Academics Are Not What They Are Cracked Up To Be

I have seen the opinion of an Israeli academic on the recent eastern Jerusalem contretemps:

As far as the legal situation in Sheikh Jarrah is concerned, the court decided that the Jewish claims to title, from Ottoman times, were valid. The Palestinian families have been living in those houses since the early 1950's and were given the land by the Jordanian government in exchange for relinquishing their UNRWA cards, a major sacrifice. If the court's decision were to be applied in principle, hundreds of homes in West Jerusalem currently occupied by Jews would have to be restored to their original Palestinian owners. The justice system in Jerusalem is ethnically biased, to put it mildly.

But the real point is that the legal reality, whatever it may be, is no more than a pretext for a political decision to evict Palestinians from the neighborhood and to plant a colony of settlers there. There are 28 houses threatened with the same fate as that of the al-Kurd, Hanoun, and al-Ghawi homes.

So, I observed that

Seems he left out a minor historical reality: the attempt, by violence, of Arabs to extinguish the nascent Jewish state decided upon by the UN, through a Partition arrangement that severely damaged Jewish property rights throughout Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

Jordan was an illegal occupier in Jerusalem and therefore, UNRWA cards or not, their rule was illegitimate. Any 'rights' they distributed to Arabs, who may or may have not participated in the killing and attempted murder of Jewish civilians, are null and void in moral terms, for sure.

So, those Shimon HaTzaddik neighborhood squatters have no rights whatsoever.

But the above type of opinion can lead to this scene:

...There`s probably something a little irritating to the soldiers and the settlers, I think and hope, in the chants we are hurling at them. `From Sheikh Jarrah to Bil`in/ Freedom now for Filastin.` I look around me: mostly young people, gentle but tough—many students, some I know from my classes, musicians, painters, poets, meditators, activists, young parents with babies folded in slings on their breasts — all of them totally non-violent, of course; and the demonstration is perfectly legal, no question about that, the police themselves issued the permit.

Somehow it begins. Someone gave the order. I don`t know who. Later someone says it may have been connected to the flags. It`s possible — I didn`t see it — that one of our demonstrators reached the window of the stolen house and tore down the plastic Israeli flag. Maybe that triggered it. But I think they were anyway just itching to tear into this crowd. So when the moment comes, it starts somewhere at the edge of the family`s tent set up in what`s left of their own front yard and then swirls rapidly in widening arcs and circles, a vortex drawing each of us in. I am washed by a human wave out of the courtyard and into the street. They have grabbed one of our people and they are pushing him up against the command car and we surround them, trying to release our captive from their grip...

...Now they have drawn blood, and they seem to like the taste of it. They want more. More and more. They go after the drummers, arrest them. Many seemingly random
victims, too. Sandy says to me: `They`re like storm troopers. No other image comes to mind.` Some of our people are crying. Another charge. Young girls carried off, screaming. Sarah thrown to the ground, pounded, dragged over the stones. Again we try to close ranks. More waves. Time expands, elastic, twisting and turning...

"Storm-troopers"?

Tsk, tsk. Now, how they criticize the Hareidim?

These Hareidim:-

Confrontation broke out in the Western Wall on Friday, as Haredi worshippers protested an attempt by members of a women's organization to conduct a massive prayer session at the holy site by calling out "not-Jews" and "Nazis," Army Radio reported on Friday. About 200 members of the "Women of the Wall" organization arrived at the Western Wall in order to take part in the monthly Rosh Hodesh prayer, and to protest the arrest of their fellow member at the site. Police officers separated the two sides after Haredi worshipers approached the women's group members and yelled out "not Jewish, send them to church," and "Nazis, blasphemy."

And then this from the academics:

Alon, an internationally known jurist, my colleague at the university, is arguing fruitlessly with the officers: what they are doing, he tells them, is totally illegal. He quotes the law. The soldiers rough him up, too. Cries floating through the late-afternoon space, in rhymed Hebrew: `Soldiers, listen well, you have the right to refuse.` Another nicety: if you say to them, `You have the duty to refuse,` they can arrest you for incitement. `Criminals! Cowards! Thieves! You`re protecting thieves!`...Tonight is the first candle of Hanukah, another one of those alleged Jewish festivals of freedom.

So, how do they criticize Rabbi Melamed?

Memorable Words

Something false gave rise to something true...If it was an illusion, at least it was our illusion.

Tina Brown on the Susan Boyle phenomenom

I Love Kasha Varnishka

Found this at The Ethicist column of the NYT:-

Years ago in Seattle I worked for an insurance company with just one Jewish employee, a good friend. He invented Jewish holidays, taking days off several times a year. As the only other employee at all familiar with Judaism, I could have finked on him or kept silent and been disloyal to my employer. I kept silent. Was that the right choice? — WALTER HENRY, DOWNEY, CALIF.

It was an acceptable choice. Your coming forward was permitted but not required; you had no obligation to police the vacation requests of your co-workers (or to steer your friend to the path of righteousness). Of course, had you been asked directly if Kasha Varnishka (*) was an authentic Jewish festival, you would have had to reply: yes, it commemorates the glorious victory of the Maccabees over a recalcitrant side dish.

This is not to justify your friend’s actions. He lied to his boss and burdened his co-workers, who presumably filled in for him while he was out cavorting.

So says my head . . . but my heart says mazel tov! This imaginative scheme imposed a tax on ignorance, penalizing an employer for lacking even a cursory grasp of a world religion’s holidays. Such a plan could encourage all of us in our diverse, immigrant nation to learn more about our neighbors, or reward them with extra vacation time if we cling to our provincialism. Diwali — real or imaginary?

I do have some sympathy for your boss. When I was growing up, autumn’s Jewish holidays seemed to occur in such rapid succession that I half suspected our rabbi of inventing them to qualify for some kind of bonus.

This reminds me, when I was in the IDF's elementary training course, one of the religious guys informed our commander that since it was Job's Fast Day, we couldn't exert ourselves. It took him three hours to finally figure out our trick.

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(*)

Kasha Varnishkes
One of the little-known delicacies which is even more difficult to pronounce than to cook. It has nothing to do with Varnish, but is basically a mixture of buckwheat and bow-tie macaroni (noodles). Why a bow-tie? Many sages discussed this and agreed that some Jewish mother decided that 'You can't come to the table without a tie' or, G-d forbid 'An elbow on my table?'