Ask a Jew

[Duruznik]

Why did Jews appoint an X bouncer as a foreign minister, is it a representation of their bullying attitude towards other countries around them {namely gaza}.

Don't know how Leiberman ever made it into parliment. Nobody knows, he's practicly the least popular politician currently. Also, I wasn't aware that Gaza was a country. Most countries certainly don't recognise it as one. Wich country, recognised by the international community as an independant country are we bullying?

Why is right wing extremist's allowed to be put in government in the first place.

It's undemocratic to forbid someone from running for parliment unless they are part of a terrorist group or are striving to undermine the government. Most countries function the same way.

Why do you not abide by UN resolutions to make illegal settlements.

Probably because the other side doesn't abide by said resolutions either. I won't comment on whether that's stupid or not, I'm just saying what the government is thinking.

Why do you treat palestinian nationals in your country as not even second rate but third rate citizens.

If they have an Israeli citizeship, they aren't exactly treated as third-class citizens. Sure, Israeli Arabs are discriminated against, but it's not in the actualy legislation., Racism is a problem in any society. As for the way we treat Palestinians wiht no Israeli citizenship... We are in a war, right? There is some logic there, surely?

Was it annoying when Hezbollah stalemated the most technicly advanced army in the world?

Wait, we're more advanced than America? Sur,e we're good, but come on man.
But yes, so fucking annoying. The public outcry was great.

What are your views on the Golan heights ( more territory aquired through military oppression).

Little opression happens there trust me. I've been there.

Whats wrong with giving basic needs to people in the Gaza strip?

100 trucks of basic supplies go in daily, and we assist with transfering international aid as long as it's not weapons or building supplies, which arne't actually basic human supplies.

What do you feel about the use of chemical weapons on the people of Gaza in the Gaza war.

It sucks, but it was a war. I haven't seen many wars where weapons weren't being used.

Do you think the Israel retaliation was to much?

We bombed a city which houses over a million citizens, and only 1,300 died. I think we were pretty careful about killing innocents. Like an elephant in a china shop, we can't be perfect.

What do you think of assassinations via missile attacks from planes?

Precision assassinations avoid innocent casualties.

Do you think your attitude towards other countries will be detrimental to your place in the middle east in the long term? ( for example if the USA empire collapsed and Arab nations caught up to you technologically).

To be fair, most Muslim countries would accept nothing short of the bisandment of our country.

What is your take on the massacre on the Aid vessel?

You mean the Turkish ship "Marmara" in May of 2010? Dude, there was no massacre. The marines were beaten with Metal pipes, and they were armed only with paint guns. 9 people died in the conflict.

 

[EllEzDee]

Why do you guys get, you know, lopped off at birth? I don't get what that has to do with religious beliefs. I mean, that's your man-tool. You can't take away from someone's man-tool, even with good reason...

 

[Duruznik]

Why do you guys get, you know, lopped off at birth? I don't get what that has to do with religious beliefs. I mean, that's your man-tool. You can't take away from someone's man-tool, even with good reason...

It's only the foreskin, no biggie. (Unless it IS a biggie, amirite?)

It's technically because Abraham had his lopped off to seal his pact with God. He had it done at 40, though. Ouch.

 

[TheIronRuler]

What is your take on the massacre on the Aid vessel?

You mean the Turkish ship "Marmara" in May of 2010? Dude, there was no massacre. The marines were beaten with Metal pipes, and they were armed only with paint guns. 9 people died in the conflict.

They had personal handguns, so that's why 9 people were killed. They didn't kill people with paint gun bullets.
It is also worth mentioning that the "Marmara" wasn't the only ship in the flotilla. It was the only one that resisted with force.

 

[Duruznik]

What is your take on the massacre on the Aid vessel?

You mean the Turkish ship "Marmara" in May of 2010? Dude, there was no massacre. The marines were beaten with Metal pipes, and they were armed only with paint guns. 9 people died in the conflict.

They had personal handguns, so that's why 9 people were killed. They didn't kill people with paint gun bullets.
It is also worth mentioning that the "Marmara" wasn't the only ship in the flotilla. It was the only one that resisted with force.

Huh, good point. But yeah, the Marmara was the only ship to resist. The other ships surrendered peacefully, and no casualties occured. Marmara had a death toll because they resisted soldiers who embarked the ship.

 

[Duruznik]

What's Israel like actually?
I watched a documentary done by the BBC about ultra-Zionism, is there a lot of fundamentalism in your country?
As one fellow was quoted saying we either fight here or back to the oven of Europe. But I'm guessing he'd be in the minority (I hope).
Also what's the landscape like? =D

Well, Israel is actually pretty modern. Pretty much everyone has cars, cellphones, computers, etc. We have less skyscrapers, thought that's slowly changing. imagine America, only without all the Christianity, with less BIG stuff (skyscrapers, megamalls), and more middle-easterny, and with loads of stupid politics. Our culture is obviously very different, but that's a given. Israeli culture is more... I dunno. Rough? Come and visit and you'll see first hand!

As for fundamentalists: we have enough of them. Kinda like America with their fundamentalist Christians.

The 'oven in Europe' thing wasn't too unreasonable though, even if it was said bluntly. Fact is, Anti-Semitism is a fashion which comes and goes. History has taught us well that whenever there's a crisis, it quickly comes back into fashion. Without Israel, there's no place to go when such a crisis happens. I'm not saying most people are anti-semites, God no, but some are. It's not like WW2 just made it all evaporate, right?

The landscape is really beautiful and varied. We have swamps and mountains and forests up north, with a large snowy peak next to Syria. I can't begin to desribe how beautiful the rolling hills of the Golan Heights are. Down the center of the country we have mountains, with a valley to the east and plains near the coast. Down south there's a desert, which is truly breathtaking when views from high up.
We also have the Dead Sea, lowest point on land in the world.

 

[Wildflowers]

Why do you guys get, you know, lopped off at birth? I don't get what that has to do with religious beliefs. I mean, that's your man-tool. You can't take away from someone's man-tool, even with good reason...

Eh, disease dude. Most of the Mitzvot (Mitzvot? Hope I got that right) are really useful and logical when applied to a tribe of desert peoples living thousands of years ago. God basically gave a list of things to do if you want your tribe to survive.

Holy googly boogly, you cant even give me a TL:NDR. I POSTED THIS ON THE VERY FIRST PAGE!

Circumcision served multiple purposes in Jewish history. One was to show subservience to God (Yahweh). Then again, so does baptism to a Catholic. The only difference is the permanence. It also served a sand-people purpose in reducing potential for sand getting in bad places and rubbing. This is something found less commonly in non-nomadic tribes (settled) tribes, so circumcision was (supposedly) good for health. And last, it was used commonly to differentiate the Jewish people from others at the time. Specifically, the other Egyptian/middle eastern tribes, who did not follow the same practice. This way, there was undeniable proof of religion, even without having other identification. Spies need not apply.

The observed Jewish stance on the new testament is that, while Jesus was a very well constructed robot, he was not the messiahbot. The stories therein are excellent to adhere to, but the actual rules of Judaism are listed primarily (though not limited to) the old testiment of Deuteronomy - the covenant between god and the children of Isreal.

 

[AngryFrenchCanadian]

Thanks but no thanks; John Stewart is already doing this one for me.

 

[Death_Korps_Kommissar]

words

Quite true, but I'm hopefull that people in this day and age are a bit less tolerant of mass genocide, but I've been wrong before lol
I like the idea of the Jewish state as the Jews have been pretty much the most oppressed/attacked/unlucky group of people in history I think.
But Israel, and the middle east as a whole I guess, just seems really crazy and violent over here =\
like the flotilla raid and gaza and all that.

Also it sounds beautiful and I may visit if things calm down over the next twenty years or so.

 

[OtherSideofSky]

Why do so many Jews glare angrily at Buddhist iconography? Can they really not tell the difference between a Manji and a Swastika? It's kind of annoying.

 

[Wildflowers]

Why do so many Jews glare angrily at Buddhist iconography? Can they really not tell the difference between a Manji and a Swastika? It's kind of annoying.

...they.. don't? Or, at least, the educated ones don't?
But then again, who bothers to educate themselves about anything before getting upset? (Re: nuclear power in japan, penn & teller telling people not to recycle paper, etc).
Jews, believe it or not, highly prize knowledge. Or, at least, that is what was supposed to be the goal after they converted from a warrior nomad tribe to an educated financial (but unfortunately nomadic) tribe.

 

[TheGuiggleMonster]

Are you any good at making money?

I'm not necessarily saying that you automatically should be but such explicit stereotypes usually have some logic behind them.

 

[Wildflowers]

Are you any good at making money?

I'm not necessarily saying that you automatically should be but such explicit stereotypes usually have some logic behind them.

Define 'you'. If you mean, the person on the forums? Probably no moreso than anyone else on the forum. Because.. they are on the forums. Is that the fault of genetic disposition? Religion? Or incredibly poor american school system? (Canadian, lolz).
If you mean the jewish people as a whole, being good at making money - there is a fairly strong concept of numbers in Judaism (theres an entire book in the old testament detailing how many frickin cows each person owned). Its somewhat ingrained to be good with money. So.. as a group? Yes, jews are pretty good at making money. If you want a bent on it that is religious, not based on circumstance, that is.

 

[Duruznik]

Why do so many Jews glare angrily at Buddhist iconography? Can they really not tell the difference between a Manji and a Swastika? It's kind of annoying.

I'm sure the ignorant ones do. Just like ignorant Christians might think they're swastikas too. Some people are just stupid, and believe me Jews aren't exempt.

Are you any good at making money?

I'm not necessarily saying that you automatically should be but such explicit stereotypes usually have some logic behind them.

Jews historically had more money in Europe under Christian rule not because they necessarily good at making money, but they were forbidden from owning land. This meant they had to be merchants, and all their wealth was in gold and jewels rather than property. This made them richer than other people simply because their fortune wasn't invested in something as unstable as a farm, shop, or a similar business.

 

[Wildflowers]

stuff

Then how about you quote the guy that actually asked the question?

Because about four different people posted since that one with the same question. And I was too lazy to go and find and cite each person.
So instead of single one out, or leave one out, I just figured I would reiterate a general post. Funny that the person responding to a person who didnt bother reading to the first one would be the one to respond to my response. No?

 

[adamson1000]

w00t purim is tommow!


im jewish too

 

[Duruznik]

w00t purim is tommow!


im jewish too

Gotta love them Purim Parties, eh? It's also the first time Purim is on a Sunday (immediately after the weekend!) in a long time. Here's to a 4 day weekend!

 

[Feralcentaur]

The Jews sold Jesus out *wink*

Which day is actually your Sabbath day? Is it Friday or Saturday?

What is a Jewish stance on the New Testament?

The New Testament is basically fan fiction.

That is the most offensive thing you can say about someones Religion EVER and I love you for that.

 

[Duruznik]

Can Jews really only find partners through a "matchmaker"? That seems terribly... restricting.

Secuolar Jews don't use them, and I doubt many religious ones need to. I believe it's mostly the orthodox Jews that still use them. I'm secular and all the people I know who date just do it the same way one would do it in any western country.

 

[Icarion (aka Stockholm)]

What's the meaning and significance of those little hats? They barely cover the top of the scalp and I've seen them being taken off more than I've seen them on heads.

I know there's a word for them...

My Rabbi said that there was nothing in the bible about them but I believe the reason we wear tehm is to remind us that God is over us in Heaven. I think.

And I'm one of those cultural Jews, so I eat pork and only fo to Temple on Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah