Orthodox Jews Quotes
This was a statement she made when ruling that an employment website in Israel could not run ads stating that "only Jews would be hired". Discrimination in hiring was against Israel's Prohibition of Discrimination Act.. The defendants in this case were Orthodox Jews and the judge went oiut of her way to not only cite the law but ran counter to the moral and ethical teachings of the Israeili prophets
Like Protestantism, there are different sects of Judaism but not so many. The Reform Jews are the most modern Jewish religious group. Reform Judaism originated in France and developed in America in the 19th century, and most American Jews belong to this branch of Judaism. In Israel, the Reform Jews are a minority like the ultra-Orthodox of which this Rabbi was a leader. He was the head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas political party which often has substantial political power when the two major parties do not have enough votes to make a majority and they need Shas as a coalition partner. This minor party often has a great deal of political influence. Religiously however, Shas speaks for a small minority of Israelis. However, they and some other ultra-Orthodox have been able to control or be very influential with the Israeli Ministry of Religion and they have used this power to not give Reform Judaism any official recognition. Reform Rabbis—which include women—are not officially recognized in Israel and so far as this Rabbi and many of his followers are concerned, Reform Judaism is a great danger to Jews and Israel. The hatred, as in this quotation, for the Reform Jews, is greater than any animosity for the Arabs. In actuality, this rabbi and his followers, are culturally and religiously very much like the Muslims. As Sephardic Jews, they have grown up in the Middle East and before Israel’s founding, they lived in Islamic counties and absorbed much of their culture. Like ultra-orthodox Muslims, they believe in theocracy and oppose democracy. They oppose religious freedom, and oppose civil law and civil courts in favor of religious law and Rabbinical courts. See {637098} for their hostility to the Supreme Court. The friction between the secular, Reform and most Jews in Israel and the ultra-Orthodox simmers just below the surface and breaks out every so often, but the pressure to refrain from major political strife is great lest there not be enough of a united front to protect the Jewish people from the extremists in the Middle East who want to nullify the Israeli state by force and would threaten the very lives of Jewish people.
In September of 2005 a Danish Newspaper published some political cartoons showing the hypocrisy of some Muslims who use Islam to justify murder of innocents and terrorism. Months later, in January of 2006 many in the Middle East protested vehemently and Muslim riots broke out because the Prophet Muhammad's visage was depicted against Islamic tradition. Many Muslim nations started a boycott against Denmark. Many Muslim leaders claimed that insulting religion was an “abuse” of freedom of speech including those from nations which regularly publish material that is virulent against Christians and Jews.
She was referring to the fact that there is a sociological split In Israeli society between the Haradi—the ultra-orthodox Jews, and the other Jews who range from orthodox to secular. As a trainer of the Israeli Defense Forces, she had run into problems where Haradi men cannot have any contact with a female (other than family) nor are they comfortable to be around a woman with a gun or other weapon. The Haradi were formerly exempt from military service but the Supreme Court had ruled that they must serve if all other citizens do. The Haradi (a minority of Jews in Israel) have beliefs and customs that that are not consonant with democracy and the values of the majority of Israelis especially when it comes to separation of church and state and relations with women. In many respects, the Haradi views are much closer to the fundamentalist Muslims than they are to a modern democratic society.
Spinoza’s ideas were considered so radical and dangerous that he was the only man in history who was excommunicated by the Catholics, the Jews and the Muslims. This was his observation after his first excommunications -- by his Jewish Congregation in Amsterdam.
David Ben Gurion and the secular Jews did not want the word “God” as a justification of their independence and the more orthodox did. The phrase allowed each group to interpret it in whatever way they wanted.
