Blogger: Point of no return
Article: Crisis scuttles Beirut synagogue restoration
Originaly Posted On: 2008-11-21 07:01:00

The global financial crisis has put paid to plans to restore the Maghen Avraham synagogue, reports AP. But could Lebanon’s continuing instability be the real reason why would-be donors have cold feet?

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — One of Lebanon’s sole remaining synagogues was set to get a restoration that has the rare blessing of all the factions in this divided country — even that of the anti-Israeli Hezbollah. But the global financial crisis has scuttled the effort for now, leaving the Magen Abraham chained, padlocked, badly damaged and rife with weeds.

The synagogue, like the country’s once-thriving Jewish community, fell prey to the savage 1975-90 civil war (In fact 90 percent left after 1967 - ed). Once the fighting ended, the few dozen Jews who remained could not maintain the proud old structure.

A $1 million project set to begin in November had been organized by the Lebanese Jewish community to restore the two-story ramshackle building which is now surrounded by the gleaming new skyscrapers of Beirut’s downtown building boom.

But potential overseas Jewish donors who were to provide the bulk of the funds said the reconstruction would have to wait because of the hard times brought on by the global financial crisis, said Isaac Arazi, leader of the country’s tiny Jewish community (’self-proclaimed’ leader, as nobody in the Lebanese Jewish diaspora appears to have heard of him -ed).

“I’ll wait for two or three months. If no money is forthcoming, I’ll launch a fundraising campaign in America and Europe for the rebuilding project,” he told The Associated Press.

Read article in full

Blogger: Mideast Youth - Thinking Ahead
Article: Study Tour of Jerusalem by Ir Amim
Originaly Posted On: 2008-11-16 02:29:23

I saw an ad in Hebrew during the holidays in the Jerusalem Post from Ir Amim , promoting their study tours of East Jerusalem. First I wrote to them asking why they put a Hebrew ad in an English newspaper, when the Post readers obviously don’t want to deal with reading Hebrew in any way/shape/form - and then I signed up for their free study tour about three weeks ago one Friday morning.

The tour lasted about four hours, taking us to the southernmost part of Gilo, overlooking Beit Jalah, El Khader and Bethlehem, then driving past Har Homa through Sur Baher and Jabel Mukaber…

A tree grows in Sur Baher

We saw the new Jewish housing built right at the edge of Jabel Mukaber. The ads for this project, Nof Zion, say nothing of it being right at the edge of this town! But it is touted as luxurious living.

The spiffy Jewish neighborhood of Nof Zion at the edge of Jabel Mukaber.

Then on to the wall which divides the neighborhood of Abu Dis - cutting right through it.

Then to French Hill/Issawiya overlooking the disputed E1 area.

Some of the things I found out from Ir Amim were:

1. There are 10,000 Arab children not registered in schools (due to lack of space). There is a lack of 1,500 classrooms that the Jerusalem municipality failed to provide. Therefore, many classes take place in private homes/apartments and often Hamas and the Islamic Trust provide schooling, being that the Jerusalem municipality doesn’t. Support for these extremist groups is growing in these East Jerusalem neighborhoods, as a result.

2. Neighborhoods in East Jerusalem do not have zoning plans, so most homes are illegal and prone for demolition (as high as over 90%!). When families expand, what can they do? Where can they go? So they: a) build illegally; b) live in one house all together, causing overcrowding.

3. East Jerusalem Arabs DO pay their municipal taxes (many Israelis believe they don’t). This is a way to prove Jerusalem residency. If they do not pay taxes, or leave Jerusalem, after seven years they may lose their residency rights.

4. There is a lack of playgrounds and parks throughout East Jerusalem. In fact, I hadn’t seen one playground or park the entire trip, unlike West Jerusalem, where they are in abundance. Garbage collection is not supplied by the Jerusalem municipality.

5. Black water tanks on rooftops were pointed out to us. People get their water supply independently. The Jerusalem municipality doesn’t supply water for them, so they have to bring it in privately. Garbage collection is also not supplied by the municipality.

6. Seeing the wall that divides Abu Dis from Jerusalem mid-neighborhood, we were asked if the people that live behind the wall are any more dangerous than the people living in front of the wall. Being that the last two Jerusalem terrorists lived in front of the wall and not behind it, does it mean the people are even more dangerous behind this wall? Many people, because of lack of housing in Jerusalem, went to live in nearby Abu Dis. They have Jerusalem area residency cards, but have now found themselves behind the wall.

I was happy to see a more recent email with a link to a Haaretz article that 160,000 people living in East Jerusalem will finally be connected to water through the municipality. That’s a happy first. Perhaps they’ll consider that it’s also a good idea to help the children of East Jerusalem get an education. Because if they don’t do it, someone else will.

Blogger: Point of no return
Article: Spotlight on the Jews of Babylon
Originaly Posted On: 2008-11-15 11:35:00

As the Babylon exhibition, London’s latest hot ticket, opens at the British Museum, Eli Timan - writing in a special issue of the Iraqi magazine Muntada (no 96) - makes sure that the place Babylon occupies in Jewish history is not forgotten:

Babylonia, the cradle of civilisation, was also the birthplace of the Patriarch Abraham, who left Mesopotamia for the land of Canaan. Conquest of that land was followed several centuries later by 12 Hebrew tribes descended from Abraham.

After a short period of a united kingdom under King David and his son Solomon, a northern kingdom was established by 10 tribes, called Israel and a separate southern kingdom called Judah (Yehuda). Israel was conquered by the Assyrians in around 721 B.C.E* and a vast number of its population exiled to Mesopotamia.

In 701 B.C.E the Assyrian king, Sanherib (Sennacherib) attacked Lachish in southern Judah. This campaign was vividly depicted in his palace and you can see this massive depiction on two walls in a section at the British Museum. In the annals of his 3rd campaign, Sanherib states that “I drove out of them 200,150 people”. Allowing for exaggeration, a considerable number of captive Jews (inhabitants of Judah) must have been taken to Mesopotamia. In 597 B.C.E. Judah was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, followed in 586 B.C.E by his destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple. It is said that some 50,000 Jews were exiled to Babylonia.

Thus began 2,600 years of history of the Jews of Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). In captivity, the new exiles from Judah soon learned to adjust to the new environment. In a fertile and prosperous land, they enjoyed a freedom similar to the rest of the population. They were considered “resident foreigners” and paid taxes accordingly. They maintained their spirit with the support of the Prophet Yeheskel whose tomb is in the village of Kifl on the Euphrates River near the town of Hilla. He is venerated by Jews and Muslims alike since he was mentioned in the Qur’an as “Dhul Kifl”. Indeed, all the prophets in the Bible are venerated by Muslims and there are around 12 Jewish shrines in Iraq looked after today by non-Jews.

Shrines include those of the famous Ezra the Scribe (Al-‘Uzair) near the town of Amara on the Tigris River, Jonah (Yunis) in Nabi-Yunis, a suburb of Mosul, Nahum in El-Qosh, and Daniel in Kirkuk.

The Jewish exiles soon prospered, engaging in agriculture, the professions, commerce and trade, helped by their brethren from earlier exiles. There is evidence that a Jewish banking firm existed already and lasted for some hundred years.

We have to appreciate that the Assyrians had by 1800 B.C.E developed quite a sophisticated system of banking for their commerce with various trading colonies in Anatolia such as Kanesh. Caravans from Ashur to Kanesh were financed by Assyrian families and partners and a sophisticated system of Limited Companies with shareholders was devised. Bills of exchange between headquarters in Ashur and Assyrian agents in Kanesh were used for payments to minimise the transportation of cash which was mainly in silver currency. It is not surprising therefore that there were Jewish banking firms in the 6th century B.C.E.

In 537 B.C.E Babylon opened its gates to Cyrus the Persian without a fight. Cyrus gave the nations in his empire autonomy and the freedom to practise their religion; hence his proclamation to allow the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild its Temple. A few returned and built a simple temple, but in 458 B.C.E a large number returned with Ezra the Scribe and later with Nehemiah who was given the governorship of Jerusalem by Artaxerses I. Ezra and Nehemiah established official rites and prayers and it is said that Ezra completed the Torah scrolls and deposited them in the Temple.

Jewish law, both written and oral, would have been coloured extensively by life in Mesopotamia. The Persian Achaemanian era of Mesopotamia ended in 331 B.C.E by Alexander the Great in a battle near Arbil in today’s Kurdistan. There followed two centuries of Greek rule (331 - 126 B.C.E) with their capital Seleucia, south of Baghdad, on the opposite bank of the Tigris from Ctesiphon, the later Parthian and Sassanian capital in Mesopotamia (today only the ruins of the palace of Taq Kusra at Salman Pak village remains). The Parthians ruled to 227 C.E.** and the Sassanians to 636 C.E., the year they were defeated by the Arabs.

Thoughout this period (720 B.C.E to 636 C.E.), the Babylonian Jews spoke Aramaic. It was the main language spoken in Mesopotamia and was the official language of the Persian Empire. Babylon was a great centre of commerce, industry, trade and finance. Babylonian trade routes took the Jews to every corner of the known world, making them men of commerce and international trade. However the most common occupation was agriculture. A few of them had large tracts of agricultural land which they parcelled out among others by lease or by rent. A considerable proportion were farmhands who worked for a daily wage and endured great hardships as they toiled to convey the waters from the canals to the irrigation ditches or strove to keep them from overflowing.

Craftsmen had a happier lot and worked as bakers and brewers, weavers, dyers, and tailors; shipbuilders and woodcutters, blacksmiths, tanners, fishermen, sailors and porters. There were princes of commerce who exported wine, wool and flax, and imported silk, iron and precious stones; these rich merchants led a life of luxury amid a retinue of slaves and menials. In urban centres, a significant class of Jews engaged in manual labour, hiring themselves out by the day or week as masons, carpenters, potters, tailors, weavers and others. In around 218 C.E., a religious academy was founded in Sura by the Euphrates.

An earlier academy had already been established at Neherdea on the Euphrates at the junction of the Royal canal which connected the Euphrates to the Tigris at Seleucia and Ctesiphon. A third academy was founded some decades later at Pumbeditha, north of Neherdea, and it was followed by that at Mahoza on the Tigris, and others. In these academies, written and codified oral laws were studied and interpreted.

Centuries of interpretations, arguments, teachings, with topics including ethics, history and legend as well as law, resulted in the production of the Babylonian Talmud. Its codification began in Sura circa 367 C.E. and was completed circa 500 C.E. No other book has played so important a role in the history of the Jewish people as The Talmud. It served the Jewish Diasporas for generations, right down to our present day. It also serves as a reliable historical source on family and business life in that period.

It was in Babylonia rather than Jerusalem that the Jewish religion was preserved and codified. Judaism
was present and influenced every aspect of the life of Babylonian Jews and that made them a distinct faith group. Education was greatly emphasised by the rabbis, and the communities developed a comprehensive and efficient school system.

Another feature of Jewish life which was to flourish and fully develop was the Synagogue. The Synagogue (Greek for “assembly”) was a gathering of the people to advance their communal and spiritual interests. It could be held in any convenient place in the midst of the local community. Portions of the Torah (Mosaic Law) were read there every week. The Synagogue was the centre of worship, of teaching and instruction for its local Jewish community. With no temple worship, the model of the Synagogue was instrumental in the spread of the concept of monotheism and later the rapid spread of the two universal religions of Christianity and Islam, with worship in church and mosque respectively. Follow-up article in the next issue of the Muntada.

The article combines extracts from various sources, mainly “The Jews of Baghdad” by Nissim Rejwan, London 1985 and “The story of an exile” by Nir Shohet, Tel-Aviv 1982. The author is currently engaged in a project to preserve the spoken dialect of Iraqi Jews.

*B.C.E: Before Christian Era
**C.E.: Christian Era



Blogger: jerusalem wanderings
Article: Whose Jerusalem - Ultra Orthodox or secular?
Originaly Posted On: 2008-11-12 09:47:00

Looks like many secular/traditional/non-ultra-orthodox people breathed a sigh of relief this morning and thanked God (even the secular probably did) that Porush did not win the Jerusalem municipal elections, and welcomed Nir Barkat as mayor.

And I thought of how Jerusalem is supposed to be a City of Gold not an ugly dirty, dingy, city turned upside down by litter and poor city planning. I prayed to God before I went to bed to please, for His sake, let the best guy win (i.e. Barkat) who will hopefully turn this city back into His Golden, gorgeous city.

I can’t vote in the elections because I live in the suburbs, but these elections affect me nontheless, as I spend most of my waking hours here, working, playing and eating. I really don’t know much about Porush, except that he looks like he doesn’t know the meaning of the word “fun.”

I cruised by the ultra-orthodox neighborhoods on the bus yesterday afternoon, looking at the filthy neighborhoods, thinking perhaps I would think differently about the typical secular person’s fear about ultra-orthodox encroachment, if they would only take a bit of pride in their surroundings, perhaps even consider recycling or something along environmental lines, that doesn’t conflict with the Torah. But the ban of having a photo of a woman on a bus ad, we’re not even talking scantily-clad women, but even plain looking women, is scary, as is the lack of cultural funding and the tearing down of historical landmarks to make way for luxury housing. I pictured much of Jerusalem looking like B’nai Brak near Tel Aviv, a very ugly city in my mind, with no tourists coming in except to see the sights in the Old City and perhaps Ein Karem in West Jerusalem, no internationals wanting to invest in business here and perhaps Porush would even want the cinemateque closed on the Sabbath. Not to mention the exodus of the bright, young and secular to greener pastures like Tel Aviv and the coast. Those were the many thoughts/fears I had travelling down Strauss Street yesterday afternoon, looking sadly out the window.

I took off work yesterday to work for someone I know would lose in yesterday’s elections. I was put to work by Arkadi Gaydamak’s party as a mashkif, which is an “observer” in the polling stations. My daughter, who had been happily working for his party for the past couple of weeks, day and night, for a very nice income, gave me this opportunity for the day. I was supposed to be at the Hillel Street experimental school at 7:00 am until 3:00 pm jotting down the numbers listed on the voters’ cards. Four of us got there at 7:00 but we didn’t have the cards we needed in order for us to be considered “official”. We called Gaydamak’s office several times to be told “someone will be coming to give them to you.” After 1/2 hour, we wandered over to the nearest coffee shop and got to know each other a bit. Not a Russian among us. One was doing her doctorate in Middle Eastern Studies, and another was a warm sephardic woman who insisted the Rebbe of Lubavitch was still alive and well and answering her letters.

We finally got to ‘work’ at around 9:00 am in separate rooms. There were three other women in the room with me. One was the secretary, who took voters’ cards and ID numbers, checked their voting numbers on their voting ticket. I simply highlighted these voting numbers on a numbered sheet, which looked like some sort of advanced bingo sheet and joked if I win anything if the sheet fills up, or I fill in a line or two. There were 976 voters registered to vote in our room and we expected to be busy. But all together only SEVEN people showed up by 3:00 pm. Why? Most of the people on our list were Arabs and stragglers, like students. In fact the people who did show up were foreign-born students who had just made aliyah. The Arabs stupidly boycotted the elections - again. I say “stupidly” because so little of the municipal budget goes to East Jerusalem (I heard about 10%), and they desperately need better infrastructure and more classrooms/schools built. But without voting, I don’t think they’ll win any prizes or get the things that they need most, and that’s a shame. The politicians will continue to ignore this part of the populace as a result.

So what does a person do for hours on end when no one comes to vote? Having never done this before, I thought I’d be busy and would have no time for Sudoku and reading, etc. Our room was an English-language classroom, and I was considering reading all the workbooks, that’s how bored I was. I did find one book by Oscar Wilde, which I read in about 1/2 hour. Short stories for young children - The Selfish Giant, The Happy Prince, The Fisherman’s Soul, Star Child, etc, which was the highlight of my day.

Meals were given out by everyone’s respective parties. The woman next to me was working for Porush. She got two large fluffy rolls, a can of Star Kist tuna salad, vanilla pudding and chocolate milk. I got a lousy omelet sandwich. Others had a hot meat meal.

And I wondered out loud to the people in the room whether, had I been working for Dan Birran (Green Leaf candidate), I would have gotten an organic vegetable salad with nuts and seeds and sprouts - with a few hemp seeds thrown in.

Blogger: Baha’i Faith in Egypt & Iran
Article: Defenders of Baha’is in the Middle East Prominently Featured
Originaly Posted On: 2008-11-15 18:21:00

The Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights (MNBR), an independent website organized by youth from the Middle East and dedicated to the defense of the Baha’is in the region, was just featured in The Media Line (TML) website.

As pointed out in its information page:

The Media Line™ (TML) is a unique non-profit news organization established to enhance and balance media coverage in the Middle East, promote independent reporting in the region, and break down barriers to understanding in the Arab and Israeli journalism communities.

TML’s mission is to provide credible, unbiased content, background and context to local media outlets throughout the Middle East and around the world, including the United States, Canada, Europe and Australasia.

In addition to its own reporting, which reaches millions of news consumers daily, TML promotes accuracy and fairness among other regional journalists by designing and implementing ongoing educational, training and dialogue-building projects.

For ease of access, the full article is also posted below:

Muslims for Baha’i Human Rights Written by Esra’a Al Shafei Published Thursday, November 13, 2008	E-Mail This Printer-Friendly Archives
Iran might be famous for Avicenna, the Cyrus cylinder, and its leaders’ scathing remarks, but for over 6 million Baha’is across the world, it holds a special significance, as it is the birthplace of their faith. Founded a century and a half ago, the Baha’i faith encourages the independent investigation of “truth,” and calls – among other things – for the unity of religion and humankind, and the elimination of gender inequality. However, one of its central tenets – that Islam is not the final revelation of God – has led to it being declared a heresy, and its adherents denounced as apostates. The earliest followers of the Baha’i faith in Iran experienced imprisonment, expulsion and execution, but as the faith’s followers grew in number and spread over more countries in the region, it soon became evident that other states would not provide a safe haven for Baha’is to freely practise their faith. Communities from Morocco to Egypt, Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere underwent an onslaught of propaganda attacks and arrests, and several countries placed a ban on all Baha’i activities. While in recent years the situation of Baha’is has improved (with Indonesia, for instance, repealing a ban on Baha’i activities), Iran remains the only country where Baha’is experience grave persecution. To date, however, hardly any Muslim-majority countries recognize the Baha’i faith as an independent religion. The lack of recognition rendered many Baha’is incapable of obtaining identification documents, effectively denying them their right to equal citizenship. The Muslim Network of Baha’i Rights was founded in an effort to address and challenge the discrimination that Baha’is have to suffer under the supposed banner of Islam. Its mission is to secure their basic human rights within our societies, through raising awareness of the plight of Baha’is in many Muslim-majority countries, and encouraging fellow Muslims to speak out against such injustices. Propaganda campaigns (spread primarily by state-owned media and religious clerics) have led to a deep and dangerous misunderstanding amongst many Muslims of Baha’is and their faith, wrongly associating them with political ideologies like Zionism or referring to them as “Satanists.” Since Baha’is are often censured within the mainstream media, such claims are hardly corrected, putting members of the faith in a very difficult situation. It is our responsibility as Muslims, and as members of the dominating majority, to raise awareness of who Baha’is actually are and to make sure that they are treated equally within the law and society. They are citizens of our countries regardless of their faith, which for the record is extremely respectful of Islam. As practising Muslims we don’t believe in the Baha’i faith, but why should that stand in the way of granting them their full rights? Why should our religious differences justify decades of abuse, wrongful imprisonment, murder, de nial of education, and other crimes? Baha’is have been ignored in their requests for peaceful coexistence, and despite the abuse they have never resorted to violence. It is therefore time for us to stand up and demand that their rights are fully ensured and legally protected. It is time for us to help Baha’is factually refute wrong accusations within regional media outlets that have dire consequences for their security. As a strategy, and a recruitment tool, we have relied on the power of the Internet, the most open network in the world, to reach our target audience in an honest, uncensored fashion. It is to our advantage that increasingly more people rely on the Internet for news instead of traditional media, which in much of the Middle East is heavily censored. Many curious people resort to the Internet for research because of the amount of information that resides in it. One of our biggest accomplishments was our successful utilization of creative media in order to raise awareness about the abuse perpetrated against the Baha’i minority in the Middle East, and encourage others into taking action. Before any significant changes are made to the perceptions of citizens of the Middle East, or discriminatory laws are removed, it is important that we start a discussion, and our media productions have been more successful than any written post in achieving that. Our first video campaign was documented in one of Egypt’s most prominent papers within one week of its launch. Some of our comics have also been published and used in relevant conferences around the world. When the site was first established in the summer of 2007, it was covered by BBC Persian Service in an exclusive article only three weeks later. We owe this success to the accessibility of the Internet, where we break our way into global media outlets without having to worry about censorship. Despite the amount of controversy we continue to stir in the Muslim world, we are committed to the cause of championing equal rights for the Baha’i minority in the region. Esra’a Al Shafei is the executive director of MideastYouth.com and the Founder of the Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights. She is based in Bahrain.
Copyright © 2008 The Media Line. All Rights Reserved. Have comments? Email editor@themedialine.org.

Blogger: Mideast Youth - Thinking Ahead
Article: A Fact Finding Visit to the Displaced Christians in Iraq
Originaly Posted On: 2008-10-29 16:03:48

A team from Iraqi Al-Amal Association and Etana Women???s Assembly toured the areas in Nineveh and Mosul Planes to investigate the conditions of the displaced Christian families from Mosul City, following the last criminal sectarian attacks carried out against them during the last couple of days. The visit took place on 12th and 13th October 2008.

The tour included both the districts of Karakoush and Tilkeif and villages of these two districts; Burtelah, Karemlees, Alqoush, Al-Sharafia, Telsqof, Baqoufa, Batnaia, Baasheeqa, and Saint Matti monastery. Many bereaved families were interviewed. The majority were employees of the governmental and professionals, such as university professors, teachers and engineers.

Some of these families received direct death threats. Others fled in fear with only the clothes they were wearing after hearing news about the murder of 12 Christian citizens in different areas of the Mosul City, and the bombing of three houses in AL Sukkar district. They could not even take their medicines with them. Threatening leaflets were distributed along with CD???s, death threat letters, messages via cell phones, marking houses, hanging placards with threats and warnings through loud speakers in many quarters ordering Christians to leave at once or face revenge. 1200 families were displaced and the number is increasing.

The delegation met with Mosul City Council member, Ms. Evelyn Enwiya, a number of representatives from the local councils, the Iraqi Red Crescent, clergymen, and dignitaries from the affected areas. Opinions were exchanged in regards to the current situations in Mosul City. There were also discussions on how to provide protection and emergency aid for the displaced.

The delegation sensed the feelings of solidarity and unanimity amongst the locals, expressed through taking the displaced into their own homes and helping in raising donations for them. The churches, monasteries and the houses of priests were filled with hundreds of families as a temporary solution. Schools received the displaced students as guest students. Health care centres dispatched medical groups to the areas in order to offer any medical help required.

The displaced people expressed extremely touching images of solidarity, brotherhood, and love between them and their neighbours, of different religions and ethnic backgrounds, in Mosul City, who helped them during their present ordeal by transporting them to safer havens and guarding their properties.

Many of the displaced confirmed that the deterioration of the situation, the symptoms of which surfaced during the last two weeks, was due to the weakness and laxity of The Security Preservation Forces led by the Federal Government in dealing with the nests of crime and terrorism in the city. The displaced people pointed out with deep concern the fact that there were penetrations within these security forces, and that they were often used as covers for criminal actions. They also expressed their resentment towards these forces for withdrawing, during an earlier campaign, personal arms from the locals, without providing any protection for the city, which led to the spread of theft, and provided convenient grounds for extremists to carry out their crimes.

They believe that this campaign against Christians is a continuation of the criminal acts preceding it against the Azdians and Shabaks. It is an organised operation supported by local, regional and international parties, which is part of a plan designed for the demographical redistribution and the division of Iraq. The weakness in the national will and the absence of trust amongst the ruling political parties, who are competing for power and wealth on the expense of urgent needs of the people, provide the right environment for these actions.

The delegation concluded its visit to the area, with an emotional meeting, in which they listened to the cries for help from Ms. Basima Arminak, a widow, whose house was blown up by terrorists. She pleaded to those in position of responsibility to act without delay, in order to protect her and her family: ???Where am I to go? My house was flattened to the ground; I???ve been struggling for thirty years for this house, to secure a roof for me and my five children. It took one criminal act to bring it down tumbling. It brings back all the pains of the past endured by our ancestors.???

The delegation left the area, bearing in memory a written phrase on the walls of one of the monasteries;

???Oh Lord of peace, bestow peace upon Iraq ???

Blogger: Mideast Youth - Thinking Ahead
Article: A Museum of Tolerance built on a Muslim cemetary? - Help us stop it!
Originaly Posted On: 2008-11-04 15:01:03

A few days ago I received a mail from IPCRI ??? the Israeli/Palestinian Center for Research and Information about this issue. I hadn???t heard about it in our main media ??? although I???ve seen that articles appeared in foreign newspapers and their web-sites.

Here below I???ll post the mail as I received it, but there is more background information at the IPCRI site ??? under ???What???s NEW in IPCRI???:

A Museum of Tolerance built on top of a Muslim Cemetery in Jerusalem?

Hard to Believe? It must be stopped!!!!

Join the Campaign

October 29, 2008

Can you even imagine the possibility of the State of Israel and the Jerusalem municipality building a Museum of Tolerance on the site of a Muslim Cemetery in the heart of Jerusalem? Well it is happening. We tried to fight it in court but we lost.

Imagine what would happen if someone in Europe - in Germany or Austria for instance, tried to build a Museum of Tolerance on top of Jewish graves.

The legal battle has been lost, now we must move on to the political battle. We must prevent this museum from being built on that site. Jerusalem will never be a city of peace if this is allowed to move forward.

Jerusalem is the one city in the world where there is a real potential to demonstrate that Jews, Christians and Muslims can live together in peace, understanding and real tolerance. Jerusalem is the place where we can learn to celebrate the diversities of our civilizations. If the construction of this museum is allowed to resume on top of a Muslim cemetery of religious and historical importance in the center of Jerusalem, this Holy city, will never realize its potential.

For the peace of Jerusalem, for the chance of peace, understanding and tolerance between Jews, Muslims and Christians we must stop this dangerous act.

We call on the Government of Israel and the Municipality of Jerusalem to stop the construction of the Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance in name of public safety and in protection of the reputation of the State of Israel and the safety of Jews all around the world.

We call on Jerusalemites, Israelis and Palestinians to join our campaign.

We call on the candidates for Mayor of Jerusalem and for the Jerusalem City Council to speak out during the remaining days of the campaign ??? promise us that you won’t let this Museum be built in the Mamilla Cemetery.

We call on the Chief Rabbis of Israel not to let this shame on Judaism take place. In the name of Judaism, do not allow this Museum to built on top of Muslim graves.

We call on Israelis and Palestinians alike to send letters to your Presidents, Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers urging them to stop the construction of the Museum in that location.

We call on Jews all over to write to the Wiesenthal Center Director Rabbi Hier urging him to change the location of the Museum. We urge Jews everywhere to write to the Government of Israel voice your objection to building a Museum of Tolerance on top of Muslim graves.

We call on Rabbis around the world to join the campaign. We are looking for several Rabbis who will coordinate organizing a Rabbis letter against the building of the Museum over Muslim graves.

We call on citizens of the world to join the campaign ??? raise your voices, - write to your own governments urging them to pressure the Israeli government to cease the construction of the Museum in that location.

Useful addresses and contacts:

President Marvin Hier, Dean, Wiesenthal Center
Fax: ++1-310-553-4521
email: information@wiesenthal.net

President Shimon Peres
Fax: ++972-2-567-1314
email: president@president.gov.il

Prime Minister Olmert
Fax: +972-2-670-5475
email: pmo.heb@it.pmo.gov.il

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni
Fax: ++972-2-530-3367
email: sar@mfa.gov.il

Mayor of Jerusalem
Fax: ++972-2-629-6014
email: mankal@jerusalem.muni.il

Sfardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Shlomo Amar
Fax: ++972-2-537-1305
email: rabbis@rabbinate.gov.il

Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi
Fax: ++972-2-537-7872
email: rabbia@rabbinate.gov.il

President Mahmoud Abbas
Fax: ++972-2-240-9648

Prime Minister Salam Fayyad
Fax: ++972-2- 295-0970

Foreign Minister Riad Malki
Fax: ++970-2-240-3372 or ++972-2-240-3372
email: mofapal@gmail.com

Blogger: Baha’i Faith in Egypt & Iran
Article: It Takes More Than Words to Change Any Society
Originaly Posted On: 2008-09-14 22:09:00

The editor-in-chief of Cairo’s newspaper Nahdet Masr, Mr. Muhammad El-Sheb’h, has written an editorial, yesterday, about the question of freedom and equality in the Egyptian society.

As an introduction to the subject, he indicated that it is easy for the American society to be critical of the lack of freedom in Egypt. He then explains that the same standards cannot be transferred from one society to the other, simply because the Egyptian society functions under a different set of traditions and rules. And that it will take time, increased awareness and vigorous cultural transformation for the Egyptian society to accept these norms of freedom.

He goes on to stress that this should not be an excuse to justify the poor treatment of religious minorities, such as the Baha’is, Quran’ists and agnostics. He also points to the fact that women are not treated equally in Egypt, citing examples of discrimination in employment and promotion, and giving examples of the paucity of women candidates nominated or elected to positions of political leadership, even in so-called liberal organizations and parties.

He also speaks about the inequality resulting from people’s religious identity being displayed on ID cards and such other official documents, leading to discrimination in employment and citizenship rights. He then elaborates on the perceived need to ultimately remove religious identity from such documents.

It is indeed refreshing to read this article because it points out that there are leading Egyptians that are not afraid of being publicly honest about their true feelings when addressing issues of freedom and equality. This is a relatively new phenomenon that speaks for the inherent courage and gestalt that is omnipresent in Egypt. Voices like these are Egypt’s hope for a bright future.

It must be also said that it takes a lot more than words to change any society. For example, even though discrimination is officially frowned upon in the west, one can find many examples of it that continue to show its ugly face, as can be seen in the words and actions of some of the people living in these so-called liberated and modern societies.

Blogger: Mideast Youth - Thinking Ahead
Article: Muslimahs are watching you
Originaly Posted On: 2008-09-18 08:56:55

Reporting on Muslim women has become the craze of the day. While in many cases journalists are well-intentioned and honestly seek to report objectively on aspects relating to Muslim women, a large number of the resulting articles is riddled with stereotypes and falsities and lack any depth.

In the face of the media misrepresentations, one woman took the initiative and created an online forum dedicated to analyzing and critiquing the portrayal of Muslim women in the media. Muslimah Media Watch is now one of the fastest growing sites in the Islamosphere and Fatemeh Fakhraie, its creator and editor-in-chief, kindy consented to be interviewed.
Q. For a start, could you please give a brief introduction about yourself?

I’m a twenty-something Iranian-American Muslim woman based in the U.S. I’ve just earned my master’s degree and, thanks to the U.S. economy, am still looking for a day job!

Q. What motivated you to start your blog, Muslimah Media Watch?

For starters, I love complaining. Though I realize complaining is really only the first step to change, it’s the step I think I’m best at!

I always felt and saw the inequality that is dished out to women, and I never fully accepted it as the way things are supposed to be. As I got older, I read more and more about feminist movements in the West. While I could always identify with part of their struggles, I always felt that something was missing. There were parts of me that always felt left out. Muslim women weren’t represented. Iranian women weren’t represented. And when either (or both) of these two groups were represented, they did not represent themselves, and they were not talked about with the same tone as the other feminists who are white and “first world”.

After interning at a western feminist magazine and beginning to read a blog that centered on non-white issues (both of which discussed media representation of their respective groups), something clicked. I love media criticism, and I was sort of in the middle of these discussions, but they weren’t specifically aimed at me. So I decided to create my own blog, a space where women like me can finally have a forum for ourselves that is specific to our media representation. It includes feminism, religion, and ethnicities, which enables us to go beyond one issue and look at how they all intersect in the media.

Q. Although Muslims are often portrayed as a monolithic bloc in the media (or at best classified as either liberal/conservative), there are many dimensions to the Muslim community. How have you managed to integrate those myriads of voices without having the discussion steered away into “my Islam vs. your Islam”?

Moderating is a difficult job because it’s a balancing act. MMW has been accused of being both too liberal and too conservative, which makes me think that we’re right on track. My contributors and I are all from different races, nationalities, sects of Islam, etc., but we’re all Muslim women who usually hate how we’re represented.

The “my Islam vs. your Islam” discussions get old quickly; they just go on forever without going anywhere productive. I make sure that readers understand that our site is about media representation of Muslim women, not a place for religious debate.

Q. A recurring topic in your posts is that of veiling and it tends to lead to heated discussions. Why do you think the veil is such a central issue when it comes to Muslim women? Do you think it receives more attention that it deserves?

Frankly, I’m sick of talking about headscarves and Muslim women’s clothing (as I think many Muslim women are). Most Muslim women have more important issues to worry about. However, since headscarf talk is in the media, we cover it.

I definitely think that headscarves and face veils get more attention than they deserve, both in the media and in Muslim communities. In Western media, Muslim women’s clothing is used as a symbol to reinforce the idea that Muslim women are more oppressed or different than Western women.

Within Muslim communities, the headscarf has become such a central issue because it has been deified into something it’s not: a symbol, a representation, a banner. In reality, it is a piece of cloth. A bunch of fibers woven together. But people take it, give it meanings, and then use it as a flag to fly their ideals or politics or what have you.

The headscarf and face veil are personal things, in my opinion. You wear them or don’t, for whatever reasons, but either way you go about your business and don’t give a thought to whether others are wearing them or not. A bundle of fibers cannot be a measuring tool to figure out how good or bad someone is, or what their political beliefs are or aren’t. There are as many different ideas behind veils as there are Muslim women, so I don’t understand why so many people (men and women both) can’t just accept these differences and move onto bigger problems. We’re all Muslim, can’t that be good enough?

Q. Even though you tend to focus on Western media outlets, those from predominantly Muslim countries aren’t free of their stereotypes. Is there a marked difference in the way both portray Muslim women?

We aim to critique all media that affects Muslim women, and Muslim countries’ media is no exception. When the “lollipop campaign” popped up in Egypt, we were right on it.

Unfortunately, since the majority of our contributors are based in North America, we have to rely on the international Muslim blogging community, tips from our international readers, and word-of-mouth for much of our international coverage.

I do believe there are similarities and there are differences. Predominately Muslim countries in North Africa or South/West Asia (NASWA) often portray women the same way that western outlets will portray western women: fitting the cultural ideal of beauty, existing only in relation to men (as a wife, for example), as a symbol for national/cultural traditions, and/or longing for marriage or that perfect shade of lipstick. As if that’s all that women anywhere long for: “Oh, if I just had a better shade of lipstick, all my problems would melt away! If I had a new scarf, I would find the right man for me!”

Q. The term “feminist” bears a negative connotation to many in the Muslim world. As a self-proclaimed feminist, were you ever met with critical reactions and how do you respond to them?

“Feminism” is just a word. It’s been imbued with a lot of negative connotations, both in the East and West. Even if they wouldn’t call themselves feminist, a lot of women in the NASWA regions would agree with things that could be labeled as feminist: better education for girls to combat female illiteracy, more equitable divorce laws, harsher enforcement of penalties against rapists, more equal workplace conditions, etc. If people look past our labels into our discussions, they might agree with some of what we have to say.

Both MMW and myself personally meet with criticism. People sometimes dislike the stances I take as a feminist on certain things both inside and outside of MMW (though I try to keep my politics off MMW, but I write for Racialicious and other outlets when I get a chance). Muslims sometimes refuse the idea that feminism can be Islamic and non-Muslims sometimes refuse the idea that a Muslim can be feminist. It can get frustrating, but I can’t let others define me or my work. Those who want to listen and/or politely debate, will; I’m not particularly concerned about those who don’t.

Q. What would you ideally like media coverage of Muslim women to be?

Obviously, I’d be thrilled if stereotypes (such as those of exoticism, danger, repression, etc.) would finally just die out. I’d like to see Muslim women represented as we are: people of different viewpoints, races, levels of practice, sexualities, nationalities, abilities, etc. Muslim women are just like any other people: all different.

I want to see us define ourselves without worrying about becoming pigeonholed about being “this” or “that” type of Muslim or woman. I want to see us speak for ourselves without facing backlash or unfair appropriation from our communities, societies, and governments (both Muslim and non-Muslim). I’d like images of Muslim women to be contextualized instead of becoming cultural shorthand for things like “religion” or “conservative” or “security threat.”

Q. When I first visited the site, I quickly saw that it had the potential to move beyond a group blog or online forum and have a lasting impact offline. What are your long-term plans for the site? What do you have in store for the future?

First of all, I want to thank MidEast Youth for all the help you’ve given us. It’s partly because of this network that MMW has grown into what it is now.

I’d love to increase our international coverage: we have only one contributor, located in Egypt, and I’d love more input from the NASWA regions, as well as Europe, Africa, and South East Asia. I don’t know about the strength of Muslim communities in South America yet, but I’d love to see coverage from that region, as well.

So far, I’ve taken the blog thing one day at a time and haven’t given an incredible amount of thought to long-term plans. I think it would be great if we could land some interviews with Muslim women who are highly visible in the media. Eventually, it could be pretty cool have a forum similar to talkislam.info, where a community of readers can post things relevant to Muslim women in the media. Perhaps we could have a sister site that is like MMW, but goes beyond the usual topics that are covered in Muslim women’s magazines.

Blogger: jerusalem wanderings
Article: Tali-Jews
Originaly Posted On: 2008-09-07 12:17:00

It’s been driving me up a wall - the news with “our” crazy rabbinate putting “kosher labels” now on music which I read about here to the modesty patrols beating up women in their own apartments!

Bach and Beethoven are “ok” but the “goyishe” African beats aren’t? Smacks of simple racism to me. Handel’s Messiah is tolerated but not Reggae? Do they not listen to the lyrics in Matisyahu’s songs and hear his love of God and of Judaism there?

It is scary in the religious sector, folks. Is this really where religion is supposed to be? Is this the religion that God gave to the Jews in Sinai? What is frightening is these people totally believe they are right! Fuck! These people are far from the Source.

These are Taliban Jews and they have no place in the Holy Land! Ship ‘em to Afghanistan I say.

But - I had a good laugh the other day on the bus. An Orthodox man asked an older Morroccan woman sitting to the side of me but across the aisle to get up and move (!). She looked at him disbelievingly and then moved to sit next to me. She shook her head at me, her long earrings dangling, and then proceeded to pinch me near my rear end - twice.

I jumped.

“Excuse me?”

She laughed and told me,

“THIS is what I would have done to him, if I sat next to him.”

Did we both have a good and loud laugh.