Withdrawal from Gaza
Topic: Politics
We've been through a difficult time these last few weeks.
The dismantling of settlements and the subsequent withdrawal of all Israeli troops from the Gaza strip tears at the base of the Israeli society.
Some feared that the demonstrations by fundamentalist settlers and their effort to withstand the army's attempts at evacuating them from the Gaza strip, would lead to a civil war and bloodshed.
Eventually, things did not turn that way. The excellent preparation of the Army and the Police, with the help of psychologists turned out to be very successful. The wind was taken out of the sails of the protesters, and the "sensitive-though-assertive" attitude of the soldiers and police managed to curb violence. Except for some minor incidents no one was seriously hurt, and the whole eviction of 10,000 people was completed within a week, a third of the minimum time planned!!
After completion of the destruction of houses and buildings in the settlements, the Army will leave the Gaza strip in one month.
In spite of all the tension, the withdrawal was proof of the strength of Israel democracy and the ability to execute even the most difficult and contested decisions of the government.
I express my deepest hope that negotiations with the Palestinians will pick up and that not long from now Israel will withdraw also from the West Bank, a Palestinian State will be declared, and Israel and Palestine will live in peace side by side.

Fundamentalism - some thoughts from an orthodox person
Topic: Fundamentalism
I am an orthodox religious Jew.
Yet, I come out strongly against fundamentalism. How come?
Well fundamentalism, by most definitions is a view that tries to implement a situation where the society is run coercively by strict religious principles, forcing all to conform to those principles, or else...
Iran is a good example, but there are also distinct Christian fundamentalist groups (actually the name stems from the early 20th century American Evangelists) and there are Jewish fundamentalists as well.

Let's take my own example. As I already mentioned I am an orthodox religious Jew. Orthodox Judaism certainly pertains that the Jewish State should be an orthodox society where everyone adheres to Jewish Halacha (=religious law).
The difference between democratic orthodox Jews and fundamentalist orthodox Jews is how you see this coming about. Fundamentalist orthodox Jews would like to see a State of Israel where Ayatollah-like rabbi's will run the show and where everyone would be forced by law to adhere to those laws or be prosecuted in religious courts. Fortunately these fundamentalists are a small minority here.
Democratic orthodox Jews, like myself, would like as many as possible people from their own free will accept orthodox Judaism as their lifestyle, until hopefully one day with the coming of the Messiah all Jews will live that way. However, no coercion whatsoever !!! No legislation forcing anyone to live his life according to religious law. No restrictions on freedom of speech, dress or behavior.
Any religious person believes that his truth is The Only Truth. That's the crunch of faith. I am the same as to my religion. No problem here.
The problem starts when people take it that one crucial step further and think that because their truth is The Only Truth they have to force it on everyone else. Worse, believe that it's G-d's command to do so. Jihad, Crusades and the like are all perfect examples of those perceptions.
I believe that even if in my opinion someone else's truth is totally wrong or even absurd, it's his life.
If he is prepared to talk to me and is convinced or if he comes to "my" truth in some other way, I would be very happy. But if not, I have no right whatsoever to force it on him, directly or indirectly.

I stand up and come out against fundamentalism of any kind because it creates a major breach of human freedom and dignity. There are few things more degrading and frustrating than to live your life by rules and principles you don't identify with. Doing so is a form of mental torture, even long before the long arms of the Ayatollah's or Inquisition etc. actually get to do their physical torture.

The right to live your life the way you see fit (as long as you don't hurt others) is a basic human right. Taking away that right is a crime.

Therefore fundamentalism from any denomination or faith is an abomination that has to be fought and suppressed.

Islam, Christianity and Judaism, and many other religions as well, promote humane and people-loving principles. People living by these principles can be a great asset to humanity. All three monotheistic religions deal extensively with charity.

It is when the religious establishment takes a fundamentalist turn, that things go devastatingly wrong. Then religion becomes an excuse, a horrible drive to kill, maim and suppress all that are different. This is not a fault of religion but of those religious people that take that dangerous and destructive road.

And yes, all I said about religious fundamentalism is true also of several atheist doctrines turning fundamental, like socialism turning into Stalinist communism. The principles are wonderful, but forcing them on everyone with cruel coercion creates a devilish reality.

Beware of that. Struggle against that. Preserve freedom.

Does German equal Nazi ???!!!
Mood:  chillin'
Topic: Nazi's and Germany
Last week the President of Germany visited Israel. Visits of high-ranking German officials have always been surrounded by some tension, since the imprint of the Holocaust is still felt very strongly, both amongst the Holocaust survivors and their children.

But that is not the point I am trying to make.
Eight members of the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) decided to boycott the speech of the German President in the Knesset, because he would address the parliament in German. They demanded he speak in English, because no German should be heard in the Israeli parliament. One of them said that as the son of Holocaust survivors he could not stand the thought of that language being spoken in the Knesset. He added that he has also never bought German products or visited Germany.
Since their demand was not granted, they decided to stay away from the session.

I too, am a child of Holocaust survivors. I too know that a Holocaust "survivor" is actually a victim, since the horrors he went through maimed him for life. Yet, I think these eight MP's were very wrong in their stand and that the message they spread is even potentially dangerous and I will explain.
Of course the sound of German, especially in a formal speech, still reminds us of the speeches of Hitler, Himmler and their likes. That still hurts.

But we have to remember all the time that the danger that was (and is!) is not the Germans, but Nazism, fascism and racism. Over the centuries the peoples that have partaken in outrageous carnage against the Jews and against other nations have changed. The Romans and the Greeks decimated our people in their homeland and destroyed our temples. The crusaders massacred and destroyed all in their way. The Spanish inquisition liquidated scores. The Germans (and their allies!) continued and "excelled" in their jobs.

Our struggle to prevent such horrors from occurring again and to remind of what happened, should not be directed to a specific people, but to a specific doctrine. Nations can be peaceful and friendly in a certain century and then violent in another. To pinpoint our condemnation on one specific nation, usually the last that confronted us, leads us and the world astray from dealing with the real problem.
Two generations of Germans have been born after the atrocities of Auschwitz. Certainly the products they make today are no more "contaminated" than products of other nations.
However, the racist and fascist thoughts still thrive, and not necessarily mainly in Germany. They are in existence amongst almost all nations.

To boycott German products, the German language and German soil is like saying: "That's the evil, that's contaminated!" and doing so we not only discourage the vast multitude of Germans born after the war and educated with democratic and humanist values, worse still we close our eyes to the lurking dangers of racism and fascism that are amongst all nations, yes, also amongst some Jews here in Israel. And closing our eyes to the fact that some of us (British, French, Dutch, Israelis, Danish etc) can be as potentially evil and dangerous as the Nazi's were, and that many Germans today can be as heroic as the resistance was in WWII, we seriously impair our efforts to curb recurrence and growth of those dangerous doctrines.

My message is: be constantly aware of signs of racism and fascism anywhere you encounter them, amongst your own and amongst other nations, but especially amongst your own. Stand up and speak out against it. Don't ever think these are traits that are inherent to "the others" only. If you do so, you may feel stabbed in the back one day by your own while pointing at "the others". Don't classify the evil as inherent to certain nations, just because at a given time part of that nation did evil. That in itself is a form of racism.
Evil can rise anywhere. Let's stand together, people of all nations who love mankind, and fight evil wherever it raises its ugly head!

Welcome World !
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Introduction
OK folks, Nightfall-Dawn has opened its gates.
Nightfall stands for all that seems to darken this world and threaten our existence.
Dawn stands for hope, compassion and human dignity.
Nightfall and Dawn, despair and hope, each struggle for supremacy. The balance between them is our measure of well-being. I want to address issues that tend to evoke thoughts of nightfall and show they can also be seen in the light of dawn.
This is going to be a blog that will deal with political, human and social issues, and I won't be surprised if in due time many other topics will be covered too.

I am a religious Jew, living in Israel.
"Oh boy" you think "this is going to be one of those fervent pro-Israel blogs. You're wrong.
"I see" you think "in that case this must be one of those persons filled with self-hatred, condemning Israel for all wrongs in the world". Wrong again.

I am a pragmatist and a humanist. Humans, of all races and religions are precious to me.
I condemn any form of racism, fascism and fundamentalism.
I believe that in spite of all that separates us one from the other, we can all live together.
I believe in compromise, considerateness and respect.
Therefore I can be a Zionist and at the same time support the Palestinian urge for a State of their own.
Therefore I will condemn a Jewish fundamentalist and support a moderate Muslim. Condemn a fundamentalist Muslim and support a moderate Jew.
In this blog I will deal with a variety off issues, from daily-life occurrences to high-level politics.
I'll let it flow as it comes.
Anyone is invited to comment. I will leave all posts on the web, also if they totally negate my opinions, as long as they do not contain racist, fascist or fundamentalist comments. If you want to curse, abuse or defame, please do it elsewhere.