Alwayswriteagain: English Antisemitism: In A League Of Its Own?

Alwayswriteagain: English Antisemitism: In A League Of Its Own?: This is an updated version of an article which has just been published in the online international magazine, Live Encounters . Editor, Mark...

Alwayswriteagain: Happy 2012 From Me–And the Israel Defence Force!

Alwayswriteagain: Happy 2012 From Me–And the Israel Defence Force!: IDF– Protecting Israel And Its Citizens For Another Year … As Karmiel ESRA prepares to host another fabulously popular fun quiz, here’...

As The World Unites For The Festive Season …

  … I Present A Half-Baked Apple And A Jewish Santa In Full Prayer Mode …

In the green – and ‘er – red corner, comes Devon, U.K. fruit grower Ken Morrish who was stunned when he found a ‘Golden Delicious’ apple on his tree split exactly half green, half red down the middle. This, insist the experts, is a million-to-one genetic chance.

Meanwhile on Laguna Beach, California,  a nice Jewish Father Christmas took time off from ‘ho-ho-hoing’ to appear in a publicity stunt (pictured below) with Yakov Jacobson of the local Chabad organisation.

Jacobson claimed he was surprised to discover that not only is the unnamed man Jewish but that he had never previously worn tefillin (phylacteries).

Believe it; don’t believe it. But this has to be one Santa who’s ‘strapped for cash’!

Technorati Tags: Ken Morrish,Green-Red Apple,California Dreamin'USA Chabad,Yakov Jacobson,Santa Claus,Tefillin

msniw

Prince Philip: Routine Surgery After ‘Likely Heart Attack’

No wonder the Duke of Edinburgh is enjoying a speedy recovery from his emergency heart surgery.

He and the Queen are partners in a ‘right royal’ love-match  – as illustrated in this informal portrait – and today he  received a visit from her and their children as he recovers at Papworth Hospital, Cambridgeshire.

Prince Philip was flown to the hospital yesterday (Friday) for treatment after complaining of chest pains. Doctors there discovered he had a  blocked coronary artery.

Below is a description of his treatment:

   STENTS, THE SCAFFOLDING THAT OPENS NARROW BLOOD VESSELS

“Stents are small metal tubes that are put into the arteries to help blood flow.

“They are used to treat the type of coronary artery blockage that the Duke of Edinburgh suffered.

Every year, around 85,000  Britons are fitted with the  devices, which look like small pieces of scaffolding.

“They are inserted into the artery during keyhole surgery and then expanded to widen the artery.

“During the procedure a hollow tube containing the stent along with a small inflatable balloon is passed into an artery through the groin or arm.

“The operator then uses X-ray screening to direct it into a coronary artery until it reaches the narrow or blocked section. The balloon is then gently inflated expanding the stent so it holds the narrowed blood vessel open.

“When it is fully expanded the balloon is let down and removed, leaving the stent in place.

“Most people can go home the same day or next day, but if it has been an emergency procedure, stays in hospital are usually longer. Sometimes there is a small amount of bleeding after the procedure.

“In the majority of cases, people find that they feel back to normal after just a few days, but if the stent has been put in after a heart attack the recovery takes longer.However, in some cases the rigid metal can cause the walls of the artery to become inflamed or damaged, and scar.

“In recent years, ‘drug-eluting’ stents have been developed. These are coated with a tiny amount of a drug which is delivered to the area around the stent to prevent the scarring process and thus stop the artery from narrowing.

“A new type of stent, called bio-resorbable vascular scaffold, is currently being developed that is made of corn starch rather than metal. It gradually disappears over two to three years, so once the artery has been able to return to normal, the stent is metabolised by the body.

“Stents cost up to £900 each, depending on the type used.”

• This form of surgery is internationally recognised and is used routinely, for example, at The Rambam Medical Centre, Haifa.
• ‘Drug-eluting’ means to- wash out with a solvent, as in chromatography.

Technorati Tags: Duke of Edinburgh,Queen Elizabeth II,Papowrth Hospital,Heart Surgery,Blocked Coronary Artery,Stent,Rambam Medical Centre

msniw

An Extra Light In The Dark

During this season of light and festivity for so many, I wish to spare an extra thought for those in mourning or, who like my family, mark the anniversary of the passing of a beloved relative during Chanucah week.

‘May their memories be for a blessing’.

Chanucah sameach to all my Jewish friends and readers and heartiest good wishes for the Festive Season and 2012 to everyone else.

Technorati Tags: Chanucah,Festive Season,2012,Greetings

msniw

Alwayswriteagain: Israel - Without A ‘Hitch’?

Alwayswriteagain: Israel - Without A ‘Hitch’?: Hitchens: Zionism was a "stupid, messianic, superstitious idea.” A friend of my teenage years – now also living in Israel – was always...

Alwayswriteagain: The Play What Will Wrote!

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Alwayswriteagain: When I Was Framed – With President Moshe Katsav!

Alwayswriteagain: When I Was Framed – With President Moshe Katsav!: Under normal circumstances the picture above would have been a pleasant memory to savour; an historic record for the family album. ...

Be Happy – Stand With Israel!

Be happy–Stand With Israel!

It’s all very simple:

Israel’s secret weapon is not in Dimona.

Nor is it in a bunker beneath the Knesset – the Parliament building in Jerusalem.

But you can see it emblazoned on the lovely faces of the  kids in this video.

The answer is that despite all its woes -

ISRAEL IS A HAPPY SOCIETY.

Now watch this wonderful clip produced by the international StandWithUs group and you will understand what I mean.

* StandWithUs? It’s is an international, non-profit organisation dedicated to telling the truth about Israel and to combating the extremism and antisemitism that perpetuates the lies continuously repeated by its enemies.

Stand With Us is performed in this clip by The Afula Youth Ensemble of the Afula Conservatorium, Northern Israel.
Musical arrangement - Yoram Zadok
Video director - Allan Pakes
Executive director - Lilach Meidan
Video editor - Roy Stein
Conservatorium director - Betzalel Kupervaser
Executive producer - Tibi Zohar

Produced by – StandWithUs

Now enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Stand With Us,Tibi Zohar,Zion,Zionist,Israel Standwithus,Peace,Zionism,Hebrew

msniw

‘Have A Good Laugh - Three Times A Day –Before, After and During Meals!’

‘Laughter Is The Best Medicine’

I once spent several hours finding different translations for the phrase “laughter is the best medicine”.

If I hadn’t pulled myself up short, I’d probably still be there, giggling hysterically - positively consumed with my own wit!

But the medicinal value of a good giggle is a universal truth and the only surprise is that is has never  been put to practical use.

’הצחוק הוא התרופה הטובה ביותר’ 

Not until now – and not before Israeli doctors became interested in the discipline and  helped to make ‘Medical Clowning’ one of the country’s biggest and most successful exports.

Local medics suddenly realised that harnessing the natural potential of the hormones released in laughter makes it a vital component in  a patient’s recovery. So medical clowns are now  considered co-therapists in patient care and study the art during a three-month bachelor’s degree course in Israel - the only one of its kind world-wide.

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” (Proverbs, 17:22).

Indeed last month’s conference on medical clowning in Jerusalem saw more than 250 delegates from 25 countries come to learn more about it and heard, for example, how a study of an IVF (‘fertility’) clinic discovered that the pregnancy rate almost doubled when a “medical clown” paid a visit after embryo transfer.

’الضحك هو أفضل دواء’

The conference, organised by Dream Doctors included workshops on clowning and the use of medical clowning as a unique means of intervention.

“I’m learning that we are definitely a part of a very big, global community,” Wellington Santos, a medical clown from Brazil, told the Arutz Sheva news service: “It’s very important that we all co-operate to take this to the next step.”

'געלעכטער איז די בעסדט מעדיצין'

Paul Miller, aka Pauly the Clown who works at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, USA, said that despite his hospital having a high-ranking paediatric unit,  it presently employed only a few medical clowns, several hours per week.

“A Risa Es La Mejor Medicina”

But Hagar Hofesh, a medical clown with Dream Doctors, says that in Israel the clowns work very closely with doctors and nurses, something which is not always the case in other parts of the world.

“I’m going to be well? No kidding!” ‘Risus Est Optima Medicina’

‘La Risata E La Migliore Medicina’

Technorati Tags: Israel,Medical Clowning,Conference,Hebrew Bible

msniw

Israeli Cancer Vaccine ‘Coming Soon’

Article first published as Israeli Cancer Vaccine ‘Coming Soon’ on Technorati.

During a week when I feel at ‘death’s door’ due to the most severe bout of ‘flu I’ve suffered for years, it is cheering to acknowledge a phenomenal breakthrough for patients who have desperate long-term illnesses.

Vaxil BioTherapeutics, a biotechnical company based in Ness Ziona, near Tel Aviv, Israel has produced a ground-breaking therapeutic vaccine for cancer patients which could prevent about 90% of cancers from coming back.

Vaxil was founded in 2006 by Dr. Lior Carmon and the vaccine is now in clinical trials at the Hadassah University Medical Centre in Jerusalem. The vaccine could be available as early as 2017 to administer on a regular basis, not only to help treat cancer but in order to keep the disease from recurring.

The vaccine is being tested against a type of blood cancer, ‘multiple myeloma’. If the substance works as hoped, its platform technology, VaxHit could be applied to 90%  of all known cancers, including prostate and breast cancer, solid and non-solid tumours.

“In cancer, the body knows something is not quite right but the immune system doesn’t know how to protect itself against the tumour like it does against an infection or virus. This is because cancer cells are the body’s own cells gone wrong,” says Julian Levy, the company’s CFO. “Coupled with that, a cancer patient has a depressed immune system, caused both by the illness and by the treatment.”

The trick is to activate a compromised immune system to mobilize against the threat.

‘a vaccine that works like a drug’

A traditional vaccine helps the body’s immune system fend off foreign invaders such as bacteria or viruses, and is administered to people who have not yet had the ailment. Therapeutic vaccines, like the one Vaxil has developed, are given to sick people, and work more like a drug.

Vaxil’s lead product, ImMucin, activates the immune system by “training” T-cells –– the immune cells that protect the body by searching out and destroying cells that display a specific molecule (or marker) called MUC1. MUC1 is typically found only on cancer cells and not on healthy cells. The T-cells don’t attack any cells without MUC1, meaning there are no side effects unlike traditional cancer treatments. More than 90% of different cancers have MUC1 on their cells, which indicates the potential for this vaccine.

“It’s a really big thing,” says Levy, a biotechnology entrepreneur who was formerly CEO for Biokine Therapeutics. “If you give chemo, apart from the really nasty side effects, what often happens is that cancer becomes immune [to it]. The tumour likes to mutate and develops an ability to hide from the treatment. Our vaccines are also designed to overcome that problem.”

ImMucin is foreseen as a long-term strategy — a shot every few months, with no side effects — to stop the cancer from recurring after initial treatments, by ensuring that the patient’s own immune system keeps it under control.

In parallel, the company is also working on a vaccine that treats tuberculosis, a disease that’s increasing worldwide, including in the developed world, and for which the current vaccine is often ineffective and treatment is problematic.

Two of my dearest late friends had their cancers stalled for some years by wonderful therapies and now a much-loved cousin is overjoyed about the news from Vaxil. Heaven willing she will still enjoy its benefits in 20 years’ time!

 

Technorati Tags: Vaxil BioTherapeutics,Dr Lior Carmon,Julian Levy,Cancer Vaccine,ImMucin

msniw

Alwayswriteagain: Eichmann To Al-Bis: Israel’s Revolving Door?

Alwayswriteagain: Eichmann To Al-Bis: Israel’s Revolving Door?: This is an updated version of an article which has just been published in the online international magazine, Live Encounters . Editor, Mark...

Alwayswriteagain: Time For My Obit To Be Rewritten?

Alwayswriteagain: Time For My Obit To Be Rewritten?: My enemies may be rubbing their hands in glee but it seems that reports of ‘my’ death, if not grossly exaggerated, may have been wilfully ...

Israel's Top Guns At 'The Big Tent'

http://wwwalwayswriteagain.blogspot.com/2011/11/despite-attendant-silliness-i-expect-as.html

msniw

Alwayswriteagain: Lies, Damned Lies and Jew Hatred in The Daily Tele...

Alwayswriteagain: Lies, Damned Lies and Jew Hatred in The Daily Tele...: I write sick at heart and in the pit of my stomach about the quite astounding anti-Jewish hatred which pervades and froths over the reade...

How ‘Jim The Sabra’ Fixed It For Israel - Technorati Celebrity

How ‘Jim The Sabra’ Fixed It For Israel - Technorati Celebrity

Jewish Bardolators Avow Their Love in Hebrew - Culture - Blogcritics

Jewish Bardolators Avow Their Love in Hebrew - Culture - Blogcritics

Gilad Shalit Comes Home

Gilad Shalit Comes Home …

I repost without frills this ultra-moving video from United With Israel.

UWI wrote:

“You will see the incredible events unfold, as Gilad Shalit returns home to his country, his people and his beloved family.

“You are guaranteed to cry tears of joy…

“Gilad, we are so happy that you are home. You are part of us and we are part of you. Today, you are our son, our brother, our dear family member. All of Israel is One. We are unified in love and concern for each other. WELCOME HOME!

“BARUCH HABA” – Welcome Home and be Blessed!”

Technorati Tags: Gilad Shalit,United With Israel,Welcome Home,Video

msniw

Have You Ever Seen An Onion Cry?

Article first published as Have You Ever Seen An Onion Cry? on Technorati.

You walk into your surgeon’s consulting room. He smiles broadly, asks after your health and invites you to lie down. Then he stabs you in the eye.

Later, as the effect of the local anaesthetic wears off and you begin dancing on the ceiling, the last thing on your mind is medical politics.

So I was infuriated by a story in Saturday’s  Mail Online  claiming that British doctors are being pressurised to use Avastin, a cheap alternative to Lucentis when treating macular degeneration, an eye condition which may lead to blindness.

It’s a long time since I’ve read such cheap, scaremongering sensationalism in the name of medical journalism and want to put the record straight on many issues.

When some years ago, I began treatment by Avastin in my left eye for ‘wet’ Age Related Macular Degeneration , as opposed to the much more expensive Lucentis, I was informed (my paraphrase):

• The term ‘AMD’ is a misnomer because the condition may affect people even in their 20s.
• Avastin was first approved by the American Food and Drug Administration to treat metastatic colorectal cancer.
• Genentech (since merged with Roche), the company which manufactures both drugs, produced a ‘label’ explaining the risks and benefits involved.
• Avastin works by blocking “vascular endothelial growth factor (‘VEGF’)”. It has since been used ‘off label’ by ophthalmologists to treat AMD and similar conditions as research showed that VEGF to be a cause of the growth of the abnormal vessels causing such conditions.

Before treatment, I was advised in writing of the alternatives available and of possible complications from both drugs. Either could produce a stroke or heart attack.

The Daily Mail claimed that dozens of U.K. ‘primary care trusts’ have told consultants to use Avastin which is unlicensed there and costs only £50.00 a shot as opposed to Lucentis, which is licensed for use but  costs about £900 per injection and is approved by ‘NICE’ -  the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

The report argued that as Avastin is not marketed for eye treatment  pharmacists have to split vials of the drug into far smaller doses than when it is used to treat cancer.

In the U.S., the Department of Veterans Affairs last month stopped its use after reports of infections.

The report also alleged that some patients have lost their remaining sight after treatment and that one man is suing for £2.6million for loss of sight and brain damage as a result of an infection.

If like me and thousands of other patients, he was given written advice and asked to sign a consent form before treatment, I can’t believe he has a case.

That aside, the Mail article confirmed: “Roche, makers of Avastin, is not obliged to test its use in AMD, so publicly funded trials are under way. In April, a U.S. trial found the two drugs were equally effective in treating AMD after one year.”

The report added: “The rate of hospitalisations was 24 per cent for Avastin and 19 per cent for Lucentis. Some doctors attribute infections from Avastin to contamination by splitting vials into small doses.”

Writing from personal experience, I confirm I was treated with a combination, first of photodynamic therapy (‘PDT’) and then several Avastin injections and had a further shot after the initial course when the problem appeared to have recurred. 

Although I experienced severe short-term pain after each injection, there was no infection and the macular has since been stable.

However I have developed a further problem with epiretinal membranes in both eyes  which may have to removed with a surgical technique called an ‘epiretinal membrane peel’. This is when you would see an onion cry!

Technorati Tags: Eyes,Macular Degeneration,Avastin,Lucentis,Epiretinal Membrane Peel,Daily Mail,Genentech,Roche,American Food and Drug Administration

msniw

כתיבה וחתימה טובה

Technorati Tags: Greetings,Rosh Hashana 5772,September 2011,Natalie Wood@WoodPerfect

Academic Derides ‘Clueless’ Student Israel Apartheid Claims

http://wwwalwayswriteagain.blogspot.com/2011/09/academic-derides-clueless-student.html

The Before and After of Amy Winehouse

The Before and After of Amy Winehouse

Alwayswriteagain: What’s Caused The End of ‘The World’?

Alwayswriteagain: What’s Caused The End of ‘The World’?: "Article first published as “What’s Caused The End of ‘The World’?” on Technorati. The end of the world had been due on Saturday 21 Ma..."

All This – And A Doggie-Bag, Too!

Article first published as Restaurant Review (Karmiel, Israel): Dalia's  on Blogcritics.

I take them all back - all those cruel comments about poor Israeli food.

After all, I came to Israel from Manchester – one of the U.K.’s largest cities – which despite its size and its plethora of exotic eateries - does not have enough genuine, well-run vegetarian outlets to count even on the fingers of one hand.

On the other, I now live in Karmiel - barely 12 miles from Amirim, the vegetarian holiday retreat so near Lake Kinneret (‘The Sea of Galilee’) - that on an evening like that on which we visited, it seems near enough for visitors to reach out and dabble their toes in the water!

But we had gone to taste the food while we savoured the magical scenery and hit on Dalia’s, which is on the main street and is also the oldest restaurant in the village, where diners may sit on her balcony to gaze themselves quite drunk on the view!

Lydia Aisenberg, a journalist and British immigrant to Israel of long-standing  explains that Dalia Cohen, now in her 70s  and her late husband, Amiad, who had been a ‘from birth’ vegetarian, came to Amirim in the Upper Galilee from Kibbutz Mishmar David in central Israel.

Dalia, a former nutritionist and home economist, told her that they “were pacifists and vegetarians with a very definite idea of what we did and didn't want." But despite her original profession, she insists that her lifestyle is based on humanitarianism before health.

She opened her restaurant about 25 years ago and describes her cooking as "simple and tasty” – no surprise as most of her four children and 10 grandchildren live nearby.

After all, when they visit Mum and Gran, what they want is homey, unpretentious well-cooked food – served with loving warmth – and in vast quantities! 

Our own menu included a robust vegetable soup served with outstandingly good wholemeal rolls; rice-stuffed yellow peppers, miscellaneous vegetables and salads with savoury treats including a superb nut pate.

We were ushered onto the enchanted balcony for a dessert of delectable apple cake  with sour cream and herbal tea – so much that we begged to take the leftovers home for a mythical pooch!

Next day, we discovered he’d been given double!

Dalia’s does not have rabbinic supervision.

The hostess’s English conversation is  good and her excellent staff speak enough to make communication easy.

Our weekend meal – accompanied by pleasant background music - included a small glass of fruit wine and  cost 110 NIS each.

Food Type: Cooked Food, Organic, Vegan, Vegetarian

General Prices:

Dalia’s does not accept credit cards but takes cheques as well as cash.

• Breakfast:  50 NIS
• Brunch:      65NIS
• Lunch & Dinner: 100 NIS

Opening Hours: Sun.-Sat.: 8am-9pm

Dalia’s is situated on Main Street, Amirim.

Tel: +972 4 698 9349.

Amirim, Upper Galilee, Israel, June 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

 

Technorati Tags: Dalia's Restaurant,Amirim,Upper Galilee,Israel,Vegetarian,Village,Dalia Cohen,Lake Kinneret,Karmiel,Lydia Aisenberg

 

msniw

‘Flotilla Megilla’ Turns Nasty!

‘Flotilla Megilla’ Turns Nasty!

Same-Sex Marriage: In The Pink Or The Infection Of Society?

I’ve just returned from a synagogue study session that was all about sex!

No wonder there are continuous and increasing complaints about the over-sexualisation of kids – adults of all stripes think of little else.

The lecture was part of a traditional  overnight study series for the  festival of Shavuot which celebrates the Revelation at Mount Sinai.

During it, the speaker claimed that the adulterous, murderous biblical King David would have made a fantastic modern politician.

Even more relevant would have been a look at the putative homosexual relationship between David and King Saul’s son, Jonathan. Then we could have examined it in the light of the first  same-sex Jewish marriage to take place in the U.K. – a significant matter for Jews worldwide - and to me personally for various reasons.

First, the union and so commitment between two men - Jeffrey Levine and Roman Hunter-Fox – happened immediately prior to Shavuot which among much else, is also about the story of Ruth and her inordinately deep, if wholly platonic commitment to Naomi and so the Jewish people.

Second, I am from England and the chuppah took place under the aegis of the relatively new Liberal community in Manchester, where I lived before I emigrated to Israel.

So far as I am aware, no religious institution in the U.K. - other than this local Liberal Jewish community led by Rabbi Mark Solomon - has performed a same-sex marriage.

In the U.K., Liberal Judaism is regarded as akin to US Reform tradition while British Reform practice is similar to that of US Conservative communities.

Third, for some years I had served as a volunteer marriage registrar at my own congregation, Sha’arei Shalom North Manchester Reform, which is now about to debate the same issue. My role as registrar was to complete the civil paperwork and then to assist the presiding rabbi during the religious ceremony.

According to the U.K. Marriage Act 1949, Jewish and Quaker communities in England and Wales are allowed to perform their own marriages. The Act as a whole was updated in 2005 to allow same sex-couples to marry in ‘civil partnerships’, so granting them the same rights and responsibilities as couples in a civil marriage.

Sha’arei Shalom is a largely ageing, right of centre community and congregants include many diehard traditionalists who dislike the idea of women reading from the Torah or leading services, let alone that of employing a woman rabbi. So imagine the dismay when the issue of possible same-sex marriages arose.

The topic is to be debated at the congregation’s annual meeting later this month and the current edition of its newsletter carries letters both in favour and against their being performed under its jurisdiction.

Moreover the editor remarks: “Apart from the rather bald statement from our rabbis at the Movement for Reform Judaism, there has been virtually no information about how ceremonies might be arranged or their content.”

On research, the only information available is that:

“Rabbi Colin Eimer, who chaired the MRJ Assembly of Reform Rabbis working party on the topic said that his colleagues will only conduct same-sex commitment ceremonies with a prior or concurrent Civil Partnership ceremony.”

I am sure that many people reading this have relatives and friends who are gay and who live quiet, fulfilled lives in one-partner unions, so belying the view that homosexuals are almost indecently promiscuous.

Indeed, when same-sex ‘divorce‘ rates in the U.K. were published last year they revealed that while the number of partnerships had dropped and the dissolution of such unions had increased since they began in 2005, the figures were ‘beginning to stabilize, rather than fall.’ Perhaps the initial flurry of interest was simply its novelty.

It is amazing that following centuries of criminalisation, how much advance has been made in favour of homosexuals during the past 45 years.

The U.K.’s once strict laws criminalising male homosexual activity were abolished in 1966, due mainly to the efforts of a Jewish Welsh Member of Parliament, Leo Abse. Now to be homophobic is to be a social pariah but still the gay community feels it will not be equal in law until members may marry in religious ceremonies.

Meanwhile I understand that not only is Tel Aviv recognised as an international centre for the gay community, but that in Israel generally there is widespread support for same-sex civil marriage.

Indeed, five years ago, the Supreme Court ordered the government to recognise same-sex marriages performed abroad following a case filed by several male Israeli couples married in Canada.

The ruling dealt with the registration of the marriages in Israel, noting that it did not refer to the validity of those marriages. However, same sex couples in Israel enjoy most of the rights of married couples, as unmarried opposite sex couples.

This past weekend coincidentally marked the 30^th anniversary of the first report in the US of acquired immune deficiency syndrome – AIDS . At its peak, the pandemic reached such monstrous proportions that many people were frightened even to shake hands with victims – mainly gay men - for fear of contracting the disease. That myth was dispelled finally when patients were befriended by celebrities like the late Princess of Wales.

Such is the secular social background. Now let’s look at Jewish law:

• ·The best known Torah proscription against male homosexuality is Leviticus 18:22:

“Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is abomination.”

• ·Then comes Leviticus 20:13:

“And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”

The punishment for violation is death but as there are so many factors preventing the ultimate punishment being carried out, there is no account of capital punishment in Jewish history due to acts of homosexuality.

The Midrash is one of the few ancient religious texts which refer to same-sex marriage and the following teaching may be found twice there:

"Rabbi Huna said in the name of Rabbi Joseph: 'The generation of the Flood was not wiped out until they wrote marriage documents for the union of a man to a male or to an animal.'"

Queen Victoria was said to believe that lesbianism was impossible but Jewish law knows better!

There may be no direct textual prohibition of homosexual acts between women in Torah but it is generally forbidden, based on an interpretation of the verse:

"Do not follow the ways of Egypt where you once lived, nor of Canaan, where I will be bringing you. Do not follow any of their customs." (Leviticus 18:3).

So what do I think?

• In many countries throughout the west, homosexuals are allowed to enter civil partnerships and have the same rights in law as heterosexual couples. That is  the law and I must accept it.

• However, I can’t acknowledge the demand for same-sex religious ceremonies as the couples involved live in a manner which flagrantly disregards the very ethics the three main monotheistic faiths seek to uphold.

• I cannot approve of same-sex marriage as the concept of matrimony originated as the ideal environment for heterosexual couples to produce and raise children in a loving, protected environment.

• But as there are famous examples of homosexuals raising children successfully in such a manner, what is my argument against this?

• If children see and experience home life only with “two dads” or “two mums” they will treat this as a norm, not the exception I believe it to be and society will suffer the same terrible imbalance it ever did when gays were considered criminals and their way of life was pushed underground.

• All this fuss, I’d be tempted to mutter in a dark moment, about a group of British people - gay, lesbian and bisexual - who in a recent Office of National Statistics survey was discovered to number no more than three-quarters of a million adults – or 1.5% of the population. Indeed, this figure is far lower than the 6% - 3.6M - estimated in 2005 when civil partnership legislation was introduced in the U.K.

•   Jewish tradition views the actual ‘chuppah’ – wedding canopy – as representing a couple’s home as a mini temple where even their dining table symbolises the altar with blessings over food staples like bread and salt symbolising the ‘sacrifice’.

• If homosexual couples – right or wrong - are considered to live in total contradiction to Biblical and Jewish law and values – they immediately violate the hallowed concepts outlined above.

• The ‘kiddushin’ – sanctification of the marriage – is just that. It is not about sexual orientation. As illustration in a complete aside, I must point out that during the recent Christian marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, they did not kiss inside Westminster Abbey as the action would have appeared indecorous - unseemly even – after the awe-inspiring holy grandeur of the ceremony.

•  More mundanely I do not believe that anyone should join a particular synagogue depending on their secular lifestyle but because they are Jewish and wish to express their Judaism in a specific way.

• Moreover, I suggest that the persistence of the gay community in pushing back the boundaries of long-held values  ever yet further is part of the presently universal over-sexualisation and degradation of society.

• All this comes as a report has been published in Britain by the international Christian charity, the Mothers Union and supported by Prime Minister David Cameron calling for popular television programmes like the talent show, The X Factor to moderate their graphic content and for high street retailers to stop selling sexually suggestive clothing to children.

• Further,  the Jewish Chronicle has just featured a story about a YouTube clip of a batmitzvah party showing a father-of-five rapping to Usher's OMG. So what’s not to like? After all, it began life as a simple joke to amuse the family’s guests.

• But I was appalled, not because I’m prudish or humourless, but because of the way the girls’ mother was dressed. She looked like a burlesque dancer. Is this a good role model for her children? More especially, is it the way to behave after a ceremony marking her teenage daughters’ religious coming of age? Perhaps she could take lessons from the former Catherine Middleton!

•  And finally? Well, I consider it strange that even as Leo Abse fought so tenaciously for gay rights, he felt that "those who do not procreate are deprived or stunted."

• I can’t agree with him as I have no children of my own!

• But I do remember vividly almost 30 years later, how I felt when reading the anthology of Jewish lesbian writing, Nice Jewish Girls: The authors I then said, use only one half of Rabbi Hillel’s quotation.

• Sure enough, if they are not for themselves, who will be for them? But as they are so ridiculously self-obsessed – what are they?

 

Technorati Tags: Sex,Homosexuals,Lesbians,Leo Abse M P,David Cameron,Same-Sex Marriage,Shavuot,Mount Sinai,Torah,Midrash,King Saul,King David,Jonathan,Ruth,Naomi,Rabbi Huna,Rabbi Joseph,Rabbi Hillel Jeffrey Levine,Roman Hunter-Fox,Manchester Liberal Jewish Community,Rabbi Mark Solomon,Rabbi Colin Eimer,Sha'arei Shalom North Manchester Reform Synagogue,Queen Victoria,Catherine Middleton,Duke and Duchess of Cambridge,Royal Wedding,Westminster Abbey,Marriage Act 1949,Jewish Chronicle,Israel,Tel Aviv,'Nice Jewish Girls'

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The Cost of Counting Terror In Israel

 

My Facebook contact, Lucas Schneider, has posted this timely and sobering piece on his page, “In Memory of the Victims of Palestinian​ Violence and Terrorism in Israel”.

I repost it here without comment or editing for Yom Hazikaron – Israel’s memorial day for  victims of war and terrorism.

 

“Subject: Fatah, Hamas and Co. have Slain 981 Israeli Civilians Since 2000.

“Nine hundred and eighty three civilians have been murdered by Muslim Arab terrorists since 2000. The vast majority of the murders were carried out by the Fatah and Hamas terror groups. About 17,200 civilians were wounded in these premeditated and intentional attacks upon civilian targets.

“The statistics were released by the National Insurance Institute, for the upcoming Memorial Day for Fallen IDF Soldiers and Victims of Terror Attacks.

“The total number of civilians killed in Muslim-Arab terror attacks since January 1, 1950 stands at 2,443. This figure includes 119 foreign nationals.

“The numbers indicate that 40% of the total number of Israeli civilians murdered by terrorists since 1950 were killed from 2000 onward.

“The massive and merciless terror onslaught that Israel suffered in the years 2000-2005 has yet to be officially named, even though the number of casualties surpasses that of some of Israel's wars. It is usually referred to either as "The Oslo War" or "The Second Intifada" (an Arab-language term).

“The carnage was inflicted upon Israel after PLO terror chiefs and their militias were allowed into the Land of Israel following secret negotiations between Israeli leftists and PLO representatives in Oslo, Norway. This resulted in the Oslo Accords, which recognized the PLO leaders and terrorists as legitimate, after dozens of years in which Israel saw them as unworthy of any respect.

“Seven years after being allowed into the Land of Israel, after they had established themselves on the ground and prepared for mass murder, the Arabs launched an unprecedented wave of horrific killings.

“Their favoured targets were concentrations of citizens, be they on passenger buses, in coffee shops, or on lines to enter discotheques or malls.

“Nine hundred and eighty-one civilian deaths, for a population Israel's size, is the equivalent of over 40,000 civilian deaths in the USA.”

Technorati Tags: Lucas Schneider,Facebook,Yom Hazikaron,Violence,Terrorism,Fatah,Hamas,National Insurance Institute

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Going Bananas Over The Royal Wedding!

With less than 48 hours to go until the Royal nuptials kick off, it’s all beginning to feel a little unreal:

A group of well-meaning people in the blogosphere - Guardians of Royal Love – are begging us all to give Prince William and Catherine Middleton the extra wedding gift they so ‘richly’ deserve (see video clip above).

While this is surely a classic case of demanding “all this – and heaven too!”  I signed up even as I pondered on a near-rotten banana lying at the bottom of our fridge and decided it would be the makings of a festive cake.

So as we watch the wedding of the century from  Karmiel, Galilee, Northern Israel on Friday – two hours ahead of what’s happening in central London BST -our celebratory all-British lunchtime nibbles will include:

Tomato Soup with savoury scones; Marmite and Cheddar cheese rolls ; egg mayonnaise and cucumber sandwiches and a (very sweet, luscious) banana Victoria sponge cake – all washed down with a nice cuppa tea.

Join us if you can!

Technorati Tags: Royal Wedding,Guardians of Royal Love,Prince William,Catherine Middleton,Privacy,Menu

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Saving the Life of the NHS

Mother says she’ll tell her son:“We did everything we could.”

Ninety-nine per cent of delegates to the Royal College of Nursing have declared they have no confidence in the present Secretary for Health, Andrew Lansley.

They have voted overwhelmingly against Mr Lansley’s controversial planned reforms for the National Health Service which would involve  discarding Primary Care Trusts and giving GPs greater control of NHS cash.

Supported by leading doctors and some MPs – even members of the present coalition government – nurses claim the move would side-line them and lead to worse care for patients as operations and treatment would be performed by private companies and charities.

Among organisations fighting to stop the planned changes taking effect is the 38 Degrees campaign group, which was at the forefront of last year’s campaign to prevent the sell-off of the U.K.’s national forests.

The mounting pressure against proposed changes to the NHS has forced the government to delay them with at two-month "listening exercise".

Meanwhile Ivan Lewis, Labour MP for Bury South and a former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department of Health has advised me:

“I and my Labour colleagues voted against the bill at the second reading.  We are totally opposed to the privatisation of the NHS and believe reforms proposed by the Conservative led Government will result in large amounts of money being re-directed from Patient Care to Private Healthcare companies. 

“We are also concerned that universal guarantees of treatment currently available to patients will be replaced by a post code lottery.

“We will continue to fight these reforms which are opposed by the vast majority of NHS professionals.”

I no longer live in the U.K. but still pay UK taxes and have a property in Mr Lewis’s constituency. I therefore feel I have as valid a reason to complain as anyone resident in Britain.

The present government continues to cause more problems than it solves over a huge spectrum of issues and the NHS has to be among the most important. Let’s hope Mr Lansley and co. take their two month ‘breather’ seriously – otherwise it will be the present government on the operating table – not the NHS!

Technorati Tags: Nurses,Royal College of Nursing,Andrew Lansley,Ivan Lewis,NHS,Healthcare Reform,38 Degrees

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‘Crowds Panic As Flooding Threatens Ireland’

I give you – without comment:

 

 

Technorati Tags: Ireland,Floods,Pubs,Drink

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Israel Bursts Into Life After Winter Rains

After three days of much-needed almost ceaseless rain, the sun returned today in Israel’s Galilee.

Below are some pictures to gladden the heart even as we’re in the thick of pre-Passover preparations and have been sobered by news of yet another terrorist outrage – this time on a school bus in the Negev.

The driver, described as ‘hysterical’ after the incident escaped with only light injuries. But his one passenger – a teenage boy - is fighting for his life after sustaining severe head wounds from shrapnel.

My husband has been busy sneaking pictures of a colony of shy rock hyrax (above) near our home in Rabin, Karmiel. The hyrax has an ancient history, is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible three times and is considered feeble yet wise!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A view from the Tefen Industrial Park – situated between Karmiel and Ma’alot.

This lovely garden is typical of how the early Jewish chalutzim (‘pioneers’) made Israel bloom. It can be seen at the part-dairy, part-industrial Kibbutz Sha’ar Ha’Amakim near Kiryat Tiv'on – part of Greater Haifa.

The kibbutz founders paid different Arab land owners three times for the privilege of buying what was then little more than waste land. It now boasts a thriving dairy cattle herd but is even more renowned for its Chromagen solar water heater factory which we toured during a visit arranged by the Nefesh B’Nefesh immigration aid group as a member of its staff is a kibbutz member.

 

Nearer home – the wildflowers which are Karmiel’s symbol begin to bloom …

 

 

 

 

 

 

To end on a tourist note: A group of us from ulpan (Hebrew studies)enjoyed a day’s outing to the Dead Sea and Masada but our last stop was at a Bedouin encampment where the sheik hosted us in his tent to fragrant tea, coffee and local delicacies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Technorati Tags: Israel,Spring,Terrorism,Flowers,Hyrax,Sha’ar Ha’Amakim,Chromagen Solar Water Heaters,Tefen Industrial Park,Nefesh B'Nefesh

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