Jewish Extremists deface monastery
Recently, Ayaan Hirsi Ali published an article in the Daily Beast titled, Global War on Christians in the Muslim World. I wonder if she will be brave enough to take on the Jewish extremists below who have been targeting Muslims and Christians.
If they were Muslim you can rest assure that the attack would be considered part and parcel of Islamic teaching.
(H/T: Z. Ahmad)
‘Death to Christians’: Suspected Jewish extremists deface monastery
JERUSALEM — A Jerusalem monastery, built on the spot where tradition holds the tree from which Jesus’ cross was made, was defaced with graffiti bearing the hallmarks of militant Jewish settlers, police said on Tuesday.
“Death to Christians” was daubed in Hebrew on the outer walls of the Monastery of the Cross, an 11th-century fortress-like holy site situated in a valley overlooked by Israel’s parliament.
Army Radio reported that “Maccabees of Migron” was painted on the monastery, too, The Associated Press reported. Maccabees were ancient Jewish heroes, and Migron is an unauthorized settlement facing a court-ordered evacuation.
Such acts originally targeted West Bank mosques but have recently expanded to include a mosque inside Israel, Israeli military bases, and now, a Christian holy site.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the words “Price Tag” were also painted overnight by the vandals, who damaged two cars parked outside the monastery in the attack, according to Reuters.
The slogan, used by Jewish settlers in vandalism attacks on mosques and Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank, refers to the retribution they say they will exact for any attempt by the Israeli government to curb settlement in the territory.
Israeli settlement building up 20 percent, watchdog says
“I am a priest and I forgive,” Father Claudio of the monastery, which is administered by the Greek Orthodox church, told Reuters.
Rosenfeld said police had opened an investigation.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
February 7th, 2012 at 12:32 pm
Ayan Hirsi would probably say the jews have a right to do this. Nobody notices jewish extremism or perhaps its fear of being branded anti semitic, not to mention arabs are semitic too.
February 7th, 2012 at 1:02 pm
“Nobody notices jewish extremism…” Actually, the story above is taken from MSNBC, with Reuters and Associated Press reporting contributions. I also saw links on the New York Times and other sites. And rightly so. Acts like this by any group should be noticed and condemned, and that certainly includes the one discussed in this article.
February 7th, 2012 at 1:19 pm
Seriously?? That is NOT a good way to get people on your side :/ Jews should know better than anyone what be persecuted feels like
February 7th, 2012 at 4:55 pm
“Unorthodox:” A Woman’s Journey from Repression to Freedom
http://shine.yahoo.com/love-sex/unorthodox-womans-journey-repression-freedom-201000868.html
Growing up, Deborah Feldman had to wear skirts that covered her ankles and high-necked blouses made of woven fabric so they wouldn’t cling to her body. She wasn’t allowed to read books in English because her grandfather, with whom she lived, said they were written in an “impure language.” When she was twelve, she suffered a sexual assault, which she kept hidden because she had been taught that men’s lust was ungovernable. This was supposedly the reason her world was segregated by gender.
Related: Top Jewish Rabbi: Segregated Buses Not Jewish Law
At 17, Feldman’s grandparents pushed her into an arranged marriage with a virtual stranger, but she had never even heard the word “sex” spoken or learned about the very basics of human reproduction. Once married, she was expected to shave her head and wear a wig—something she rebelled against after a year because she found it so depressing. Seven years later, despite the fact she knew she would be hated as a pariah, she abandoned her community and started life over.
You might be surprised that Feldman didn’t grow up in a far away country with repressive laws against women, but in an ultra-conservative Jewish enclave in New York City. “They’ve passed more laws from out of nowhere, limiting women—there’s a rule that women can’t be on the street after a certain hour,” Feldman told the New York Post describing the Hasidic Satmar community in which she was raised. “We all hear these stories about Muslim extremists; how is this any better? This is just another example of extreme fundamentalism.”
Feldman explained the roots of Satmar Hasidism to the Daily Mail. She describes a Jewish sect that has largely turned its back on the modern word, which she says is, “a reaction to the atrocities of Holocaust.” Most of the members are descendants of Holocaust survivors who fled from Hungary and Romania during the Second World War. She continues, “Hasidic Jews in America eagerly returned to a heritage that had been on the verge of disappearing, donning traditional dress and speaking only in Yiddish, as their ancestors had done.” The community emphasizes family life and reproduction in order to, as Feldman puts it, “replace the many who had perished and to swell their ranks once more. To this day, Hasidic communities continue to grow rapidly, in what is seen as the ultimate revenge against Hitler
In her book, Feldman describes a community that had become so oppressive and insular that paradoxically, it put its children at risk. “There was this old man on my street who, every day on my way to school, would be sitting on this bench, and would call out to me and offer me candy,” Feldman told the Post. “I told my grandfather, and he said, ‘Well, he’s older than you, so you have to talk to him out of respect.’ The guy was, like, a pedophile,” Feldman continues. “And we were taught to respect him.” As a kid, she was told all outsiders hated her, and that if she spoke to anyone non-Hasidic, she “risked getting kidnapped and chopped to pieces.”
February 7th, 2012 at 5:40 pm
Creeping Judeo-Christian law?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/06/israel-american-tourist-dress_n_1258426.html
February 7th, 2012 at 6:33 pm
Maybe hirsi Ali needs to post this to ratmond ibrahim of JW!
February 7th, 2012 at 7:27 pm
@mindy.
Jews didnt do this, or do things like this. You can claim to be something, and not be it.
Thier mouth may say they are Jews, but thier hands and feet say they are not.
February 7th, 2012 at 7:54 pm
@Nur Alia: Thank you for your comments and I understand your belief that people who engage in such acts aren’t true Jews (or Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, etc.) Still, as you say, they may claim to be members of the religion with their mouths and even share in many of the core beliefs of a religion and even pray and go through various rituals, though they obviously just don’t get it.
There was also a Jewish-Arab bilingual school in Jerusalem defaced with similar graffiti. I found a site for it online and made a donation. It won’t be enough to repair all the damage, but helping the victims of such hatred is one of the best responses I can think of.
February 7th, 2012 at 9:10 pm
@Nur Alia thanks
February 7th, 2012 at 10:41 pm
Shaul Spitzer, Hasidic Man Admits Burning Neighbor In New York Religious Dispute
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/07/hasidic-man-admits-burning-neighbor_n_1260706.html?ref=religion
NEW CITY, NY, Feb 7 (Reuters) – A Hasidic Jewish man from New York state pleaded guilty to assault on Tuesday for setting a neighbor on fire because he wasn’t praying with the rest of the community, leaving the man badly burned.
Shaul Spitzer, 18, of New Square, New York, admitted to lighting Aron Rottenberg ablaze after learning that he had disobeyed a prayer order by the Grand Rebbe of the Hasidic enclave about 35 miles north of New York City.
He pleaded guilty to assault in a New York court and faces up to 10 years in prison, although Judge William Kelly said he would likely receive a 5-year sentence.
Spitzer, who worked for Grand Rebbe David Twersky, admitted in court that he used a heavy duty propane lighter to set Rottenberg on fire in May 2011.
He lit him on fire when Rottenberg confronted him after Spitzer had stuffed gasoline-soaked shirts into a bag, lit it on fire and threw it onto the porch of Rottenberg’s home, he admitted. The family was sleeping inside, court documents said.
Prosecutor Stephen Moore said Rottenberg spent more than a month in the hospital for severe burns.
Under the plea deal, charges of attempted murder and arson were dismissed. Spitzer could have faced a 25-year prison sentence for those charges. Outside court, Spitzer’s attorney Kenneth Gribetz said his client had been trying to cause mischief, not to kill anyone.
“This is a young boy who has no criminal intent,” he said. “He’s not a criminal … He should be given a chance to get back on the right track.”
Spitzer, who will be sentenced in April, entered his plea on the day jury selection was set to begin in the case. Rottenberg was in court and told the judge he consented to the plea deal.
Court documents said Rottenberg’s family had received several threats and had their property vandalized for not praying in the community’s main synagogue.
February 7th, 2012 at 10:42 pm
Anyone else read about this on CNN Yahoo because I am sure if this was a muslim guy it would be the headline
February 7th, 2012 at 10:49 pm
U.S. Tourists To Israel Advised To Dress Modestly
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/06/israel-american-tourist-dress_n_1258426.html?ref=religion
By Michele Chabin
Religion News Service
JERUSALEM (RNS) The U.S. State Department is advising visitors to Jerusalem to dress modestly when visiting certain neighborhoods, or to avoid the areas entirely, in hopes of not provoking local sensitivities.
The State Department guidance did not specify which neighborhoods are considered problematic, or what, exactly, constitutes “modest” attire.
The Jerusalem advisory, updated on Jan. 10, says travelers “should exercise caution at religious sites on holy days, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays” and “dress appropriately” when visiting ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods and the Old City of Jerusalem, where religious Jews, Muslims and Christians live in distinct quarters.
The warning notes that most roads into ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods are blocked off on Friday nights, Saturdays, and Jewish holidays, and that “assaults on secular visitors, either for being in cars or for being ‘immodestly dressed’ have occurred in these neighborhoods.”
The advisory was added to the State Department’s website for travel to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. It comes in the wake of many recent incidents in which ultra-Orthodox Jewish extremists physically or verbally attacked women they said were dressed immodestly.
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women cover up everything except their faces, necks and hands.
In Beit Shemesh, a city between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, extremists have attacked religious schoolgirls on their way to school, deeming them not religious enough.
For years, ultra-Orthodox Jews have also stoned cars driving in or near their neighborhoods on the Sabbath or holidays.
February 8th, 2012 at 1:12 am
Heres something relating to Geller’s Mokdad Conference:
I dont see Geller ranting about how bad Jewish Girls are treated:
(Maybe it’s because she’s Jewish?)
Heres how Jewish girls are treated:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2097763/Sexual-assault-12-married-17-divorced-23-One-womans-explosive-revelations-life-ultra-conservative-Hasidic-household.html
Double Standard:
a set of principles that applies differently to one group of people
February 8th, 2012 at 1:47 am
Quick Q:
Why do i see a playboy avatar on my comment?
February 8th, 2012 at 7:03 am
Proud Muslim Girl
I dont know Why do you see a playboy avatar on your comment ?
( just for the record I can see the cover of Youssou N’Dour’s wonderful Egypt album ) Thanks for reminding me am going to play it now
February 8th, 2012 at 7:41 am
How do you get an avatar ?
February 8th, 2012 at 9:59 am
@ProudMuslimGirl, hey girl, I got this from the article you’d linked..
— “The rabbi has the final word on sex and health – even inspecting underwear ‘in a zip lock bag’ to declare whether a woman’s period is kosher or nonkosher”
and
— “Most important, though, Hasidic Jews focused on reproduction, wanting to replace the many who had perished and to swell their ranks once more. To this day, Hasidic communities continue to grow rapidly, in what is seen as the ultimate revenge against Hitler.”
and
— “In the book, she describes how she was forbidden from speaking in English and was told that ‘impure languages’ act as welcome mats ‘put out for the devil.”
———————-
I may believe the last two, but the first one seem a distortion, a Rabbi inspecting underwear for “kosher period”? lol, that seem a bit made-up, what on earth will determine the period to be “kosher”?
But I’ll admit, had it been a Muslim woman who’d said such of her community Imam, it will be on international news-channels as breaking “News”, and of course the Islamophobe hogs such as Geller will feast as usual, without question.
Anyhoo I ditto Sir David, why do you see a playboy avatar on your comment?
February 8th, 2012 at 10:22 am
Can I just make it clear that I didnt want a playboy avatar before others make this suggestion I was thinking of someting more suitable or even funny as opposed to a bit sad .
February 8th, 2012 at 11:00 am
@Géji says, “I may believe the last two, but the first one seem a distortion, a Rabbi inspecting underwear for ‘kosher period’? lol, that seem a bit made-up, what on earth will determine the period to be ‘kosher’?” As with many things, the article was written poorly. I am pretty sure this would be about situations when there is a question of whether menstruation has stopped, which (like in Islam I believe) has implications for certain activities. I don’t know the details of the inpection process, though I am amused that the male rabbis are supposed to somehow be better experts at making this determination than the woman herself.
February 8th, 2012 at 11:29 am
@Sir David
Too late ol chap you’ve exposed yourself Heeheee >:D lol
I see the playboy bunny logo with marge simpson behind it and playboy written in the background on ProudMuslimGirl’s post
February 8th, 2012 at 11:41 am
I want an avatar too. I will take the playboy bunny if Sir David doesn’t want it, seeing as that I am a hedonist and love sensual pleasure.
February 8th, 2012 at 11:42 am
Nur Alia Says: Their mouths may say they are Jews, but their hands and feet say they are not.
And as muslims, we accept their testimony that they are Jews. We do not conclude, on any basis of how they administer their own affairs, that they are not of the people of The Book who are under our protection. Whether they abide in Sijjin or ‘Illiyun is their choice, and we may not interfere in what they choose.
February 8th, 2012 at 11:58 am
@Hajj Dawud: You say, “And as muslims, we accept their testimony that they are Jews. We do not conclude, on any basis of how they administer their own affairs, that they are not of the people of The Book who are under our protection.”
I thought that being under Muslims’ protection applied only to situations where one was dealing with an area under Islamic rule or perhaps rule by Muslims, however Islamic they may be. Can you clarify what you mean since I don’t know enough in that area? I will say, however, that to me, the usage of “under our protection” does have a strange feel to it in the United States, perhaps because of my not understanding all of the implications of Islamic views of a dhimmi.
February 8th, 2012 at 11:58 am
Sir David,
That avatar appears in your email automatically whereever you go once you register at:
http://en.gravatar.com/
Whenever websites that accept the Gravatar want you to sign in, you can do so using that email, and the logo will show automatically. It’s supposed to save you registering at participating sites.
That playboy logo appears in her email, because she is using an email that is registered at Gravatar with that logo. But Proud Muslim Girl says she doesn’t know why it’s there, so it’s either an error on their part or she mistyped the email above, or maybe she forgot she registered, anyhow you can get one by registering there.
February 8th, 2012 at 12:09 pm
ProudMuslimGirl Says:
February 8th, 2012 at 1:12 am
Heres something relating to Geller’s Mokdad Conference:
I dont see Geller ranting about how bad Jewish Girls are treated:
(Maybe it’s because she’s Jewish?)
Heres how Jewish girls are treated:
============
That is how Jewish Girls are treated under religious extremists which all religions have. People who cant think out side of the box when it comes to religion. Lets be careful and go the route of Pam Geller and blame a whole group for the actions of a few misguided Holy than thou idiots who think they have god’s phone number and can speak for him
February 8th, 2012 at 1:23 pm
> “I thought that being under Muslims’ protection applied only to situations where one was dealing with an area under Islamic rule or perhaps rule by Muslims, however Islamic they may be. Can you clarify what you mean since I don’t know enough in that area?”
Yes that too, but the Surahs that command Muslims to protect the houses of worship “where Allah’s name is frequently mentioned”, and to protect the owners of those houses of worship in case oppression occurs due to their sole believe in Him, are speaking about wherever it occurs. The Qur’an don’t specify any “Islamic governance” under “Islamic rules”, there is no such thing as “Islamic rule” in the Qur’an, but more of Islamic code of conduct by individual Muslims, who will then generate a collective conduct due to Islamic principles and teachings, and from that the society as a whole, why? because the Qur’an knows that Muslims can live anywhere, even as minorities, but still except them to fulfill their duties as Muslims as commanded, regardless where they live and who “governs” them.
February 8th, 2012 at 1:53 pm
> “I am pretty sure this would be about situations when there is a question of whether menstruation has stopped, which (like in Islam I believe) has implications for certain activities.”
@Just Stopping By, Salaam, yes I thought the way it was worded in the article, to be odd, very odd indeed, “kosher menstrual period?, seriously I can’t stop laughing, but in all seriousness I understand where you’re coming from with your analogy regarding the “menstruation”-( don’t you find the word to be odd itself?), but anyhow in Islam, that’s not the business of religious authorities such Imams or Sheikhs to determine the “when-to-go”, and this article did not specify the “flow” question of the period, but rather the Rabbi conducting an “inspection” to determine whether or not the “period were kosher”, which kind blooo-me off! lol, but you may be right that the article just ‘was written poorly’ after all.
February 8th, 2012 at 9:58 pm
@hajj Dawud
Please note that I made no judgement of the individual, but commented on thier criminal actions.
Whoever did this is a criminal, and under the law, they should be punished for thier crime, regardless of what religion they are.
We should always speak out against this kind of hate
February 9th, 2012 at 7:02 am
@Géji: Thank you for that comment. I was aware of the command to protect even non-Muslim houses of worship, but it is useful to see it in context. My larger concern was the phrase “who are under our protection,” which may be read to imply a sense of who should be in charge. I am not sure what was meant by the phrase, which is why I asked. (As with the other thread, perhaps something that was written poorly.)
February 9th, 2012 at 8:56 am
Just Stopping By
Some interpret that phrase to mean Jizya payers only, and others interpret it to mean at all times whenever you come into contact or have dealings with Book People. It doesn’t necessarily mean ‘who is in charge’ because that can work the other way too. Accepting a Jizya makes it obligatory, ie. there is a penance if a ruler takes a Jizya then does not live up to his obligations to those who pay it.
The only time that is not necessary and can be foregone is where they attack you. Islamophobic Book People certainly come under that category, as do those who wrong you.
February 9th, 2012 at 10:47 pm
Just Stopping By writes, asking Hajj Dawud: You say And as muslims, we accept their testimony that they are Jews. We do not conclude, on any basis of how they administer their own affairs, that they are not of the people of The Book who are under our protection.
I thought that being under Muslims’ protection applied only to situations where one was dealing with an area under Islamic rule or perhaps rule by Muslims, however Islamic they may be.
We are presently defending the right of small-town religious assemblies to provide sanctuary for indigent homeless people, against illegal attempts by local town councils to prohibit that. Smaller congregations don’t have a quarter of a million dollars to spend on defending their religious rights. We have been able to carry the fight because we have been doing the legal work ourselves without having to pay attorney fees.
God’s Law ~ also called “natural law” ~ applies everywhere. We (muslims) are not relieved from our religious obligation to protect and defend the people of the Book when someone else is also responsible for protecting them.
Can you clarify what you mean since I don’t know enough in that area? I will say, however, that to me, the usage of “under our protection” does have a strange feel to it in the United States, perhaps because of my not understanding all of the implications of Islamic views of a dhimmi.
Uncle Sam is watching over you. The Constitution (theoretically) protects the faithful from government interference. It offers no other protection or defense, but only retaliation in a narrow range of aggressions.
February 11th, 2012 at 3:42 am
Thanks IBM
( is it working yet ?)
February 11th, 2012 at 3:45 am
mmmm seems a waste of time
February 12th, 2012 at 11:27 am
In attempt to scare off those that speak the truth about Islam, Muslims and their supporters continually toss out the term “Islamophobia”. They claim we are just being phobic of sorts towards their religion. That we are not fully understanding it so in turn are afraid of it. However, they seem to be the only ones, presently, running around killing and calling for the killing of “non-believer”. Where are we not understanding them ? How are we to change our attitudes towards them when they spew the hate they do? Also, how would the media and people of the world view Christians if we were the ones blowing up building and killing non believers ? A phobia is a fear of something. I am not afraid of Islam. I am alerted to the danger it is to our freedoms.
February 12th, 2012 at 1:24 pm
No, the Christians don,t fly planes into buildings or go around talking about killing “infidels. Christians just start wars of aggression and kill millions. Or over throw democratic governments (look up operation Ajax. Or Christians support murderous tyrants, the shah and Mubarak and Saddam just to name a few,as long as these murderers pleased the west, the people of those countries were damned. So Jose, my hatefilled, bogged poster, you could spend many,
Any,malny,many,many,many,many,many,many lifetimes reading about the cruelty,suffering and murder the christianz inflicted on people and still not reach the end I bet you really feel stupid now, right? Of course right!
February 12th, 2012 at 1:45 pm
jose,
Quite simply you are judging a majority by a minority; if you can’t understand that then you are indeed in trouble. No, we don’t ‘[run] around killing and calling for the killing of “non-believer”’. *Some* of my co-coreligionists sadly do this, but they are and always will be a sad, rejected minority. So yes, you really are not understand us or our faith! Do you see where I’m coming from?
Jack
February 12th, 2012 at 2:25 pm
Jose
You wrote,
—————————————————————————
In attempt to scare off those that speak the truth about Islam, Muslims and their supporters continually toss out the term “Islamophobia”. They claim we are just being phobic of sorts towards their religion. That we are not fully understanding it so in turn are afraid of it. However, they seem to be the only ones, presently, running around killing and calling for the killing of “non-believer”. Where are we not understanding them ? How are we to change our attitudes towards them when they spew the hate they do? Also, how would the media and people of the world view Christians if we were the ones blowing up building and killing non believers ? A phobia is a fear of something. I am not afraid of Islam. I am alerted to the danger it is to our freedoms.
—————————————————————————
The Truth of the matter is, If Muslims were really as bad as you are making them out to be, and westerners were in as much danger of having our way of life destroyed by them, as it is often asserted, please think about this for a moment. Don’t you think it would take more than fear of being called Islamophobes to shut us up? Seriously, the more you examine the evidence, the more you think critically, the less you actually have to be afraid of the overwhelming majority of Muslims living in the West. Also, no Muslim country is strong enough to take on the West Militarily, let alone the United States. What danger are we in, really? How are they going to take our freedom away from us? Terrorism won’t work, and most Muslims aren’t terrorists, and most Muslims don’t support terrorism anyway.