Your blogs

http://www.oyvagoy.com/2010/03/12/intelligently-and-without-hyperbole/co...

Chas Newkey-Burden fisks the latest Hari diatribe.

Notive how Hari twists the words of former Israeli leaders - the trademark of Israel haters everywhere.

Being insomniac has its rewards. Some time in those long hours before the dawn, at which point you are liable annoyingly to fall asleep, the BBC World Service (which carries on when Radio4 closes down at 1 a.m.) had a fascinating programme, commentated by Rabbi Naftali Brawer, on the probable origins, efficacy and place of the kaddish in Jewish life. It was without doubt one of the best things on Judaism the BBC has done in recent years. Even the Chief Rabbi contributed some meaningful thoughts on what kaddish meant to him and there were women mourners who spoke of their problems in having their kaddish sidelined by their Orthodox menfolk. But what really threw me - was it 4 a.m. or thereabouts? - was the all-female choir (Reform?) whose voices singing the kaddish punctuated the programme. Is there something we should know? Listen to the programme for yourself at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p006hrrr/Heart_And_Soul_The_Mourner...

If the Jewish world collapses suddenly, it will be the result of no Iranian missile, Islamisr terrorist attack or fascist onslaught. It will be because victory has gone to the aptly and wonderfully named Rabbi Karp in his efforts to have salmon declared treif (not kosher). Can you imagine, salmon, or lox, that mainstay of every Jewish social gathering, from an engagement to a circumcision, the highlight of synagogue breakfasts, the major ingredient of picnic lunches on the beaches of all five continents, the quick consolation, with hard-boiled eggs, for mourners - salmon not kosher?

At first I thought it was some great Purim leg-pull but I have now had confirmation from more than one source that the school of thought which has cast doubt over the use of shabbat lifts, attendance at chassidic rock concerts or surfing internet sites has come up with a challenge to the kashrut of wild salmon. The argument of Rabbi Moshe Karp, of Mod'iin Ilit, in Israel, presented in Yiddish to a gathering of his peers in Brooklyn, is that a parasite common to the salmon makes it not kosher.

He dismisses the fact that decades of ultra-orthodox arbiters have cleared the well-known and inifinitesimal parasite of any guilt in determining the kashrut of salmon by arguing that his halachic predecessors did not have access to the technology available today. This, he said, revealed that, through mutation, the parasite has developed into something else and that something else (don't ask me) makes salmon not kosher. And, for good measure, he includes in his ban American flounder, which we would identify as plaice, and - you've got to believe this - halibut.

The telephone build-up had been most promising. A, a 37-year old Tel Avivit whose telephone number had been given to me by my kiosk friend Sam, was clearly vivacious, intelligent and worldly.

And the initial chat, after taking our seats at the bar, was even more encouraging. A clearly knew as much about punk and indie music as I did, and considerably more about film. I was having a good time on a blind date, at last!

A remarked how surprised she was that I am single.

It is incredible but not terribly surprising that the quest for 'freedom' and 'equality' is met with headline makers highlighting 'fear!'

This is an interesting case study on progress in religion.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7361378/Clergy-could...

Liberal Judaism welcomes the new amendment to the Equality Bill, which will lift the ban on Civil Partnerships being held in religious buildings. The vote was passed in the House of Lords on Tuesday 2nd March, by 95 votes to 21.

The ban on holding civil partnerships in religious buildings was introduced by the Civil Partnerships Act (2004). The new amendment will not force religious movements to hold civil partnerships in their buildings. It simply allows those who wish to do so to register their premises for the conduct of civil partnerships. It does not allow ministers of religion to officiate over the civil partnership itself.

Rabbi Aaron Goldstein, Joint Chair of the Rabbinic Conference of Liberal Judaism, said: “We are delighted that our synagogues are now able to host civil partnerships at the same time as same-sex commitment blessings. It is another step towards full equality for gay men and lesbians. My community is looking forward to being able to celebrate its first ever Jewish spiritual blessing together with the English legal ceremony, and to enjoying the whole simcha onsite.”

Dear Investigators,

Shalom and welcome to Israel!

Contrary to your likely first impressions, following your arrival on our festival of Purim, we don’t always go around in disguises and fancy dress.

Over the past eighteen months or so, Amnesty International has been in the vanguard of the delegitimisers and vilifiers of Israel. Even though impartiality is a core value of Amnesty within its statute, the London branch has hosted meetings addressed by Jeff Halper, who frequently calls Israel an ‘apartheid’ state – an antisemitic statement – Ben White, author of the book with an antisemitic title “Israel Apartheid” (a book replete with misquotations and untruths) and the Christisons, who make the antisemitic charge of ‘dual loyalty’ about US supporters of Israel and make wry jokes about Congress being “Israeli-occupied territory.” (They are also 9/11 ‘troofers’).

http://www.hurryupharry.org/2009/10/15/amnesty-international-uk-going-ou...

Amnesty has also got far too close to organisations that support radical Islamism and suspended Gita Saghal when she queried the propriety of this.