AJN WATCH - the on-line voice of Australian Orthodox Jewry observes and comments on matters of interest to that community. We particularly monitor prejudice and monopolistic abuse of influence in the pages of the Australian Jewish News - the main source of information to and about Australian Jewry. We spotlight errors, expose misrepresentations and vigorously advocate our community's positions.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Haaretz article puts AJN to shame! (Is Julius Streicher REALLY dead?)
The shekel drops -
Missionaries in Ramat Aviv
By Nehemia Shtrasler HAARETZ
The battle raging Ramat Aviv isn't just about the neighborhood's character. It's a battle over Israel's image.
The sight was elevating: 800 neighborhood residents took a break from what they were doing and went out to demonstrate. Their goal: to protect their homes. They weren't asking for much: just to maintain their way of life, the character of their neighborhood, their values, dignity and right to educate their children as they see fit.
Nobody was paying them. They had no political party or foreign sponsors. They collected the money to fund their demonstration themselves because they knew that if they didn't, the missionary group Chabad could continue to slowly take the neighborhood over, just as is happening in Migdal Ha'emek, Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem.
[AJN Watch comment: So when was the last time that these Tel Aviv residents protested against genuine missionaries? It's so obvious that the only religion that they fear is Judaism.]
A few people set up a counter-demonstration against the 800. They believe that the people in question are merely "good Jews" who just rented a few apartments to preach Torah there. All they want is for us to put on tefillin a little, to light candles on Friday night. What charming simplicity.
They don't realize that it's a well-organized plan to take control of the neighborhood. They aren't even aware that a yeshiva opened in the neighborhood staffed by "messengers" who are prepared to sacrifice their souls for their Rebbe.
These "messengers" have one explicit goal: to return the people of the neighborhood to Judaism. The more Jews keep the Sabbath and follow the mitzvoth, the faster the Messiah will come.
[AJN Watch comment: Scandalous indeed. The chutzpah of these 'messengers' who try to promote the Jewish religion in the Jewish state!]
Though actually he already did come, in the form of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, according to Chabad. The Rebbe has died in the meantime, but he lives on - their belief system is a mystical, un-Jewish thing, about which the Rabbi Shach commented: "Chabad is the cult closest to Judaism."
[AJN Watch comment: So sorry about our earlier comment. We misunderstood. These protesters are actually demanding "genuine" Judaism and not mystical un-Jewish Chabad stuff. They simply want their children to follow the ways of Rabbi Shach...]
As in every neighborhood, here too they identified the most vulnerable point: the young. That's why every Friday they ply the grove by the Alliance school, trying to persuade the children to put on tefillin and drop by the Chabad House for a "conversation." At night they lurk among the trees and on benches for the teens, offering refreshments and sweet talk.
[AJN Watch comment: Now had these 'messengers' been offering their kids drugs, alcohol and various options of perversions that are available all over Tel Aviv, there would've been no demonstrations. But tefillin, refreshments and 'sweet talk' - that's something that must be stopped. And here you have the Stuermer depiction - making similar complaints about the Juden:
They cunningly tell these kids, "You have the soul of a righteous person," and don't cavil at saying that their mothers and fathers are sinners. They even whisper that people who don't honor Shabbat are doomed to hell.
[AJN Watch comment: Pure, utter garbage. Anybody who knows anything about Chabad knows that this has never been their way. Only an ignorant, Chabad-bashing Torah-hating secular journalist would make such a statement.]
Puberty is a vulnerable stage and some of these kids, who want to rebel against their parents anyway, listen. The nice people of Chabad have no problem taking in a youngster and destroying a family in Israel.
[AJN Watch comment: Yep. Keeping their kids away from drugs and alcoholism will destroy their families. Here's part of a speech we found on the net - on the Israeli PM's website about these problems amongst Israelis:
Address by Acting Prime Minister Israel to the Anti-Drugs Authority Tel Aviv
Distinguished Guests,
You heard the statistics: there are 300,000, some even say 350,000, drug users in the State of Israel. There are 20,000 to 25,000 addicts – what we call hard users. The amount of money we refer to per drug addict, is approximately $3000 per day. Perhaps this is not a lot of money, but it is over and above the average salary in our economy.
[AJN Watch comment: "Not a lot of money!?" That's over $60 million a day!
The figure seems wrong as that would equate to $22 billion annually! But whatever, they would be far better off giving a fraction of that amount to Chabad and would save themselves a lot of heartache and a lot of money. Oy, but then you would have even more demonstrations by tel Avivians concerned that Chabad is giving their kids refreshments.]
Usually, drug addicts do not work, so in order to be able obtain their daily dosage, they are dragged into various criminal acts, including damage to property, and often involve physical injuries. That is, a full circle of social perversion and crime becomes an inseparable part of the life of an addict and also involves those who are not addicted to drugs. There is no simple and easy way to deal with this problem. (More here)
Where are the police and the municipality as strangers badger children among the trees at night?
[AJN Watch comment: Probably arresting and jailing other kids - those who are drinking and doing drugs or involved in other violent and criminal activities.]
The Chabadniks understand that the middle class is groaning under its burdens. So they opened a few kindergartens in the neighborhood that charge little and give much, including a hot meal. Some parents succumbed to the temptation - and lost their children. This neighborhood sorely lacks kindergartens without religious affiliation. But the city allows Chabad to open one kindergarten after another, even at the expense of a building that had been a cultural center until two years ago.
These Chabadniks with their butter-wouldn't-melt smiles have no problem flouting the law. They rent apartments and turn them into studios. They build without permits, establish hostels and mikvas in violation of municipal ordinances, but the city doesn't block them. Mayor Ron Huldai did denounce Chabad in Ramat Aviv, saying they were harassing the residents. But his job is to stop the harassment, not just talk about it.
Imagine what would happen to me if I went to Kfar Chabad, rented an apartment and dared to open a class to teach a modern interpretation of the Bible, or women's rights or Darwinism. In the evening I'd go out and roam the neighborhood, trying to persuade their children to visit my home on Shabbat to see what a nonobservant Jew does on the day of rest.
Soon enough you'd have to visit me at the burn ward at Ichilov Hospital, if not worse.
And if all that happened, the good souls among us would say: Why did he have to interfere in their way of life? Why provoke them?
But when they come from Kfar Chabad to Ramat Aviv, these same good souls say, in the name of an artificial, suicidal liberalism, "We should understand them," and, "We mustn't oppose others because that is unenlightened racism."
Only they are allowed to sell their rotten goods, rife with ignorance, superstition, terrible discrimination against women, bottomless hatred of Arabs and Gentiles, and nonsense about the Messiah.
[AJN Watch comment: Let's repeat Nehemia Shtrasler's Stuermer-style rant:
"... their rotten goods, rife with ignorance, superstition, terrible discrimination against women, bottomless hatred of Arabs and Gentiles, and nonsense about the Messiah..."
Had that infamous Nazi publisher, Julius Streicher (yemach shemoy) not been strung up by the Allies, no doubt he would've found himself at home at the Haaretz, where, presumably, the front page banner would have declared: "Die Chabad sind unser Ungluck!"]
We may not even protect our values of humanism, education, rationalism, equality, literature and the great inventions of science that changed the face of mankind.
The battle in Ramat Aviv isn't just about the neighborhood's character. It's a battle over Israel's image, and the 800 residents who got up and left their homes and went out to demonstrate last Monday are just the harbingers.
Having lived in Israel, worked alongside Chilonim and currently working with 3 men who live with their families in Ramat Aviv.
ReplyDeleteI think you are mis-representing the way these people think and feel about 'Charedism'. This is not an Anti-Chabad issue, these people are scared of 'Charedism'.
What is it about 'Charedism' that frightens them so much?
1) They currently drive on Shabbos -> with an influx of 'Charedim' to their area, there is a perception that they will have stones thrown at them for doing so
2) They currently eat non-kosher,they are worried about potential protests of restaurants without any hechsher
3) They currently dress imodestly (western culture, they are petrified that they will targeted for incorrect dress
4) They currently allow for billboards containing immodest (western culture)content,they are worried that these will be destroyed
5) They are concerned that the official unemploment rate of their suburb/ town will increase and will align them with suburbs/ towns perceived as 'low class' due to high unemployment-they feel they will be seen as inferior amongst their socio-economic peers for living in such a place
They are continually bombarded with news headlines of ALL the above issues occuring in such places as Jerusalem / Beit Shemesh etc... they expect the same and don't distinguish between Eidh Charedis, Belz or Chabad
In terms of missionising -> you are correct that they are fearful of their children being missionised by ANY religious group of ANY denomination.
These people feel that Religion = Fanatic = violence, whether Christian / Jew/ Muslim or Massai
They feel they have worked hard to create a life of enlightenment for themselves and their kids. They don't care if their child marries a Jew or non-jew so long as that person is not religious. It is the fanatasism of relgion that scares them. They ses the following:
1) Jewish Religion -> Gaza evacuation caused violence on the part of the far right. Also, graves/ lady abusing child/ car park...
2) Muslim Religion -> no need to add content
3) Christian Religion -> see rehtoric of the war on terror being a ware for the glory of G-d
4) Massai Tribe in Africa -> see violence related to women
In their mind, they too make shabbos dinner friday night, many of them make kiddush: Many of them are family oriented and feel Jewish and are happy. They feel that being tribal and belonging to groups with leadership heirarchy takes away their freedoms and don't want this for their children