Stirring Things Up, Again

May 1, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Well,…once again, Messianic Jews are stirring things up in Israel.

It’s not enough that they’ve been in the news because their services have been disrupted and property damaged by Orthodox Jewish protesters as happened in Beersheva. Or that their leaders have been assaulted by Orthodox Jewish protesters and then put under house arrest by the police, making them a double victim, as happened in Arad. Or that one of their children almost lost his life when he opened a bomb disguised as a holiday gift as happened in Ariel. Or that one of their congregations was evicted from a secular kibbutz due to pressure from the Orthodox Jewish Establishment (OJE) as happened in Jerusalem.

Now, an 11th grader from Pisgat Ze’ev (a northern suburb of Jerusalem) has gone and qualified as one of four finalists in the International Bible Quiz (aka the “Global Bible Quiz for Jewish Youth”) and caused the OJE to get into a tizzy, demanding that all “Jews” boycott the event if she is not disqualified. What’s the reason she should be disqualified, you ask. It’s not because she was discovered to have cheated her way to the championship. She wasn’t, and she didn’t. It’s not because she admitted to being an atheist and believes the Bible is full of lies and fairy tells. She didn’t, and it’s not. Her offense: She’s a messianic Jew that believes Jesus is the Messiah.

Ironically, had atheism been her identity, there would be no issue raised by the OJE. That’s still a dilemma that the OJE has yet to resolve: How can an atheist be considered Jewish? Some respond that being Jewish is cultural. Okay, if that’s the case then this student’s “religious” beliefs should be of no consequence. Right? Right! And that brings us back to the dilemma: Who is a Jew? Is being Jewish a cultural issue? A linguistic issue? A religious issue? A national issue? And this is where in their inconsistency, the OJE has painted themselves into a corner. And they are inconsistent because their agenda is to delegitimize Jews who believe Jesus is the Messiah.

By the way, the name of the state school Bible quiz champion is Bat-El Levi, the daughter of Ruti and Yitzhak Levi. Kol HaKavod, Bat-El.

Those who are interested in this type of event can read the complete story in this Jerusalem Post article. I would encourage you to survey the reader comments, too.

Filed Under: Judaica, Life in Israel

The Last Things to be Done Before Passover

April 18, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Since Passover starts Saturday night immediately following the end of the sabbath, the last efforts to rid the home of leaven are underway throughout the country. Most people have been cleaning their homes for the last several days, and the last ritual is to gather the final bit of leaven and take it outside to be burned. In the first photo below, you can see the bread that our neighbors were burning.
Interestingly, while some are getting rid of the last bits of their leaven, others are busy getting their last bites of leaven for the next 8 days. Business at bakeries and pizza shops has been booming this week, and today, it is really booming.

Below, you can see the crowd in our favorite pizza shop, Sababa Pizza. In order to service the rush, they brought in a few extra tables and had a man clearing the tables as soon as someone appeared to be finished. For those that haven’t dined out in Israel, that is unusual. Normally, diners are allowed to sit as long as they want without any hint that they should make room for those waiting, regardless of how many people are waiting. Not today.

Once upon a time, pizza shops closed during Passover. But that has changed in the last few years. Starting Sunday night, Sababa and other pizza shops will serve pizza on potato bread pizza dough, which doesn’t contain leaven. Most hamburger chains have followed suit, though not too long ago, hamburgers were served between matza crackers during Passover.

Happy Passover.
Filed Under: Judaica, Life in Israel, Passover

R.I.P.

April 15, 2008 by 1 Comment

After more than 415,000 kilometers transporting scores of students, pastors, pilgrims and friends from border to border, and delivering thousands of pieces of gospel literature throughout the country, the engine in my 1995 Land Rover Defender 110 finally lost the battle.

It has been a great vehicle – one I would like to resurrect, but unfortunately, the cost to do so is something I simply don’t have at this time. For the time being, it will be interred in our garage until I figure out what to do with it, or until I am able to have the engine restored/replaced.

Filed Under: Family Life, Land Rover, Life in Israel

Not an April Fool’s Day Joke

April 3, 2008 by Leave a Comment

I purposely didn’t post this on April 1 because it could be too easily seen as an April Fool’s Day Joke. It isn’t.

On a recent trip to Mt. Carmel, as I was driving a group through the Druze village of Daliyat al-Karmel, I noticed what I thought was a “rassling ring” behind a building just off the main road. I didn’t really believe it could be, but I was certain enough of what I thought I saw that I pulled over, grabbed my camera and told my group, “Wait here, I’ll be back in a minute. I think I saw a rassling ring.” Of course, that sounds so bizarre, that none of them believed me, but a few got out to see what it really was that I saw.

As it turned out, what I saw was, in fact, a rassling ring in the back yard of a home in a Druze village. When I first got in place to see the ring, one of the guys had a mask on, which, I guess is part of his rassling persona. However, once he saw me, he moved out of sight and removed his mask before coming back into sight. I didn’t get close enough to talk with them, so I have no idea if they are part of “the show” in America or somewhere else; or if they are simply training to get a chance at a show. From what I saw, I’m guessing they are not yet in “THE show.” 

In the photo sequence below, you can see the two rasslers and an apparent trainer (relaxing against the ropes).

In photo one, the smaller rassler on the right has just been thrown into the ropes and is rebounding toward the larger man coming into the photo from the left (previously in a mask). In photo two, the larger rassler is administering a “flying drop kick” to the head of the smaller rassler. Well, sorta: you can see that he needs more practice, because his kick came up a couple feet short of his intended target. However, to his credit, the missed kick was so powerful that he was still able to knock the smaller rassler down, as can be seen in photo three. Perhaps he isn’t so far from the show, after all. 



NOTICE: No rasslers were harmed in the making of this photo sequence. 

Filed Under: Druze, Israel, Life in Israel, Strange

Fuel Costs Up, Dollar Down

March 25, 2008 by 3 Comments

Today, the Drudge Report is linking to a story from California that reports a gas station in Gorda is charging $5.40 for a gallon of full-service gasoline.

Most of you have heard about the weak dollar and the global rise in fuel prices. Perhaps you are interested to know the result of that combination and how the prices in Israel compare to where you buy gasoline or diesel. The regulated price for diesel in Israel is $9.74 per gallon. If you shop around you can find it discounted down to $7.54.

The regulated price for self-serve unleaded is $6.95 per gallon, which can be found discounted down to $6.79.

I’m experienced enough to say, “I remember when,…diesel could be purchased in Israel for less than $2.00 per gallon.” I’m afraid those days are long gone, never to be seen again.

Filed Under: Land Rover, Life in Israel
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