100,000 Jews March In Favour Of Apartheid

Topic locked
  • Reply
100,000 Jews march in favour of Apartheid Jun 17, 2010
Haaretz now reports that 100,000 have marched in favour the white/European ultra-Orthodox Jews who don't want their children to be educated in the same classrooms as Middle Eastern (non-white) Sephardic Jews. 80 parents have been threatened with jail by the courts if they don't send their children to the class room.

The protesters want segregation by race - so the label apartheid is very apt. Those against this segregation (including Rabbis and politicians and the parents of the Middle Eastern Jewish children - call the apartheid 'racist')

Note - some of the white Ashkenazi tried to attack Rabbi Yosef (the younger) who this article says is against the segregation!

100,000 haredi demonstrators protest segregated education ruling
17 June 2010
By Yair Ettinger

Thousands of ultra-Orthodox protesters gathered in Jerusalem and in Bnei Brak on Thursday to support the right of Ashkenazi Hasidic parents to keep their children in classes segregated from their Sephardi peers.

According to police, 100,000 people had come out to the Jerusalem streets to participate in the demonstrations.

The demonstrations were called after the High Court of Justice handed down a two-week jail sentence to parents in the settlement of Immanuel who refused a ruling requiring the Ashkenazi (European origin) and Sephardi (Middle Eastern origin) girls to study in the same classes.

Protesters snarled traffic in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, crowding onto balconies in city squares, waving posters decrying the court's decision and proclaiming the supremacy of religious law.

According to Israel Radio, some of the Ashkenazi protesters attempted during the rally to attack Sephardi Rabbi Ya'akov Yosef, son of Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and a leading figure against the discrimination. Yosef's students managed to guard their teacher, who had also been subject to an attempted attack during protests on Wednesday evening.

The protesters deny that the Ashkenazi parents are employing a policy of discrimination, defending them as having the right to send their children to school with people of the same level of religiosity as themselves. They say the two communities have different religious traditions and they do not want their children influenced by Sephardi practices.

The court has permitted the parents to defer the jail term of one of the parents until the other parent completes their term so that their children will not remain unsupervised. The court has also exempted the mothers of children with special needs. The prison term of one mother, who signed an agreement to comply with the court's ruling, has been overturned.

The protest in Bnei Brak began at 1 P.M. and ended just before 3 P.M. The protesters then began accompanying the bus that would bring the parents to the police headquarters in Jerusalem, to join forces with the thousands of people rallying there.

Dozens of the pro-segregation parents were to stand on the pedestrian bridge over Jerusalem's Bar Ilan Street wearing signs saying "prisoner sanctifying the name of heaven." Police had issued permits for 20,000 people to demonstrate in Jerusalem.

Heads of yeshivas and schools were urged by leading Ashkenazi rabbis to cancel classes Thursday so students could attend the protest.

The parents were ordered to arrive at the Jerusalem police headquarters in the Russian Compound at 5 P.M. on Thursday to begin carrying out their prison terms, after police asked the court to postpone the commencement.

The court had initially scheduled the sentencing to begin at 12 P.M. and then pushed it off to 1 P.M., before agreeing to the police request.

The 43 families of the Ashkenazi girls seemed elated Wednesday by the prospect of their impending arrest and two-week jail term, which some called "a historic stand for the sanctification of the name of heaven."

A leading spokesman of Israel's modern Orthodox stream on Thursday urged religious Zionists not to take part in the mass protests, regardless of the political price they may pay in the future for refusing to support the movement.

"I cannot take part in the racism and discrimination that is taking place, which is just the tip of the iceberg," said Rabbi Yuval Sherlo, who heads the joint army-yeshiva program in Petah Tikva.

Religious Zionism must "return to its historic role" and bring both sides to a compromise. "It's impossible to claim that this is Jewish law or that it is sanctifying the name of God," he said.

Ads appeared in newspapers on Thursday will call on people to avoid violence. Yerah Tocker, a spokesman for the protest, said "avoiding violence is one of the main emphases of the organizers."

"We want to protest the High Court ruling and declare that for all of us, in light of the ruling, Torah comes first," he said.

Despite the pledges of non-violence, police deployed in large numbers in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Beit Shemesh, Immanuel and near Ma'asiyahu Prison, where apparently the fathers of the girls were to be taken, and Neveh Tirza Prison, where the mothers were expected to go.

Police also called on drivers to avoid the area of the demonstrations in Jerusalem on Yermiyahu, Bar Ilan, Shmuel Hanavi and Hanevi'im streets, and in the Russian Compound.

The Courts Administration on Wednesday beefed up security around Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy, who headed the panel that ruled against the segregation. Levy, who wrote the sole dissent from the anti-segregation ruling, came out strongly against parents seeking rabbinic advice on the ruling. "No ruling of a court in general, or the High Court in particular, requires the authorization of any person, not even halakhic (Jewish law ) authority," Levy said.

Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman came out against Levy on Thursday afternoon, saying that he wasn't convinced that the ruling wasn't tainted by personal considerations.

Litzman, who arrived at the Russian Compound to show solidarity with the Immanuel parents, said that he respects the High Court of Justice and abides by its rulings when it comes to the operations within the Health Ministry, but that "if the court should require of me to perform actions that conflict with the Torah or Halakha (Jewish law), I would resign rather than do those things."

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/10 ... g-1.296746

shafique
Dubai Shadow Wolf
User avatar
Posts: 13442

  • Reply
Re: 100,000 Jews March In Favour Of Apartheid Jun 18, 2010
The latest estimates are that over 120,000 marched on Thursday - with about 20,000 marching in Tel Aviv.

Haaretz makes it clear that the 'it's about religion' excuse does not hold water. It is blatantly a racist view - and hence segregating based on race is apartheid, plain and simple.

The High Court isn't racist

In the battle over segregation in schools, the issue is not Jewish religious law, but the racist social norms that characterize the entire ultra-Orthodox worldview.
By Yair Sheleg

The case of ethnic discrimination at a girls' religious school in Immanuel should be examined from the standpoint of both principle and practicality.

On the level of principle, there are no words to describe the shame provoked by this blatant ultra-Orthodox racism. This isn't a debate between a High Court of Justice ruling and orders from on high, as some Haredim would have us believe, because there is nothing in the leading halakhic texts, such as the Shulhan Arukh and the Mishneh Torah, that sanctions such discrimination.


Indeed, there could be no such ruling, since both Joseph Karo and Moses Maimonides, who compiled the Shulhan Arukh and the Mishneh Torah, respectively, were themselves Sephardim.

The issue, then, is not Jewish religious law, but rather the racist social norms that characterize the entire ultra-Orthodox worldview. (The Haredim, as we know, also discriminate against the newly religious. )

Nor is there any justification for comparing this obvious racism with the extent to which Sephardim, or religious Jews, are represented as justices on the High Court itself. Indeed, it is a pity that in the name of multiculturalism and the desire to "include" the Haredim in mainstream discourse, secular media figures fall into this simplistic trap.

The criteria for appointment to the Supreme Court must be the quality of the candidate's rulings, character and intellect. In my view, they also include the capacity for a complex, considered perspective on the needs and values of Israeli society.

On the practical level, however, the problem should be addressed more cautiously than it was in the High Court this week. There was no need to reach the point of attempting to impose integration by judicial fiat, even if this segregation is infuriating to any level-headed person.

In a society that contains communities whose identities are different from, and sometimes even polar opposites of, each other, there is a constant tension between the right of each community to maintain its way of life and the enforcement of universal norms of human rights. The test, as always, is one of maintaining this delicate balance, and of proportionality.

In this respect, it seems that the injury to the Sephardi students' human rights was not so grave as to warrant the imposition of integrated classrooms by judicial fiat, particularly in light of the fact that they could easily have avoided this slight to their dignity by relinquishing, from the outset, the dubious "right" to attend a racist school.

It would therefore be appropriate to make do with the court's long-term solution - revoking the school's state funding - instead of insisting on arm-twisting tactics during the two weeks remaining in the school year.


http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/op ... t-1.296923



Understandably, the fanbois are remaining pretty quiet now. A few days ago there was a campaign to persuade readers that the racist policies of the minority Zionist movement in 1930 didn't constitute apartheid -but just 'normal' employment practice. Events conspired against them and we can see the extent of the racism WITHIN the Jewish community. All indications are that these racists hate non-Jews more than they despise the non-European jews.

Cheers,
Shafique
shafique
Dubai Shadow Wolf
User avatar
Posts: 13442

  • Reply
Re: 100,000 Jews march in favour of Apartheid Jun 19, 2010
There is no such thing as white Jews, perhaps NON-Semite Jews is the best way to put it 8)
While on the other hand, the Sephardic Jews are the proper Semite Jews.

Anyways .. Let's see what EH have got to say about this issue .. :twisted:
symmetric
BANNED
User avatar
Posts: 1244
Location: Dubai

  • Reply
Re: 100,000 Jews march in favour of Apartheid Jun 20, 2010
Haaretz's editorial on the subject today:

Israel or Immanuel?

At the root of the struggle in Immanuel lies the issue that, on the face of it, has already been decided: Can a sector, community or group, in the name of its own private constitution, discriminate contrary to the laws of the state?

Haaretz Editorial

At the root of the struggle in Immanuel lies the issue that, on the face of it, has already been decided: Can a sector, community or group, in the name of its own private constitution, discriminate contrary to the laws of the state? Not every candidate can be accepted into every club, association or kibbutz, but the standards must be transparent and in line with the Basic Laws.

Since the Supreme Court ruling on Katzir, for example, no community is entitled to reject a person only because he is Arab. In reality, it is still possible to maneuver and make it hard for the candidates, but if they insist, the law is on their side, and the law must be enforced and respected. At this stage, the struggle over Immanuel is not internal but external, against those who refuse to recognize the authority of the court, whose decisions they must obey even if they don't like them.

The influence of rabbis, who are considered to be great jurists, must give way to rulings by Supreme Court justices. As has been said repeatedly, Israel was established to be a state with a Supreme Court, not one ruled by religious law. The Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox parents in Immanuel who are disturbed by what they consider religious laxity among Sephardi ultra-Orthodox parents sought to ignore the court's ruling. The original problem they stirred, the problem of discrimination, has now become an issue of principle regarding contempt for the rule of law.

The response was violent, with many hundreds of people demonstrating, and in the hope that the police would hesitate, the judges panic and the politicians surrender. When the Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox parents showed up for two weeks of incarceration, they did so partially - only men. Their ploy worked: Late in the week the government backed their stance and said the women should continue to be allowed to avoid punishment.

This is a power struggle - as simple as that - and those who want to see a state of law and equality exist, in which halakha does not dictate everyday life, must not give in. It is always easier to pull back from confrontation - to evade, maneuver, concede and compromise for the sake of peace at home at the expense of the victims of discrimination. Basically, the accumulation of little defeats alters Israel's image until it becomes unrecognizable.

In the 21st century, Israel needs to decide where it belongs: in the OECD or in Immanuel. It is imperative to bolster the court and remind the ministers, MKs and parties of their responsibility and obligation to preserve the rules of the democratic game and back the Supreme Court's rulings.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/op ... l-1.297138
shafique
Dubai Shadow Wolf
User avatar
Posts: 13442

  • Reply
Re: 100,000 Jews march in favour of Apartheid Jun 28, 2010
Hard hitting analysis by Haaretz of the racism within the religious Jewish community:

Haredi racism is an abscess on Israeli society that needs to be removed as soon as possible

Analysis / The ultra-Orthodox are returning Israel to the middle ages

In a country established on the principle of integrating Jews from all over the world, the ultra-Orthodox have become a leading force behind racism and division in Israeli society.

By Yoel Marcus


From week to week, month to month, and year to year, our situation is getting bleaker. They do what their rabbinical leader tells them to do. They don't recognize the authority of the state, or its institutions or laws, aside that which is related to the government's coffers.

They don't recognize the national anthem or the Israeli flag. They don't recognize methods of birth control, and instead fulfill the religious commandment of being fruitful. They educate their offspring to hate the state.

In a country established on the principle of integrating Jews from all over the world - which succeeded rather well in terms of the secular society - the ultra-Orthodox have become a leading force behind racism and division in Israeli society.

When former Sephardi chief rabbi and Shas spiritual leader Ovadia Yosef - whose children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren have studied and continue to study at Ashkenazi educational institutions - calls for the Sephardi public to send their children exclusively to Sephardi institutions, he is sowing the seeds of racism. And his reasoning is that anyone who studies at an Ashkenazi school "will have an Ashkenazi mind."

For a country working to bring Jews from around the world together, the Haredim are taking us back to the Middle Ages. "Racism" of this kind has almost entirely disappeared within the secular community. A huge number of "mixed" marriages are seen throughout the country, with the question of which community the bride or groom is from almost a thing of the past - or at least on the path to extinction.

Haredi racism is an abscess on Israeli society that needs to be removed as soon as possible. As it appears impossible to solve, and as if it's only getting worse, I am left with no other way to put an end to this other than reference to a poem by the German poet Heinrich Heine: "Rabbi Yehuda, a man of Navarre, and a Franciscan father by the name of Jose, in Toledo stand before Don Pedro (known as "the cruel" ) and beside him his wife Donna Blanca, on the question of whose God is greater. At the end of the debate, Don Pedro asks his wife for advice. I don't know who is right, she said, putting her hand on her forehead in thought and saying, 'But if the rabbi and the priest could both move back a little; both of them stink.'"


http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/analysis-the-ultra-orthodox-are-returning-israel-to-the-middle-ages-1.298655
shafique
Dubai Shadow Wolf
User avatar
Posts: 13442

  • Reply
Re: 100,000 Jews march in favour of Apartheid Jun 28, 2010
Not recognizing Israel as a jewish state, burning the flag while in the mean time enjoying FoS but not having to go the army and foaming racist language and teaching children to hate is inexcusable. This applies both for haredim and Israeli Arabs.
Flying Dutchman
Dubai Forums Zealot
Posts: 3792
Location: Dubai

  • Reply
Re: 100,000 Jews March In Favour Of Apartheid Jun 28, 2010
I agree, all racists are as bad each other.

Not sure about the canards about Israeli Arabs though - but hey, I guess at least you have come out and condemned the racist Haredim, unlike eh.

Cheers,
Shafique
shafique
Dubai Shadow Wolf
User avatar
Posts: 13442

posting in Dubai Politics TalkForum Rules

Return to Dubai Politics Talk