| More descriptions of Sukkot in British newspapers of the 18th centurynoreply@blogger.com (Unknown), 20 Sep 04:45 AM The Derby Mercury in 1755 descri | | The Derby Mercury in 1755 described how Jews were buying lots of flowers and greenery for the holiday: The same newspaper in 1756 reported of a windstorm in Amsterdam, which caused lots of damage - including destroying many of the sukkot of the Jews. Jackson's Oxford Journal in 1765 gives a brief description of Sukkot, but a longer description of a 102-year old rabbi who was visiting town ahead of the holiday and made quite an impression. The Derby Mercury, again, in 1790, gives a description of a community sukkah, beautifully decorated but quite small: The (London) Morning Post in 1802 tells a story of how forgiving one's fellow on Yom Kippur seemed to lead to a reconciliation between two feuding Jewish families - and a possible shidduch: Both of the families seem to have been quite well known and wealthy, and it seems like Solomon and Goldsmid had worked together several years before before a falling out. Unfortunately, I could not find any news of a marriage between the two younger members; Miss Goldsmid may have married a cousin of hers with the same surname several years later. * * * * * *
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Fleet Prison in London held prisoners, on and off, between 1197 and 1844. In the 18th century it held debtors and people who declared bankruptcy, and it ran as a for-profit enterprise, charging prisoners to remove their leg-irons as well as for food and rent. The Caledonian Mercury, October 5, 1727 says that Jewish prisoners in Fleet Prison built their own sukkah to celebrate the Sukkot holiday. The Jews of the prison must have paid a great deal to be able to celebrate Sukkot. T That was probably the last year that Jews could even consider building a sukkah in Fleet Prison. Thomas Bambridge, who purchased the job of warden in 1728, was notorious for treating the prisoners poorly and extorting exorbitant amounts from them. * * * * * *
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Our weekly column (delayed) from the humor site PreOccupied Territory. Check out their Facebook page. I Can't Wait For Another Gaza Relief Flotilla That Carries No Relief
By Subhi Jamaal, Gaza resident Gaza City, September 16 - More than eleven years have elapsed since the Mavi Marmara incident, in which Israeli commandos boarded a vessel bound for the Gaza coast that carried mainly activists and some weapons, but which organizers touted as carrying "aid" to our "besieged" territory, and took control of the boat to prevent it from breaching maritime blockade. For various reasons, no subsequent effort has progressed nearly as far, but I, personally, get excited at the prospect of more activists wasting their time, money, and safety on additional useless endeavors of the same nature. I can still picture the scene: the aftermath of the Israeli raid, when the Mavi Marmara sat in impound at Ashdod, where its impressive cargo of a couple of boxes of redundant medicine was offloaded; the collection of guns, clubs, knives, and some improvised weapons that the Israelis confiscated from the "humanitarian" activists on board; the International Criminal Court inquiry that found the blockade of Gaza in accord with International Law, and its enforcement therefore legal. It feels like a lifetime since then, and yet the sentiments remain fresh. Perhaps what...Read More |
From Ian: David Collier: Pillars and Myths – destroying the false narrative of the 1948 Nakba I witness pro-Israeli arguments online every day – and one of the things that always depresses me is when I see those defending Israel get stuck down pointless rabbit holes. Anti-Israel activists are only interested in the present 'what' – as in 'the prisoner', 'the checkpoint', 'the wall' – and they do this because this is where they are comfortable. These propagandists deliberately avoid the 'why' because the truth is quicksand for them. Such as why the 'wall' was built in the first place. And why on earth would anyone argue over a 'settlement' like Ariel – if the person you are arguing with thinks that Tel Aviv is an 'illegal settlement' too. This cannot be stressed often enough – it is simply foolish to fight on their turf. Nowhere is this more visible that in discussion over what they call the 'Nakba' – the Arab defeat in a war that they wanted, started and lost. A war in which they sought to annihilate the Jews. Arguing from within their narrative is like bitterly arguing over the size of the thrones in the Narnian Capital 'Cair Paravel'. A recent comment piece in the Jewish Chronicle provides a perfect example. One of our naive and privileged youth wrote a piece bemoaning the fact that she wasn't prepared by her Jewish school to fight for Israel on campus – because as she sees it – 'we do not talk about the Palestinian narrative...Read More |
Hamas issued a statement condemning the first anniversary of the Abraham Accords, and ended up promoting them to any normal person.
Hamas' statement said, "the so-called Abraham agreements are a Zionist-American project par excellence, aiming at openness and regional normalization with the Zionist entity, integrating it into the region, and forging alliances with it to replace the priorities of the conflict ... It exhausts the forces of the nation and the factors of its steadfastness, and isolates Palestine and the Palestinian resistance forces, and all those who support them and stand with them officially, popularly or institutionally." Sounds pretty good to me! Usually, Hamas issues these statements in a EU-friendly way, acting like the terrorists are the victims. This statement is aimed squarely at Palestinians and those who sympathize with terrorists. It will be interesting to see whether Hamas issues an English translation on its English language website, or will modify the statement to a different audience. As of this writing, it was only on their Arabic website. * * * * * *
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Early this morning, Israeli forces captured the last of the six terrorists who had escaped from Gilboa prison.
Palestinian leaders are scrambling to pretend that this was a "victory."
As we've noted, everything they say is through the lens of the honor/shame culture. In order to claim this as a victory, they must position this as if the escapees brought them honor and the Israelis shame.
The official Palestinian Wafa news agency quotes an official as to the many reasons this was a wonderful episode: - "The prisoners won the moment they came out of a tunnel they prepared with the handles of the frying pans, with their nails, with their patience, their will, with their courage that approaches the limit of the miraculous, they defeated the security and military system and its endless arrogance. " - "The prisoners also won when they united all the Palestinian people in the West Bank, Gaza and the territories of 1948, and in the diaspora as well. Everyone without exception felt that these were his children, brothers or neighbors. Everyone was with them moment by moment counting for them the hours of freedom." -"The prisoners were victorious when people forgot, for a moment, which organizations they belong to, and they became Palestinians only. No one thought about their political or party affiliation." - "The prisoners were morally victorious...Read More |
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