:

Since the "Arab Spring" began four months ago in Tunisia, U.S. media have focused constantly and generally optimistically on the turmoil in the Middle East. Unfortunately, the rising threat of an Iranian Winter—nuclear or otherwise—is likely to outlast and overshadow any Arab Spring.

Iran's hegemonic ambitions are embodied in its rapidly progressing nuclear-weapons program and its continued subversion across the region. In a case that emphasizes the fragility of aspiring democracies, Iranian Winter has already descended upon Lebanon, where Iran's influence has helped replace a pro-Western government with a coalition dominated by Tehran's allies, including Hezbollah. Last week, departing Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri condemned Iran's "flagrant intervention" in his country.

In Syria, despite substantial opposition to the Assad dictatorship, regime change is highly unlikely. Iran will not easily allow its quasi-satellite to be pried from its grasp, and is reportedly helping the Assad regime quell this week's protests.

Then there's the Victoria, a ship containing tons of weaponry bound for Hamas that the Israeli navy seized last month. The episode recalls the Karine A, a weapons shipment from Iran to the Palestine Liberation Organization seized by Israel in 2002. Clearly Iran has a penchant for arming Sunni and Shiite terrorists alike.

...America's failure to stop Iran's nuclear ambitions—which is certainly how it would be perceived worldwide—would be a substantial blow to U.S. influence in general. Terrorists and their state sponsors would see Iran's unchallenged role as terrorism's leading state sponsor and central banker, and would wonder what they have to lose.

The Arab Spring may be fascinating, and may or may not endure. Sadly, Iran's hegemonic threat looks far more sustainable.

I touched on these themes in an earlier post that concentrated on how a resurgent Muslim brotherhood can only help Iran, despite the Shi'a/Sunni rift.

Read both articles (you need to find the Bolton article in Google in order to read the whole thing - the title is "Iranian Winter Could Chill the Arab Spring" so search for that.)

(h/t David G)

Latest Latma - Lo Dayenu

Posted: 15 Apr 2011 07:32 AM PDT

Rock band Journey sues BDS group for (badly) singing their song

Posted: 15 Apr 2011 06:40 AM PDT

From the New York Post:

Don't stop believin' that you'll get sued if you mess with Journey's music.

The composers of the hit song "Don't Stop Believin' " filed a copyright complaint yesterday against a pro-Palestinian group that performed their pop anthem with the words changed to support a boycott of Israel.

Journey bandmates Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon, along with former frontman Steve Perry, want a permanent injunction barring Adalah-NY from "exploiting" their 30-year-old tune.

The Manhattan federal court filing says Adalah-NY organized a March 26 "flash mob" in Grand Central station that ripped off "the entire melody, chord changes, and other musical elements."
"However, the version defendants performed uses the title 'Don't Stop Boycottin', and contains lyrics that convey a political message relating to the conflict in the Middle East."

Adalah's Web site says a video was viewed more than 30,000 times in two days before it was taken down by YouTube.com on April 1 and replaced with a silent version.

I had seen it when it came out, and while it was quite not as bad as other BDS flash mobs it was still horrible. These stunts just irritate the people they are meant to convince, and no one can even understand the lyrics without the subtitles (in this case they are drowned out by what sounds like a bad high-school band.)

Here's a version that is still on the web:

(h/t YM)

Abbas instructs newspapers to stop insulting Hamas

Posted: 15 Apr 2011 05:56 AM PDT

Palestinian Arabic media associated with Fatah is reporting:

The official spokesman for the Fatah movement, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, announced that President Mahmoud Abbas has issued instructions to stop all media campaigns against Hamas.

The spokesman added that the reason for this instruction was 'to create a positive atmosphere for the success of the initiative launched by the leadership to end the division and achieve unity, and strengthening efforts for the success of this goal...."

See how democratic the Palestinian Arabs are? Their president can tell the media what to do, and they follow his instructions without any complaint! No chaos, no doubt, no criticism! Not one newspaper pointing out that this is exactly how Mubarak acted.

Sounds like a Palestinian Arab state would be a veritable utopia for freedom.

Vittorio was not a peace activist. He was not a human rights activist.

Posted: 15 Apr 2011 03:39 AM PDT

Vittorio Arrigoni, who was killed yesterday by a Muslim group in Gaza, was not a peace activist. He was not a human rights activist.

And, as Zvi points out in the comments to my last post, he was not even a "pro-Palestinian" activist.

A look at his Facebook page photos show nothing about how much he loves Palestinian Arabs. Barely any pictures of him smiling with his friends the Gazans. Unlike most Facebook pages, stuffed with photos of people smiling with their family and friends, Arrigoni's page is filled with hate.

In fact, one can see how he defined himself: not as pro-anything, but only as anti-Zionist:

He never had anything bad to say about Hamas. He never campaigned for Arab countries to stop their discrimination against Palestinian Arabs. He never spoke a word demanding that "refugee camps" in Gaza be dismantled and real homes built.

Here is how he was described by his Free Gaza friend, Mary Hughes Thompson (via email):

Words can't express the shock and sense of bereavement at the loss of this beautiful man, who considered himself Palestinian. The videos we saw of him bloodied and blindfolded were chilling, nothing like the Vittorio we knew and loved, always smiling, always wearing a skipper's hat and holding his beloved pipe.

The anti-Israel left might consider themselves "Palestinian," but clearly some Palestinian Arabs don't.

Imagine if Christian Zionists who visit Israel in solidarity were murdered - by Jews. You can bet that their enthusiasm for Israel would cool quite quickly.

But that is because their support is built on love, not hate.

So-called "Pro-Palestinian activists" are not motivated by love. If they were, they would act completely differently. So the murders of Arrigoni and Juliano Mer-Khamis - done by the people they supposedly love - will not make a dent in far leftist "support" for PalArabs, because they don't support them in any real way.

They only have a shared hate for Israel.

One last cartoon on Arrigoni's Facebook page is stunning in its irony, an irony that his fellow activists will never, ever get:

UPDATE: One more lovely photo that Vittorio thought was wonderful: (h/t Kramerica)

His heart was overflowing with love.

To be clear...he didn't deserve to die. But he doesn't deserve to be remembered as a person who cared one bit about peace or human rights, either.

He was a hater.

April rocket calendar

Posted: 15 Apr 2011 02:15 AM PDT

G=Grad
Q=Qassam
M=Mortar
P=Unidentified projectile (includes mortars)
R=Unidentified rocket
S=Fell short in Gaza
F=Fatality (Green-Gaza, Red-Israel)
[] - Palestinian claims

יום שבת, 16 באפריל 2011

Elder of Ziyon Daily Digest

Elder of Ziyon Daily Digest

April 2011

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