During the week covered by this review, we received 8 articles on the following subjects:
Political Issues
Christian Zionism
Anti-Semitism
Archaeology
Political Issues
Israel Hayom; Maariv, September 16, 2016
These articles have to do with political and race-related issues in the United States.
The first article is an interview of Tuvia Tenenbom, the author of Catch the Jew! and I Sleep in Hitler’s Room, marking the launch of his new book on the US, Lies Everyone Tells (Sela-Me’ir Publishing). Tenenbom relates that he was “surprised” by the results of the research for the book since he “thought that the US was much better,” and that “he didn’t think that the racism in the US was as strong as it is.” He talks about visiting the district of Chicago which first chose Barack Obama for public office and the “routine murder and dreadful poverty to be found there,” as well as the fact that this neighborhood “has been abandoned both by him and by the media, which covers for him.” Tenenbom thinks political correctness “gives a false impression of unity” and that “everyone is against everyone else” from a racial point of view. He states that “the surprising element” in the anti-Semitism he saw in the US was that “Jews were behind it.” The fact that “politicians try to make reality fit a theory or a policy” means that “one cannot rely on the US in the long term”; and an American’s “willingness to speak about his salary or his relationship with his wife rather than his politics” means that “he is afraid his truth will be revealed.”
The second article talks about the situation of Jews in the US, and is of the opinion that “their golden age is coming to an end.” The reason for this is twofold: first, the anti-war movement demanded of its Jewish members to denounce Israel and Zionism, which they subsequently did; and second, the Republican Jews who did not wish to support Donald Trump and are “resentful over the resulting unlikelihood of their receiving jobs in a coming administration” caused others to see them as enemies by distancing themselves from a “non anti-Semitic, pro-Israel” party.
Christian Zionism
Yediot Bat-Yam, September 16, 2016
The “Israel Whom I Love” festival took place this year in Pazardzhik in Bulgaria. The festival is organized by an Israel-loving Christian group, and was opened with a parade featuring Israeli flags. A delegation from Bat Yam attended as well, including Bat-Yam resident Wesla Richenova, who is the host for official Bulgarian radio in Israel. Richenova functioned as master of ceremonies for the festival, and her 15-year-old daughter, the singer Attienta, performed as well.
Makor Rishon, September 16, 2016
This article is on Christian Zionism in the Netherlands. It gives the example of Brenda Aartsen, who became an activist as a result of wanting to do more than internet activism for Israel and organized a pro-Israel rally when Prime Minister Netanyahu visited the Netherlands, and is aghast at “the apartheid enacted by the Palestinians against the Jews on the Temple Mount.” The article also talks about Lisa Madar-Halevy, a Dutch woman who came to Israel 30 years ago, converted 25 years ago, and provides tours of the Temple Mount concentrating on Jewish rather than Islamic issues for groups from the Netherlands who are knowledgeable on Israel, as “this is not a trip for beginners.”
Anti-Semitism
HaModia, September 16, 2016
The Jewish cemetery in Černivci (Tschernowitz) in southern Ukraine was recently desecrated with anti-Semitic slogans, as well as by the breaking of the Holocaust memorial plaque. The police have therefore placed the cemetery under guard, and have pledged “to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.”
The Jewish community in Černivci, “one of the oldest cities in the Ukraine,” numbered some 50,000 before World War II, but most of the community was lost. Today the community numbers approximately 5,000; it began to function again 12 years ago with the appointment of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Glitzenstein as city and district rabbi.
Archaeology
HaShikma L’Mehadrin, September 7, 2016
This article reiterates the story from last week’s MR concerning the recent discovery of 600 stone paving tiles of different colors at the Temple Mount Sifting Project at Emek Tzurim. Tzachi Dvira, co-initiator and co-manager of the sifting project, explained that “this is the first time that archaeologists have been able to successfully restore an element from the Herodian Second Temple complex.” Dr. Gabriel Barkay, the other initiator and manager of the project, stated, “Though we have not merited seeing the Temple in all its glory, with the revealing of these unique floor tiles we are able to get a small idea of one characteristic of the splendor of the Second Temple.”
The original tiles were presented on September 8 to the annual archaeology conference of the Megalim Institute at the City of David National Park.
Haaretz, September 14, 2016
This article reports on the fact that “the largest archaeological park in the country” is to be situated in the Kirya army base in Tel-Aviv. However, the article also bemoans the fact that “the municipal space is undergoing stupefaction.” The move is not only “in order to make archaeology accessible to all parts of society,” including soldiers, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority, but to prevent the exhibits from being stolen, according to an anonymous source.
The park is to include exhibits from Jerusalem and Tiberias, as religious cities; from Caesarea and Ashkelon, as coastal cities; and from Avdat, Mamshit, and Halutza, as Nabatean cities.
Makor Rishon, September 16, 2016
This article presents the work of Emek Shaveh, a non-profit organization whose goal is “to prevent the use of heritage sites and archaeological remains as a political tool in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians,” as well as opinions for and against it.
Those in favor of Emek Shaveh’s activity say that “the duty of the state is to make it possible for ‘the whole story’ to be heard, and not just the story that fits a certain group”; that “the Jewish and the non-Jewish history of the site should be presented in a 50-50 ratio, as an educational tool, to weaken hate and hostility for the ‘other’”; and that rules regarding how to treat antiquities should not be glossed over “in order to strengthen the settler movement.”
Those against Emek Shaveh’s activity say that “it teaches universal history, in order to say that this is not necessarily Jewish land”; that its archaeological methods are faulty; that it is perfectly legitimate to emphasize the most important historical period of a particular site rather than the lesser ones, such as the Jewish period of the Temple Mount rather than the Roman or Byzantine; that as there are locally administered sites in non-contested areas and the method did not originate with the settlers, the settlers should be permitted to administer sites; and that what will draw the public should also be taken into consideration.