Oink! Oink!

Sheikh Feiz Mohammed and friend

Well they're doing it again. A Sydney Moslem cleric has attracted more attention to their "cause" by encouraging children to die as Muslim matyrs. He has also referred to Jews as pigs. Their true colours are being shown again for all to see. Our society is so concerned with political correctness that it is non-PC to critisise any Moslem no matter what he says. These stupid clerics think that they are untouchable and can say whatever ridiculous and irresponsible thing they want.

The Australian has a report here.

The ABC quotes Keven Rudd and says:

The Muslim community has moved to distance itself from comments made by a Sydney cleric calling for children to be encouraged to die as Muslim martyrs.

The head of the Global Islam Youth Centre, Sheikh Feiz Mohammed, has also referred to Jewish people as "pigs", in a video of one of his lectures.

The DVDs were reportedly found being sold by children outside a mosque in Britain.

Islamic Friendship Association spokesman Kaysar Trad says the comments do not reflect the sentiments of the wider Muslim community.

"As a community, it is quite disconcerting for us that these comments are found from time to time and they're broadcast all over the news," he said.

"They certainly give the public an erroneous impression about Islam and Muslims."

Acting Attorney-General Kevin Andrews has condemned Sheikh Mohammed's comments.

"The importation of hatred in Australia is unacceptable," he said.

"It's offensive to the Australian people, it's reprehensible.

"It's particularly outrageous that certain groups in Australia, such as the Jewish community, have been highlighted in these comments, and we condemn the comments."

Heatwave in Melbourne

The temperature has just reached 39.8 degrees celcius in Melbourne at 1:30pm - this translates to 103.6 in the old money. It is so hot that they stopped play at the Australian Tennis Open.

I hope all my Northern Hemisphere readers are enjoying their winter.

Rampant Foot-in-Mouth Disease

Good on ya Sheik AlHilali! Your true feelings keep being revealed and embarrassing the Moslem community - who are embarrassed not because they do not agree with you but because they do not want what they really believe being revealed to the Australian community.

I talked about Hilali's statements supporting rapists in October here, here and here. And the stupid pronouncements keep coming. The Australian reports:

"The Western people are the biggest liars and oppressors and especially the English race," the Mufti of Australia said in Arabic during the extensive interview in Eqypt, his birthplace. "The Anglo-Saxons who arrived in Australia arrived in shackles. We paid for passports from our own pockets. We have a right in Australia more than they have."

The Australian has a few articles about this latest controvesy. Hilali's friends try to explain away what he said here, and you can see excerpts of the interview here. Alexander Downer's comments and NSW Community Relations Commission (CRC) chairman Stepan Kerkyasharian's statements are here. Kerkyasharian says Sheik al-Hilali should “keep his mouth shut”.

Despite Muslims trying to assure the world that they are peace loving, the average Australian, who has no strong feeling about muslims either way, is seeing for himself that the truth is not so benign. Even if we believe that the majority of Moslems are not violent, the truth is that the Islamic community as a whole does not condemn terrorist attacks but applauds them. We have seen this since well before 9/11.

While the press and politicians are trying to present Hilali as being "several sandwiches short of a picnic" as Kevin Rudd said, the truth is that he is representative of all Moslems. Thank G-d that most Aussies are not falling for this and are starting to realise what type of people we are dealing with.

"Historical" Photo

Shturem featured this photo of our Rabbi Groner in 770 speaking to Rabbi Shimon Goldman. I figure it was taken 10-15 years ago but if anyone has a better idea of what year this is from please let me know.

Violence is Never Condoned

This story about the Rebbe appeared in COL. To me the story is poshut but it seems like some of our co-religionists need to be reminded that the Rebbe was against violence especially between our fellow Jews.

At the Kinus Hashluchim in Ashkelon last week, an individual related this incident that occurred in 770 on Yom Kippur of 5747:
A group of girls from Kfar Chabad had remained all night to secure seats in the Ezras Noshim so that they could view 'Napoleon's March' on Motsai Yom Kippur. When one of the girls had gotten up in the early morning and left her place for a moment of refreshment, planning to return immediately, a girl from France had taken her place, despite the protests of her friends.

As the girl returned to her place demanding her seat, the French girl gave her a blow that rendered her fainting and after futile attempts of Hatzoloh to revive her failed, she was presently removed for hospital care.

When Rabbi Yehudah Leib Groner approached the Rebbe, asking for a blessing for this girl, the Rebbe demanded that the offender apologize adding that he would not descend to the shul until she would do so. For fact, the Rebbe entered the shul at 10:30 and on Motsai Shabbos he sent a message to the French girl ordering that she returns to France before Sukkos.

Another person related that he/she was present when Rabbi Groner delivered the Rebbe's message to the shliach from France (presumably, Rabbi Shmuel Asimov), who was responsible for the visit of this group of girls to 770. The shliach's attempts to intervene on behalf of the French girl, included an entreaty that great efforts were exerted on bringing her to Chabad and that it would not be a good idea to have her sent home. These arguments however, did not alter the Rebbe's decision and Rabbi Groner told him that the Rebbe insisted that the girl be sent home.

When the Animals Run the Zoo...

Reports from Shturem and CrownHeights.info tell the story of Reb Yoel Kahn being verbally abused by a bochur with acute psychiatric problems. It appears that when Reb Yoel went downstairs to deliver his weekly shiur in Inyonei Geluah UMoshiach this bochur screamed at him to leave 770. Reb Yoel, being a true chassidisher yid, left the scene quietly and proceeded to relocate the shiur to the upstairs zal.



The situation in 770 is going from worse to terrible. I blame the so-called normal people who learn and daven downstairs who are letting these incidents pass without reacting. This crazy bochur was reportedly an Israeli who should either be locked up in a hospital ward or sent back to Israel. The fact that nothing is done by the leaders "downstairs" and the leadership in Crown Heights is worse than criminal. The meshichisten have seen that the mainstream of Lubavitch laughs at them and they are now turning to violence. This violence must stop even if it means deporting the troublemakers.

For the most part the shluchim are doing the Rebbe's work with incredible self sacrifice while the crazys do nothing but sing one song and dance around the bima.

I am still proud to say I am a Lubavitcher but am sick of having to explain away the antics of a fringe group to family and friends.

Slow News Week

The Real 770 - photo by Robbins/Becher
click on photo to enlarge

At this time of year, especially in Australia where it is summer, everything slows down especially the news. Despite what is occuring in other parts of the world most of the Australian media outlets concentrate on reporting about sport...actually they do that all year around...

Anyway, Shmais pointed me to the photographs of Andrea Robbins and Max Becher who, in 2005, took photos of many different "770" buildings around the world. Personally, I have never been too excited about this desire to copy the architecture of 770 Eastern Parkway. It seems very shallow to use this building to represent Chabad to the outside world. I would think that we have more to offer than the external view of a "neo-gothic" New York building.

Hanging out in Postville - photo by Robbins/Becher
click on photo to enlarge

What was more interesting to me were the photos of Postville, Iowa taken by Robbins and Becher. Postville is the home of the Rubashkin family's business AgriProcessors Inc. This is one of the largest (maybe the largest) kosher meat producing business in the States.

The description of Postville on the website says, amongst other things:

The plant employs 350 workers, many of whom are ultra orthodox Jews and mostly Lubavitch, making Postville the home of the largest number of Rabbis per capita in the United States.

The Hasidim that came to work in the slaughterhouse brought their lives from Brooklyn and established a modern shtetl in a small corner of Iowa. They set up a synagogue, two schools including a Yeshiva, two ritual baths (one for men and one for women) as well as the first and only kosher market and restaurant in the state of Iowa.

Robbins/Becher's photos have a snapshot quality and, to me, are not particularly artistic but I suppose their point is to show reality rather than a stylised version of what they see thru the lens.


If you scroll down the bar on the left side of the page there are also some photos that they took at Dachau.

Tragic Car Accident in Israel

Levi Hendel, A"H..........Moshe Golan, A"H.........Yonoson Biton, A"H

COL and Shturem are reporting on a tragic car accident in Israel where three bochrim lost their lives. Two other bochrim suffered light injuries and are recovering at home, one is in hospital in critical condition and two others are in hospital in moderate condition.

Please say Tehilim for the complete recovery of the injured: Avraham ben Feige and Alexander Zusman ben Chasya.

The three boys who were killed are Moshe Golan, 17, Yonoson Biton, 17 and Levi Hendel, 14.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the families. It is difficult to imagine how the families and friends, indeed all of Anash, are feeling at this time.

To read more about the tragedy see COL and Shturem.

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Merry Chanukah

THe Chabad.org site Chanukah.org had loads of information and activities for Chanukah. In particular I like the Itchie Kadoozy video: "A rabbi, a college student, and a gefilte fish share their feelings about chanukah." See it here.
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Is This Good for the Jews?

I think not...

It looks as though Bogomilsky and his supporter's efforts to get a menorah placed Seattle Airport backfired. If we go by this article in The Seattle Times the Rabbi and friends expected the airport to cave in to their (heavy handed) demands. When are we going to learn? Why throw our weight around when a gentler approach would probably yield positive results? Another chillul Hashem that could have been avoided.

Rabbi gets hate mail over airport Christmas trees
Mon Dec 11, 2006 8:18 PM ET

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A local rabbi is receiving hate mail and angry phone calls after Seattle airport officials took down its Christmas trees in response to his request to include a giant Menorah in the airport's holiday decorations, his lawyer said on Monday.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport removed its Christmas trees on Saturday after Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky threatened to sue the Port of Seattle, which operates the airport, if it did not include a menorah into its holiday decorations.

The rabbi works on behalf of Chabad-Lubavitch, a branch of Hasidic Judaism and an Orthodox Jewish movement.

The removal of the trees sparked a public outcry over what some say was political correctness run amok and part of a trend to adopt a secular tone toward Christmas.

Harvey Grad, the rabbi's attorney, said it was never Bogomilsky's intention to have the trees removed and the rabbi was "saddened" by the port's decision to remove all holiday decorations instead of including the Menorah for Hanukkah.

"We are not part of the war on Christmas," said Grad. "All we asked for was inclusion and now we're getting hate mail and angry messages."

The Chabad of Greater Seattle asked the airport to put the trees back and will not pursue any legal action even if the airport does not include the menorah into this year's holiday decorations.

In a statement, the Port of Seattle said it removed the trees to avoid litigation with a religious group, which wanted to install the menorah and hold a lighting ceremony.

"The airport is not a traditional public forum and it would not be appropriate for such a ceremony, so we made the decision to remove the trees to allow the airport staff to focus on the busy travel season," the Port said on its Web site.

Art by Miriam

"Friends"

"A set of two plaques made entirely from wood, bark and stone
collected from the small Russian town of Lubavitch"

I saw on COL that Melbourne artist, Miriam Teleshevsky, has a new web site Art by Miriam and that it won an design award. I had never heard of this award (not that that means much) and did some research. It seems that this is an advertising gimic by a website designer to drum up business...But that doesn't mean that Miriam's website is not worth a visit.

Although much of her artwork is not to my taste there are some nice pieces. In particular I like the ones reproduced above. These two pieces above are very different but appeal to me. Check out her website to view of many other examples of her artwork.
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Chaim Tzvi Tours the World

COL does it again with photos of Chaim Tzvi Groner in Moscow.
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Photos of Melbourne

COL has some nice photos taken in Yeshivah Gedolah and at Kimberley including the extremely nice one of Rabbi Groner above. See them here.
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Malki's Song

I was looking at the (new improved) Keren Malki website and noticed Malki's Song. This song was written by Malki Roth a few months before she was murdered by a terrorist at Sbarros in Jerusalem five years ago. Read about the song and hear it sung here. I find the words quite inspirational especially noting that Malki was 15 at the time she wrote it.

The Malki Foundation was established as a living memorial to Malki Roth by her parents Arnold and Frimmet Roth. From the website:

Keren Malki’s work is channeled into two active programs: one focused on providing specialized equipment in the home, and the other on home-based therapies. In both tracks, the goal is to empower families who want to give their seriously disabled child the best possible care at home.

I have previously written about Keren Malki here and again suggest that you check out the Keren Malki site and consider supporting their wonderful work.
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