Saturday, April 14, 2012

  • Saturday, April 14, 2012
  • Elder of Ziyon
From JTA:
T-shirts featuring anti-Semitic slogans were discovered being sold outside a soccer stadium in the Polish city of Lodz.

The T-shirts were being sold outside the stadium of Widzew Lodz, which plays in Poland’s premier league, according to an April 12 article on the website of Polskie Radio.

The shirts featured slogans such as “This is Widzew territory, entry to Jews is forbidden” and “Curl hunters,” referring to Orthodox Jews’ payos.

A woman who works in the shop that sold the T-shirts told the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza that the shirts are popular. The shop is adjacent to the team’s official shop.

A third of Lodz’s population was Jewish before World War II.
Here is a sign outside the store:

 And this graffitum saying "You will meet death:"


UPDATE: Lodz police arrested two workers at the shop, a salesman and a manager, for selling anti-semitic material (h/t Malgorzata)

Thursday, April 12, 2012

  • Thursday, April 12, 2012
  • Elder of Ziyon
I will not be posting anything until Saturday night or Sunday, so have a great weekend/chag sameach!

To tide you over, here are some links:

Another British group supporting Habima playing at the Globe.

While there are a lot of Israel-haters in USC, it didn't stop a delegation from the school from visiting Israel in February.

Sarah Honig on the bigger picture around Gunter Grass.

Obligatory NYT piece about supposed "Islamophobia" following the Merah murders.

Time for the eight-state solution?

Good morning Tehran! Israeli radio station broadcasts in Farsi, and a lot of Iranians tune in.

The most profane bar mitzvah ever filmed.

The Titanic had a kosher kitchen!

(h/t DKrieger, Norman, Zvi, Ronald)
  • Thursday, April 12, 2012
  • Elder of Ziyon
From Al Resalah:
The Jewish settlers are desecrating the Ibrahimi Mosque in Passover this year through burning parts of it, resulted from the candles left behind by the extremist settlers.

"Thousands of Zionists broke into the Ibrahimi Mosque to celebrate the Passover," said Hassan Alrejoub, a Palestinian journalist. "Muslims were thoroughly denied access to the Mosque," added he, " and the Islamic section of the Mosque was burnt because of the candles the Zionists left behind".

Yet Palestine News Network even reported that the fire was accidental and caused no (or little) damage.

Israeli sources show that the fire occurred during early morning prayers on Monday, and from the photos is appears that it was apparently on the Jewish side of the building, inside a structure meant for candles. It was put out by Israeli police using sand and water. There was slight smoke damage. During the incident, Jews were not allowed to enter the building.



Al Resalah also doesn't mention that for ten days a year Jews are denied access to the entire building so Muslims can perform their "Koranic rituals." Nor does it mention that some 81% of the building is used by Muslims during the year.
  • Thursday, April 12, 2012
  • Elder of Ziyon
Moderation!

From AFP:
Kuwait’s parliament on Thursday provisionally passed amendments to the Gulf state’s penal code stipulating the death penalty for those who curse God, Islam’s Prophet or his wives.

Forty-six MPs, including cabinet ministers, voted for the key amendments that will come into effect only after another round of voting and government approval. The second and final vote will take place in two weeks.

Four Shiite MPs voted against the law, a pro-Shiite Sunni lawmaker abstained, while two MPs refused to vote.

Shiite MPs have demanded that the new amendments also enforce the death penalty for anyone who curses their sect’s 12 revered Imams, but the Sunni- dominated parliament rejected their requests.

The move to stiffen penalties for religious crimes came after authorities last month arrested a Shiite tweeter for allegedly cursing the Prophet Mohammed, his wife and some companions.
This might get me in trouble:


  • Thursday, April 12, 2012
  • Elder of Ziyon
Palestine Today has photos of how Bedouin in the Sinai yesterday hijacked a fuel truck that was meant to go to  the international forces military base.

They siphoned out the fuel, they said, to distribute them to citizens who suffer from fuel shortages, saying they don't want the fuel to go to their "enemies."




Every day this week, Jews visited the Temple Mount - and every day this week there were angry articles about those visits in the Arab media.

Today, the last day of Chol HaMoed Pesach, Muslims called for thousands of their people to go there are prevent Jews from doing any "Talmudic rituals." Specifically they called for "an extensive and significant presence to counter any attempt of desecration by Jewish extremist groups that have continued to storm the mosque today....They called upon the citizens who have access to the city of Jerusalem to be present early in the mosque to deal with the settlers and thwart their plans."

Here is one of their photos of those terrible Jewish "settlers" desecrating their holy spot. Simply because they are Jewish.


Their press releases go on to charge that Israel is planning to divide the Temple Mount, either into Jewish and Muslim areas or by banning Muslims to be there altogether at certain times of the day or year.

Because this week showed a strengthening of the Jewish presence on the holiest Jewish site, here's a video that is appropriate for the occasion.



Chorus:
Rejoice with Jerusalem, be glad about her,
be glad all you that love her,
all who love her.

On your walls, Oh city of David
I have stationed watchmen,
all day and night.
(repeat)

Chorus

Do not fear, my servant Jacob,
for your enemies shall be scattered before you.
(repeat)

Chorus

Look about you and behold; see all
as they are all gathering and coming unto you.
(repeat)

Chorus

And your people
are all holy
and forever shall inherit the land.

Chorus
  • Thursday, April 12, 2012
  • Elder of Ziyon
From Ma'an:
The governor of Nablus on Wednesday prevented Israeli potatoes from being introduced to the Palestinian market, in line with an agriculture ministry decision issued this month.

Maj.-Gen. Jibrin al-Bakri said the decision aimed to protect national products and farmers' livelihoods.

The ministry decided this month to remove foreign produce from Palestinian markets, and the governor was implementing that decision, he told Ma'an.
The PA is trying to skirt around existing agreements that prohibit the PA from boycotting Israeli goods by pretending that they want to stop all imported produce.

But a glance at the speech by the PA Agriculture Minister shows beyond any doubt that this is meant to be a boycott to hurt Israel and to stop supporting "Zionist farms."

Up until now the PA was careful to say that they were only against "settler goods" and not Israeli products altogether because they did not want to violate signed agreements. It looks as if they are now no longer concerned about such public violations of Oslo.

When the economic agreement was forged between Israel and the PA, Israel let it be known that if the Palestinian Arabs wanted to implement boycotts or similar measures against Israel, then Israel would reserve the right to stop Palestinian Arabs from working in Israel - and a huge part of the Palestinian Arab economy is dependent on people working in Israel and for Israelis.
  • Thursday, April 12, 2012
  • Elder of Ziyon
On April 2 AFP Arabic reported on a new Saudi youth movement to get rid of the role of religious authorities in Saudi Arabia and to move towards democratic ideals.

The letter they wrote complained about the "bullying" that the Saudi religious authorities do to citizens.

2,100 people, mostly academics, including a large proportion of young women, signed the letter, which called for a rejection of "patriarchal" control exercised by the religious groups in Saudi society.

The letter talks about the inability of publicly speaking about ideas that run contrary to the official Saudi-approved groupthink.

It said, "We are young Muslims who reject this patriarchal muzzle which hinders our exercise of the right of free thought and research (...) We do not accept anyone that questions our patriotism or our Islamic identities."

It went on to "renounce all forms of incitement and bullying meant to remove the other [ideas] and we seek to build institutions of civil society to accommodate everyone," adding that they cannot accept anyone who "claims the monopoly of truth and righteousness on behalf of the law."

While the article was widely reported in Arabic media, so far it has not been reported anywhere in English.

  • Thursday, April 12, 2012
  • Elder of Ziyon
From the Minnesota Post:
Ramsey County Judge Margaret Marrinan has dismissed a lawsuit that called for the state of Minnesota to sell the $18 million in Israeli bonds held in the state's portfolio.

Four groups and 23 individuals filed the lawsuit in 2011, claiming that the bonds were supporting settlements in Palestine and other activities in the West Bank that had been deemed illegal under international law.

They also claimed that Minnesota law does not allow investments in foreign countries other than Canada.

Marrinan threw out the suit, ruling that the plaintiffs do not have standing to file the lawsuit, and said that "the authority to make social, political and economic policy decisions of the kind Plaintiffs complain about in this case resides with the Legislature and the SBI [State Board of Investment], not this Court."

Even if the plaintiffs did have standing, the judge said Minnesota law does allow the State Board of Investment to purchase international securities.
Someone should really do a survey to see what percentage of BDS initiatives get anywhere. It appears to be in the low single-digits.

Unfortunately, the webpage of the Minnesota BDSers who devoted so many futile hours on publicizing their hate of the Jewish state has not yet been updated with the news of their latest failure.

(h/t The Jewish Press)
  • Thursday, April 12, 2012
  • Elder of Ziyon
From The Wrap:
Hollywood screenwriter Joe Eszterhas is accusing Mel Gibson, his recent collaborator on a movie about Jewish revolt, of “hating Jews” and using him to deflect his anti-Semitic reputation.

In an explosive nine-page letter to Gibson obtained by TheWrap, the screenwriter wrote that the director of “The Passion of the Christ” never intended to make the movie about Jewish heroism, called “The Maccabees.”

Instead, Eszterhas said, Gibson announced the project “in an attempt to deflect continuing charges of anti-Semitism which have dogged you, charges which have crippled your career.”

He added: “I’ve come to the conclusion that the reason you won’t make ‘The Maccabees’ is the ugliest possible one. You hate Jews.”

Eszterhas’ letter reveals a more complex dynamic, a disturbing picture of Gibson as a man yet again out of control, inflicting frequent rages on those around him, in the grip of an anti-Semitic obsession, and possibly dangerous to those around him.

Gibson’s anti-Semitic obsession was a leitmotif of working on the film together at Gibson’s homes in Malibu and Costa Rica, Eszterhas said.

"You continually called Jews 'Hebes' and 'oven-dodgers' and 'Jewboys.' It seemed that most times when we discussed someone, you asked 'He’s a Hebe, isn’t he?' You said most 'gatekeepers' of American companies were 'Hebes' who 'controlled their bosses.'"

The slurs continued, through their work:

“You said the Holocaust was 'mostly a lot of horseshit.' You said the Torah made reference to the sacrifice of Christian babies and infants. When I told you that you were confusing the Torah with The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, ... you insisted 'it's in the Torah -- it's in there!' (It isn't)."

And he said Gibson told him that his intention in making “The Maccabees” was “to convert the Jews to Christianity.”

(h/t @ChallahHuAkbar)

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

  • Wednesday, April 11, 2012
  • Elder of Ziyon
While this is not the point of his article, Hussein Ibish writes in Open Zion:

[S]upport for a two state solution also represents, according to almost every existing poll, the Palestinian majority position, as well as that of the Palestine Liberation Organization (universally recognized as “the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people”.)
He's technically right, and he is very, very wrong.

When polls ask Palestinian Arabs is they support a two-state solution, indeed most answer yes.

However, when one pollster last year went a bit further and asked another question, it showed that the real answer is not "yes" but "as a means to destroy Israel."

The Israel Project commissioned a poll last year in the territories conducted by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion and asked which of these two statements more closely matched the opinions of those being polled:



The best goal is for a two-state solution that keeps two states living side by side.

The real goal should be to start with two states but then move to it all being one Palestinian state

Strongly agree

12%

22%

Somewhat agree

13%

30%

Total

25%

52%

Total for those who responded

32%

68%

In case you think that this question was too vague or unclear, here's one that leave little doubt of what Palestinian Arab intentions are:




Israel has a permanent right to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people.


Over time Palestinians must work to get back all the land for a Palestinian state


Strongly agree


4%


27%


Somewhat agree


4%


57%


Total


8%


84%


Total for those who responded


9%


91%


This poll proved that a large majority of Palestinian Arabs do not believe in the "two state solution" in the way that most Westerners (and probably Ibish) do. They want to have a state now as a means to destroy Israel.


This poll was ignored by the mainstream media.


This fact is simply too inconvenient for wishful thinkers to accept. It causes massive cognitive dissonance in the "peace camp." It is exactly the opposite from what we have been told over and over again by politicians and pundits. So they ignore it.

But that is the truth, and any sober analysis of how peace is possible must take these facts in mind.



The PLO and PA also appear to share the goal of destroying Israel as we saw only this week

Whenever people claim that the majority of Palestinians want a peaceful solution, they are either ignorant or lying.

I'm not sure which category describes Ibish.

  • Wednesday, April 11, 2012
  • Elder of Ziyon
From Times of Israel:
Consumers in the U.S. and Europe could soon benefit from the fruits of an Israeli technology that can prevent microbacterial infestation of foods and beverages. Ness Ziona-based Oplon has signed an agreement with a large multinational food manufacturer for the development of packaging materials based on Oplon’s technology. The 3-year deal is worth $8 million, not including royalties that may accrue based on the products developed, the company said.

Oplon specializes in the development of materials that ward off the growth of bacteria on surfaces. The coatings use a special set of molecules that create an electrical charge, zapping bacteria. According to Oplon, the packaging can keep food germ-free for days — and even weeks — without refrigeration or preservatives. An open container of milk, the company says, will keep for 30 days without refrigeration, with regular pasteurized milk capable of having the shelf life and attributes of UHT milk. Water stored in Oplon containers will be disinfected, even if it is drawn from contaminated sources.
Oh, it disinfects water? It might just happen to save thousands of lives for people who do not have reliable access to clean water, especially after natural disasters?

It gets better:
Besides food storage, Oplon is developing its materials for medical use. Patches, catheters and tubes made out of Oplon-developed material have the potential to significantly reduce infections in hospitals, and they are able to act effectively even against highly resistant strains of bacteria, like MRSA. Applied to agriculture, Oplon materials can be used to prevent rot in seeds or crops, and prevent the spread of disease in fields. Oplon has even developed a treatment for acne, which, when applied, kills the germs that cause pimples and rejuvenates the skin – showing results within hours, the company says.
It's merely a cheap, generalized way to destroy all bacteria. That's sort of huge. But of course Israeli researchers spend their lives working on these types of things in order to distract the world from their crimes, you know, by building houses on empty land and targeting people who are trying to kill them, which are of course grave violations of international law.

This is nothing but germwashing.

(h/t Mike)
  • Wednesday, April 11, 2012
  • Elder of Ziyon
From JPost:
In a surprise move, Jordan has decided to revoke the Jordanian citizenship of Palestinian Authority and PLO officials, sources in Amman disclosed Wednesday.

The sources said that the decision would also affect the leaders of the PA, who would be granted temporary Jordanian passports to facilitate their travel.

The move coincides with a new electoral law in Jordan that seeks to limit Palestinian representation in parliament.

The latest steps are seen in the context of Jordan's 1988 decision to sever all legal and administrative ties with the West Bank, except for Jordanian sponsorship of the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem.

The late King Hussein then justified the move by arguing that it was intended to help the Palestinians establish their own independent state.

The Jordanians have defended the decision to strip Palestinians of their Jordanian citizenship by explaining that it is aimed at "preserving the Palestinians' national identity and paving the way for their return to Palestine."

It's not known at this stage if PA President Mahmoud Abbas would be stripped of his Jordanian citizenship, the sources told the Saudi newspaper Al-Madina.
In 1988, all Palestinian Arabs who lived in the west bank of the Jordan lost their citizenship. I don't know if PLO officials were granted exceptions at that time, but last year there were reports that Mahmoud Abbas and other senior Fatah officials were granted Jordanian nationality.

In other words, they say publicly that they support keeping Palestinian Arabs stateless - for their own good, of course -  but in private they held on to their Jordanian citizenship for dear life.


(h/t Josh)

UPDATE: Jordan denies the story (h/t Challah Hu Akbar)
  • Wednesday, April 11, 2012
  • Elder of Ziyon
Taking a short break from bloggong while I eat a surprisingly good deli sandwich at Mr Broadway in Manhattan.  Making edible bread on Passover is always an achievement. 
Feel free to rant in the comments. 
  • Wednesday, April 11, 2012
  • Elder of Ziyon
Arabic media are claiming:

Zionist bulldozers demolished the tomb of the martyr Izz al-Din al-Qassam in Haifa, in a move that comes as part of a series of ongoing attacks on Islamic and Arabic holy places and symbols.
They claim that the destruction was done in order to put in a train line, and that this isn't the first time the tomb was demolished.

The Syrian-born al-Qassam was one of the earliest Palestinian Arab terrorists, who was killed by the British in 1935. Hamas named its military wing and Qassam rockets after him. His tomb was a place of pilgrimage for terror-supporting Arabs and Muslims.

I have no idea if there is any truth to this story, but it sounds bogus. I couldn't find any mention of it in Hebrew media.

Not that I would lose any sleep if it was true.
  • Wednesday, April 11, 2012
  • Elder of Ziyon
From AFP last week:
Arab youth and sports ministers on Wednesday announced their boycott of sports apparel manufacturer Adidas over the company's sponsorship of last month's Jerusalem marathon.

"All companies that have sponsored the marathon of Jerusalem, including Adidas, will be boycotted," said Saudi Prince Nawaf bin Faisal, chairman of the Arab youth and sports council of ministers, after a meeting in Jeddah.

But it appears that such a boycott is easier said than done.

Does this mean "ban the Adidas ban"?
And is it smart to burn clothing on carpeting?
Adidas provides 17 million euros worth of sports apparel to Egypt's national teams, and it is not so easy to find an immediate replacement for that. The Egyptian sports federation signed a contract with Adidas that cannot discarded so quickly; they have to write a formal letter. Beyond that, they have their own cash crunch, and throwing away 17 million euros is not something they are thrilled with, especially if they have to spend public funds. The federation plans to launch a new process for other sports apparel companies to bid for the honor of giving Egyptian teams free clothing.

An Egyptian national football team also said that they cannot get non-Adidas clothing in time for their upcoming matches. They said that they used to use Puma clothing and were ridiculed about how unprofessional they looked, so now they must use Adidas clothing to regain their reputation.


  • Wednesday, April 11, 2012
  • Elder of Ziyon
The Al Aqsa Foundation  reports that a fight broke out as vigilant Muslim guards on the Temple Mount physically stopped Jews from "performing Talmudic rituals" there, as the guards were doing their holy duty of ensuring that only pure Islamic prayers emanate from Judaism's holiest site.

Arutz-7 reports it a little differently:
A Jewish man has been arrested on the Temple Mount on suspicion of attacking a Muslim man at the site, according to the Honenu legal rights group.

The man says he did not attack the Muslim man, but rather was the victim of an unprovoked attack. The man was visiting the Mount with friends in honor of Passover when, he says, the Muslim man approached the group and began insulting them, and then physically attacking.

Police refused to arrest the Muslim man despite testimony from the Jewish group that he had been the one attacking.

Notably, the supposedly secular and independent Ma'an News Agency in Arabic reports on the incident in the same terms used by the extremist Muslims: they say that "Jewish settlers" were "storming" the site to perform "Talmudic" rituals when the altercation broke out.

Ma'an illustrates the story with another shocking image of Jews desecrating the courtyard. Makes your blood boil, doesn't it?


  • Wednesday, April 11, 2012
  • Elder of Ziyon
From Bikya Masr:
A Saudi court sentenced a local woman to 50 lashes for swearing at her friend, following an argument, a newspaper reported on Monday.

The two Saudi women, aged 33 and 31 years, had decided to go out with their children for a weekend night but differed on where to go.

“An argument ensued and the two women decided to split … one of them later sent a text to her friend’s mobile phone swearing at her,” the Arabic language quotidian Kabar reported.

“The other woman went to court and showed the judge the message … although that woman said she was joking, the court ordered her lashed 50 times.”

Kabar said the court has given the convicted and sentenced woman the right to appeal.
Just an everyday human rights travesty in Saudi Arabia. Nothing to get excited about. After all, we all know that sharia law is just as humane as any other, and poses no danger to anyone.
  • Wednesday, April 11, 2012
  • Elder of Ziyon
From Al Arabiya:
Global leaders on Tuesday accused Syria of failing to begin implementing a ceasefire deal as regime forces pounded protest hubs on the deadline day, with 28 civilians among more than 50 people killed.

The U.N. Security Council called on President Bashar al-Assad to keep a Thursday deadline for a complete ceasefire in the Syria conflict, after his forces and heavy weapons did not pull back from key cities in the crackdown.

Syria said it was abiding by the deal, but U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan accused it of pulling troops from some areas and moving them elsewhere.

Annan insisted the deal was not in tatters, however.

“The plan has not been implemented according to the schedule that we laid out... but it does not mean that it cannot be implemented.”

In a letter to the Security Council, he said “the days before April 10 could have been an opportunity for the government of Syria to send a powerful political signal of peace. In the last five days it has become clear that such a signal has yet to be issued.”

Annan said Damascus should have taken steps “to cease troop movements towards population centers, to cease all use of heavy weapons in such centers, and to begin pullback of military concentrations in and around population centers.”

This had not happened, Annan said.

Fifty-two people, including 28 civilians, were killed on Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. They included 19 members of the security forces and five rebels, bringing the toll since the weekend to at least 337.
But Annan still thinks that Syria might come around.
U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan said the situation in Syria should be “much improved” by a Thursday deadline if both sides in the conflict respect his peace plan.

Annan, speaking at a news conference in Tehran on Wednesday, said: “If everyone respects [it], I think by six o’clock in the morning on Thursday the 12th, we a should see a much improved situation on the ground.”

He also said the government in Damascus had given “further clarifications” on how it would implement its side of the plan.
Meanwhile, for the second time this week, Syria fired across the border towards a Turkish refugee camp:
Shots fired by Syrian forces early Wednesday hit a Syrian refugee camp just across the border with Turkey, Turkish media reported.

News channel CNN-Turk showed images of automatic rifle fire towards Turkish territory from a border surveillance building flying the Syrian flag near Kilis in southeastern Turkey.

Several television stations reported that troops had fired at Syrians trying to cross no man’s land on the frontier to seek refuge in Turkey from the violence rocking Syria.

Bullets hit a nearby camp of prefabricated buildings without wounding anyone but causing panic among the refugee population.

On Monday, shooting from the Syrian side of the border wounded four Syrians and two Turks on Turkish soil.

“It was a very clear violation of the border,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Beijing. “Obviously we will take the necessary measures,” he was quoted as saying by the Turkish news agency Anatolia.

Turkey, a one-time ally of the Syrian regime but now one of its strongest critics, is home to around 25,000 Syrians in several camps set up in three provinces.
Meanwhile, a columnist in Now Lebanon compares the daily death tolls from Syria today with the total of Deir Yassin 64 years ago. Yet instead of noting that this must mean that Syria is hundreds of times worse than Israel by any measure, he merely says that Syrians are "emulating" Zionists, who by definition must be the standard-bearers for killing Arabs. This is even though the number of Arabs killed by Israel since 1948 is infinitesimal compared to the numbers killed by other Arabs. Even the number of Palestinian Arabs killed by Israel since 1948, total, is far less than the number of PalArabs killed by Arabs in that same time period.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

  • Tuesday, April 10, 2012
  • Elder of Ziyon
MJ Rosenberg, the nutty-leftist writer who was recently forced out at Media Matters, now has a blog where he doesn't even bother to self-censor his hate.

For reasons only known to him, he decided that when the White House made one of its many kitchens kosher for the annual Chanukah celebration last year, it was doing it only to pander to American Jewish voters. And he finds the very idea of a kosher White House kitchen to be offensive.

Here's some of his sputtering:
The most ridiculous (and insulting) White House pander came at Hanukkah. This article from the New York Times about how the White House was made kosher for one event has to be read to be believed. Here is an excerpt, enough to cause James Madison to commit suicide if he wasn’t dead.

Into the kitchen rushes a Lubavitch SWAT team of three rabbis and an intern. Three men, wearing aprons and industrial-strength rubber gloves, take on the ovens and burners. The fourth, in a suit and a black hat, is Rabbi Levi Shemtov, director of the American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad). He is the supervisor-in-chief.

He takes a long look around. He frowns.

“Who opened the brazier?” he asks, referring to the lidded counter-high vat, like a giant stainless steel pot, used for searing, reducing stock and braising meats. “The rabbi?” he asks, pointing to a colleague.

“No,” replies Chef Tommy, as his staff calls him.

“You’re kidding me,” Rabbi Shemtov says.

They huddle by the brazier. Rabbi Shemtov issues orders. The rabbis spring into action....
Absurd, offensive and utterly unnecessary. The percentage of Jews who require that level of “koshering” is infinitesimal and probably not 5 of them would be eating at the White House that night. Surely, they would not have minded eating a nice packaged kosher meal prepared specially for them rather than put the White House out like that.

But, of course, the White House didn’t do it for them. It did it to impress the same imaginary Jews who will decide who to support for president based on such nonsense. My guess is that the number of people who fall into that category is zero.

Spending God knows (!) how much to sterilize the White House is silly and offensive but it does no harm.
Indeed, I am also certain that not a single Jew will vote for Obama based on the kashering of the White House kitchen. In fact, I believe that the Obama campaign knows this as well.

So if everyone knows that it wasn't done to gain any Jewish votes, then Rosenberg's thesis is completely wrong. He just finds the idea "offensive" so he created a fantasy for why it was done.

Is there an alternative reason for the White House to go to such lengths? Of course there is. It is called hospitality. If a Jewish function is being done at one of the most prestigious addresses in the world, the hosts will naturally do everything they can to make it as inclusive as possible. Not that the guests demanded it - no doubt they would have been quite happy with a packaged meal, as Rosenberg says - but it is something that a thoughtful host, with the resources to do so, will automatically want to do. (I would venture to guess that the Chabad rabbi did it for free, by the way. What rabbi wouldn't jump at the opportunity to do something like that?)

There is also another likely historical reason why only kosher food was served to everyone. The first completely kosher White House Chanukah dinner came in 2005 in the Bush administration, after kosher and non-kosher food was accidentally mixed up at 2004's dinner. By choosing to make it all-kosher, the White House is indeed going above and beyond, but it is also ensuring that every guest can feel comfortable.

The menu, for those interested, can be seen here. It included Roulade of Chicken Breast, Pine Nut Herb Crusted Lamb Chops, Homemade Potato with Scallion Pancakes, Dill and Vodka Scottish Smoked Salmon and Homemade Soufganyot. I don't think that the guests who don't keep kosher felt at all slighted at not being served normal White House fare.

At any rate, the Bush and Obama administrations very thoughtfully decided to create an atmosphere of inclusiveness at their Chanukah parties, where no one feels uncomfortable opening up a double-wrapped package of kosher food and leaving aluminum foil all over the table, struggling with plastic silverware to cut overdone beef, while everyone else is eating a gourmet meal. It is an act of kindness, not of politics.

It takes a very special kind of self-hating Jew to consider White House kindness to be "offensive" when the recipients are Jews. (Do you think he is upset that the annual White House Iftar dinners are Halal?)

But that self-hate is par for the course for MJ.

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This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For over 14 years and 30,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

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