Before suicide, woman penned book about her ordeals in ultra-Orthodox world | The Times of Israel

“At the time I didn’t know what the word romantic means, but I felt very strongly that I wanted to hear him pronounce my name on his lips. Sometimes I would walk behind him at home like a shadow and imagine him suddenly turning around and saying that wonderful word.”

Once, when she asked her husband to make love to her more than the twice a month permitted in the Takanot, he left their home to call a counselor for advice and only came back two hours later.

“He paused for a moment in the entrance to the living room, didn’t even look at me, and threw into the space of the room the sentence that would hound me for many years afterwards and until today: ‘The rabbi said one shouldn’t add days except what the rebbe [head of the sect] from Gur defined, which is twice a month, and we already did this twice this month! Therefore, the rabbi said, this month we should not do it again, and added and instructed, that if you accept my pronouncement, that is great! And if not — that I should sleep in the living room, and if that also doesn’t help and you continue to insist, then the rabbi ruled that I should sleep in the [synagogue]! Good night!’

“He finished like a father instructing his children to go straight to bed because it is late. He went to the bedroom and immediately fell asleep, and I spent the night in tears and wailing terribly.”

Before suicide, woman penned book about her ordeals in ultra-Orthodox world | The Times of Israel

Doctor sacked for calling gay people ‘perverts’ · PinkNews

Israel’s Medical Association has removed a doctor from its ethics committee after he posted homophobic comments to an online forum for family doctors.

What Dr Sudi Namir failed to realise was that a number of his fellow participants were themselves members of the LGBT community.

Dr Namir started his diatribe by expressing his sympathy for gay people, saying he felt “sorry and pray for all those who are sick in their bodies and minds.”

However, his sympathetic tone soon changed. “A pervert is a pervert is a pervert, you can call him whatever you want, he’s a pervert,” he declared, before mourning the loss of a past in which blatant homophobia was perfectly acceptable.

“All the abominations of yesterday have become today’s norm.”

Dr Namir made the comments after some in the forum expressed their support for the LGBT community, stating is was not wrong and was a normal part of some people’s nature.

The comments were made as part of a discussion surrounding the issue of same-sex parenting and surrogacy.
When challenged on the post, Dr Namir told Arutz Sheva Israel National News that the comments supporting the gay community conflicted with his strict religious views.


Doctor sacked for calling gay people ‘perverts’ · PinkNews

The Jewish Press » » Raelian Statement Condemns Zionism, Says Raelians Are the True Jews

When I first began posting about the Raelians, they had offered to baptize the Pope.  Next, we have them wanting an embassy or "an extraterrestrial welcome center" in Canada.  Then the news of a "swastika rehabilitation week" rolled out; that didn't sit well with some groups.

Although I have issue with the more popular version of ancient aliens/astronauts due to its inherent racism - the achievements of non-white, Ancient Civilization X are so beguiling, from a western viewpoint, that the only reasonable explanation is that they were influenced by advanced (Nordic looking) aliens - my familiarity with the Raelians didn't fall into that category.  The first inkling came with the Swastika debacle,

"The swastika appears in ancient cultures all over the world," Kaenzig told The Huffington Post. "How can it be found everywhere despite these cultures having no contact with each other unless the Elohim were involved?"

This is the exact same mind-set of Giorgio and his band of merry men (ie think of the various pyramids world wide and their explanation of such, or the solstice alignment of structures such as Stonehenge).

As a bit of a side-bar, keep in mind that some within the popularized version of ancient aliens have also latched onto anti-Semitic ranting about the Rothschilds, the alien-Jewish world domination conspiracy with a little bit of Edward Snowden thrown in for support (David Icke and Jim Marrs building off Zecharia Sitchin as well as Alexander Hislop's The Two Babylons).  For the sake of brevity -  911, the 2008 economic meltdown, aspartame, fluoride, Prince Philip of England, the Rothschild family, the Anunnaki, Nimrod, Orwell 1984 (supposedly the alien master plan) are ALL connected. 

I don't think the Raelians go quite that extreme as the racism is concerned, but their statement still is a cause for mild concern.  They seem to be railing against the Zionism (Christian Zionism) espoused by John Hagee:

Heeb Magazine disclosed a statement from the Raelians, that the Jews have been officially replaced and are ordered to leave the Holy Land. It says Raelians are the real Jews who will welcome their “Messiah” or extraterrestrial creators, but first need to build a temple that will serve as an intergalactic embassy. This sounds eerily similar to the concept of replacement theology that early Christians espoused as stating they had replaced the Jews as the chosen people. However, it is doubtful that the early Christian fathers believed, as the Raelians do, that humans were invented by a scientific team of extra terrestrials.

In 1973, Claude Vorihon, now known as Rael, received a message from an extra terrestrial who called himself, conveniently enough, Yahweh, telling him that angels and other divine beings were nothing more than other worldly scientists known as Elohim who have only to reveal themselves to usher in an age of global enlightenment. The Raelians are against war or military engagement in any form. Recently, they have declared their opposition to Zionism and released a statement purportedly from Yahweh, not to be confused with the god of the Jews. He says “the protection previously extended by Elohim to the Jewish people has ceased …. You have betrayed all the exemplary values of Judaism by stealing land and houses that don’t belong to you, and especially by not respecting my most important commandment, ‘Thou shall not kill.’ And you have accumulated nuclear weapons that could kill millions of people in one go and spark off a world war capable of destroying all creation … We ask all real Jews to leave the land of Palestine as quickly as possible.”

Not surprisingly, Raelians declare they are the real Jews (so for whom is the message intended?), and wanted their own piece of the Middle East for construction of their intergalactic embassy, but were turned down. One wonders how Israeli Raelian tour guide, Kobi Drori, is going to react to the command that all those considered Jews up until the statement should leave Israel. Drori, based in Tel Aviv, was interviewed a few years ago by the ReligionNews blog, and explained how Jews are considered special in Raelian theology. Jews contain part of the Elohim, or divine messengers, when everyone else was made in a lab. This is the reason the Raelians wanted to build their temple in Jerusalem, so the extra terrestrials can “be among their children, their sons.” The Raelian symbol of the swastika and Star of David entwined is meant to promote co-existence.

The Jewish Press » » Raelian Statement Condemns Zionism, Says Raelians Are the True Jews

More Revealtions Regarding Israeli Rabbis Accused of Sexual Abuse - Sisterhood – Forward.com

Rabbi Ezra Scheinberg was caught by police two weeks ago at Ben Gurion airport trying to avoid arrest on charges of rape, sexual harassment and indecent assault. Ten women have come forward so far and the police expect more complaints now that the court lifted the ban on releasing his name. According to the complaints, Scheinberg would rape women who came to him for spiritual counseling, and told the women it was part of their healing treatment. The police conducted a search of his house and removed computers, cell phones and other equipment.
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Scheinberg, the 47-year-old founding head of Orot Ha’ari yeshiva in Safed, is considered a leading religious Zionist kabbalist and was known for his mystical “blessings” and abilities to “see” into people’s souls. He was considered a protégé of the late chief rabbi Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, father of Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, the current chief rabbi of Safed. Eliyahu has since disassociated himself from Scheinberg, and ordered him to leave Safed and resign from his yeshivah post. Judge Uri Shoham allowed the publication of the rabbi’s name in order to “encourage other complainants, who have requested not to expose themselves until now, to testify about what the suspect did to theme. There is also room to warn the public against him.”

More Revealtions Regarding Israeli Rabbis Accused of Sexual Abuse - Sisterhood – Forward.com

Human Rights Report That Ted Cruz Demanded Reveals Republican Hypocrisy

It is mind-boggling, really, why Republicans so desperately wanted a human rights violation report released that features human rights violations they are guilty of perpetuating on Americans. Yes, they certainly want a reason to criticize nations like Iran and Cuba, but they also are well aware that the entire world knows that those nations are guilty of the same violations Republicans support, and argue to continue unabated, against people of color, women, gays, and peaceful protestors. The rest of the world, including Iran and Cuba, are aware that Republicans have championed legislation “limiting citizens’ ability to change the government through free and fair elections” at the behest of the Koch brothers and their legislative arm the American Legislative Exchange Council.

America can hardly criticize any nation’s human rights violations when it is guilty of the same violations even if they are not “as violent or severe;” particularly when this ‘exceptional nation’ is supposed to be a human rights leader. It is true that most Americans are appalled when they learn their fellow citizens are victims of human rights violations, and if they were not so entrenched in the idea that America is a human rights leader, they may pay heed to who is responsible for perpetuating this exceptional nation’s human rights violations against their fellow citizens; hypocritical Republicans.

Human Rights Report That Ted Cruz Demanded Reveals Republican Hypocrisy

Bachmann: God Punishing US With 'Economic Disasters, Natural Disasters' Due To Obama Presidency | Right Wing Watch

“If the United States turns its back on Israel, as our president is doing today, in my opinion, we cannot continue to indulge in the fantasy that the United States will be free from receiving the negative blowback, or curses, in biblical parlance, that could come our way and they could be severe,” Bachmann said.

After Markell pointed to economic troubles, the California drought and “unprecedented snowstorms on the East Coast” as signs of such divide punishment, Bachmann told her that such occurrences “are only the threshold or down payment.”

“If we actually turn our back on Israel, as we are seeing Barack Obama do today, if that happens then I think we will see a scale and a level of pushback in the United States, negative consequences. I don’t know what they are, but I believe that the Bible is true and I believe that what the Bible says is that our nation and the people of our nation will reap a whirlwind,” Bachmann said. “We could see economic disasters, natural disasters. The United States does not want to be in that position and unfortunately the people put into office Barack Obama, not only once but twice, and the people have to rise up against his actions and demand their leaders take steps accordingly.”

Bachmann: God Punishing US With 'Economic Disasters, Natural Disasters' Due To Obama Presidency | Right Wing Watch

How anti-vaxxers fuel the spread of polio – Keren Landsman – Aeon

"We had to convince people with healthy children to vaccinate them again, not for their own safety, but for the public good"
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Fascinating read., a first person account of battling polio from the front lines and the damage done by anti-vaxxers in destroying "herd immunity.". Shows the importance of global organizations such as WHO,,,

Polio should have been eradicated long ago, at least in the developed world. After all, we’ve had a good, efficient vaccine for 60 years. So why is polio still here? And what is it doing in my country?

Israel is the original start-up nation, powered by high-tech and science, with some of the most sophisticated medical research in the world. We have come a long way from the 1950s, when polio was still with us and the signature experience was living on a Kibbutz. We are a modern, wired nation, but we forgot one thing: we still live in the Middle East. We have great weather, plenty of sunshine, lovely beaches, and two relatively nearby countries – Pakistan and Afghanistan – where the wild polio virus still roams free.

Shortly before polio returned to Israel, it hit the sewers of Egypt, our neighbour to the south, in December 2012. Egypt, like Israel, already vaccinated widely – so someone from Pakistan must have entered Egypt, used a toilet, and excreted polio into the sewer system around Cairo, probably infecting some Egyptians along the way. Egyptian physicians could find no cases of polio paralysis, the most devastating outcome of the disease, and that made sense: 95 per cent of people infected with polio show no symptoms and never become sick. But Egypt knew paralysis would be next if the virus was allowed to spread. So Egypt fought back. A nationwide campaign was initiated, and more than 14 million Egyptian children were vaccinated against polio. Within a month, the Egyptians had vanquished polio from its sewers and its country, yet again.

[,,,]
Analysing the situation, the Israeli government looked at the global data collected by the World Health Organization: it turned out that in nations at risk, a combination of the two vaccines could work best. A single, previous IPV shot made of dead virus could protect against the spread of vaccine-associated polio from the live vaccine. The live vaccine, meanwhile, would prevent the virus from taking root in the gut, where it might spread out to infect the vulnerable and exposed.

How anti-vaxxers fuel the spread of polio – Keren Landsman – Aeon

Rabbi Convicted Of Sexually And Physically Abusing Four Young Siblings - FailedMessiah.com

The Israeli news website Walla reported that a 42-year-old rabbi of a synagogue in Petach Tikva sexually and physically abused four children, two boys and two girls – including the rape of a young teen girl.

Even so, an Israeli court sentenced the rabbi to only 5 years in prison (with an additional 18 months in prison suspended for three years, and another 12 months in prison for violent crime suspended for three years). He also was ordered to pay compensation to his four victims – a total of NIS 24,000 (less than $7,000).

The rabbi – known for helping at risk children – told the victims that he had special hidden powers given to him by God and manipulated them – especially the girls – “like puppets on a string.”

Rabbi Convicted Of Sexually And Physically Abusing Four Young Siblings - FailedMessiah.com

Christian Zionism: The New Heresy that Undermines Middle East Peace

At least one in four American Christians surveyed recently by Christianity Today magazine said that they believe it is their biblical responsibility to support the nation of Israel. This view is known as Christian Zionism. The Pew Research Center put the figure at 63 per cent among white evangelicals. Christian Zionism is pervasive within mainline American evangelical, charismatic and independent denominations including the Assemblies of God, Pentecostals and Southern Baptists, as well as many of the independent mega-churches. It is less prevalent within the historic denominations, which show a greater respect for the work of the United Nations, support for human rights, the rule of international law and empathy with the Palestinians.

The origins of the movement can be traced to the early 19th century when a group of eccentric British Christian leaders began to lobby for Jewish restoration to Palestine as a necessary precondition for the return of Christ. The movement gained traction from the middle of the 19th century when Palestine became strategic to British, French and German colonial interests in the Middle East. Proto-Christian Zionism therefore preceded Jewish Zionism by more than 50 years. Some of Theodore Herzl's strongest advocates were Christian clergy.

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Burgeoning Christian Zionist organizations such as the International Christian Embassy (ICEJ), Christian Friends of Israel (CFI) and Christians United for Israel (CUFI) wield considerable influence on Capitol Hill, claiming a support base in excess of 50 million true believers. This means there are now at least ten times as many Christian Zionists as Jewish Zionists. And their European cousins are no less active in the Zionist Hasbarafia, lobbying for Israel, attacking its critics and thwarting the peace process. The United States and Israel are often portrayed as Siamese twins, joined at the heart, sharing common historic, religious and political values.

Pastor John Hagee is one of the leaders of the Christian Zionist movement. He is the Founder and Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Church, a 19,000-member evangelical church in San Antonio, Texas. His weekly programmes are broadcast on 160 TV stations, 50 radio stations and eight networks into an estimated 99 million homes in 200 countries. In 2006 he founded Christians United for Israel admitting,

"For 25 almost 26 years now, I have been pounding the evangelical community over television. The Bible is a very pro-Israel book. If a Christian admits ‘I believe the Bible,' I can make him a pro-Israel supporter or they will have to denounce their faith. So I have the Christians over a barrel, you might say."

[,,,]
Christian Zionists have shown varying degrees of enthusiasm for implementing six basic political convictions that arise from their ultra-literal and fundamentalist theology:

1. The belief that the Jews remain God's chosen people leads Christian Zionists to seek to bless Israel in material ways. However, this also invariably results in the uncritical endorsement of and justification for Israel's racist and apartheid policies, in the media, among politicians and through solidarity tours to Israel.
2. As God's chosen people, the final restoration of the Jews to Israel is therefore actively encouraged, funded and facilitated through partnerships with the Jewish Agency.
3. Eretz Israel, as delineated in scripture, from the Nile to the Euphrates, belongs exclusively to the Jewish people, therefore the land must be annexed, Palestinians driven from their homes and the illegal Jewish settlements expanded and consolidated.
4. Jerusalem is regarded as the eternal and exclusive capital of the Jews, and cannot be shared with the Palestinians. Therefore, strategically, Christian Zionists have lobbied the US Administration to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem and thereby ensure that Jerusalem is recognised as the capital of Israel.
5. Christian Zionists offer varying degrees of support for organisations such as the Jewish Temple Mount Faithful who are committed to destroying the Dome of the Rock and rebuilding the Jewish Temple on the Haram Al-Sharif (Noble sanctuary of Al-Aqsa).
6. Christian Zionists invariably have a pessimistic view of the future, convinced that there will be an apocalyptic war of Armageddon in the imminent future. They are deeply sceptical of the possibility of a lasting peace between Jews and Arabs and therefore oppose the peace process. Indeed, to advocate an Israeli compromise of "land for peace" with the Palestinians is seen as a rejection of God's promises to Israel and therefore to support her enemies.

Christian Zionism: The New Heresy that Undermines Middle East Peace