The Holiest Sports Arena on Earth

FirstEnergy Stadium, Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium?

Rome's Coliseum?

The Holiest Sports Arena on Earth is right here in Jerusalem...on the Temple Mount! Or as the rest of the world likes to refer to it, Haram al-Sharif.

This holy place which "offends" Muslim leaders when Jews silently and peacefully walk through the area, is also the place where holy Muslim children play holy sports games, such as soccer (European football), volleyball and others.

Yet it's a terrible provocation for Jews to walk there....let alone move their lips in silent prayer in the holiest sports arena on the planet.

On the bright side, at least the ball is blue and white...

Follow the Muqata on Twitter.

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

Religous Court Recognizes "Conversos" -- Majorca as Jews

The NY Times has a fascinating article today, about the Majorcan community -- from an insular island off the coast of Spain,...a community of about 20,000 people, and how an Israeli Chareidi Relgious court under the leadership of Rabbi Nissim Karelitz has ruled that the community is Jews.


View Larger Map

PARIS — Centuries after the Spanish Inquisition led to the forced conversion of Jews to Catholicism, an ultra-orthodox rabbinical court in Israel has issued a religious ruling that recognizes descendants from the insular island of Majorca as Jews.

The opinion focused narrowly on the Majorcan community of about 20,000 people known as chuetas and did not apply to descendants of Sephardic Jewish converts in mainland Spain or the broader diaspora of thousands of others who scattered to the Ottoman Empire and the Spanish colonies in South and North America.

The island, isolated until a tourist boom that began in the late 1960s, is a sociological preserve for descendants of Jews who formed an insular community of Catholic converts that intermarried through the centuries because of religious persecution and discrimination that barred them from holding certain positions in the Roman Catholic Church through the 20th century. Most carry the names of 15 families with ancestors who were tried and executed during the 17th century for practicing Judaism.

The religious court in Israel, led for more than 40 years by Rabbi Nissim Karelitz, sent another rabbi to the island in May to explore its warren of streets where a synagogue once stood and to examine the family trees of some of the chuetas who trace lineage back 500 years.

In a two-paragraph opinion — typical of the private rabbinical court that deals with matters of conversions, marriage conflicts and financial disputes — Rabbi Karelitz issued a statement that said because of the intermarriage patterns of the chuetas, “all those who are related to the former generations are Jews.”

“The decision is a headline ruling,” said Rabbi Israel Wiesel, a judge from Israel who explored the community in Palma, roaming the street where, for generations, many chueta families have operated jewelry stores. “Unlike other Marranos in Spain and Portugal, who lost their line of history,” he said, “this particular community is unique and kept the pure line of history for the last 700 years, which means they are Jewish.”

In May, the regional government of the Balearic Islands became the first to create a memorial ceremony for Jewish descendants, marking the deaths of 37 people who were executed in 1691 by the Inquisition, and expressing regrets for persecution that chueta families suffered through the centuries.

Bernat Aguiló Siquier, an amateur local historian who is descended from one of the 15 chueta families, said most of them stopped practicing Judaism altogether in the 18th century. But he said he still found the decision significant because it is “a recognition of a fact, as much as an act of justice.”

Shavei Israel, a private group that offers support and religious training for Jewish descendants in Spain and Portugal, had been pressing for the recognition for years. The result, according to its founder, Michael Freund, is that now “they no longer need to live in between worlds. We have succeeded in opening the door for them to come home.”

What that means in actual practice is still evolving. Mr. Aguiló said he hoped that it would inspire the state of Israel to grant citizenship to the chuetas.

For now, Rabbi Wiesel said, the next steps for the Spanish island were more modest.

“Rabbis will come and teach whoever is interested in learning,” he said, “and offer every assistance to those who want to come back to the Jewish fold.” NY Times

I haven't seen any news about this in Israel...and find it interesting that this first popped up in the NY Times.



Visiting Israel?
Learn to Shoot at Caliber-3 with top Israeli Anti-Terror Experts!

Follow the Muqata on Twitter.

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

Jews and the Great Outdoors

While we own a huge tent (it can sleep 10), I admit, we haven't used it that often. Maybe if I used my inflatable mattress, I would go camping with the kids more.

Regardless, I found the following video rather lame.



What say you? (I know Lurker probably agrees with this video to some extent :-)

Visiting Israel?

Learn to Shoot at Caliber-3

with top Israeli Anti-Terror Experts!

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

German-Muslim teens attack Jews

The Associated Press reports:

BERLIN — A Jewish dance group was attacked with stones by a group of children and teenagers during a performance at a street festival in the Germany city of Hannover, police said Thursday. One dancer suffered a leg injury and the group then canceled their performance.

The teenagers also used a megaphone to shout anti-Semitic slurs during the Saturday afternoon attack, Hannover police spokesman Thorsten Schiewe said.

Police said the incident is under investigation and that they do not have an exact number of attackers yet. Schiewe said there were several Muslim immigrant youths among the attackers.

Two suspects, a 14-year-old and a 19-year-old, were being questioned, he said.

Alla Volodarska, whose Progressive Jewish community of Hannover group held the performance, told The Associated Press in an interview that members were still in shock.

"What happened is just so awful," Volodarska said. "The teenagers started throwing stones the moment our dance group was announced, even before they started dancing."

"There were many kids throwing stones, many of them, but we don't know the exact number," she said, adding that the community had performed Israeli group dances at many festivals in the past and never experienced this kind of hostility before.

As many well-meaning people might say, this isn't antisemitism at all (despite the anti-Semitic slurs), but simply valid criticism of Israel and its handling of the flotilla.

Update: Oleh Girl has some more info:

Arab and Turkish ‘youths’ caused a serious anti-Semitic incident last Saturday at a city festival in Hannover. A variety of dance groups and other entertainers (I’ve been to these kinds of festivals in Germany so things like local school gymnastics groups and so forth) took the stage. However, when an Israeli troupe of folk dancers, invited on the behalf of the liberal Jewish community, came on the stage they were attacked by approximately 30 stone-throwing Arabic and Turkish teens between the ages of 12-16 who shouted: “Jews out”. The dancers were forced to flee the stage and one of the dancers was injured with a concussion from the stones thrown.

The teens had come prepared with stones and a mega-phone over which a 16 year old boy repeatedly yelled “Juden Raus” (Jews out) and his cry was joined by the other stone-throwers.

I wonder what reaction Hannover's Jewish community had towards Israel's treatment of the flotilla incident.

In Israel this summer?

Free Phone Rental

Call the US for the price of a Local call!

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

Avatar, Jews and Palestinians?

What does the blockbuster movie Avatar have to do with Israel and the Palestinians?


This past Monday evening, the movie Avatar was screened in Israel at the Ramat Gan Ayalon Shopping Center cinema. To everyone's shock, after the film was over and the credits were rolling up the screen, Israeli actor Juliano Mer-Khamis jumped up and started screaming:

"The Palestinians should learn from this film what to do to Jews! This film reflects exactly the situation of the Palestinians and the Jews"

The Israeli-Arab actor told the Yediot Achronot newspaper that he didn't deny his outburst, and continued to compare the blue creatures fighting a stronger army to that of Israelis and Palestinians. "No one would dare make the real analogy," he said, "Avatar is one of those brave films that were made to portray the occupation." (sourced from Globes in Hebrew)

Yup, Avatar is precisely, a perfect comparison between the Jews and Palestinians...the exact analogy.

I guess you need 3d glasses to get the full effect...and some of the same stuff that Juliano Mer's been smoking.

He probably helped fund the study we reported today, in which it is "scientifically" determined that Israel is to blame for Palestinian men beating their wives.

Update: (Added from the comment thread)

Where does the "unobtanium" fit into this perfect analogy?

Actually, I viewed the Na'vi as the Jews...and I have proof as well -- there's a direct mention of Ninet Tayeb, one of Israel's finest singers. See the video: here (Kol Isha Alert for those who don't listen to women singing on video)

Going to Israel?
Now get 2 phones for the price of 1 (and free calls too) with Talk'n'Save.

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

Conan O'Brien hosting a Jewish Television show?....

Update: This guest post is from the Holy Hyrax...unfortunately, the first HULU video can only be viewed in the US, and not from outside of it....(like Israel).

That's OK, I prefer to watch Srugim here in Israel, while it's blocked to the USA ;-)

--Jameel.

Yes, it might be true.

So here is the story. I work for JLTV(Jewish Life Television). It's a full time Jewish channel on Time Warner Cable and DirecTV. When the whole Conan vs. Leno vs NBC battle started getting heated up, we sent out a press release that we are offering a hosting position for Conan in case he leaves NBC. So we didn't hear anything, till now....

(que the video)



Thats pretty awesome (for us at least).

So here is where you come in. Go to here and vote that you want him to come work for us. I know its tempting to vote for the porno roll, but try your best.

Also, here is the video we just made to send to Conan



Thanks
HH
(aka, future boss of Conan)

Obama Bumper Sticker

Posted by JoeSettler



Hattip: Jewschool

Jameel Adds:



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

Water and oil - Jews and Arabs in Israel?

On this morning's drive into work, I heard IDF radio personality Razi Barkai interview a resident of the Jerusalem "Jabbel Mukabre" neighborhood about last night's attempt to dismantle the house of the terrorist who shot up the Merkaz Harav Yeshiva a week and half ago.

This person's house came under a barrage of rocks by angry right wing demonstrators,
upset at the Israeli government's refusal to implement its own decision of dismantling the house of the terrorist...and they wanted to carry out the law themselves.

Razi asked the person; "How far do you live from the terrorist's house?"

The person replied, "about 2 kilometers...but the real question you need to ask me is how did a young person who was about to get married, get into the situation where he did this thing"

Razi: "OK, why don't you tell me what were the motives behind the terrorist's attack?"

The person replied: "We are brothers and sisters of the Palestinian nation, and seeing day after day children in Gaza killed by the IDF, he did what he did. And then last night, this large group of settlers came and threw rocks at my house on their way to that person's house. How dare they."

Initial thoughts that came to mind:

1. The Arab interviewee justifies the action of the terrorist because of "seeing day after day [Arab] children killed by the IDF", yet gets all Judge Judy indignant when a crowd wants revenge for seeing yeshiva students killed by a resident of his neighborhood and they throw rocks at his home. Doesn't he see any comparison?

2. Arab kids throw rocks all the time, they are released by the justice system immediately (in the best case that they were even detained)

3. Why did the group throw rocks? They would have been far more effective if they just marched into the neighborhood and held signs: "We demand the eviction of terrorists and their supporters" That would have conveyed their message just as clearly.

Initial reports right after the terror attack at Merkaz HaRav (which I personally heard on IDF radio and Israel Radio channel 2) that the terrorist was a bus driver, employed by the Merkaz HaRav yeshiva. Within 24 hours this was denied by Merkaz HaRav. Some have commented to me that they think he did work there, but Merkaz HaRav didn't want to admit it, so they denied it.

And then...one of the foremost Gedolim and poskim of our generation, R' Chaim Kanievsky formally announces that one should not hire Arabs...and definitely not in yeshivot....for it's a matter of life and death...and we are at war with them.

No distinction was made between Israeli Arab and Palestinian Arab (the terrorist who attacked Merkaz HaRav was an Israeli Arab).

Rafi G. asks the same question that I thought of; why is it suddenly forbidden to hire Arabs, yet the Ultra Orthodox world has no problem buying Shmitta produce from Israeli Arabs...and even Palestinian Arabs in Gaza! We have been saying for years that its a matter of life and death, and yet everyone turned a blind eye to the inherent danger of buying produce from Gaza Arabs?

I wonder if the Police will now target R' Chaim Kanievsky -- people who printed t-shirts advocating only Jewish Labor were arrested, tried, and found guilty of "incitement" a few years back.

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