Israeli "Artists" on the Dole

The artists that refused to appear in Ariel made a lot of noise. In the end, I think that they and their colleagues will probably regret this refusal, a cheap imitation of ignorant artists from abroad that refuse to appear in Israel at all.

What's more, the commotion caused by these artists brought to light a fact that is rarely brought to the attention of the public, a fact that they would probably prefer remained concealed deep in the books of the Israeli Government's budget: these people are on the dole.

According to the paper "Yisrael Hayom", the various theaters in Israel are supported by the state to the tune of 88 million shekels per year. The "HaBima" theater receives 25 million, the "Kameri" was given 11 million, 8.8 million goes to "Beit Lisin", 6.6 million shekels is allocated to the "Gesher" theater, 5.5 to the Be'er Sheva theater, another 5.5 million to the "Khan" theater in Jerusalem, 3.3 million to the Haifa Municipal theater. The remainder is given to various small theaters.

Why in the world does the government have to subsidize theaters? Did the American government have to fund Oscar Hammerstein? Did George and Ira Gershwin receive subsidies? It is especially hard to ignore the above questions when one looks at the great contribution that Jews have made to the American entertainment industry, in contrast to the dismal output of the Israeli theater.

To date the Israeli theater has not produced anything of note. Where is the Israeli musical that was so appealing that it was performed all over the world in different languages, an Israeli "Fiddler on the Roof"? Unfortunately it has yet to be written. What's worse, often the plays and musicals produced in the Promised Land are post-Zionist, anti-Torah tirades that appeal to a very small percentage of the public. I am willing to wager that if the theaters had to survive solely on the basis of ticket sales, the quality of what they offered the public would improve greatly.

The subsidization of Israel's theaters is an anachronism that is not only harmful to the tax paying public: it prevents any real creativity by the artists themselves. Unfortunately, chances are that the Israeli public will continue to payroll the often exorbitant lifestyles of these actors, directors, playwrights etc. These "artists" on the dole will lack any incentive to produce anything original or appealing. Instead, they will continue to preach their puny politics to people of their own ilk at the expense of the Israeli taxpayer.

I think it is fitting to finish this post with Rabbi Nechuniah Ben HaKana's prayer (Brachot 28B):

מודה אני לפניך ה' אלהי ששמת חלקי מיושבי בית המדרש ולא שמת חלקי מיושבי קרנות שאני משכים והם משכימים אני משכים לדברי תורה והם משכימים לדברים בטלים אני עמל והם עמלים אני עמל ומקבל שכר והם עמלים ואינם מקבלים שכר אני רץ והם רצים אני רץ לחיי העולם הבא והם רצים לבאר שחת

Peace House Expulsion

I've been much to busy to blog this week. However I have to express my disgust with the Israeli Government and Judicial System for the great injustice inflicted on the residents and the true owners of the Peace House in Hebron. Here's a pic of the house that I took before the expulsion:



Olmert, Barak, Livni and all those that took part in the expulsion are just deepening their abode in hell.

Our Daughters Are Given Over To Another People

Here's a great poster, apparently created by those who were responsible for this one. Click on it to enlarge:



Update:

Here is my translation of most of the poster. Additions for the sake of style and understanding are included in square brackets:

With the assistance of Heaven

Our Daughters Are Given Over To Another Nation

A Revelation of the Opinion of Torah

The foundation of the subsistence of the nation of Israel is dependent upon the differentiation of Israel from the gentiles - and in particular the prevention of assimilation and intermarriage, Heaven forbid. Any relationship between a Jewess and a gentile man or a Jewish man and a gentile woman - whether it is willing or coerced - is a most serious blow to that Jew or Jewess and the entire Jewish nation. And it constitutes a desecration of holiness and is a betrayal of God that has chosen us (Maimonides, Laws of Forbidden Relations).

In a fit situation, when the nation of Israel has proper leadership according to the Torah, and when "the Israel's hand is strong" in our Holy Land (Laws of Idol Worship ch. 10), the leadership acts, first and foremost, to guard the holiness of Israel and "to be separated from the impurity of the nations of the land" ( Ezra 6:21), and the daughters of Israel can walk without the fear of dangerous contact with gentiles.

To our dismay, the present government in the Holy Land does not act for the purpose of Israel's holiness. On the contrary, it strives for "equal rights" for Jews and gentiles. And by this very definition it is interested in the intermingling of Israel and the Nations.

When there is no leadership that deals in practice with these problems - a situation is created where people feel abandoned to danger, and in a natural way they get up to defend themselves and their environs.

In the Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood, as in many other places, in the past few years there is a phenomenon of Arabs that wander about in the streets and shopping centers, and they harass the daughters of Israel with impunity. Two weeks ago, young Jewish men that could not stand this disgrace arose, and acted resolutely against the Arabs. A number of the young men were arrested, and now the Police requests to lengthen their imprisonment until the end of [the judicial] process.

WE CALL UPON THE PUBLIC TO SUPPORT THE PRISONERS AND THEIR FAMILIES WITH ALL THAT IS NEEDED.

Of course the fundamental, deep-rooted repair will only be the establishment of PROPER JEWISH LEADERSHIP, like Ezra the scribe at his time that dealt with the purification of the pedigree of the nation of Israel, with the separation from the gentiles that were in the land and their removal from the land in order to fulfill the Divine precepts:"Do not give them encampment...Do not marry them.(Deuteronomy 7:2-3).

Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburg
Rabbi Yaakov Yosef
Rabbi Yitzchak Shapira
Rabbi Daniel Dov Berl Stavsky
Rabbi Yaakov Shimon
Rabbi Ido Alba
Rabbi Yigal Shendorfi
Rabbi Yosi Peli

Strike!

Not paying a wage worker is a serious transgression according to the Torah. The Rambam explains that one who withholds a wage worker's salary commits five different transgressions(Laws of Rental 11:3)! Therefore this blogger sympathizes with the workers that are striking today:

The public sector general strike began Wednesday morning after last minute talks between the Histadrut and the Finance and Interior Ministries broke down. The National Labor Court had postponed the strike until 9 a.m. to allow more time to solve the crisis of unpaid local and religious council workers.

Histadrut Chairman Ofer Eini said that he had worked hard to reach a solution so that all public sector workers would receive their salaries, adding that the Histadrut had even agreed to distribute loans to workers in the more problematic local authorities on condition that employees in all other municipalities got paid.

"We were close to an agreement but the government ministries changed their minds," Eini told reporters outside the court.

"Starting at 9.a.m. a public sector general strike will commence, on the same scale that we planned yesterday," he said.

Eini said that the strike would be open ended and that it would continue as long as the government ministries fail to come up with a solution to the crisis of the unpaid public sector employees.

It is interesting that Manufacturers Association President Shraga Brosh blames the government, and not the Histadrut for the present strike:

Brosh laid the blame for the impending strike squarely at the feet of the government: "Whatever is possible to resolve today was possible to resolve four months ago. [Withheld public sector wages] is a problem that must not become part of accepted behavioral norms. ...The government must see to it that this disgrace does not repeat itself in the future. Even if [the government] pays the money today, what will happen on April 1st? ...I call on the Prime Minister, the Interior Minister and the Finance Minister to drop everything they are doing and solve this problem today. Gentlemen, such behavior by the government cannot go on...."