As I have occasionally mentioned, I really am not the biggest fan of Catholicism. It has nothing to do with the fact that I am not a Christian. I simply just seem to have some sort of an attitude problem when it comes to Catholics. I remember a funny clip from a movie I saw many years ago. I can't remember the name of the film, but it went something like this: A middle aged American Jewish lady was marrying an Italian man. At the wedding some of the bride's Jewish friends are standing around chatting, when they are approached by an old Italian lady:
Old Italian Lady: So you are Jewish?
Jewish ladies: Yes we are
Old Italian lady: So you don't believe in THE POPE?
Jewish ladies (with an ironic tone of voice): Noooo, we don't!
Old Italian lady: Hmmf! (And runs off).
I admit that I found the importance of a human being (The Pope) in Catholicism remarkable, and in honesty (whether I have any right to form such opinions or not), I can't say it agreed with me..
However. I've decided to get over my attitude problem (at least take a step in the right direction), and simply just pay my respect to those mourning the death of a good man.
There are some occurences that simply make me so happy I began blogging. One such would be how I was recently contacted by a very interesting individual. A few months ago I blogged about a poll in Ha'aretz called "Does Israel still need Aliyah?". I singled out a few interesting readers comments. One of the readers particularly interested me due to his Scandinavian nationality, and Scandinavian supporters of Israel are a rare find:
The question is phrased as though Jewish communities in the diaspora were no longer in 'mortal peril'. This was believed to be the case in the middle of the 19th century too, and we know what happened shortly after. Jew-hatred is still highly abundant in all parts of Europe, especially so in eastern Europe. Even more disturbing is that the hatred is constantly increasing. A more relevant question than whether aliyah is necessary for Israel, is whether aliyah is necessary for e.g. Russian Jewry. I believe the answer is 'yes', and that those who choose to stay in Russia will pay dearly for their blind optimism.
Torbjörn Karfunkel, Gothenburg, Sweden
It's a great pity the articles he has written are in Swedish. (Babelfish is so limited!)
However, it is interesting to note that the person in question, Karfunkel, actually located my website while checking the internet for "his newest hate material online". In other words, the situation in Sweden is extremely anti-Israel (as it is here), making it hard for zionists.
He also pointed out this article in Ha'aretz. It's from Russia, but supports his comment in Ha'aretz quite well.
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Some 50,000 well known public figures and church officials in Russia have signed a petition asking the country's state prosecution to ban Jewish groups, Army Radio reported Sunday.
The petition uses quotations from an abridged guide to Jewish law, the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, to support its contention that Judaism is "an extremist and racist ethnicity that hates non-Jews," the radio station reported.
The signatories - including former army generals, artists and an unnamed former international chess champion - argue that this definition of Judaism makes the activity of Jewish groups illegal, according to the radio.
A similar petition was signed by 20 Russian lawmakers about two months ago, the radio said.
Foreign Ministry official Nimrod Barkan warned Sunday that Russians were effectively getting the message that anti-Semitism would be tolerated.
"There's the expansion of the number of anti-Semitic incidents, including violent incidents [in Russia]; the enforcement institutions avoid taking effective steps," said Barkan, who heads the Diaspora and religion department in the ministry.
"This sends a message, also to those sitting on the fence," he told Army Radio, "that it's comfortable and secure to be anti-Semitic in Russia."
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Comfortable and secure to be anti-semitic? Ring a bell...
It has happened to me! Okay so this morning I was using google, trying to locate a lost post I once wrote. This led me to one of my semi-regular read pages, "Jihad Watch". And what do I find? A "blog comment fight" between some guy, and somebody impersonating me! At first I thought, I never wrote that. I could tell without reading the comments, since I never write comments like that (long comments organised into numbered sections, what a waste of time). Then I thought, okay so I guess I better check it for spelling errors or leftist tendencies. And while her spelling is excellent (clearly an educated native English speaker), oh dear...
I think I better do what some people do. Get a pseudo that nobody else would ever use. Or even just use my name. I mean why on earth not? Everyone knows anyway!
Anyway, my flu is incredibly stubborn. I'm feeling less weak, but I was up coughing all night. When my mother mentioned the word "doctor" to me, I decided that enough is enough. I spoke to my friend Annit, and we have the following dialogue:
Maria: Do you know any real good treatment for the flu?
Annit: Brandy
Maria: That's disgusting
Annit: I have a bottle
Maria: You wouldn't want to waste it on someone who doesn't like how it tastes
Annit: You think I like it myself? I'm keeping it for when I get the flu.
Maria: Oh, well, wanna come for a visit...
For the past few days I have been a terrible student, a terrible correspondent (I'm not ignoring anyone I'm just sick!), and a terrible blogger. But I do have an excuse. My reason is the flu that took the liberty of hitting me really hard, and I am still not getting out of bed much. (Yesterday I did take a quick trip to the ice cream shop 2 minutes away from here though, but it was an emergency). The biggest problem with being sick right now is the fact that I am actually supposed to be in the middle of a "home exam" in my Biblical Hebrew class..
But enough complaining about the flu!
I would love to write a long & juicy post about everything that's been going on (not in my life of course, that would fit into a sentence about chickensoup and vitamins, but in the outside world), but I think that this time I better just refer you to my fellow bloggers (see links).
So I'll be back as soon as I'm better, but for now I'm feeling really sleepy, again...
Check out this excellent post "Hate in Dubai" from wonderblogger Dave. I wasn't amused by his April Fool's Day prank though, but I'm sure he got a good laugh out of it!
Quote of the day comes from Alisa. I think I shall make this quote of the decade as well, because it describes my frustrations concerning... most things that frustrate me!
I sometimes get asked "don't you think you should be more 'open minded'?
To that I answer 'don't you think you should be less of an ass'??
Well here's Alisa's quote:
Certain kinds of open mindedness are only possible among the empty headed.
I just want to write a fan-post about my neighbor the drummer. Yes, you heard me right. I have a neighbor, and he is a drummer. Not a good one, no, but a very enthusiastic one. He's at it once again now, and I must say that he does deserve a compliment for his persistence when it comes to playing day after day, for hours, sometimes all day long! Also, he must have unusually strong arms to be able to achieve this. But this isn't where my talented neighbor's skills end, no sir. My neighbor the drummer, you see, also plays the guitar! And indeed, he has an electric guitar, and (apparently) one of those thingies to make the sound that comes from the guitar sound much louder. I think it's called a magnifier. Of course he's no Jimmy Page though (to say the least)..
So here's to you, my neighbor of such tremendous talent and persistence. May you continue your inconsiderate, self centered, selfish ways of driving your neighbors to the point of insanity!
This is one of the few times in my life that I can honestly say I've wanted to watch a soccer game, and I really, really, reeeeally want France to LOSE. Oh yes that would be sweeeet.
Lately I have been feeling quite upset. Upset about the enviroment I am in. Feeling kind of "cornered", as I described it to someone. Day after day the media here goes on about the Israel-Arab conflict. It has now reached the point that one will not hear "Israel" mentioned alone. People will normally only refer to "palestine", usually saying "Israelis and palestine". I wouldn't be surprised if soon one will start hearing "the zionists and palestine".
Yesterday I took a quick trip to the grocery store for some milk. By the entrance I saw the cover of one of the newspapers. It had "I was persecuted by settlers in Israel, again" written on it. I just stood there staring, shivering, until a lady behind me started telling me to move over. I read the article. It said that "Iceland should take a stand against Israel's constant violation of human rights against the palestinians". Okay to begin with, Iceland is country with a practically non-existant population, making its political importance a joke. This means that taking such "a stand" wouldn't accomplish anything besides fueling more anti-semitism. And I think Iceland has already taken a stand where anti-semitism is concerned... I won't even bother giving possible reasons for why this Icelandic man was being what he calls "persecuted/chased" by settlers, for example how me had it coming, and how settlers are heroically fighting the last battle for what are rightfully their homes.
Then today I woke up and got this idea that I simply cannot miss any more Hebrew classes. So I went to school. On my way to school however, I nearly passed out. So I decided to go home and go back to bed.. On the bus on the way home, I heard talk about Israel on the radio. Talk, talk and more talk, about how "Israel must be stopped".
I will admit it right now that for me it is far from easy coping with the reality of living under these conditions. It tends to really hurt. How is it for the rest of you? Am I unusually sensitive, do I just need to "toughen up"?
Like I said, a random choice!
