Flood Hits Modiin Mall

Today's rains brought a flood to the Azrielli Mall in the city of Modiin.

Divine retribution for Xmas Caroling in the Modiin Park...Offensive Billboards in the mall...preventing Jewish youths from putting on tefillin....Missionary Activity...?

Of course not!

It was simply poor urban planning for rainwater and sewage drains...don't worry Modiin, we still love you at the Muqata!

(or, this could simply be proof that G-d approved of today's laws passed in the Knesset)

photo credit: rotter

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Modi'in residents try to keep away Arabs with fee to public park

Imagine, if you will the following article from Haaretz...

Modi'in residents try to keep away Arabs with fee to public park

The park, near the center of the city, features grassy areas, a lake with paddleboating, a large playground and is currently open to all, with no parking or entrance fees.

Modi'in residents want the municipality to institute an entrance fee to the city's Park Anabe, which they think may stem the flow of Arabs from surrounding towns to the popular park.

The park, near the center of the city, features grassy areas, a lake with paddleboating, a large playground and is open to all, with no parking or entrance fees. Since opening last year it has becoming a popular idyll for city residents and outsiders, including Arab residents of nearby villages.

Recently, a Facebook page was started by residents calling for a fee. Last week, online forums serving the city became populated with calls for the park to be cleaned up and a debate over the institution of a fee for outsiders, eventually sparking a petition.

"If someone wants to enjoy the facilities, they are welcome, but it is appropriate that they pay!" the petition reads. "There is an absurdity in Modi'in where the citizens no longer visit the site because it is overcrowded and dirty. This must be brought to an end."

As of yesterday the online petition had garnered 60 signatures.

Avi Elbaz, a former city council member active in the Free Modi'in NGO, wants the city to maintain a secular character. He says that "there is an awakening here, and I have also experienced it. [At the park], every night there is a celebration of hundreds of Arab families coming here. They come in masses, with organized transportation from all over."

Elbaz says those who take the most from the park are outsiders.

"The citizens of [Modi'in] paid with their taxes for the construction of the park, while those who mostly enjoy the use of the park are outsiders, and it does not really matter if they are Arab or others," Elbaz said. "Some of the city residents avoid going to the park because of the crowding with the Arab families which come there in droves. They leave a lot of trash behind them, disorder and dirt. They do not clean and do not upkeep the place, and do not pay for the payments made by the municipality each month for cleaning the place and upkeep."

A quick visit to the park revealed that indeed, the place is crowded in the summer. People are there from Taibe, Teira, Kfar Qassam and other areas.

Charging for a park would run counter to a 2007 decision that parks cannot charge fees. That year the the Knesset Internal Affairs and Environment Committee rejected an Interior Ministry proposal to alter the rules governing entrance fees for parks following a legal challenge to the Ra'anana park's practice of charging an entrance fee. Following the decision, Ra'anana instead began charging non-residents for parking near the park, an idea that some in Modi'in would like to see in their city as well.

The municipality admits that the situation is problematic, saying they can't restrict entry, but cleanup and maintenance in the summer is costly. But they say residents need not fear the Islamification of the city.

"We do not advertise the park too much," a municipality source said. "It is convenient that it is known only to the local residents and those of nearby communities. However, some of the residents are experiencing a genuine phobia against Arabs, especially those who fled Jaffa, and now fear that they will have to flee the turning of Modi'in into an Arab town. This is not the case."

In its official response the municipality said that the park sees thousands of visitors daily and is well-maintained. But they added charging for parking is not an option. "The municipality has set up three parking areas, with the cooperation of Israel Railroads nearby, and we have no intention of limiting parking or charging a fee for it," the city said.

Actually, the above article in Haaretz did appear, right here! The only difference is that I swapped the word "Ultra Orthodox/Chareidi" with the word "Arab".

I doubt the above article would ever have appeared in Haaretz, with the same tone towards pluralistic Modi'in. Note the pluralistic, anti-Chareidi talkbacks...who would never dare say a racist word about Arabs.


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I really DONT hate Modiin

While I have posted in the past about problems around the city of Modi'in (and its email list), someone mentioned to me in passing that I must really hate Modi'in.

So, for the record, I really do NOT hate Modi'in.

In fact, here are some exclusive rainbow photos from last Thursday which I took while driving through Modi'in.




And of course, you can't go anywhere in Israel without seeing tens of thousands of street signs named like this.



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The 443 Game

Here's a fun game anyone can play. (Might load slowly)



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Rock Attacks on 443 / Modiin-Jerusalem Highway

This morning at 9:28 AM, Palestinians attacked Jewish motorists on the Modi'in-Jerusalem Highway, also known as road 443.

I know, since I was there...and saw the cars getting hit, including the one in front of me.

In the 9:28 attack, no one was injured...but a few minutes later, someone was hurt by another rock attack and required hospitalization.

And how does Israel's media report this incident?

YNET: Car hit with rocks near Rammalla, driver lightly wounded.

An Israeli citizen was lightly wounded by rocks thrown at his car near Beit Sira, west of Rammalla. He received medical treatment and damage was caused to his car. (link in Hebrew)

Its newsworthy -- even crucial that people know where this attack took place, but your average Israeli has no clue where "Beit Sira" is, and seeing "Rammalla" in the headline leads one to think that "Oh, if someone was near Rammalla, it must have been a settler, or someone driving out in the boondocks."

YNET intentionally left our the crucial information that this attack took place on Highway 443, the main Modi'in-Jerusalem highway.

Why? Any number of reasons, ranging from not wanting people to know that Palestinians are targeting cars of "normal" people on "normal" highways -- to tacit support of the Supreme Court's decision to open Highway 443 to regular Palestinian traffic.

Regardless of the reason, its odious that YNET deliberately concealed this information.

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From the Modi'in HANGLO email list

Actually, I wasn't sure whether to inlclude in this post's title "CRANGLO" (ChRristian ANGLOs) or HANGLO, Hellinist ANGLOs. (both based on the "JANGLO" -- Jerusalem Anglo list)

This morning, I was working on a post about the good news that 95% of Jewish Israeli households light Chanuka candles according to a recent Gesher survey. I was going to write about R' Shmuel Eliyahu's article this past Shabbat that "Secular Israelis are Not Hellinists"…and then, I got the following email thread from the Modi'in "anglo" email list.

You know, Modi'in, named for Ancient Modi'in, the place of origin of the Jewish Hasmonean dynasty that ruled Judea in the first and second centuries BCE, and it is where the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Greeks started? THAT Modi'in.

So what was so baffling about this email thread? People on this email list were pining for Christmas Carols to be sung in the Modi'in park -- not by Christians, but by Jews, Anglo-Israelis!

Makes you wonder why a Jew would move from the US to Israel, just to sing Christmas "just to enjoy beautiful" Carols?

Wishing you all a Happy Chanuka, in which we celebrate the affirmation of our Jewish heritage over assimilation with foreign cultures and religions.

--Jameel

PS: To all our friends in Modi'in who want to carol away the night, here's something worthwhile to read as background information on your joyous holiday caroling. (hat-tip, DovBear)

(names changed and email addresses removed to prevent lawsuits)

Email #1

CG wrote:

Hi List!

My wife's hairdresser told her that there will be a Christmas carol service in Park Anabe [in Modi'in] on Wednesday night. Does anyone know what time it starts ?

Happy Holidays Y'all


Email #2:

On Sat, Dec 20, 2008 at 8:43 PM, YG wrote:

Unbelievable!

Email #3:

On Sun, Dec 21, 2008 at 9:17 AM, JB wrote:

What's so unbelievable? I'm curious. Is it so outrageous that someone might want to listen to Christmas carols here in Israel? Perhaps it's equally outrageous that a Jew living in the US might want to light candles on Chanukkah. If it really is being planned, I think it's a wonderful idea!

-JB

Email #4:

Hi

I did not hear of any positive confirmation of christmas carols taking place in park anabe this week

however as there is such an obvious popular demand for christmas carols in modiin, why dont we do an impromtu carols sing along in a park in modiin this wednesday night - any ideas ?

here is a list of carols to get everyone in the mood

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christmas_carols

chag sameach to everyone

Email #5:

Hi,

How many Christians are there in Modi'in to make up a choir? And Xmas carols are not exactly Rudolph and Jingle Bells, they are praises to Jesus the Lord. Modi'in has been created as a Jewish city as most of the cities in Israel. And most of the cities in Israel that were set up in 1948, when the State of Israel was declared as a Jewish country, Ben Gurion and the other secular members of that government declared all the religious and national holidays to be the Jewish holidays. That is so that we would not be like other countries, but a Jewish country. Modi'in, also created as a Jewish city is not comparable to the US or any other city or country in the world. I don't think that singing dreidel songs in Catholic countries like a piazza in an Italian city, or a Spanish city would be appropriate either.

Of course we have Christian and other non-Jewish groups in Israel and they get budgets from the Misrad Hadatot just as synagogues get budgets. If anyone is really interested in hearing Xmas carols, or the midnite mass, my suggestion is to go to Yafo, Nazareth, J'lem or Latrun where there are concentrations of Christians and proper churches, and listen to an authentic rendition.

IMHO, it is not appropriate to have a public singing of Xmas carols right smack in the center of Modi'in. How many of the foreign workers are Christian, and how many of those will actually come?

G.

Email #6:

I beg to differ. Singing dreidel songs in Italy or anywhere else is just as appropriate as caroling in Israel. Modiin is just another city, with people like you that might not want to here carols and are there welcome to stay at home or go to a restaurant and support local businesses, or read a book, etc. There are other people, like me, Jewish, not afraid of other religions, do not believe in the message, just enjoying the beautiful songs. You don't like it, don't show up, it's that simple and it's called freedom of assembly.

S

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