Ever since I first encountered the very insular Jews who live in parts of Jerusalem in 1957, I have been aware that some of them have the habits of throwing stones at people they do not approve of and of spitting. I don’t mean spitting to clear the throat. Lots of people do that. It is common in the Middle…
Kill the Messenger
Two weeks ago I wrote an article about corruption in the Jewish religious world. As I expected, the response from my target audience was to ignore it altogether, or that I must be a charlatan and a hypocrite, an enemy of Orthodoxy. Why didn’t I focus on all the good things religious people do, and why not emphasize all the…
Let Them Be
I know this is going to sound harsh and unfeeling but we ought to leave failed states alone to stew in their own self-imposed cruelties. It is, in the end, up to their own citizens to either put up or shut up. I really thought Obama was going to usher in a new era and stop trying to cure those…
Religion Is Sick
Yet another case has been revealed of Orthodox corruption. A rabbi, very strict on conversions but lax on morality, was taped offering “Orthodox” conversion for sex. This comes after a yearlong litany including the trial of Charedi youngsters sent by other Charedi bosses out to Japan as drug “mules”, another Charedi “rabbi” accused of dealing in sex and drugs, the…
Do Steal
You want to know why religion in Europe is up the spout? It is called moral relativism. In other words, no standards. A nice English priest, Father Tim Jones of York, has shot to fame or shame by suggesting that the poor should go and shoplift over this holiday season. Such a genuine and sincere chappie he seems. I’m sure…
Auschwitz Gates
Last week the iconic banner over the gates of Auschwitz with the ironic legend “Arbeit Macht Frei” (“Work Sets You Free”) was stolen. The phrase itself has now entered our culture, sometimes to replace the famous words that Dante placed over the Gates of Hell, “Abandon hope all you who enter here.” “Arbeit Macht Frei” is far more sinister and…