Rav Sternbuch - Searching for Hashem

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Why is it o.k. to discriminate against Jews?

JPost Michael Freund

The Left, once again, is in an uproar. Along with its international comrades, it is bristling at the recent court-approved move by Jewish families into homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem.

This is in addition to the fury it expressed previously over plans to build apartments for Jews at the site of the privately owned Shepherd Hotel in the eastern part of the capital.

Mustering all the righteous anger at its disposal, the Left has now launched into a heated round of pious pontification, hurling invective and frenzied rhetoric as if the world itself were coming to an end. The Ir Amim organization, for example, recently warned that if the Shepherd Hotel plan moves forward, it might "deal a fatal blow not only to [US President Barack] Obama's efforts but to the two-state solution."

No less hysterical was the reaction of Robert Serry, the UN's special envoy to the Middle East, who released a harshly worded statement saying: "I deplore the totally unacceptable actions by Israel in which Israeli security forces evicted Palestinian refugee families... to allow settlers to take possession of their properties." Calling the move "provocative," Serry asserted that it will "heighten tensions" and "undermine international efforts" to bring about peace.

Have these people fallen on their heads? The Left and its supporters repeatedly stress the need to end "settlement activity," as though it is Jewish housing construction rather than Arab intolerance which lies at the root of the Middle East conflict.

But even more perplexing is the fact that they are willing to embrace an openly discriminatory stance - prejudiced against Jews - to advance their political agenda. [...]

Homeless Holocaust survive wills $100k to Hebrew University

JPost

A homeless, anonymous Holocaust survivor from New York who passed away recently at the age of 92 left $100,000 to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, even though she had no known connection to the institution.

She left another $100,000 to her last employer.

According to a Hebrew University spokesman, the Jewish woman, who had been living out of a shopping cart in Manhattan, apparently had no surviving relatives. [..]

Modern Democracy:Halacha vs Islamic Law

JPost Daniel PIpes

Those of us who argue against Shari'a are sometimes asked why Islamic law poses a problem when modern Western societies long ago accommodated Halacha, Jewish law.

The answer is easy: Islam is a missionizing religion, Judaism is not. Islamists aspire to apply Islamic law to everyone, while observant Jews seek only to live by Jewish law themselves.

Two very recent examples from the United Kingdom demonstrate the innate imperialism of Islamic law. The first concerns Queens Care Centre, an old-age home in the coal town of Maltby, 40 miles east of Manchester. At present, according to the Daily Telegraph, not one of its 37 staff or 40 residents is Muslim. Although the home's management asserts a respect for its residents' "religious and cultural beliefs," QCC's owner since 1994, Zulfikar Ali Khan, on his own decided this year to switch the home's meat purchases to a halal butcher.

His stealthy decision meant pensioners at QCC could no longer eat bacon and eggs, bangers and mash, ham sandwiches, bacon sandwiches, pork pies, bacon butties or sausage rolls. The switch prompted widespread anger. The relative of one resident called it "a disgrace. The old people who are in the home and in their final years deserve better... it's shocking that they should be deprived of the food they like on the whim of this man."[...]

Deporting illegal immigrants

Arutz Sheva

(Israelnationalnews.com) Col. (res.) Yitzhak 'Tziki' Sela, Commander of the Interior Ministry's 'Oz' Unit which arrests illegal immigrants and deports them, gave an interview to Ma'ariv Wednesday in which he slammed the organizations that have been protesting against the government's intention to crack down on illegal foreign labor.

"These groups, those who protest against us, the ones that call me 'Goebbels' and a Nazi, are anarchists who want the destruction of the state of Israel, with three exclamation marks," Sela said. "They should be condemned. This is criminal behavior, pure and simple."[...]

46% of Israelis thinks gays are deviants

Haaretz

Almost half of the Israeli population believes that homosexuality is a perversion. A Haaretz-Dialog poll, conducted under Prof. Camil Fuchs finds that 46 percent of the people surveyed answered the question "Do you see homosexuality as a perversion?" in the affirmative, while 42 percent answered that it was not a perversion. Twelve percent said they did not know.

The survey also finds that 71 percent of the ultra-Orthodox population believe homosexuality is a perversion. So do 67 percent of the religious (Orthodox), 64 percent of the Arabs, 57 percent of the Russian-speaking immigrants, 44 percent of the observant (traditional) Jews and 24 percent of the secular population. [...]

American Psychological Assoc. rejects Gay Therapy

NYTimes Wall Street Journal

The American Psychological Association declared Wednesday that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other treatments.

In a resolution adopted by the association’s governing council, and in an accompanying report, the association issued its most comprehensive repudiation of so-called reparative therapy, a concept espoused by a small but persistent group of therapists, often allied with religious conservatives, who maintain that gay men and lesbians can change.

No solid evidence exists that such change is likely, says the resolution, adopted by a 125-to-4 vote. The association said some research suggested that efforts to produce change could be harmful, inducing depression and suicidal tendencies.

Instead of seeking such change, the association urged therapists to consider multiple options, which could include celibacy and switching churches, for helping clients live spiritually rewarding lives in instances where their sexual orientation and religious faith conflict. [...]