Misconceptions of Israeli Culture

[Spendulus]

I heard somewhere that Jews are the cause of the world's wars. I think Mel Gibson said it. Is he right? Seems like a rather adolescent attempt at tongue-in-cheek.

This is really not true. Religion has been the cause of many wars, but most modern wars are generally over oil and other natural resources. 

There is always a cost/benefit analysis in war in the top layer - and the reason is always power - but, from the citizen/media perspective it's always about other reasons, be it freedom, religion, justice and so on.

And then there's the theory that the wars are caused by too many angry young men in a region.

And for the Palestine, quite possibly large numbers of unemployed young men.  Perhaps guys that can only get paid by playing soldier-wanna-be in a terrorist organization with trickle down Iranian money.

Have to admit, you sure don't see much in the way of industrial production, crafts work, or any kind of useful activities from those areas...

[hdbuck]

I will discuss what I think Zionism is. I think Zionism exists for religious Jews who want a G-d-fearing Homeland to go to. Zionism exists for secular Jews as a place of sanctuary.

Adolf Hitler, as well as modern day Neo-Nazi groups, usually decide to take on a negative view of a person if they are born to a Jewish mother. Hitler did not care whether one was secular or religious. If they were Jewish, then Hitler did not like them. That is why Israel exists. To give both secular and religious Jews a place to go to when they feel like the world, or a particular part of the world, is bearing down on them with threats of antisemitism. That is why many Jews who are secular still support Israel. Because many anti-Semites seem to dislike Jews because they were born Jewish and not whether or not they practice the religion.

Nope, that zionist isreal state conception thing was already in the pipe long before Hitler came along (try 30 years before): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration (& by the way, QFD: Rotshild )

So one could argue that it is not God nor the 6 million slaughtered during WWII that give them the right to invade palestine. Nope, it was Rotshild's moneyyyy.

[zolace]

To conclude with the Israeli song, here is Shir Shel Rega Ehad (Song for one moment) by TACT. A notable member of TACT is Subliminal. It is a song about an Israeli Soldier who goes on a bus and pens his own death letter to his girlfriend. He tragically died in a suicide bombing that night on the bus and left the letter to his girlfriend. The song is about him, Yaakov Paz. That is the Soldier's name.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbHlg_-Llh0

Zohar must be from the 60's or something ? Patent white leather shoes, disco suit and bling, orchestra and drunken dancers flouncing about. Even with his extensive practice and polished performance from hundreds of takes, he sounds like a strangled cat.

He is not a patch on Paul Potts, the mobile phone salesman who was bullied as a nipper and not too confident, but he put on this performance the first time he got on stage ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA

Zohar Argov is from the 70's and 80's. He tragically took his own life in a prison cell while awaiting trial for something. I don't remember what it was. He also had a drug problem. I am sorry to hear about all that, but he is easily one of the best Israeli singers that ever existed.

Paul Potts definitely has talent. I like his opera voice. He will definitely make it big.

[sana8410]

Why are black Jews so militant?

[zolace]

I propose then a suitable compromise of praying / studying / working ...

Daily prayers should start with a cold dip at 5am, then another cold dip and prayer at 6am before starting work at 7am.

Prayer breaks and baptisms to be conducted every 2 hours during work, then after work at 5pm - another 8 hours working as a Rabbi till 1am.

Wearing the tefillin at all times, on your head, throat, heart, arms and legs and nodding and bowing to god at all times, all day long.

Also listening to the bible on your iPod as much as possible.

I myself am Jewish, but am secular. I identify with my secular Jewish identity but I do not practice the religion. So praying does not factor in to my work day.

There are misconceptions of israeli culture that people are super religious or super praying but if you are from israel or live in israel this is not the case.

There are even misconceptions of jewish culture that people are super religious or super praying but if you are jewish this is also not the case.

Culture is basically "cult"ish, it tries to ensnare you in its cult ways, but even if you were born of hasidic parents and wore dreadlocks all your younger years, you could still end up to be a none cult like citizen, you could even become a punk porn star.

This is a good analysis. In Israel, people do not take your money during the Sabbath. You have to wait until Saturday night or Sunday to pay them back for goods and services. Also, public transportation stops during the Sabbath and many people walk to synagogue. But the rest of the time, outside of the Sabbath, Israel is a secular country with cars, computers, internet, night clubs, etc.

And yes, most Jews and most Israelis are not really that religious. Many are secular.

[zolace]

Why are black Jews so militant?

Do you mean Ethiopian Jews in Israel or do you mean the Black Hebrew Israelites who preach on the streets of New York? There is a difference.

[sana8410]

Preachers on the streets. They're about on the same level as the westboro baptist church.

[247crypto]

I want to make a thread about the misconceptions of Israeli culture because I have seen, both online and offline, people who do not truly understand Israeli culture.

You will teach Shulchan Aruh for free?

[zolace]

going back 10,000 years before the pyramids and abraham and stuff, there was no nonsense going on

it was only when the first gods were invented about 9,000 years ago that people started getting a bit nutty

one minute, happy hunter gatherers, the next minute it was all big hats and shaking ju ju sticks at blithe spirits while howling incantations to the moon, dancing naked and general behaviour of that sort

fast forward thousands of years and this religiousisation process begets two groups in israel both nutty fruitcakes

one group from gaza threatens to kill all the soldiers and military in israel but launch rockets willy nilly killing anyone

the other group want to wipe out everyone in gaza, and do a pretty good job, but saying they are only after particular baddies

[umair127]

Preachers on the streets. They're about on the same level as the westboro baptist church.

Black Hebrew Israelites are not Jewish. In order to be Jewish, you either have to be born of a Jewish mother or convert to the religion. The Black Hebrew Israelites have done neither.

Anybody can become a full Jew by the process of conversion. You don't have to be born of a Jewish mother to become Jewish.

Here is a good video about the Black Hebrew Israelites by Rabbi Asher Meza. He is a former Baptist Minister who converted to Judaism and became a Rabbi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn32QYD78KU

[sana8410]

going back 10,000 years before the pyramids and abraham and stuff, there was no nonsense going on

it was only when the first gods were invented about 9,000 years ago that people started getting a bit nutty

one minute, happy hunter gatherers, the next minute it was all big hats and shaking ju ju sticks at blithe spirits while howling incantations to the moon, dancing naked and general behaviour of that sort

fast forward thousands of years and this religiousisation process begets two groups in israel both nutty fruitcakes

one group from gaza threatens to kill all the soldiers and military in israel but launch rockets willy nilly killing anyone

the other group want to wipe out everyone in gaza, and do a pretty good job, but saying they are only after particular baddies

Can't say that I agree, we have archeological evidence of tribal fighting along the Nile before any of the ancient civilizations mentioned in the Bible ever existed.

[zolace]

regardless of "thou shalt not kill" etc, gods and bibles, many act like maniacs, and profess to the world their insanity, shoving two fingers up at any respectable godall involved in the savage mad dog lunacy of armaggedon in gaza and just outside gaza, are saying fuck god up the ass sidewaysbut they claim to be god's humble servants and would kill anyone at the drop of a hat who said god was a cunt

[umair127]

regardless of "thou shalt not kill" etc, gods and bibles, many act like maniacs, and profess to the world their insanity, shoving two fingers up at any respectable godall involved in the savage mad dog lunacy of armaggedon in gaza and just outside gaza, are saying fuck god up the ass sidewaysbut they claim to be god's humble servants and would kill anyone at the drop of a hat who said god was a cunt

The Hebrew phrase is actually "thou shalt not murder". One can kill to defend their family and country from attack, but they cannot murder someone needlessly.

[sana8410]

Technicalities like these are what bugs me about organized religion. The books have been translated andinterpreted so many times, who know what the original text said. What I can safely assume is that the intentwas to feature stories and lessons to live a righteous life and not for legalinterpretation of the wording.

[umair127]

I want to make a thread about the misconceptions of Israeli culture because I have seen, both online and offline, people who do not truly understand Israeli culture.

You will teach Shulchan Aruh for free?

yes

[umair127]

Technicalities like these are what bugs me about organized religion. The books have been translated andinterpreted so many times, who know what the original text said. What I can safely assume is that the intentwas to feature stories and lessons to live a righteous life and not for legalinterpretation of the wording.

The Hebrew Tanakh is in its original Hebrew text. It was never a translated version. Some argue the Greek text came first, but I think it was just compiled first and created to fit in with Hellenism; the Tanakh books came first but were just compiled later. Nevertheless, the Hebrew version is the correct version.

The moral is to lead a righteous life. So you are correct there. But science does the same thing. They have technicalities in their books as well. But we don't discredit science for it.

[noviapriani]

Technicalities like these are what bugs me about organized religion. The books have been translated andinterpreted so many times, who know what the original text said. What I can safely assume is that the intentwas to feature stories and lessons to live a righteous life and not for legalinterpretation of the wording.

The Hebrew Tanakh is in its original Hebrew text. It was never a translated version. Some argue the Greek text came first, but I think it was just compiled first and created to fit in with Hellenism; the Tanakh books came first but were just compiled later. Nevertheless, the Hebrew version is the correct version.

The moral is to lead a righteous life. So you are correct there. But science does the same thing. They have technicalities in their books as well. But we don't discredit science for it.

There are differences in the Hebrew language though, so it will also depend on what era of Hebrew you read it in.

[umair127]

Technicalities like these are what bugs me about organized religion. The books have been translated andinterpreted so many times, who know what the original text said. What I can safely assume is that the intentwas to feature stories and lessons to live a righteous life and not for legalinterpretation of the wording.

The Hebrew Tanakh is in its original Hebrew text. It was never a translated version. Some argue the Greek text came first, but I think it was just compiled first and created to fit in with Hellenism; the Tanakh books came first but were just compiled later. Nevertheless, the Hebrew version is the correct version.

The moral is to lead a righteous life. So you are correct there. But science does the same thing. They have technicalities in their books as well. But we don't discredit science for it.

There are differences in the Hebrew language though, so it will also depend on what era of Hebrew you read it in.

Please elaborate. As far as I know, there is Biblical Hebrew and Modern Hebrew. Israelis use modern Hebrew, but Israelis can read the Tanakh in Biblical Hebrew text. So again, please elaborate.

It is like how Spanish speakers and Italian speakers don't usually speak Latin but they can understand it.

Edit: We know the Israelis read the Tanakh in the original Hebrew because they found 2000+ year-old Dead Sea Scrolls that pretty much match what's in the Tanakh.

[noviapriani]

Technicalities like these are what bugs me about organized religion. The books have been translated andinterpreted so many times, who know what the original text said. What I can safely assume is that the intentwas to feature stories and lessons to live a righteous life and not for legalinterpretation of the wording.

The Hebrew Tanakh is in its original Hebrew text. It was never a translated version. Some argue the Greek text came first, but I think it was just compiled first and created to fit in with Hellenism; the Tanakh books came first but were just compiled later. Nevertheless, the Hebrew version is the correct version.

The moral is to lead a righteous life. So you are correct there. But science does the same thing. They have technicalities in their books as well. But we don't discredit science for it.

There are differences in the Hebrew language though, so it will also depend on what era of Hebrew you read it in.

Please elaborate. As far as I know, there is Biblical Hebrew and Modern Hebrew. Israelis use modern Hebrew, but Israelis can read the Tanakh in Biblical Hebrew text. So again, please elaborate.

It is like how Spanish speakers and Italian speakers don't usually speak Latin but they can understand it.

Edit: We know the Israelis read the Tanakh in the original Hebrew because they found 2000+ year-old Dead Sea Scrolls that pretty much match what's in the Tanakh.

I don't want to tangent off to a differnet discussion, but all things that are absolute in science have been proven and can be replicated. Anything that have not been fully vetted but have gone through the scientific method are call theories which are open for discussion.

So for our discussion above, the equivalent to a scientific theory would be to show the current text compared to the original text but without the original framers dictating what to write and what they meant.

[umair127]

Technicalities like these are what bugs me about organized religion. The books have been translated andinterpreted so many times, who know what the original text said. What I can safely assume is that the intentwas to feature stories and lessons to live a righteous life and not for legalinterpretation of the wording.

The Hebrew Tanakh is in its original Hebrew text. It was never a translated version. Some argue the Greek text came first, but I think it was just compiled first and created to fit in with Hellenism; the Tanakh books came first but were just compiled later. Nevertheless, the Hebrew version is the correct version.

The moral is to lead a righteous life. So you are correct there. But science does the same thing. They have technicalities in their books as well. But we don't discredit science for it.

There are differences in the Hebrew language though, so it will also depend on what era of Hebrew you read it in.

Please elaborate. As far as I know, there is Biblical Hebrew and Modern Hebrew. Israelis use modern Hebrew, but Israelis can read the Tanakh in Biblical Hebrew text. So again, please elaborate.

It is like how Spanish speakers and Italian speakers don't usually speak Latin but they can understand it.

Edit: We know the Israelis read the Tanakh in the original Hebrew because they found 2000+ year-old Dead Sea Scrolls that pretty much match what's in the Tanakh.

I don't want to tangent off to a differnet discussion, but all things that are absolute in science have been proven and can be replicated. Anything that have not been fully vetted but have gone through the scientific method are call theories which are open for discussion.

So for our discussion above, the equivalent to a scientific theory would be to show the current text compared to the original text but without the original framers dictating what to write and what they meant.

We have the Dead Sea Scrolls that have fragments of every book in the Tanakh (Hebrew Old Testament) except the Book of Esther.