June 2011 — Israeli Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, has issued an order replacing the words of ‘Yizkor’, the famous Israeli military memorial prayer. For many years it has begun with the words “Let the people of Israel remember its sons and daughters”, and from now on it should start with “Let God […]

“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 In took the Unites States ten years or more to settle the […]

For Lebanon thou art, and unto Lebanon shalt thou return “And call ye on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God” (1 Kings, Chapter 18, Verse 24) The meaning of ‘Hezbollah’ in Arabic is “God’s party” […]

“The Messiah brought us here so we can fish kids out of the club.” This is the sad truth, as heard from a Chabad missionary activist in Jerusalem. The source (in Hebrew) can be found here. An older cartoon, taken from the book “The Souls’ Hunters” (Sophia and Dan Mahler, 1998) can be found here.

The argument can go both ways, and indeed it does, very often. What’s more, there is lots of criticism heard from religious people, of things associated with secularity. Have you heard that schools of the secular sector introduce more violence? Do you know that secular people as a whole are blamed for maintaining weaker relationships […]

“Us, and them. And after all we’re only ordinary men.” – ‘Us and Them’, Pink Floyd, Roger Waters Using passive voice is a great thing, a must for skillful politicians and salesmen. “Promised Land” and “Chosen People” are both amazing expressions without needing to explain who promised and who chose. So, who are God’s chosen […]

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 […]

“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 […]