Those who oppose racism can be satisfied with the first part of the decision, while advocates of anti-Arab racism can enjoy the legal canopy the attorney general spread over Jewish law.
24 November 2011, Haaretz EDITORAIL הארץ (Israel)
Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein decided to make things easy for himself. On the one hand, he ordered police to investigate Safed chief rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu on suspicion of making statements that constitute racial incitement. On the other hand, he refrained from ordering that Eliyahu be investigated for halakhic rulings he issued that were also allegedly of a racist nature.
In theory, there was something here for everyone. Those who oppose racism can be satisfied with the first part of the decision, while advocates of anti-Arab racism can enjoy the legal canopy the attorney general spread over Jewish law.
The practical result should not surprise anyone: From now, every racist and person who hurls invective can formulate his opinions as a halakhic ruling, sprinkling it liberally with the relevant biblical verses, and thus protect himself from a police investigation.
This is not a new invention; one can find such formulations on hundreds of websites run by radical Islamic organizations, who know well how to adapt religious law to their ambitions and hatred.
Meanwhile, when left-wing groups are accused of racism, let alone of "forgetting what it is to be Jews," they aren't subject to investigation, but rather to brutal laws hastily legislated against them.
Beyond Weinstein's legal judgment regarding the difficulty of proving incitement to racism based on Jewish law, the attorney general has given a wide opening to all kinds of crimes that are committed in the name of Jewish law. If halakha exempts one from punishment when it supports racism, why prosecute soldiers who refuse orders at the instruction of their rabbis operating in the name of Jewish law?
Prosecuting for incitement is indeed controversial. It's simple enough to claim "incitement" in an effort to silence opponents and stifle public discourse.
But when incitement against Arabs is part of the culture of public discourse and is accepted as a measure of one's loyalty to the state, it is liable to become - and in many instances has become - a type of legitimate mode of operation. The burning of mosques, acts of terror by Jews against Arabs and the prohibition against renting apartments to Arabs are only some of the products of this culture of incitement - as is the attorney general's capitulation out of seeming awe of Jewish law.
It is incumbent for the attorney general to give state law its proper due, and subjugate halakha to it.
Mostrando postagens com marcador Halakha הלכה. Mostrar todas as postagens
Mostrando postagens com marcador Halakha הלכה. Mostrar todas as postagens
quinta-feira, 24 de novembro de 2011
domingo, 20 de novembro de 2011
Israeli parents protest growing extremist bent in religious schools
18 November 2011, Haaretz הארץ (Israel)
Parents of some 400 children are protesting issues such as prohibition against kindergarten girls singing.
By Talila Nesher
Parents of some 400 children in the state religious school system have banded together to protest what they view as the extreme bent the system has taken.
"People are angry over the issue of women [prohibited from] singing in the IDF, but our outcry is over the prohibition against kindergarten girls singing," Ariela Miller, the mother of three children in the Orthodox state school system, told Haaretz.
"Children are habituated to rabbis being the only source of authority, much before educators. No wonder that when they come to crossroads in life, they cannot use their own judgment," Miller said.
Unlike Miller, most of the parents are afraid to reveal their names for fear of a negative impact on their children's schooling. One activist, who works for the Education Ministry, said she was summoned for a talking-to and told to stop her activities against the Education Ministry.
Another mother said that the main extremist influence was coming from organized groups of Orthodox people moving into a community with the purpose of increasing religious observance in that community. "But make no mistake, the Education Ministry is a full partner and is pushing them forward," she said.
Parents are brimming with examples of increasing extremism in state religious schools. One father who has children in Tel Aviv's Moriah school said: "On the last Memorial Day, some of the girls did not sing in the ceremony because 'it is not modest,' and they have already begun talking about the fact that at the end of the year event the fathers won't be able to see the girls perform and that there will even be separate events for boys and girls."
Another father said the school principal has no choice but to accede to the demands of the parents of the ultra-Orthodox group that has moved in, "and if an instruction is not implemented, it comes later from above - from [the Education Ministry's] supervisor."
The father added that when he complained he was told that if he did not like it, he could take his daughter to another school.
A mother from a state religious kindergarten in Kiryat Gat said that when she asked if a date had been set for the class Hanukkah party, the teacher said the event was being organized by the Orthodox residents' group, and that fathers would not be invited because "it is not modest for girls to dance and sing in the presence of the fathers, which would [also] prevent the mothers from dancing."
Classroom hours have also been changed unrecognizably, the father of a child at the Shilo school in Kiryat Ono says. When the parents first received the schedule of classes, it seemed alright, he said. "Only later did we realize that there are sacred studies disguised as secular studies: homeroom, for example, is suddenly being taught by the school rabbi, who certainly doesn't deal with civics, but rather with Jewish law."
The father said his daughter showed him a book that the school had purchased for the children, which he said was "completely ultra-Orthodox." The father said the male figures in the book were depicted with ultra-Orthodox skullcaps and sidelocks and on the page teaching about showing respect to parents "there was only a father, no mother at all."
A project to further classic Israeli literature at the Tomer kindergarten in Ramat Hasharon by subsidizing the purchase of books was scrapped last year, a parent said, after the group of Orthodox people who had moved into the community to further its religious observance said Haim Nahman Bialik and Lea Goldberg were "not modest."
A mother of a child in the Tomer kindergarten said the group of Orthodox residents "impose censorship instead of the Education Ministry" in checking the plays the school was paying for the children to see.
A parent from the Moriah school said: "One fine day they decided to separate the children on the bus: the boys in the front and the girls in the back. Recess is also taken in different yards."
Parents from Kiryat Gat said that on the first day of kindergarten they were given a flyer in which mothers were instructed "to come to the kindergarten in modest dress (skirt or dress, no pants and certainly not without sleeves)."
Before the beginning of the school year at the Morasha school in Petah Tikva, a group of parents petitioned the High Court of Justice over what they perceived as forced gender separation beginning in the first grade. "The High Court ordered the situation to remain as it is until a committee studies the issue," Idit, one of the mothers said. "But the High Court doesn't know that it is being tricked, because last year we were forced to separate them under the assumption that it was for one year, so leaving the situation as it is means continuing the separation."
The Education Ministry responded: "State religious education provides solutions to a variety of communities and the various groups studying in its framework. Discussions are underway to study the matter in all its aspects."
More on this topic
Hundreds across Israel protest against religious marginalization of women in Jerusalem
Jerusalem & Babylon / Ultra-Orthodox need not protest Israel, they run it
Parents of some 400 children are protesting issues such as prohibition against kindergarten girls singing.
By Talila Nesher
Parents of some 400 children in the state religious school system have banded together to protest what they view as the extreme bent the system has taken.
"People are angry over the issue of women [prohibited from] singing in the IDF, but our outcry is over the prohibition against kindergarten girls singing," Ariela Miller, the mother of three children in the Orthodox state school system, told Haaretz.
"Children are habituated to rabbis being the only source of authority, much before educators. No wonder that when they come to crossroads in life, they cannot use their own judgment," Miller said.
Unlike Miller, most of the parents are afraid to reveal their names for fear of a negative impact on their children's schooling. One activist, who works for the Education Ministry, said she was summoned for a talking-to and told to stop her activities against the Education Ministry.
Another mother said that the main extremist influence was coming from organized groups of Orthodox people moving into a community with the purpose of increasing religious observance in that community. "But make no mistake, the Education Ministry is a full partner and is pushing them forward," she said.
Parents are brimming with examples of increasing extremism in state religious schools. One father who has children in Tel Aviv's Moriah school said: "On the last Memorial Day, some of the girls did not sing in the ceremony because 'it is not modest,' and they have already begun talking about the fact that at the end of the year event the fathers won't be able to see the girls perform and that there will even be separate events for boys and girls."
Another father said the school principal has no choice but to accede to the demands of the parents of the ultra-Orthodox group that has moved in, "and if an instruction is not implemented, it comes later from above - from [the Education Ministry's] supervisor."
The father added that when he complained he was told that if he did not like it, he could take his daughter to another school.
A mother from a state religious kindergarten in Kiryat Gat said that when she asked if a date had been set for the class Hanukkah party, the teacher said the event was being organized by the Orthodox residents' group, and that fathers would not be invited because "it is not modest for girls to dance and sing in the presence of the fathers, which would [also] prevent the mothers from dancing."
Classroom hours have also been changed unrecognizably, the father of a child at the Shilo school in Kiryat Ono says. When the parents first received the schedule of classes, it seemed alright, he said. "Only later did we realize that there are sacred studies disguised as secular studies: homeroom, for example, is suddenly being taught by the school rabbi, who certainly doesn't deal with civics, but rather with Jewish law."
The father said his daughter showed him a book that the school had purchased for the children, which he said was "completely ultra-Orthodox." The father said the male figures in the book were depicted with ultra-Orthodox skullcaps and sidelocks and on the page teaching about showing respect to parents "there was only a father, no mother at all."
A project to further classic Israeli literature at the Tomer kindergarten in Ramat Hasharon by subsidizing the purchase of books was scrapped last year, a parent said, after the group of Orthodox people who had moved into the community to further its religious observance said Haim Nahman Bialik and Lea Goldberg were "not modest."
A mother of a child in the Tomer kindergarten said the group of Orthodox residents "impose censorship instead of the Education Ministry" in checking the plays the school was paying for the children to see.
A parent from the Moriah school said: "One fine day they decided to separate the children on the bus: the boys in the front and the girls in the back. Recess is also taken in different yards."
Parents from Kiryat Gat said that on the first day of kindergarten they were given a flyer in which mothers were instructed "to come to the kindergarten in modest dress (skirt or dress, no pants and certainly not without sleeves)."
Before the beginning of the school year at the Morasha school in Petah Tikva, a group of parents petitioned the High Court of Justice over what they perceived as forced gender separation beginning in the first grade. "The High Court ordered the situation to remain as it is until a committee studies the issue," Idit, one of the mothers said. "But the High Court doesn't know that it is being tricked, because last year we were forced to separate them under the assumption that it was for one year, so leaving the situation as it is means continuing the separation."
The Education Ministry responded: "State religious education provides solutions to a variety of communities and the various groups studying in its framework. Discussions are underway to study the matter in all its aspects."
Hundreds across Israel protest against religious marginalization of women in Jerusalem
Jerusalem & Babylon / Ultra-Orthodox need not protest Israel, they run it
EN LA LISTA DE LA VERGÜENZA
20 noviembre 2011, Rebelión http://www.rebelion.org (México)
Anna Mahjar-Barducci*
Haaretz Traducido para Rebelión por J. M. y revisado por Caty R.
Aunque Israel es su tierra natal, y aunque lo más probable es que quiera servir en su ejército, a mi hija se le niega uno de los más elementales derechos humanos, como el derecho a casarse en su propio país.
Al menos, uno de los principales obstáculos impide que todos los ciudadanos israelíes disfruten de la igualdad de derechos: la ausencia de matrimonio civil. Hay cientos de miles de israelíes "que carecen de filiación religiosa" que no pueden casarse en su propio país, donde nacieron y se criaron. Mi hija es una de ellas.
Mi hija nació en Jerusalén y asiste a una escuela de lengua hebrea. Su padre es un judío israelí. Pero como yo no soy judía y no me identifico con una religión en particular, en su certificado de nacimiento dice que nuestra hija es "sin filiación religiosa”. Cuando nació, el Ministerio del Interior israelí ni siquiera quiso reconocer a nuestra hija como ciudadana israelí. A fin de que mi marido pudiera dar su apellido a la niña, el Ministerio exigió la prueba extrema, la de ADN (a nuestro costo) para demostrar su paternidad.
Mientras a mi hija se le concedió la condición de ciudadana y lleva el apellido de su padre, su partida de nacimiento aún se esfuerza en recalcar que no es judía y no forma parte de la nación judía.
En la década del 60, el israelí Benjamín Shalit, que estaba casado con una mujer cristiana, trataba de registrar a sus hijos en el Ministerio del Interior como sin afiliación religiosa, pero judío por su origen étnico (le'om). El oficial del registro, sin embargo, se negó a escribir eso. Shalit llevó el caso a la Corte Suprema, que falló a su favor. Sin embargo, como la decisión generó controversia, en los años 70, en una enmienda aprobada en la Knesset que indica que sólo alguien considerado judío por la Halajá (ley religiosa) puede ser étnicamente judío. Esta es la razón por la cual mi hija, a pesar de ser hija de un judío israelí, carece de filiación étnica y religiosa.
Esto significa que aunque Israel es su tierra natal, y aunque lo más probable es que le gustaría servir en su ejército, a mi hija se le niega uno de los más elementales derechos humanos, como el derecho a casarse en su propio país.
Cada día, al llevar a mi hija a dar un paseo en el Parque de la Independencia de Jerusalén, me encuentro con otras madres nacidas en el extranjero y casadas con judíos israelíes, y cuyos hijos están en la misma situación. Algunos de estos niños tienen los ojos asiáticos, mientras que otros tienen la piel de color chocolate o las mejillas como las muñecas babushka, pero todos son niños israelíes. Su país, sin embargo, se niega a aceptarlos como propios y a tratarlos como ciudadanos iguales.
El Convenio para los esponsales de personas que carecen de afiliación religiosa, aprobado por la Knesset en 2010, fue promocionado como una solución al problema, pero en realidad es sólo una manera vergonzosa de evadir y encarar el tema. La ley permite a las parejas formar una unión civil, pero sólo cuando ambos cónyuges carecen de afiliación religiosa. La ley básicamente establece que esas personas pueden casarse con otros de su calaña, pero no se deben "mezclar" con los judíos. La única manera de evitar esto es ir al extranjero para casarse. Por lo tanto, en lugar de ser un paso en la dirección correcta, sólo refuerza el carácter sectario de la sociedad israelí.
El único recurso que queda para las parejas mixtas en Israel es ir al extranjero para casarse. Cada año, miles de israelíes viajan a Chipre, la isla de Venus, para ejercer el derecho básico de casarse con la persona que aman. Como cuestión de hecho, el fracaso de Israel para implementar el matrimonio civil es una clara violación del artículo 16 de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos, que establece que "los hombres y mujeres mayores de edad, sin restricción alguna por motivos de raza, nacionalidad o religión, tienen el derecho a casarse y fundar una familia”. Cuando fuimos a Chipre para casarnos, mi marido y yo conocimos a otras parejas que habían llegado con el mismo propósito, incluyendo algunas parejas de libaneses que, como nosotros, no podían casarse en su propia tierra. La ausencia de matrimonio civil, una clara violación de las libertades civiles, es una característica de los países conocidos por su falta de respeto a los derechos humanos, como Siria, Líbano, Arabia Saudí, Yemen e Irán. Israel no debería estar en la lista de la vergüenza. Pero mientras los ciudadanos no actúen para cambiar la situación, por desgracia, se mantendrá.
*Anna Mahjar-Barducci, es una periodista y escritora italiana-marroquí. Es la presidenta del Partido Asociación Árabe Liberal y Democrática con sede en Roma, que promueve las libertades civiles y la integración de los inmigrantes en Europa.
Anna Mahjar-Barducci*
Haaretz Traducido para Rebelión por J. M. y revisado por Caty R.
Aunque Israel es su tierra natal, y aunque lo más probable es que quiera servir en su ejército, a mi hija se le niega uno de los más elementales derechos humanos, como el derecho a casarse en su propio país.
Al menos, uno de los principales obstáculos impide que todos los ciudadanos israelíes disfruten de la igualdad de derechos: la ausencia de matrimonio civil. Hay cientos de miles de israelíes "que carecen de filiación religiosa" que no pueden casarse en su propio país, donde nacieron y se criaron. Mi hija es una de ellas.
Mi hija nació en Jerusalén y asiste a una escuela de lengua hebrea. Su padre es un judío israelí. Pero como yo no soy judía y no me identifico con una religión en particular, en su certificado de nacimiento dice que nuestra hija es "sin filiación religiosa”. Cuando nació, el Ministerio del Interior israelí ni siquiera quiso reconocer a nuestra hija como ciudadana israelí. A fin de que mi marido pudiera dar su apellido a la niña, el Ministerio exigió la prueba extrema, la de ADN (a nuestro costo) para demostrar su paternidad.
Mientras a mi hija se le concedió la condición de ciudadana y lleva el apellido de su padre, su partida de nacimiento aún se esfuerza en recalcar que no es judía y no forma parte de la nación judía.
En la década del 60, el israelí Benjamín Shalit, que estaba casado con una mujer cristiana, trataba de registrar a sus hijos en el Ministerio del Interior como sin afiliación religiosa, pero judío por su origen étnico (le'om). El oficial del registro, sin embargo, se negó a escribir eso. Shalit llevó el caso a la Corte Suprema, que falló a su favor. Sin embargo, como la decisión generó controversia, en los años 70, en una enmienda aprobada en la Knesset que indica que sólo alguien considerado judío por la Halajá (ley religiosa) puede ser étnicamente judío. Esta es la razón por la cual mi hija, a pesar de ser hija de un judío israelí, carece de filiación étnica y religiosa.
Esto significa que aunque Israel es su tierra natal, y aunque lo más probable es que le gustaría servir en su ejército, a mi hija se le niega uno de los más elementales derechos humanos, como el derecho a casarse en su propio país.
Cada día, al llevar a mi hija a dar un paseo en el Parque de la Independencia de Jerusalén, me encuentro con otras madres nacidas en el extranjero y casadas con judíos israelíes, y cuyos hijos están en la misma situación. Algunos de estos niños tienen los ojos asiáticos, mientras que otros tienen la piel de color chocolate o las mejillas como las muñecas babushka, pero todos son niños israelíes. Su país, sin embargo, se niega a aceptarlos como propios y a tratarlos como ciudadanos iguales.
El Convenio para los esponsales de personas que carecen de afiliación religiosa, aprobado por la Knesset en 2010, fue promocionado como una solución al problema, pero en realidad es sólo una manera vergonzosa de evadir y encarar el tema. La ley permite a las parejas formar una unión civil, pero sólo cuando ambos cónyuges carecen de afiliación religiosa. La ley básicamente establece que esas personas pueden casarse con otros de su calaña, pero no se deben "mezclar" con los judíos. La única manera de evitar esto es ir al extranjero para casarse. Por lo tanto, en lugar de ser un paso en la dirección correcta, sólo refuerza el carácter sectario de la sociedad israelí.
El único recurso que queda para las parejas mixtas en Israel es ir al extranjero para casarse. Cada año, miles de israelíes viajan a Chipre, la isla de Venus, para ejercer el derecho básico de casarse con la persona que aman. Como cuestión de hecho, el fracaso de Israel para implementar el matrimonio civil es una clara violación del artículo 16 de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos, que establece que "los hombres y mujeres mayores de edad, sin restricción alguna por motivos de raza, nacionalidad o religión, tienen el derecho a casarse y fundar una familia”. Cuando fuimos a Chipre para casarnos, mi marido y yo conocimos a otras parejas que habían llegado con el mismo propósito, incluyendo algunas parejas de libaneses que, como nosotros, no podían casarse en su propia tierra. La ausencia de matrimonio civil, una clara violación de las libertades civiles, es una característica de los países conocidos por su falta de respeto a los derechos humanos, como Siria, Líbano, Arabia Saudí, Yemen e Irán. Israel no debería estar en la lista de la vergüenza. Pero mientras los ciudadanos no actúen para cambiar la situación, por desgracia, se mantendrá.
*Anna Mahjar-Barducci, es una periodista y escritora italiana-marroquí. Es la presidenta del Partido Asociación Árabe Liberal y Democrática con sede en Roma, que promueve las libertades civiles y la integración de los inmigrantes en Europa.
Assinar:
Postagens (Atom)