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It remains to be seen which candidate for the position of Rabbi of the Hadassah Medical Centers will be chosen from the list of nominees, but I do find it interesting that after the incident last week in which Anat Hoffman of "Women of the Wall", a group supported by Hadassah and one that took some Hadassah leaders to pray and for Bat Mitzvah ceremonies as part of the Hadassah centennial celebrations, was arrested, for praying, in opposition to the position of the haredim as to what should be allowed at the Kotel, that they would anyway consider a haredi rav for selection.

At the end of the day, it is all about business. If they decide that they prefer to make the haredi community happy, by selecting a haredi rav, so that it will translate to more haredim coming to deliver their babies in Hadassah hospitals, that is a legitimate business decision, but one that can be deemed as, perhaps, unusual, from a social standpoint....

From JPost:

A selection committee of the Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO) in Jerusalem is due to decide “within a few days” who will be its next official rabbi.
The official rabbi is in charge of religious decisions and activities on the Ein Kerem and Mount Scopus campuses of the two Hadassah University Medical Centers. Ten rabbis have presented their candidacy.
The new rabbi is to replace the late Rabbi Ya’acov Rakovsky, who was the religious authority at HMO for decades.
The selection committee has interviewed the candidates, but HMO did not provide further information, except to say that the appointment would be announced “within a few days.”
The decision is not simple, as the rabbi of the two campuses – with a total of 1,000 hospital beds – has much influence on kashrut policies, the declaration of clinical death, organ donation, autopsies, delivery room practices and other decisions relating to patients.
HMO did not provide a list of the candidates or their affiliation, but a struggle is taking place between the haredi and the Zionist/national religious sector.
Within the Hadassah Women’s Zionist Organization of America – owners of the medical centers – there is opposition among the national-religious sector to the appointment of a non-Zionist or even anti-Zionist rabbi who could alienate supporters and make decisions that would upset the general public.
Years ago, for example, numerous secular and modern Orthodox women who thought of giving birth at the competing Shaare Zedek Medical Center decided not to because the hospital’s Eda Haredit rabbi refused to allow husbands to be in delivery rooms with their wives. A more flexible rabbi who later replaced him allowed husbands to be present. (According to Halacha, a husband is not allowed to see his wife’s blood emerging with the baby during delivery. He is allowed to be in the room, but must look on from a “more modest” vantage point.) HMO is eager to court haredi families, as its has had some conflict with the community. The tension was caused due to its disclosure over two years ago that a haredi woman nearly caused her small child to die as she suffered from Munchausen-by-proxy and secretly prevented him from eating and being treated properly. The mother was jailed by the courts and kept from her children for some time.
This action led to a proclaimed haredi boycott of Hadassah medical centers that was largely ignored by the community. Since haredi babies comprise a major portion of newborns in the Jerusalem area and the National Insurance Institute pays for each birth rather than the health funds paying a smaller per-diem fee, haredi dissatisfaction would mean a major loss of income to HMO.
A large anonymous advertisement was placed by the “Committee for a Zionist Rabbi at Hadassah” in The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. Its aim, to “Keep Hadassah Zionist.” The ad stated that “an ultra-Orthodox (haredi) rabbi is being considered for the post of the head rabbi of Hadassah Medical Center[s].
“For 100 years, Hadassah... has thrived as the world’s largest Zionist body – especially through its magnificent healing of the people of Israel.
“We support Hadassah’s mission to provide professional and compassionate medical care to all elements of Israeli society and their respective communities.”
The ad continued that “we feel strongly that Hadassah avoid election to this official position a rabbi who solely serves the need of narrow interests groups and fails to personally represent an inclusive Zionist perspective.”
The timing of the ad ensures that so it will come to the attention of the 1,500 HWZOA members and supporters who are currently in Jerusalem to celebrate the women’s organization’s centenary and dedicate the new $363 million hospitalization tower.

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Lebanon has, in the past, complained about Israel many times. Besides for actual wars and conflicts, Lebanon has claimed at times that Israel stole it's hummus and it's falafel. Now, Lebanon is upset and claiming that Israel has stolen it's identity. Through a television show.

The TV show called "Homeland", a US spin-off of an Israeli TV show called HaHatufim (The Abducted), is partially filmed in Israel. Specifically, the parts of the show that depict Beirut are filmed in areas of Tel Aviv - Jaffa that can pass for Beirut.

According to the Associated Press, via Ynetnews, the Lebanese are looking through the media laws to see what sort of legal action can be taken.

The show about Arab terrorists and American turncoats has inadvertently become a tale of two cities. Some Beirutis are angry because the depiction of their city as swarming with militiamen is misleading and because they see Israel as the enemy. And in Israel, some are peeved that Haifa and even Tel Aviv – a self-styled nightlife capital and high-tech hub – apparently appear, to outsiders at least, to be Middle Eastern after all.

Lebanese Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud told The Associated Press on Thursday that he's so upset about the portrayal of Beirut that he's considering a lawsuit.

"The information minister is studying media laws to see what can be done," he said.

Abboud pointed to the scene with the snipers. Hamra Street in West Beirut is portrayed as a hotbed of violence, but it is actually a lively neighborhood packed with cafes, book shops and pubs.

"It showed Hamra Street with militia roaming in it. This does not reflect reality," he said. "It was not filmed in Beirut and does not portray the real image of Beirut."

Twentieth Century Fox Television refused to comment.

'Israel invaded and occupied our country'
Several Lebanese interviewed by the AP said they have never heard of the show. When a reporter described the plot and said it was shot in Israel, the reactions ranged from anger to blithe acceptance that filmmaking is an imperfect art.

Hamed Moussa, an engineering student at the American University of Beirut, said it's not a problem that Israelis are portraying Lebanese. In fact, he said, Lebanese often play Israeli characters in Lebanese soap operas.

But Ghada Jaber, a 60-year-old housewife, said Israel should never stand in for Lebanon.

"It is very insulting," she said as she walked along Hamra Street. "Israel destroyed our country. Israel invaded and occupied our country."
"Homeland," based on the Israeli series "Prisoners of War," is about a US Marine named Nick Brody who was a POW for years in the Middle East. The federal government and the public see Brody as a war hero, but a CIA operative played by Claire Danes believes he was turned by the enemy and is now a threat to the US.

The second season began last month, and some of the urban scenes are shot in Tel Aviv, the Israeli metropolis about 250 kilometers (150 miles) south of Beirut. Jaffa, a popular mixed Jewish and Arab neighborhood of Tel Aviv, was an Arab town before Israel gained independence in 1948, and its Levantine architecture, mosques and minarets, situated along the Mediterranean, allowed the creators of "Homeland" to present a plausible version of Beirut.

To the average viewer, the Beirut scenes may appear authentic. But to the discerning viewer, hints of Israel are everywhere: cars with blurred yellow Israeli license plates, red-and-white curbs that designate no-parking zones, an Israeli-style traffic circle, and a well-known minaret and clock tower in Jaffa.

In one rooftop scene, parts of the Tel Aviv skyline, with hotels lining the Mediterranean and the iconic "Shalom Tower" skyscraper, can be seen in the distance.

Tremendous divergence of narratives
In one publicity shot released by Showtime from the recent "Back to Beirut" episode, Danes' character is walking through a Beirut open market and passes a stall selling two Israeli T-shirts: One red with the white Coca-Cola logo in large Hebrew letters, the other a yellow jersey of a Jerusalem soccer team with the name in Hebrew, Beitar Yerushalayim, and a menorah. In a fast-paced chase that actually aired, however, there were no traces of Israel.

The reactions to the show in Lebanon and Israel reflect the tremendous divergence of narratives between the two peoples – each seeing the other as aggressor, each seeing itself as a victim.

Many Lebanese cannot forget the massive destruction Israel inflicted on Beirut during a 1982 invasion when it succeeded in routing the Palestine Liberation Organization from the country. They resent the 18-year takeover of south Lebanon that followed, and their leaders in any case reject the existence of the Jewish state.

But to Israel, Lebanon has been a perennial staging ground for missile strikes and other attacks on Israel, more than justifying the massive Israeli operations there that have occurred in every decade since the 1970s.

Eytan Schwartz, a spokesman for Tel Aviv's mayor, said the Lebanese should, if anything, be pleased at the TV show's choice for a stand-in.

"If I were Lebanese, with all due respect, I'd be very flattered that a city, and a world heritage site, thanks to its incredible architecture, and residents who were named among the top 10 most beautiful people in the world (ranked by Traveler's Digest magazine in 2012) could pass as Lebanese," he said.

"All we can do is pray for a day when the Lebanese regime will allow our Lebanese friends to visit us and see for themselves," Schwartz said.

Nir Rubinstein, an Israeli Internet developer who fought in Beirut as a young soldier 30 years ago, said he understood the Lebanese anger, but also how Israelis might be insulted as well.

"This sort of diminishes Tel Aviv and Jaffa, which are more modern than Beirut," said Rubinstein, speaking for a generation of Tel Aviv residents who are aggressively proud of their city – a densely populated urban area of some 2.5 million people with a standard of living that rivals most places in Europe, a world-class tech industry and a raucous nightlife.

Beirut itself has developed impressively in the two decades since its 15-year civil war ended, and its growing renown as a party city in its own right – the most liberal and fun-loving of major Arab cities – is a source of some fascination to Israelis who are barred from going there.

But the portrayal of Lebanon as swarming with guns is hardly unreasonable nonetheless.

The country has dozens of armed militias that still flourish, and an alarming number of private individuals have weapons in their homes, including hunting rifles, guns and even RPG launchers.

The biggest militia of all, Iranian-backed Hezbollah, has gained so much power and influence over the years that it's now part of the government, wielding virtual veto power, and long-running talks on disarmament have gone nowhere.

The abundance of weapons is one reason why conflicts here can turn deadly so quickly.

In May, an explosive, eight-hour shootout in a residential area of west Beirut, which apparently began after a domestic dispute, killed several people - including a man who was firing machine guns and lobbing grenades from his balcony.

Lebanon also has seen a rise in clashes stemming from the civil war in neighboring Syria.

Despite its immense popularity, "Homeland" does not appear to have reached Hezbollah's radar.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Hezbollah spokesman Ibrahim al-Moussawi told the AP when asked about the show. "This is the first I'm hearing about it."

Still, he described Abboud's plan to sue the producers as "a good step" and said Hezbollah will probably study the issue and put out a statement if needed.

Lebanon's leading LBC TV carried a report on the controversy Thursday, saying the show disparages Arabs and that its setting in Israel is "a double insult."

But Ariel Kolitz, a Tel Aviv businessman who was a childhood friend of Gideon Raff, the Israeli co-creator of "Homeland," said that it wasn't as if the production team had the option of shooting in Beirut, where Raff and other Israelis involved are not permitted to visit and where they could be in danger.

"It's a lot simpler to shoot here," he said. "That's it."

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We are building in Jerusalem  and we are not putting any limitations on building in our capital. This is our capital, and just like they build in London, Paris, Moscow and Washington, we will continue to build in Jerusalem, and we will continue to protect our powerful and deep connection to our capital

  -- PM Benjamin Netanyahu, responding to criticism from the EU regarding plans to build 800 apartments in the Gilo neighborhood of Jerusalem


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The law is that someone who was convicted of a crime with kalon, defined as moral turpitude, cannot be elected to the Knesset for a period of 7 years from the point when he served at least 3 months in prison for that crime. This law has been on the books since 1965.

According to this law, Aryeh Deri has the right to run for Knesset, and SHAS has the right to place him in their party list, and party leadership. If Ehud Olmert should choose to run, he too, at this point, would have that right as well. Moshe Feiglin has the right to run for Knesset, though the crime with moral turpitude for which he served time was different - Feiglin was convicted of sedition when he led the Zo Artzeinu protest movement against the government, and the judges were more divided in the decision to attach moral turpitude to the crime. (As I am writing this I am wondering what right I have to support Moshe Feiglin while hoping others reject Aryeh Deri (and maybe Ehud Olmert), though the nature of the crimes and the sentencing were different.)

Back to the point - there have been many calls, in the past few days, from media personalities to MKs to public activists, for Deri to not be allowed to run, to punish SHAS for choosing a criminal as it's head, etc. While I personally hope the electorate will reject Aryeh Deri, I do not understand where these calls come from. If people, especially MKs, think that 7 years of disqualification is not enough of a punishment for moral turpitude (perhaps of specific types of crimes) but it should be a lifetime ban, they should have worked a long time ago to change that law. Like it or not, Aryeh Deri running now is well within the law. If the law does not reflect current morals promoted by the Israeli government and society, that law should be changed, but nobody should expect that SHAS should reject Aryeh Deri for this if it is perfectly within the law for him to run. According to the law, he has passed the time limit on his disqualification, and he is deemed to be morally repaired (unless known otherwise).

So, to all those afraid of Aryeh Deri and calling for him to be banned further, work on changing the law rather than asking for him and SHAS to act lifnim m'shuras ha'din, above and beyond the letter of the law, on this.



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he donated a sefer torah to an IDF army base...



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We must encourage the Iranian people [to rise up against the government]. The sanctions are beginning to help and to have an effect. I think all of us would be happy to take the Iranian government down from the high and dangerous tree that it has climbed..

  -- President Shimon Peres


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Yesterday the Knesset's committee dealing with the issue of Daylight Savings Time met and voted on the current law proposal regarding the extending of DST in Israel.

The committee approved the proposal, thus advancing it to the Knesset for further readings and voting. The bill is expected to pass.

The law being voted on says that DST will begin on the Friday before the last Sunday in March and end on the first Sunday after October 1. This law will extend Daylight Savings Time by 11 days, to a total of 193 days over the course of the year, if it should be passed.  

The bill is a compromise position, taking into account many different demands on the debate of DST.

MK Nitzan Horowitz wants DST to extend until the end of November. MK Henin says DST should take into account the millions who fast an entire month for Ramadan, and not just the one day of fasting for Yom Kippur.

MK Ronit Tirosh, who was responsible part of the formation of the compromise position, interestingly spoke about how having a shorter DST is more problematic for her personally, and for many religious families, now because she is becoming more religious and is starting to keep Shabbos. Having sundown come earlier makes it difficult for her to keep up with her hobbies and to finish the cooking for Shabbos before sunset.

I wonder if, in situations in which Yom Kippur will fall out before the first Sunday after October 1st, with an extra hour of daylight than what Yom Kippur has had in Israel until now, will shuls just add one hour to the davening schedule or will they start an hour later or maybe make, or extend, a break in the middle of the day...

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