Jewish Russian Telegraph

OU is concerned over Israel's government use of threats and coercion against its opponents

Many Jews all over the world has come to trust OU when buying kosher food. Here is what OU has to say about Sharon's government.

The Jerusalem Post reports:
The Orthodox Union, an umbrella group representing hundreds of thousands of Orthodox Jews in North America, accused the Israeli government and security forces of bigotry and religious discrimination in a recent letter sent to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Ambassador to the US Daniel Ayalon and Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz.

The letter, released to the media Tuesday evening after Israeli officials failed to respond for four days, stated that, based on both media and eyewitness accounts, "Israeli government officials, jurists and police and security forces" showed an "indifference to civil liberties."

"As an organization that represents the interests of Orthodox Jewry, we are stunned by reports of security forces singling out persons displaying outward appearances of religious observance for disparate harsh treatment," said the letter, signed by OU president Stephen Savitsky, OU executive vice president Rabbi Tzvi Weinreb, chairman of international public affairs Mark Bane and director of international public affairs Nathan Diament.

At press time the OU had not received a response, although Ayalon promised one was forthcoming, Diament said.

The OU cited an incident in Ma'aleh Adumim in which police stopped a bus and removed all passengers wearing kippot.

"Those passengers were not even traveling to a demonstration but were simply seeking to reach their place of work in Jerusalem upon the same bus on which they travel each and every day," said the letter.

The OU also accused the government of using administrative detention or house arrest against persons "merely advocating positions at odds with government policy," "baseless confiscation of drivers' licenses," and "threats and coercion against persons seeking to exercise their right of lawful travel and free association."

"Actions such as these represent religious discrimination and bigotry that should not be tolerated in any country. It is heartrending and distressing beyond words for this to be happening in the Jewish state," the letter said.[link]

Sounds like Sharon just lost his kosher supervision. Israel's status as the only democracy in the Middle East is under threat. Unfortunately, it is not because of the fact that other countries of the Middle East are becoming democratic, but because Sharon's government is destroying the very foundation of Israel as a free and democratic state. A government which brings five army brigades, supported by air force and heavy military equipment, to deal with 40 thousand of its peaceful citizens, is no longer legitimate or democratic.

posted by: jrtelegraph

 

Fatwa is Not Kosher

It appears to be the sign of new times -- we all are living in expectaion of a good fatwa . The one issued by American Muslim organizations last week was initially welcomed by respected blogs -- Powerline blog headlined it -- American Muslims Condemn Terrorism, the dean of bloggers -- Hugh Hewitt was also optimistic.
Solomon of Solomonia did not buy the good news, and posted it under the headline -- "Oh gee, I feel safer already". It turns out Solomon was right. The news came from Steve Emersons's blog -- the fatwa is a propagandist trick. That is -- it is an act of war, not peace. By now the news made wave in the blogosphere and was properly reported. Here is the analysis of the fatwa:

The American Islamic Leaders' "Fatwa" is Bogus

Steven Emerson
The Investigative Project on Terrorism
Email: Stopterror@aol.com

This morning a group of American Islamic leaders held a press conference to announce a fatwa, or Islamic religious ruling, against “terrorism and extremism.” An organization called the Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) issued the fatwa, and the Council on American - Islamic Relations (CAIR) organized the press conference, stating that several major U.S. Muslim groups endorsed the fatwa.

In fact, the fatwa is bogus. Nowhere does it condemn the Islamic extremism ideology that has spawned Islamic terrorism. It does not renounce nor even acknowledge the existence of an Islamic jihadist culture that has permeated mosques and young Muslims around the world. It does not renounce Jihad let alone admit that it has been used to justify Islamic terrorist acts. It does not condemn by name any Islamic group or leader. In short, it is a fake fatwa designed merely to deceive the American public into believing that these groups are moderate. In fact, officials of both organizations have been directly linked to and associated with Islamic terrorist groups and Islamic extremist organizations. One of them is an unindicted co-conspirator in a current terrorist case; another previous member was a financier to Al-Qaeda.

I spoke with Judea Pearl, father of murdered journalist Daniel Pearl who told me that the fatwa was “vacuous because it does not name the perpetrators of Islamic terrorist theologies and leaders of Islamic movements like Yousef Al Qaradawi, Osama Bin Laden, Ayman Al Zawahari, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, etc.” Pearl told me that these groups are “trying to perpetrate a deception on the American public.”[link]

So, dear friends, we need to wait for a bettwer fatwa. Meanwhile, please enjoy the rest of the hudna!

posted by: jrtelegraph

 

Steven Emerson
The Investigative Project on Terrorism
Email: Stopterror@aol.com

This morning a group of American Islamic leaders held a press conference to announce a fatwa, or Islamic religious ruling, against “terrorism and extremism.” An organization called the Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) issued the fatwa, and the Council on American - Islamic Relations (CAIR) organized the press conference, stating that several major U.S. Muslim groups endorsed the fatwa.

In fact, the fatwa is bogus. Nowhere does it condemn the Islamic extremism ideology that has spawned Islamic terrorism. It does not renounce nor even acknowledge the existence of an Islamic jihadist culture that has permeated mosques and young Muslims around the world. It does not renounce Jihad let alone admit that it has been used to justify Islamic terrorist acts. It does not condemn by name any Islamic group or leader. In short, it is a fake fatwa designed merely to deceive the American public into believing that these groups are moderate. In fact, officials of both organizations have been directly linked to and associated with Islamic terrorist groups and Islamic extremist organizations. One of them is an unindicted co-conspirator in a current terrorist case; another previous member was a financier to Al-Qaeda.

I spoke with Judea Pearl, father of murdered journalist Daniel Pearl who told me that the fatwa was “vacuous because it does not name the perpetrators of Islamic terrorist theologies and leaders of Islamic movements like Yousef Al Qaradawi, Osama Bin Laden, Ayman Al Zawahari, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, etc.” Pearl told me that these groups are “trying to perpetrate a deception on the American public.”[link]