The Hebrew version of this short article was written by Ora Lev-Ron and Shmuel Bartenstein. It appeared on the Hofesh website under http://www.hofesh.org.il/articles/chagim/independence.html. Israel was declared an independent state on Friday, the 5th of the Hebrew month of Iyar, at 4pm. David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister, delivered the declaration speech. Most Israelis were glued […]

Many years have passed since then. The following quotes are from today’s most important Israeli Orthodox Jewish newspapers and from statements made by current ultra-Orthodox Jewish leaders: “He who sues his friend in their secular court – his sin is unforgivable.” (Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, book published in 1981) “Thus, a harsh edict, almost incurable, in […]

“My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular.” – Adlai E. Stevenson Jr. You’ve probably heard of the term “Separation of Church and State”. What does it mean? For many it means exactly what it says: Let each and every religious person (or community) go about their […]

“England and America are two countries separated by a common language.” – George Bernard Shaw Religion deserves a dictionary of its own, and indeed there are already quite a few. However, they typically use a very serious approach. How about something lighter, but one that still carries the correct meaning of things? So here it […]

“In India, as elsewhere in our darkening world, religion is the poison in the blood. Where religion intervenes, mere innocence is no excuse. Yet we go on skating around this issue, speaking of religion in the fashionable language of “respect”.” – Salman Rushdie “Where one burns books, one will soon burn people.” – Heinrich Heine […]

In the movie “Annie Hall”, Woody Allen plays the character Alvy Singer. In one scene he is standing in line near a guy who is pontificating about the media. The screenplay goes like this: Man: It’s the influence of television. Yeah, now Marshall McLuhan deals with it in terms of it being a-a high, uh, […]

“Wise men make proverbs, but fools repeat them.” – Samuel Palmer How do we know God wants us to refrain from stealing from others? How can we be so sure the Almighty is against adultery? After all, it’s kind of difficult to pinpoint any individual meeting with him (her? them?) recently. Yet, millions of people […]

An interview with Emunah Alon, the wife of Israeli right-wing parliament member Benny Alon, took place in March 2003 on the IDF radio channel. The interviewer asked her about certain rumors, saying that Yigal Amir had discussed Rabin’s murder with her husband before performing the act. Mrs. Alon explained how that specific discussion was about […]

“I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts.” – John Locke In 2003, Sheikh Abdullah el-Faisal was put in jail for nine years. The judge recommended that el-Faisal, from Stratford in east London (UK), should serve at least half of the sentence and then be deported. Abdullah el-Faisal had […]

Here is a short and very partial list, just to get an idea of some of the more peculiar religious Jewish verdicts mentioned in the Israeli media during the last few years. All have good religious explanations. Note that some of them obviously contradict others: It’s not allowed to pick your nose on the Sabbath. […]