The View From Jerusalem: For A Change...Let Us Discuss .. ummm.. Stupidity

I am sorry but I cannot resist today. I came across two posts in two blogs in the "Jewish" world, that actually made me want to puke and then convert. For the life of me I cannot understand what some people are thinking of when they express their ideas and can only wonder if they know how utterly stupid (yes that is the right word here so let us say it again with emphasis ... stupid) they sound. Oh, don't let me forget the word hypocritical as well. Combine stupidity, religious self-righteousness and hypocrisy and what do you get? ... Well you be the judge!

I take these posts in the order I happened upon them. There are no levels of idiocy here, just one plain soup of people who need some time out in the sandbox to go play. In today's post we will deal with the first one.

Before I am asked, I know that giving notoriety to an otherwise unknown Blog, is not the way to go. But the ideas mentioned in this post, and the fact it was put up at JBlog under the title "Worth A Read" demand a response.

The first post, which raised the hair on the back of my neck, which I will deal with today, was from a blog, of someone obviously testing the waters of how many crazies out there would be willing to give him a high-five. This blog, called, Esser Agaroth, which comes with subtitle, "The approximate monetary equivalent of two cents. Commentary on life in Israel and on being Jewish." usually seems to have mundane posts about different things going on in the world of interest to him, which is Jewish blogging in regard to blogs. So be it. He should have stuck to what he knows best.

Of course, some people should never even put their toes in the water of political commentary. And if they decide to do so in a moment of insanity, they should be incredibly careful about what they write. So the owner of this blog on the anniversary of the death of former Prime Minister Yitzchaq Rabin, decided to test our historical knowledge, our knowledge of Judaism, and of course our moral judgment all rolled up into one incredibly, how shall I say this? Oh yes! STUPID post entitled no more and no less, "The Cult Of Rabin". (Hey, I don't mind giving him the free links...he obviously needs them!)

Of course what caught my eye is how he started out with the old Altelana story, brought up yet again by someone who obviously knows just a little bit about Jewish History. Remember the cliché, "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing". Well in this case the cliché simply proves the truth.

And wouldn't you know it, he links to an Internet page all about the Altelana. Hmmmmm... Ben Hecht and his book, Perfidy, is not up there (and should be because it gives him more "ammunition" - pun intended). The background to the Altelana affair and what happened is not mentioned. The state of politics and all that was going in Israel in those years is not mentioned. Kastner, (intricately woven into this tale is not mentioned). Let us see what else he forgot. Oh that is right! Sheesh hits my head against the wall. Now I am stupid. Why go on? This is not about truth or about the Altelana at all. This is about the fact that Ben Gurion and Rabin were there. Equation to be made in his mind - Rabin is evil because he killed Jews.

(So did the Sicarii and Zealots of the Second Temple Era umm but we have one of those sitting in jail today.)

And then we are presented with a litany of evils of Rabin. From the Oslo accords (called "Oslo Death Accords" - everyone laugh please) to a Palestinian State. And we get to his "Cult Rituals". And here comes a story which he is proud of no less.

"Eight years ago, as a junior high school teacher, I had the displeasure of being forced to attend a ceremony in Rabin's in honor. At this ceremony, I had to listen to a "rabbi" had the hutzpah (gaul) not only to praise Yitzhaq Rabin, but to use his name in the same sentence with Rahel Immeinu, whose anniversary of death is the day before his. This "rabbi" did not stop there, but made comparisons between the two."

Not enough for you yet? Well here is another quote from this genius.

The yeshivah high school where I was also teaching at the time must not have done anything at all in commemoration of Rabin. The math teacher and I came across the Rabin memorial educational materials from the ministry, still in their sealed packaging, hidden away in a corner. I was given the honor of throwing them out. Being the voice of environmental conservation, I raised the question as to whether it was permissible to re-use the curriculum's high quality containers, as well as the backs of the paper materials themselves for scratch paper. The decision was to be mahmir, and to throw the packages out in their entirety. Under most circumstances, it is forbidden to obtain any benefit from avodah zarah.

Naturally, we hide our political statements in the holy wrappings of religion and self-righteousness. Makes perfect sense does it not? He was a "machmir" in the army of God! A prophet in our own time. Give him a badge. Give this guy five gold stars. He fought Idol Worship totally and completely. A HERO! Isaiah in the flesh!

Tell me one thing. Who the hell let this guy teach kids?

Know what makes me sick? Totally and completely sick. Not the lack of historical knowledge and not the holy hero mentality. That is just what stupid people always do. What makes me sick is that there is no mention to the blaring hypocritical fact that Rabin was shot to death by someone who thought just like this guy.

So let me get this straight? We should hate Rabin because he gave the order or was proud of the fact that he had the Altelana pounded with guns - but we should revere and honor his killer because he shot in cold blood, in the posters own words, "...a man complicit in murder and have transformed him into a saint."

Umm... well reading your post, and your equation of all the evil that Rabin has done, are you not taking a man who has admitted and proud of murder, political murder, the same you are accusing Rabin of and turning him into a saint? Are you not saying we should face the evil that Rabin was, not commemorate his memory, not loose a moment of moral questioning, not question our own education system and society - because Rabin first killed other Jews, then expressed pride in the fact and then went on to make political concessions you do not like?

But his assassin, killed a Jew, in cold blood, is still proud of it, threw the country in turmoil, ripped even a deeper divide between religious and non-religious, hides behind religious self-righteousness, believes in the glory of his cause will not worship idols and is not repentant. But he is to be forgiven and praised?

And why? Because you see Rabin as evil? Because your religious sensitivity, your self-righteousness can differentiate between "blood and blood"? Because one cause is holy to you and the other is not?

Hypocrisy and religious self-righteousness and half-truths from a little bit of knowledge never fail to prove one of the unfailing rules in this universe. As Einstein once said:

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."

Lesson to be learned. Take the advice of Abraham Lincoln:

'Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.

What scares me most, is that over at JBlog, someone actually put this post up under the "Worth A Read" column (which is actually why it came to my attention.) Just goes to show you: