“Haredim believe [that by voting Republican] they are doing God’s will, and this is how most will vote unless their leaders tell them otherwise. It is almost as if Haredim possess a different Torah from the rest of us, one that is missing every other sentence, and a Tanakh that is missing most of the Prophets. It is a Judaism that owes as much to Rush Limbaugh as it does to the rabbinic sages, and it bodes ill for liberals and moderates — and perhaps for Haredim themselves — for years to come.”
The trick that works for the religious fanatics in Israel and America is their claim there exist a real organized enemy bent on their destruction. If this was true, then an image of Wiener’s boner that he put on the web should be on the war flag of the sexy secular socialists, it flapping proudly in the wind as they charge into battle.
“Don’t Tread On Me”
And look! Here come the vivacious Ice Cream Licker brigade!
“Avert thy gaze – oh Zion!”
There is some serious mental illness going on, here folks! The hippies took acid. These wackos read Jonah and the Whale! Wow!
How many Sicarii died fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan and al-Qaeda in Iraq? Perhaps if we stopped funding and feeding these violent crazies, they will fight their own battles.
Jon the Nazarite
Shmarya Rosenberg on why Ultra-Orthodox Jews vote Republican
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JohnThomasBy JohnThomas Didymus
Oct 29, 2011 in Politics
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By JohnThomas Didymus.
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Brooklyn – Shmarya Rosenberg, former Habad-Lubavitch Hasid and baal teshuva, operator of “Failed Messiah,” a blog very often critical of Orthodox Jewry and Chabad, explains why Ultra-Orthodox Jews vote Republican, in an opinion article recently published.
Rosenberg, in the article published on the Jewish Moment Magazine, sought to explain the recent upset at the Brooklyn congressional seat election, in which the Jewish dominated district, with a longstanding tradition of voting Democrat, voted non-Jewish Republican Bob Turner against an orthodox Jew David Weprin, by a margin of 54 to 46 percent. Rosenberg notes the pattern of voting in the congressional election was widely attributed to Ultra-Orthodox Jews, the Haredim, who form a large proportion of the Jewish population in the 9th district.
The result of the congressional election was widely interpreted as reflecting Obama’s unpopularity in Haredi and Orthodox communities in Brooklyn due mostly to the perception that he is pro-Arab and anti-Israel.
Rosenberg argues that the fact Obama is even less popular in Israel than in Haredi Brooklyn was a factor in the congressional election loss. He explains that “cross-pollination” between the Haredim in Israel and Haredim in the U.S. is more significant than it used to be. This, Rosenberg attributes to circumstances of Israel’s housing shortage in Haredi neighborhoods of Jerusalem, which forced many to leave Jerusalem for West Bank cities. This, Rosenberg explains, intensified Haredi interest in retaining the West Bank.
Rosenberg says hardline Israeli Haredi stance on the West Bank has important impact on politics on both sides of the Atlantic and was significant factor in the Brooklyn Haredim voting Republican:
[“New York City’s former mayor Ed Koch], a Democrat who is hawkish on Israel-related issues, told Weiner’s old voters to vote Republican to send a message to President Obama, to let him know that adopting policies not in sync with Israel’s current right-wing government is unacceptable. New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, a former member of Rabbi Meir Kahane’s Jewish Defense League who represents some of the same constituency Weiner did, endorsed the Republican for the same reason.”
Rosenberg attributes the tendency to bloc voting of Brooklyn Haredim to certain cultural factors:
“Haredim do not watch television, and many don’t read secular newspapers or use the Internet. In America, that leaves only two main news sources: talk radio and Haredi newspapers. The former trends to the political right; the latter are socially conservative….Education is another factor. Many male Haredim receive no secular education after eighth grade….Most of these schools don’t teach civics, which means many graduates have little grasp of how our democracy works. Interface with politicians and with government is left to community leaders…”
Rosenberg, however, admits other factors were important in the congressional election result. He mentions that Haredi rabbis had forbidden Jews to vote for Democrat David Weprin because he had voted for same-sex marriage in New York’s legislature a few months before the election. However, he singles out what he considers the most important reason why Haredim are identifying with the conservatives:
“The barriers to being a very identifiable Jew and Republican have fallen. William F. Buckley worked to exorcise anti-Semitism from the conservative movement, and he largely succeeded. In addition, pro-Israel evangelicals made fundamentalist religious observance a Republican norm and are welcoming Haredim with open arms.”
Rosenberg sees an irony in what he considers the Haredi community voting against their interest. Why, for instance, should mostly poor and social welfare dependent Jews vote for a Republican candidate who seek to cut social welfare? He argues that considerations of economic interest were sacrificed to perceived need to vote for a candidate conservative on social issues and “hawkish on defense of Israel.” Rosenberg explains:
“Haredim believe [that by voting Republican] they are doing God’s will, and this is how most will vote unless their leaders tell them otherwise. It is almost as if Haredim possess a different Torah from the rest of us, one that is missing every other sentence, and a Tanakh that is missing most of the Prophets. It is a Judaism that owes as much to Rush Limbaugh as it does to the rabbinic sages, and it bodes ill for liberals and moderates — and perhaps for Haredim themselves — for years to come.”
Read more: http://digitaljournal.com/article/313578#ixzz1i8NvTpx4
Rosenberg was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota.[4] Originally a secular Jew, Rosenberg joined Chabad and became a baal teshuvah. After joining the movement, he asked Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, to move the Chabad movement to aid in the effort to rescue the Beta Israel of Ethiopia. When he found out that the Rebbe ultimately rejected his suggestion, he became disenchanted with Chabad and its Rebbe.[3] Due to his perception of alleged hypocrisy within Orthodox Judaism, he eventually created a blog [5] with the purpose of reporting on the shortcomings and hypocrisy of Orthodox Jewry in general, and Chabad in particular.[4] Because of his outspoken and often brazen disrespect of Chabad and the Lubavitcher Rebbe, he claims he was excommunicated by Chabad of St. Paul. However the group denies this, claiming they have no mechanism for excommunication[6]
Shmarya Rosenberg (born Scott Rosenberg)[1] is a former Habad-Lubavitch Hasid, baal teshuva and graduate of Hadar Hatorah,[2] who after becoming discontented with Habad’s policies regarding the Jewishness of Ethiopian Jews, left the movement, and went on to operate a full time blog known as Failed Messiah.[3]
Main article: Chabad messianism
Schneerson’s regular talk of the coming of the messiah, led to speculation by some that he was going to reveal himself as the messiah. The belief that he was the messiah, first openly professed by Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpo[52] in a 1984 book, became commonplace the movement in the years leading up to Schneerson’s death.[53]
Rosamond Press 