April 8, 2009



(Ben Heine � Cartoons)

My maternal grandmother was a simple Shtetel Jew. She came from a place not much different than the small town portrayed in Fiddler on The Roof. Traditionally the womenfolk from those areas were uneducated in matters of anything other than home making and child raising, while the menfolk studied their Holy Books for hours on end. Life was simple for them, and they themselves were basically a very simple folk. I remember my grandmother going through the frenzie of cleaning the house this time of year�. the traditional Passover cleaning. All traces of leaven had to be removed from the home before the start of the Holiday. To her, that process included the removal of any trace of dust or smears on the window panes. The house sparkled when she was finished. Most of our non Jewish neighbours were going through the same process, but simply called it �spring cleaning�, ridding the house of all unwanted matter, including broken furniture and junk. I remember asking my grandmother why she was going through such a frenzie�. her answer was simple and to the point�. "If a Jew eats bread during Passover he will die!" That was what she was taught, that�s what she taught us�.

In Israel today, things are not much different than life in the Shtetel when it comes to Passover preparations. But today there is a growing number of non observant Jews as well as a growing number of non Jews. This is a threat to the lifestyle of the self imposed Shtetel Jew living here today. The courts are allowing the sale of Chametz (leaven) this year. This has the ultra orthodox community up in arms A Torah violation right under their noses!

BUT WAIT!!!!!!

That very same Torah teaches the Jew not to hate �. where is the uproar when that is violated? When an extreme rightwing member of the Knesset utters anti Arab remarks�. one representing a so-called religious party, what is done? He is provided with extra protection! (I was distressed to learn that this bastard lives very close to my home). Where is the uproar against his madness? WHERE???

Where is the uproar against the Neanderthal rabbis that have recently called for the expulsion or the genocide of the Palestinians? WHERE??? As in previous years, the Palestinians living on the 'other side� of the great wall of apartheid will be sealed in for the duration of the Holiday (8 days), literally making the State of Israel Arabrein for that period of time. Where is the uproar against this? WHERE??? Israel does need a cleansing� a good one; not only of bread during the Holiday season but also of hatred. Both are violations of the Holy Teachings.

The above is a repost from a year ago�.. the situation is even worse today