Posted on 07/04/2012 2:45:07 PM PDT by pavlova
Last week, The Jewish Press ran an article, “Reform and Orthodox Kids to Celebrate Fourth of July Together.” The stated goal of the celebration is “to strengthen the Jewish identity of the young people.”
Give me a break! Does anyone genuinely believe that celebrating the Fourth of July will strengthen Jewish identity? Yom HaAtzmaut is Independence Day for the Jews, not the 4th of July. Boker tov, my friends, but Israel is our nation, not America. How can you expect to strengthen Jewish identity by having Jewish kids celebrate a gentile country’s Independence Day? Even if you play “Hava Negilla” to remind the kids that they’re Jewish and have them dance a Hora, you are leading them astray, and in many cases, leading them into the arms of a shicksa or shagetz. After all, if they are Americans like everyone else, why not marry an America like everyone else? In America, everyone is equal, Jew and gentile alike. So why not marry a gentile? Why not get married to Sally Jane or Wendy Sue and watch the 4th of July fireworks together?
(Excerpt) Read more at jewishpress.com ...
"Fourth"? Awesome! That must mean it ain't the "Third" or the "Fifth"! A reason to celebrate! And have sales at Lowes and stuff!
My great grandmother’s grandfather and his brother both signed up as union soldiers in the civil war but the brother switched sides.
The short comments section on this person's “opinion” is also interesting, and generally not supportive of this persons opinion.
It might just mean that Israel has it's own (larger number of members) version of the Westboro Baptist Cult!
Or perhaps too much inbreeding among certain elements of that society?
Fishman is trying to make the point that even religious Jews in America are assimilating, and that only in Israel can one be certain to retain one’s Jewishness.
In the column’s context on the Arutz Sheva site, it’s at least an understandable argument. Posted on FR it just appears as incitement.
The religious Jewish answer to this argument is that the State of Israel is still part of the Diaspora, with Jews aping the nation-state culture of Western Civilization.
Far be it for me to question the brother.
8^)
5.56mm
I don’t have any issues there. I’m a pure Yankee and I’m glad the north won for the sake of reunification but also recognize some legitimate complaints of the south that still need to be addressed for all of us.
I love all of America
Threads?
LOL!
Happy “Fourth”...
Check out the threads posted on “Geert Wilders IFA Friends” today ... and you’ll see a lot of Jews appreciative of the USA - and rightfully so. America and Israel are together - not like some of these kinds of RADICALS (in that article) make it out to be. He doesn’t represent “main street” Israel at all ...
Geert Wilders IFA Friends
http://www.facebook.com/GW.IFA
American Jews are proud to celebrate the 4th of July. We are American’s first. Strange article.
Not all that strange if you consider the generally accepted fact that converts are often prone to excesses of zeal. A convert at the Synagogue often is “more Jewish than thou”.
Hence my comment that such extremism is neither unknown, nor especially welcomed.
Herr Fishman’s: “They themselves will tell you proudly, first and foremost, they are Americans. That’s their main identity. Their Jewishness is clearly in second place.” may be understood more easily if one factors in the “Convert Factor”.
Every Jewish person I’ve ever known has been very loyal to USA, some more so than average. This has to do with the Jewish people’s history and their deeply shared values with America and our American founders. But it is even (more so?) a key teaching of the Jewish faith ... to be good, loyal citizens where=ever resident. This apparently started when Jews found themselves exiled in Babylonia, see Jeremiah 29:4-7, then you may wish to check out Ezra 6:6-10 and many Talmudic or rabbinic statements of loyalty to one’s country of citizenship. The Jewish writers of later Christian scriptures all agreed, as with (your choice, the teaching about loyalty or praying for your rulers whoever they are...where-ever you may be — is quite consistent in all Judeo- Christian books — you can if you wish take a look at such as 1 Maccabees 7:33, Romans 13: 1-7, 1 Peter 2:1-2 and :13-17; Titus 3:1-2, 1 Tim 2:1-4; Galatians 3_19-22, and so on. Almost all of the Bible verses in this posting were written while their Jewish authors were either in exile outside the Promised Land of Israel or under siege or foreign occupation while resident within Israel/Judea. Take your pick, Judeo- Christian religious teachings or scriptures are almost all of a loyal mind for their rulers. (This of course does not mean No Criticism if the rulers are tyrannical or if they, say, show contempt for the citizens or their constitutional rights!) To find a handful of Jews, or people with Jewish-sounding names, or Protestants or Catholics who have any higher loyalty (other to God of course!) and then to post those misguided statements... risks misleading FR readers that Jews or Protestants or Catholics are untrustworthy. This could only breed discord in America at a time when all of us need to work together to fix the obvious problems we have — including those we have with our Rulers — but to speak out for the USA Constitutional or our people’s inalienable constitutional liberties, or to support the 2012 political campaigns for some hopefully-better leaders... is nothing but loyal to America and what our country stands for in history, and in the world. Please do not be misled by silly or stupid or misguided quotes from individuals that are patently NOT at all representative of Jewish teachings (for at least 2,700 years) or the last 2,000 years of Christianity. Thank you.
“The Fourth of July is Coming - Who Cares?”
For you that may be true. But you might need to be a
little concerned when the Fourth of July no longer
comes to the US, Fishman.
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