Silent Judaism in Iran

I decided to point out this article about Jews in Iran. It reminds me of something from the (not so distant) past.

The Mahariv synagogue in Tehran Photo: Orly Azoulay

TEHRAN - "What do you want?" asked a suspicious and angry elderly local, as I entered the Mahariv synagogue in Tehran on Friday night.

When I explained to him that I was Jewish, and asked to join the prayer service, he was incredulous.

"We haven't seen Jews from outside of Iran for 30 years," he said.

On my first day in Tehran, I asked my cab driver to take me to the local synagogue. I didn't have an exact address, only the name of the neighborhood.

The driver sensed my disappointment.

"If you would like to see the Jewish cemetery, I can take you there," he said. "It will be interesting for you. The grandmother of the president of Israel is buried there."

I asked him who the president of Israel was.

"Moshe Dayan," said the cab driver. I didn't rush to correct him. It seemed to me that in the heart of Tehran, on a road that connected the synagogue to the Jewish cemetery, accompanied by an unknown driver, it was preferable not to reveal familiarity with Israeli affairs.

"Nearly 300 people took part in prayers. The experienced ones held the prayer book, and became lost in themselves, as they mumbled silent Hebrew words, a forbidden language in the streets of Tehran outside of the confines of a synagogue or a Jewish school."

Rest of article

Trackback from Pejmanesque, JUDAISM IN IRAN:

Naturally, I was drawn to this post. It is a pity, of course, that Judaism must be "silent" in Iran, though I suppose that if it were louder, it would attract a lot of unwanted attention from the Islamic regime...

A nightmare in the making

I think the headline of this article describes the situation in a nutshell: "Won the battle - Lost the war".
I have little to say about it. I just can't believe this is happening. Where is the last minute miracle I've been waiting for?

A brand new passport

Okay that's disturbing. I'll pretend I didn't see it and just go to sleep.

Just a few more points to be stressed

While I know that most of you already know these things, most people don't come anywhere even close to comprehending. That's why I shall continue sometimes writing things that many of you won't find interesting. But I'll never force anyone to read it ;)

Honest Reporting has an article out worth reading, about attempted female suicide bomber Wafa al-Bas, who tried to blow up an Israeli hospital. What is especially noteworthy is the fact that what al-Bas claims to be her motives, does nothing but prove:

1) SUICIDE TERROR: ASPIRATION, NOT DESPERATION
Al-Bas explained to reporters why she carried out the act:
I love Allah, I love the land of Palestine and I am a member of Al-Aksa Brigades... my dream was to be a martyr. I believe in death... Since I was a little girl I wanted to carry out an attack.

2) IMPORTANCE OF ISRAELI CHECKPOINTS
3) PA EMBRACING, NOT STOPPING TERRORISTS

Read the article: Here

I just couldn't resist posting this..

I think most of you who have been reading my page for a while know what I have nothing against pot, or those who smoke it. But I just can't resist making fun of this person.. I wonder if this was on Jay Leno..

The sad part is that her only real crime, is being incredibly stupid!

On Efrat and abortions

Now here is a worthy cause that I saw on Rachel Ann's website: Efrat - Saving thousands of children from death by abortion

I could write a long essay or a book bout "why abortions are wrong, and yet the world has decided to condone or even embrace them". It may sometimes be difficult to remember that sometimes, and infact quite often, a majority can be very wrong, even brainwashed, and very misled.
Even when the facts are as simple and clear as they indeed are. I am sometimes asked questions such as "what is a fact?", "who are you to define a fact?", or "do you really think there is one authentic truth?". I am sorry to break the news to the left wing postmodernists out there, but: Yes, there are such things as facts, and they can indeed often be quite easily defined.

Example (for dummies, such as postmodernists):

If a woman gets pregnant she will most likely end up giving birth to a child. The child will then become a full fledged individual. It is an indisputable fact.

Stupid is who stupid does.. and vice versa

Rishon Rishon's David is currently very occupied with this discussion on Jews and their abnormally high IQ's.
I personally do not like the strong faith people appear to have in intelligence tests. It is far too often that I've heard remarks such as "African Americans have lower average IQ's, and therefore they are not as smart", or "his IQ is 150, so he must understand that".

I'd like to show you something I read on the mensa website:

Are there really any true geniuses?:
Genius may be in the eye of the beholder. Furthermore, a true genius may not score particularly well on a standard group IQ test. We know a Nobel Prize winner who never scored at Mensa level on a school IQ test - he was too busy seeing all the alternate possibilities for each answer. At the present time, all IQ scores are read off of tables. Now there are almost no tests in use that will give extraordinary high IQs except those with very large standard deviations. And really, those who are what we may call a genius don't need a score to prove it.

Abbie F. Salny, Ed.D.
Supervisory Psychologist, American Mensa

Looking into achievements should be a far better way to determine intelligence than a bunch of meaningless testscores. An example could be the fact that 22% of Nobel Prize recipients between the years 1901-2004 have been Jewish. And that's.. a lot.

Even Albert Einstein failed exams

A little piece of a little land

I am absolutely ecstatic. I just ordered this "land of Israel" necklace. I've been talking about how I've wanted this for ages, wanting to carry a little bit of "Israel" around with me wherever I go, but I've never been able to find any such thing.
The necklace is designed by Israeli soldiers, and tithes go to charity, such as terror victims.

More tales of the palestinian never never land

Hey wow, I've managed to locate an even shorter version of "palestine for dummies": The mythical never never land of palestine
If only I could get everybody to read the right stuff. Hmm, somebody purrhapps. Someday..

Quote of the day

Quote of the day comes from my co worker, Gunnar, who used to live in Southern France:

"The French are crazy bastards. A French person's day seems to consist of going to work, coming home, sitting down on the couch and thinking to himself: "What can I do today to make my neighbor miserable?".

Photos from Independence Day in Reykjavik

I am so proud of myself for having finally done what I've been meaning to do for ages: Taken photos, and uploaded them.
Today Icelanders are celebrating 61 years of independence from Denmark. I was in town today (like most other people, it seems), and I took some photos. While I was at it I took some pictures of a few of my favorite places. I also bumped into my boss and one of my teachers, and I photographed them as well, along with the place where I work, etc.
This is the first time I post a photo gallery that gives such a glimpse of what much of my personal environment is like, so I suppose one could say that I am in a way taking my website to a slightly more personal level. I do prefer to think of it as "giving readers a glimpse of my reality" instead.

Well here is the album: Icelandic Independence Day Photos

Stories of the day :-)

I really must begin to take my camera with my to work so that I can take pictures of the interesting people I meet there!
Once again I must declare how much I love my job. The *strangest* incident happened to me earlier this evening. Sometime between 8:30-21 pm I had 1-1,5 hours left of work. I was working alone for the last few hours, and I decided to play some Eyal Golan (Israeli music). A few minutes after I begin playing it the first Israeli visitors of the summer entered my shop! I was so surprised that the first Israelis should come into this little souvenir shop in the "arctic" that sells sheep skins and woolsweaters, exactly as I was playing their very own 'mizrahi' music. I thought it was very bizarre indeed, and so did they. The group consisted of a woman, her young son, and another woman. I had a long conversation with one of the women. She said she's attending a conference on RNA here. She also said that she knows (or is related to, can't remember) Iceland's first lady (who is an Israeli, as I have previously mentioned).

I also had a bunch of weird conversations with tourists today (as I often do). I had a big laugh today when a woman from Minnesota was paying for a painting by an Icelandic artist, and I noticed that her name was "Maria Susanna", like myself! We both laughed and said we had never met anyone with the same name before, although I confessed to having looked it up online.

Then I was utterly insulted by a Swiss guy with incredibly curly hair. I hate when men aren't properly 'trained' in talking to women. I just hate it! I think I shall soon enough post a "How not to insult a woman - a guide for dummies" to my weblog.

Guy: Do you sell stamps?
Maria: Yes
Guy: Do you sell stamps to Switzerland?
Maria: No. Only to other countries (I often say that as a joke to tourists who ask this silly question, but I always correct myself afterwards).
Guy: What?!
Maria: Oh we don't like Switzerland here, all the chocolate and stuff, makes us fat!
Guy: Oh you don't have to worry, you're not that fat.
Maria: NOT THAT FAT?? What the hell is that supposed to mean?
Guy: No no that is not what I mean, you're fine, bla blah whatever. Are you offended?
Maria: Yes. You should never tell a woman anything else than that she is perfect!
Guy: You are perfect, really! Is it okay now?
Maria: Sure (not true, of course).
Guy: Okay thank you, bye bye!

*oh and I sold him the stamps, of course :p

Some things they should all know

Smooth Stone is my hero. He or she (has refused to reveal) has posted a long list of Important Historical Facts. I practically feel obligated to link to this excellent post, and encourage everybody who needs it (=most everyone) to read it thoroughly:

Myths and Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict,

Muslims who have left their faith

A jew, a universal genius, and headed for Israel!

Mazal tov to Yehoshua Torbjörn, who won a two day traveling contest. I simply couldn't resist posting this newpaper clip of him, and translating bits of it:

"Last night the winner of the two day travel-chance quiz was determined. During 45 minutes the 10 contestants were made to answer questions from different Americans presidents, to the names of the capitals of Switzerland and Croatia, and the winner was Torbjörn Karfunkel, age 35. He had no doubts about how the prize should be spent: "It will be a trip to Israel, I haven't been there in 23 years".

Like I've said to Torbjörn himself already (who won shitloads of cash on "Who wants to be a millionaire" a few years back), it pays off to be, like, incredibly smart! Since he is the manifestation of modesty, he answered back saying "well it pays off being well informed".

The king's clothes

For the last few days I have been doing a lot of thinking, and absolutely no writing at all. It appears as though I have been incapable of writing down what I have been contemplating. Lately I have been giving the reality of disengagement more and more thought, and it seems that I am certainly not the only one. We are all hearing news about how the opposition to the disengagement procedure as well as feelings of doubt is rising among the Israeli public. I suspect that people are beginning to come a step closer to realise what is really taking place. An excellent analogy came from Tel Aviv protesters when they said "The king has no clothes".
Last night before I went to sleep I was horrified to suddenly somehow, although only partly 'grasp' how people will actually be taken out of their rightful homes by force, and never permitted to return.

The world's most 'kosher' MC

Separated at birth?

Am I being a little harsh here? I certainly do not mean to make any negative statements about Christianity. But I must confess that it caught my attention that a public figure who has based his career on stressing his 'Jewishness', now greets readers with bits of the New Testament upon entering his website.
So to quote Israellycool's Dave: 'The world's most kosher MC is no more kosher than a ham sandwhich'.

Anti-semitic stereotypes die hard

Still a reality?

Hmm, I think this article more than deserves a mention, especially since it talks about much of what I've been waiting for.
Before judging it, one must bear in mind that the people asked are generally, or at least very often:
-Ignorant when it comes to authentic facts
-Brainwashed by biased media
-Anti-semitic, often due to one of the two reasons mentioned above.

'Jews have too much power'

Anti-Defamation League survey shows plurality of Europeans believes Jews are not loyal to their country, have too much power in business and finance; 20 percent of those surveyed across Europe continue to blame Jews for death of Jesus
A plurality of Europeans believes Jews are not loyal to their country and that they have too much power in business and finance, a new poll released by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Tuesday showed.
Similarly, European respondents still adhere to the notion that “Jews have too much power in international financial markets.” Overall, 32 percent of those surveyed cling to the traditional stereotype.

The countries surveyed were: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and for the first time, Hungary and Poland.

The opinion survey of 6,000 adults – 500 in each of the 12 European countries – found either minimal decline, no change or, in some cases, an increase in negative attitudes toward Jews from its 2004 findings.

The poll also showed that large portions of the European public continue to believe that Jews still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust.

'Cause for concern'

Overall, 42 percent of those surveyed believe it is “probably true.” In fact, a plurality of respondents in Austria, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain and Switzerland believes this notion to be true.

Overall, 20 percent of those surveyed across Europe continue to blame Jews for the death of Jesus, and 29 percent said their opinion of Jews is influenced by the actions taken by the State of Israel.

ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman said.

“Millions of Europeans still accept a wide range of traditional anti-Semitic stereotypes, including the charge that Jews are more loyal to Israel than to their home country. These attitudes help incite and legitimize anti-Semitism and, coupled with an atmosphere where violence against Jews is still prevalent, give us great cause for concern."
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It's also worth a mention that yesterday was Yom Yerushalayim - Jerusalem Day. I would like to point out David Treppenwitz's post on the subject.

Losing, loving, living

I'd like to thank you for the thoughtful comments on my latest post, concerning the death of my grandmother.
Life has been a bit strange lately. When I was a child I was much closer to my grandmother (Bergljot) than I have been since I moved to Iceland, at the age of 7 (from Norway). Since then I have been much closer to my Icelandic grandmother, Asta. I still don't fully, or maybe not at all, comprehend the fact that my grandmother Bergljot is not sitting in her usual favorite chair in the kitchen of her old white house in northern Norway, where my father was born, and where I played as a child.
Since she died I have practically been 'stalking' my other grandmother. I think she is quite amused by the attention. I've been calling her relentlessly from work "just to check how she's doing", as well as having fish & ryebread with her, going shopping with her, etc.
I am not feeling too bad, I'm certainly hanging in there. The only thing that scares me is the power that those who love us have over us, and keeps us in emotional bondage, in a way. But as Cat Stevens once said (before he lost his mind): "Freedom is just another word for having nothing left to lose".

A post for Bergljot Hiller

This morning my grandmother passed away. While her death came as a shock, I am slightly comforted by the fact that she died peacefully and painlessly, in a hospital bed in Namsos, Norway. Strangely, she died on the day that marks 6 years since the death of my father.
I haven't got any idea when blogging is to resume, but it has been put on hold for the time being.

Trackback from Rishon Rishon, Barukh Dayan Emet:

I wish to extend condolences to Maria of Hatshepsut, on the death of her grandmother.  The traditional Jewish response on hearing of a death is: ברוך דין אמת Barukh Dayan Emet Blessed is ...

A poem about emptiness

A saw a sad poem on an Icelandic website that gave me a strange feeling of familiarity. Despite the fact that the poem consists of very simple words and sentences, I found translating it virtually impossible. Nevertheless, it went something like this:

Emptiness

Like stepping on air
without falling

Like green becoming yellow
and yellow becoming green

Like sounds becoming relative
and losing connection to what moves

Like sleep being the only joy that remains
and dreams having lost their purpose

And like everything is nothing
nothing becomes everything

Such is emptiness

-Anonymous Icelander

*Note, I changed the original due to problems with translations:

Tómleikinn

Líkt og að stíga á tómið
án þess að falla
Líkt og grænn verði gulur
og gulur verði grænn
Líkt og hljóð verði afstæð
og missi tengsl við það sem hreyfist
Líkt og svefn sé eina hin eina gleði eftir
og draumar hafi misst sinn tilgang
Líkt og allt er ekkert
og ekkert er allt

Slíkur er tómleikinn

-Ónefndur höfundur

Contemplating work

Life is so weird sometimes.
Infact, life is weird at all times. In a way one can say that it appears quite pointless how one has a tendency to constantly keep waiting for things to happen, and planning every little detail, because we never know what is going to happen.
Nothing of tremendous significance has taken place in my life that is causing me to be so philosophical (unfortunately). But today my bosses summoned the staff, and told us that at 4 o'clock that afternoon, they would be selling the company. And who would they be selling it to? To one of the wealthiest men in the country (who owns practically everything, including 66°c North). So our personal, beloved 'family company' that was to celebrate its 65th birthday this month, is to become part of a huge company, owned by a millionaire who is in possession of shops and companies worldwide. My boss and his wife (both people I adore) have, as of today, left the business.
I'm ashamed to say it but I feel far less joy in doing my job now. I don't take any pleasure in making a millionaire 'just a little more rich'. But I guess I should just be grateful that I still have a nice job where I get to meet people from all over the world every day.

The Orange Wave in USA

Over 2,500 orange T-shirts have been distributed to communities in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area.
The shirts are to be worn at the Israel Day Parade this Sunday and the subsequent concert. "The goal is to flood the area with orange in support of our brethren in Gush Katif," say the organizers. Participating communities include Lawrence, Woodmere, Passaic, Teaneck, Bergenfield, Monsey, Engelwood, Edison/Highland Park, Brooklyn, Milford and Manhattan. For more information, contact "randbk@aol.com" or "smarstan@aol.com".

Ladaat.net reports that Rabbi David Druckman, Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Motzkin and a strongly vocal opponent of the disengagement plan, plans to move to Gush Katif tomorrow.

The plan is for Rabbi Druckman to move tomorrow to the recently re-populated Palm Beach Hotel in Gush Katif, and for his family to follow him after the Shavuot holiday, two weeks from now. The rabbi said that his purpose is to show a personal example and solidarity with the residents. Asked how long he plans to be there, he said, "Until the fury passes."

Hmm so why exactly did they make Aliyah, ehrm?

This isn't very important or anything. It's just disturbing in a very strange way:

Police Discover Ring of Neo-Nazi Immigrants From FSU
20:23 Jun 01, '05 / 23 Iyar 5765

Israel’s police have uncovered a group of at least 20 neo-Nazis who immigrated to Israel from the Former Soviet Union under the Law of Return.

Police are not certain how to proceed due to the lack of legal basis for prosecuting Israelis espousing anti-Semitic ideology.

The neo-Nazi group was discovered following the arrest of a 20-year-old IDF soldier on drug charges. That resulted in the discovery of neo-Nazi material in his home and a swastika tattooed on his arm.

During the investigation of the arrested neo-Nazi and his mother, who also professed hatred for Jews and Israel, other members of the group were revealed. Police detective Haim Fadlon told the Maariv newspaper that the suspects are believed to have met each other in anti-Semitic chat rooms on the Internet. They have held meeting and performed ceremonies with swastika banners and other Nazi paraphernalia as well.

"We cannot disclose details of the inquiry, but it's chilling," Fadlon said. "It appears these are people living in this country who are talking among themselves about extermination of the Jews."

Under the current 'Law of Return,' anybody with a Jewish grandparent can immigrate to Israel and receive citizenship and benefits. Immigrant groups representing Jews from the former Soviet Union have long called for reform in the law due to immigrants moving to Israel for financial reasons, bringing their enmity for Jews and Israel along with them.

Interior Minister Ofir Pines-Paz has asked Attorney General Menachem Mazuz to interpret the law regarding new immigrants and citizenship to examine the legal procedure under which a new immigrant’s status can be revoked.