Avrum Burg and A7 slam Takana

Who would have thought that Avrum Burg and Arutz Sheva would be on the same side of any issue?

Apparently, they're in agreement when it comes to TAKANA, and it's publiciation of public warnings against R' Motti Elon.

Avrum Burg writes in YNET:

My inner feeling is that Rabbi Elon is a positive man, and that whatever happened or did not happen between him and that other person, we should be listening to Elon’s explanations and in my view giving him the benefit of the doubt unless proven otherwise.

The Elon story implies that the state of Judea is not merely a vision simmering on the radical and Messianic margins of the settlers; rather, it is found at the very heart of the religious Zionist consensus and functions as a cultural and normative autonomy in every respect.

And Arutz Sheva writes:

The Takanah Forum’s abrupt announcement was greeted in the religious-Zionist public with a large measure of criticism. Charges were raised that the rabbis should have found another way to deal with the unproven suspicions against Rabbi Elon other than by “ruining his life” and “causing a desecration of G-d’s Name.” The theoretical fear that students might be harmed by him, despite the many thousands of students he counseled constructively over the years without incident and who continue to love and venerate him, was said to be outweighed by the clearly predictable negative results that in fact occurred as a result of the publication.

While Lurker may be upset that TAKANA didn't publicize their findings immediately, his criticism has nothing to do with the existance of the Forum.

My personal opinion is that TAKANA is extremely important, and I find it disturbing that Arutz Sheva is mirroring the same criticism from Avrum Burg. They seem to believe that R' Elon is the victim and not those who were really victimized.



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The Jerusalem Election

In one of the stranger mayoral elections for Jerusalem, a secular Israeli, Nir Barkat is running against Ultra Orthodox MK Meir Porush.

Porush's PR people decided he looked too "scary" in real life, so they chose a whimsical, SouthPark type cartoon character to represent him. I'm not sure I disagree with their assessment.

Meanwhile, I received the following from a reader today -- a flier reportedly being distributed in the Ultra Orthodox "Ezras Torah" neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Translation Below.

Unprecedented:

Rabbi Meir Porush has promised the Torah Giants:

All jobs in the Jerusalem Municipality will be manned only
by kippa wearing men and women with their hair covered
[ie, only Orthodox/Ultra Orthodox religious people]

Give your voice [vote] to an Ultra Orthodox Mayor

Yerushalayim is gonna love Porush,
from experience!!!

An Ultra Orthodox Municipal Council Majority is Possible!!

Now, I don't know about you -- but this seems rather unfair.

If Jerusalem is a large city with many sectors, why should single Jewish women who don't yet cover their hair be excluded from Jerusalem municipal jobs?

Why is Porush targeting single women and excluding them from the job market?

Expatriate Israeli, new French national and "citizen of the world" Avrum Burg (pictured at left) is supporting Porush. (Burg would probably also look better with a cartoon character when he decides to return to Israeli politics)

Perhaps this sort of exclusion is a French thing?

I'm baffled.

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד