Monday, August 25, 2008

Has Shmarya Failed?

Shmarya posted a piece at Jewcy about the Koshrot anti-Arab employment brouhaha.

I left this comment there:

gentle racism?

Shmarya wrote: "But now a group of settler rabbis, overwhelmingly Ashkenazim of eastern European origin, are challenging the Jerusalem Rabbinate’s reliance on Isserles, the Ashkenazi codifier."

I checked that JPost story on Kosharot. It mentions one name, that of Rav Elyakim Levanon. He is Ashkenazi. He is a revenant Jew living in a part of the historic land of Israel not yet under full Jewish sovereingty (not a "settler". "Settlers" are the Dutch in So. Africa or, Ashkenazi, East-European Jews in America). The way that sentence is phrased, one would think a rabid antisemite wrote it.

As far as I know, over the past year, many efforts have been made to limit the employment of Arabs in Jewish establishments. Most of that work is being done by S'faradim (I am not sure if they originate in East Europe or East-East (Iraq, Syria) or West-West (Morocco, Algeria, France).

In any case, that type of writing is inflammatory, biased, and possibly racist.

The subject is legitimate and I do not support organized discrimination although being safe is the first mitzva in living. For example:

"Two Arabs from Nablus, Ahab Abu Riyal and Anas Salum, were arrested by Israeli Shin Bet officers last month before they could carry out their mission to poison Israelis on behalf of Hizballah. They are members of the Fatah-al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, part of Mahmoud Abbas' "moderate" Fatah organization. The cell was led by two wanted terrorists, Hani Kabi and Husni Tsalag. They were hired as kitchen workers by the Grill Express restaurant near the Diamond Exchange in Ramat Gan, apparently after presenting Israeli-issued IDs allowing them to work in the country. Their orders were to dump a slow-acting colorless, tasteless and odorless poison in the food of customers. It would take effect after four hours, enough time to murder a large number of Israeli diners. The Shin Bet did not identify the substance. One of the two men was detained on March 19, just days before the mission date. The second was picked up at the home of an Israeli Arab friend in Jaffa."

http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Security/12780.htm

So, since Shmarya and I have dialogued, I hope he responds to this considered post.


he has. I have. Go there.

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