gdp's Comments

Jewish Daily Forward : Disney Princesses Take On the Real World – The Sisterhood – Forward.com

Sun, 11 Aug 2013 21:41:51 +0000

Back in those dim days of the counter-culture, there was an iconoclastic satire magazine edited and published by Paul Krassner. The May 1967 issue of the Realist's contained one of the most searing satire of Disney as its centerfold. The Disneyland Memorial Orgy drawn by Wally Wood became a standard image from that era. http://www.ep.tc/realist/74/12.html

Jewish Daily Forward : Jewish Acid-Attack Girls Return to Britain From African Island of Zanzibar – Forward.com

Sun, 11 Aug 2013 16:33:12 +0000

Mr. Pearlman: What in the article (and from other news sources) would have you believe that the attackers knew that these unfortunate girls where Jewish? Isn't it adequate enough for you that the attack was due to a perception of the victims being from the West? This would be particularly true given that the girls were working for a Christian charity. Nonetheless, I would hope and pray for the speedy recovery, both in body and soul, for these two innocents.

Jewish Daily Forward : Jewish Acid-Attack Girls Return to Britain From African Island of Zanzibar – Forward.com

Fri, 9 Aug 2013 21:53:14 +0000

In this case, I don't think that the girls were targeted due their being Jewish, but more to their being "Western."

Jewish Daily Forward : Flowers-for-Dead Tradition Goes Back 13,000 Years – Forward.com

Tue, 2 Jul 2013 15:02:31 +0000

Yet the photo accompanying the article shows, not a funeral, but a wedding. Editorial - WAKE UP!

Jewish Daily Forward : Settlers Launch Boycott of McDonald\'s – The Shmooze – Forward.com

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 23:39:35 +0000

Why should they get out? As the Palestinians must finally agree that there is no return to Israel, the settlers must accept that if they want to live in the West Bank, they will not be living in the polity called Israel. They will have to decide that they are willing to live in the Arab state of Palestine, under Palestinian laws, not Israeli.

Jewish Daily Forward : Settlers Launch Boycott of McDonald\'s – The Shmooze – Forward.com

Thu, 27 Jun 2013 21:52:29 +0000

I highly doubt the Naftali Bennett has ever eaten a quarter pounder with cheese, let alone in a McDonald's. It is about time that Israelis begin to evaluate the moral cost of settling the West Bank. By these actions, Israel makes it difficult, if not impossible to disengage from the Palestinian territories. The end result is the defacto creation of a single state between the Mediterranean and the Jordan. This state will have an Arab majority, creating the another Arab state in the region. Jews will become a minority in their own homeland. Is this the dream of Herzl and the founders of Israel envisioned?

Jewish Daily Forward : Samantha Power Already Faces Knives Out From Some on Israel – Forward.com

Fri, 7 Jun 2013 01:37:24 +0000

"is it possible is at least mildly anti-Semitic?" It is possible. But the question has no relevance. The real question would be. Have Mr. Obama's actions as president demonstrated antisemitism? The answer to that is a resounding no. I agree with Leonard Fein's characterization of Samantha Powers. She is not anti-Israel. She does, however, have an innate bias to the underdog in a conflict. And, no matter how we view it, the Palestinian Arabs are the underdog. Nonetheless, from different things I have read from and about her, she does have a clear historical perspective and understands how the situation has come about. She doesn't blame the Israeli side any more than the Arab one for the state of affairs. She does feel that Israel, as the stronger party, should be willing to take more risks in finding a solution. This is not antisemitism, by any rational definition of the word. The problem is that, more and more, criticism of Israeli policies and actions, no matter how mild, are being equated to antisemitism or (if Jewish) self-hatred. Thereby, strongly Zionist individuals such as Uri Avneri or Rabbi Jonathan Sacks are lumped together with those such as Philip Weiss. The tactic is totally self-defeating. It allows for those who are truly Judeophobic to hide. It creates confusion and totally plays into the hands of extremists --- on both sides.

Jewish Daily Forward : Church of Scotland Strikes Out on Israel – Forward Thinking – Forward.com

Mon, 27 May 2013 15:15:05 +0000

"How many innocent Persians were killed on Esther's orders? How many Jews did Cyrus kill?" Ah, I see. The current Persian enmity to Israel and Jews is due to events from 2500 years ago. Makes perfect sense to me. "How many Israeli scientists have been assassinated by Iran?" How many Jews and Israelis have been murdered by orders directly from Iran? (Hint: Buenos Aires 1992 and 1994) "Will you name your granddaughter Dinah?" You mean like Dinah Shore?

Jewish Daily Forward : Church of Scotland Insults Jews With Denial of Claim to Israel – Forward.com

Sun, 12 May 2013 13:33:13 +0000

Yes, of course. It was the Jews' fault that the Nazi Germany was so antisemitic. Therefore, they deserved everything that happened to them during the years from 1933 to 1945. Talking about a propaganda machine!

Jewish Daily Forward : Church of Scotland Insults Jews With Denial of Claim to Israel – Forward.com

Fri, 10 May 2013 22:50:59 +0000

Having just read the document (thank you Billy Bostickson), the criticism is more valid for Christian Zionist rather than for Jews. As the article so validly points out, modern Zionism is more based on the nationalist politics of the 19th century than religious concepts. The Marxist concept of redemption through labour has had more influence on modern Zionism than Torah. The founders of Israel were secular, not sectarian, There goal was "redemption" of the Jewish people freeing them from religion and the debased conditions in which they resided. That Palestine was chosen for this had more to do with historical connections with the land - and yes, that history was originally based on the religion. However, Jewish redemption was the goal not religious renewal. That is why even dedicated Zionists such as Moses Montefiore, Baron Hirsch and others helped create Jewish agricultural colonies not just in Palestine, but also in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, the United States.

Jewish Daily Forward : Gold Helmet Shrine to Albert Einstein Planned To Rise in Jerusalem – Forward.com

Thu, 2 May 2013 17:22:01 +0000

Amen One of the attributes of Jeruslam is a relative lack of high rise buildings, with only a couple of exceptions, buildings in Jerusalem do not exceed 200 feet. The few that do exist tend to be towards the outskirts of the city. This leaves a beautiful vista with church spires and the Mosque dominating the skyline of near the Old City. Unfortunately, the city administration has developed a burning need to reach to the sky and is planning a series of 20 to 40 story builings throughout the city.

Jewish Daily Forward : Reform Jewry Grapples With Intermarriage Among Rabbinic Students – Forward.com

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:23:45 +0000

Nobody has stated that a person is not free to marry whom they want. They only have said that it would be inappropriate for a religious leader. Just because, in your opinion, this is discrimination does not make it so. If you cannot seem to understand this simple point, then there is no sense in continuing this discussion with you.

Jewish Daily Forward : Reform Jewry Grapples With Intermarriage Among Rabbinic Students – Forward.com

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:24:22 +0000

You still hae not been able to define what is discriminatory. Are the Anglicans also being discriminatory?

Jewish Daily Forward : Reform Jewry Grapples With Intermarriage Among Rabbinic Students – Forward.com

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:07:12 +0000

How is this discrimination? Would it be acceptable to most congregations for a Eastern Orthodox priest (who can marry) be married to a Muslim or for an Episcopal priest be married to a Jew. This came from a FAQs about the Anglican Clergy: "The daily life of any ordained person thus becomes as much a “sermon” as the words that they preach in the church. So the husband or wife of a priest, and the children too, fall under much more scrutiny than do families where work can be separate from private life. Therefore the spouse of a priest needs to see his or her role as a “vocation,” almost as intense as that of the ordained person whom he or she has married." I am acquainted with several rabbis (Orthodox, Conservative and Reform) who have married non-Jews. In all instances the spouse had converted to Judaism prior to marriage. This is not an issue of discrimination or ":civil rights," but of undertanding the theological contradiction of having a spouse of a different religion. For example, .I think all Jewish congregation would find it very difficult to work with a rabbi whose family celebrates the birth of a saviour that none of the congregants believe in, and as such, has a different theological belief system.

Jewish Daily Forward : Chechens and Muslims: An Identity Crisis Turns Deadly – Tyler Too – Forward.com

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:22:35 +0000

Good to see that Karl Marx was as harsh in his view of Islam as he was in his view of Judaism.

Jewish Daily Forward : Let \'Em Eat Airplane Food – Forward Thinking – Forward.com

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:10:19 +0000

Great! ... and just yesterday I bought my ticket for a trip this July. Maybe I shoulda waited!

Jewish Daily Forward : Netanyahu: Talks With Palestinians Must First Address Recognition and Security – Forward.com

Tue, 9 Apr 2013 16:56:35 +0000

The problem is not the maps. Netanyahu has submitted maps that look something like this one: http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_area_c_... While Abbas' maps have looked like this. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Histo... The problem is not the maps. Most observers (Israeli and even Arabs in private conversation) agree that the final lines will be drawn close to the parameters of the 2000 Clinton peace plan. The problem lies in certain public political positions that both sides have maintained. The Palestinians refuse to give up on o right of return to all of historic Palestine (not just the areas to be in a Palestinian state); while Netanyahu plays to the right wing which view a Jewish right of settlement anywhere in the same area and deny the same to Arabs in the same areas. In playing to these extreme constituencies, both Abbas and Netanyahu have put themselves in mutually antagonistic positions with very little way of climbing out from it. With this said, however, Abbas is in the weakest positions. It is up to Netanyahu to try to move away from the settler position to a one that may allow Abbas some sort of way of protecting himself from his extremists - who are more willing to use violence to achieve their goals.

Jewish Daily Forward : The Jewish First Lady of the West – Forward.com

Sat, 2 Mar 2013 16:28:52 +0000

An additional wrinkle to this story: When Wyatt Earp died in 1929, he was buried in a Jewish cemetery in Colma, California.

Jewish Daily Forward : Ultra-Orthodox Teen Charged for Harassing Woman Who Refused To Sit at Back of Bus – Forward.co

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 19:07:11 +0000

In the diaspora, the Haradim don't have any enforcement power. They can do what they please, but law enforcement will not support their actions. Could you picture this happening on a New York City bus? The problem in Israel, is that the ultra-Orthodox have developed political power, well beyond their numbers ,and this power is coherent. The political coalitions fear this power and kowtow to the mishigas of the Haradim.

Jewish Daily Forward : Is BDS Hate Speech? – Forward.com

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 13:56:46 +0000

In 1947, the Arab Higher Committee (the leadership of the Arabs in Palestine) demanded that the Arab League pass a resolution in regard to the status of Jews in Arab states. "... calls upon the Arab world to maintain a complete boycott of all Jews. 'Any contact will be regarded as the greatest treason against their nation and religion.'" New York Times December 1 1947. Page 1 http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F00E... EFC355E17738DDDA80894DA415B8788F1D3 ... the Arab League subsequently did pass a similarly worded resolution. So to claim that the treatment of Mizrahim, following the establishment of Israel, had nothing to do with Palestine ignores the historical record.