10/19/2006
Ultra-Orthodox Haredi Jews: Gays Caused War in Lebanon
The Ultra-Orthodox Haredi Jews are on the same page as the evangelical Christian group Repent America, who blamed Hurricane Katrina's destruction of New Orleans on the gay Southern Decadence festival that was to have taken place over Labor Day weekend in 2005.
The Haredim say that the Gay Pride parade that was planned in Jerusalem was the reason war broke out with Lebanon. Thousands protested against it on Wednesday at Jerusalem’s Sabbath Square:
"'The war in the north broke out as soon as the parade was announced,' a Mea Shearim resident told Ynet...Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch, the head of the Eda Haredit rabbinic court, said during the rally, 'We did not succeed in Lebanon due to the obscenity and promiscuity in the Holy Land.'"
The sign in the photo above reads "Jerusalem is not Sodom, Amsterdam or New York."
When will these religious wingnuts realize that their hate and intolerance is the true source of conflict?
Haredim: J’lem gay parade may lead to another war [ynet]
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Posted 2:45 PM EST by Andy Towle in Gay Pride, Jerusalem, News | Permalink
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The Haredi are retards.
Now for some happier news out of Israel: the popular (and gay) Israeli singer and songwriter Ivri Lider is doing a tour in the US. From: www.ivrilider.com
Posted by: Aviel | Oct 20, 2006 12:28:45 AM
Aren't these the same folks who don't bathe, or is that a different clique?
Posted by: Jed | Oct 20, 2006 2:00:25 AM
It's really sad to me that hateful religious fundamentalists and power hungry religious zealots have given so many people a LEGITIMATE reason to fear, dispise and distrust ALL spirituality.
As I said in another recent discussion related to faith; it's the ABUSE and MISUSE of spirituality (which is MY definition of “religion”) that leads to violence, war, sectarianism and hate, not the spirituality itself. Virtually all faiths, at their cores, are based in love, peace and harmony.
I am a Christian (the horror!) and therefore I only feel qualified to speak about my understanding of the true Christian faith as I see it.
I feel that true "Christians" are people who follow the teachings and examples of CHRIST; not Paul (Paulians) or Leviticus (Leviticans).
With that in mind it becomes crystal clear that MOST people who claim to be Christians are in fact something other.
Christ, who was one of MANY enlightened "prophets" (Buddha, Krishna, Muhammad and even Aristotle, Plato, Ghandhi, MLK Jr. and Einstein) NEVER spoke in support of hate, judgment, violence or separatism. On the contrary he spoke out loudly in support of the poor, the downtrodden, the weak, the oppressed, the outcast, the despised and the peacemakers. Additionally, He had nothing but scorn for the powerful, the rich, the self-righteous, the violent, the religious leaders, the judgmental and the war makers.
I challenge ANYONE to find fault with the message of Christ. His philosophy is pure, good and valid whether you are a Christian, an atheist, a Muslim or a humanist. It’s the bastardization of His message that I and so many others find offensive and dangerous.
I personally see Christ's message as a guide to living in THIS life, and not as a guide to achieving some possible afterlife. I don’t even know for sure that there is an afterlife; NO ONE does, no matter how much they may claim to know one way or the other.
The SCIENTIST in me however, DOES know that energy and matter can neither be created nor destroyed but can and do change form. “God” to me is pure science. The hocus pocus of religion, in my opinion, was simply a feeble attempt by humans to explain what they didn’t understand. I don’t partake in the hocus pocus parts. I just know that when I die, science tells me that my energy and my matter will not be destroyed but will take on a different form. I believe that THAT is what ancients and many religious people today refer to as “heaven” in some sects and “reincarnation” in others.
I don’t know what comes after this life. I don’t care. I don't know if there is life AFTER death but I'm damn well certain that there is life BEFORE death and that is where my focus is. I’m just concerned with what I do, how I act and how I treat other people here and now, in THIS life.
That is why my faith is important to me. I see Christ’s message and His example as a wonderful guide to living in harmony with others rather than a mandate to separate myself from, fear and fight with others. His message and His example are very real influences in my personal and ongoing pursuit of peace, non-violence, equality and dignity for ALL people.
The fact that I have no need or desire to force my spirituality on others and no need or desire to convert others to my faith is why my personal demonstration of faith should never result in the promotion of or excusal of violence or hate.
I have a cartoon on my refrigerator that sums up my position on the matter:
A man approaches the Pearly Gates of heaven. Hung beside the gate is a sign that states, "Welcome to heaven. Please keep your religion to yourself!" The man turns to St. Peter with a perplexed look on his face. St. Peter responds, "Believe it or not it's what makes it Paradise!"
That philosophy works for me.
When people tell me that they admire me and ASK me what I'm all about, THEN I tell them about my spirituality. My Bible stays at home. If my everyday life and actions are not a testament to my faith then I have no business toting around a Bible trying to sell Christianity. That's just how I look at it and where I think so many "Christians" get it so wrong.
Please don’t confuse “spirituality” and “faith” with “religion”. “Religion” is the hijacking of, and misuse of, faith and spirituality by a desperate and fearful few to control the masses in order to give themselves a feeling of power and control over the ONE thing they CANNOT control; DEATH.
And in that desparatation to control the uncontrolable by explaining the inexplicable lies the potential evil of religion.
I know some of you will think that I am a kook and will probably lose respect for me as a person of reason; that is if you had any respect for me to begin with. That’s unfortunate but I can live with it since there’s nothing I can do about it. I just ask the same thing of you that I ask of religious fundamentalists; judge me by my words and my actions and not by my spiritual or sexual associations. Just remember, when I screw up, it is IN SPITE OF, and not BECAUSE of, the lessons of my faith.
Peace.
Posted by: Zeke | Oct 20, 2006 2:47:05 PM
For the record, I constantly challenge Christians who I believe misrepresent the faith, as I understand it. Those who have come to know me here know that I'm not one to hold my tongue, even when I feel that I hold a minority opinion. However, I refuse to be held responsible for all the words and actions of ALL people who call themselves Christians just like I refuse to be held responsible for the all the words and actions of ALL who call themselves gay.
I think it is equally unfair to hold all Jewish people responsible for the words and actions of this Orthodox sect. I do, however, take issue with those gay Jews who claim to support them simply out of a sense of Semitic solidarity.
In my opinion, that is an expression of the “us VERSUS them” of “religion” rather than the “we ARE them” of spirituality.
Posted by: Zeke | Oct 20, 2006 3:19:07 PM
Ok
Moshe over at GLBT JEWS has contacted me and......
They were happy to recieve the news link, they are posting in their e-news, have made no official response on it, deplore all homophobia, and STEV was/ is (maybe not for long) JUST the conference Liason and they will be talking to him since he has NO authority what so ever to say anything as a spokesperson for the organization.
Moshe has restored my faith in my gay jewish brothers and sisters.
I so hope steve does get fired
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 20, 2006 3:38:14 PM
Dont these people see that the Nazis did the same thing to their people...using a group of people as a scapegoat for a problem
Posted by: Dusty | Oct 21, 2006 12:17:39 PM
Okay, let's not lose sight that this is not ALL Jews, namely a bunch of extreme Jews.
There are lots of Jews who will not agree with them. There are always relgious extremists who feel it their duty to 'put the world right' as they view it. But it's certainly not a view shared by all.
Posted by: em | Oct 21, 2006 12:53:02 PM
Hello! great idea of color of this siyte!
Posted by: Vilyammg | Aug 8, 2007 6:12:07 PM
When the Haredi Jews said that the issue of Israel is a Israel/Palestine conflict and not a Jewish/Muslim conflict, I wholeheartedly agreed with them. But when they blamed atheists for Zionism/Israel and blamed gays for the war in Lebanon...now I'm really questioning their logic.
Posted by: Cindy | Oct 16, 2009 12:41:55 AM