Friday, August 15, 2008

Jordanian Antisemitism?

A group of Israeli tourists set off on a tour of Jordan but were blocked at the border because they insisted on bringing their tefillin.

Seen on it's own this doesn't prove antisemitism. It could be a rather bad case of idiocy and ineptitude, which are, after all, universal traits. Still, it's hard to think of any countries outside the Arab world where such a case would conceivable.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

FROM CAROL HERMAN

Too bad anti-Semitism is such a "catch-all" word. Where, here, it's nothing more than "cultural differences."

When I saw this story, because I know American Jews NOW visit Israel; and treat themselves also to excursions to Eygpt, and Jordan, my bigger question was why were Jews willing to travel (and spend money) in hostile lands?

A long time ago, the wonderful comedian, Mort Sahl, spoke of his distaste for germans. And, he said "he wouldn't own a german-made car." Ah, he added, BUT he used an Oliveti typewriter. (I said "in the old days.)

Oliveti was made by the Swiss.

The bankers who ended up with all of the german and Jewish money.

Do you really need an explanation?

We live in a world that's very intertwined.

And, this nice Jewish elder couple whom I met at a party recently; I asked them: How did you like Jordan? And, they replied it was magnificent. It wasn't even their first time. Because the first time, when they were at PETRA, they had to walk, on foot, up and down. But this time, he rode a donkey, and his wife rode a camel. She said her 3 hours on the camel's back were not fun. But better than walking.

I still say the best response is just to keep your tourist dollars in your pocket.

And, to save "anti-Semitism" for the Holocaust. Viewing it as something that was imbedded in Catholocism; and then Christianity. Where the nut is that Jews are accused of being Christ killers.

Other than that? By treating language as an "all inclusive pot to prove victimization?" All ya get are lots of people who will just shrug their shoulders.

As to the church teachings that kept the lights off for a thousand years, the best bleach is sunshine. And, people who are more devoted to education than to age's old bull shit.

Anonymous said...

FROM CAROL HERMAN

So many things we take for granted in our world, CHANGE JUST THE SAME.

Following WW2, the Holocaust provided Jews with the OUTRAGE that had accumulated over 2000 years. Where the cruelty of watching supposedly "advanced" European governments, turning a blind eye. And, affording Jews no legal standings, either.

What a shift that was!

But it doesn't mean you're always gonna be standing on firm ground, because the ground under everyone's feet keeps shifting.

There's also something you'd notice if you just looked at the Jews who weren't allowed to bring in their religious artifacts, on a visit to Jordan. These people are no longer VICTIMS. They are, instead, tourists with money. And, they can choose to spend their money in Jordan. Or not.

Ah, just like the March-of-Dimes, begun by FDR, to pay for the WARM SPRINGS, in Georgia, when he went and bought the property ... which was so expensive ... he couldn't afford it. And, it became a hub where people who had polio could go for treatment.

But like all things that raise money, including religions. These things sour on the vine. And, to keep on selling their "shtick," they don't want solutions! They want VICTIMS.

Lucky for humanity, people can outgrow their victim status.

Doesn't mean there's ever going to be the fantasy of perfect.

Only that sooner or later, when the tables turn, people open their eyes and learn: Morris Talansky wasn't the only parasite. And, nobody "does" politics for the joy. Only for what it gives them in return.

This is true even for the pope.

Do the Jordanians, these days, have more power than Israel? You are kidding me! They're stuck wtih a society that hasn't reached the levels you'd get ... say from the Chinese. The Japanese. Or even the Jews.

We are set to know what's going on.

And, the critical thinking skills belong to free people, everywhere.

Which means? Even the March-of-Dimes had his business cut out from under them.

If there's a lesson here?

Maybe, fewer tourists to Jordan will teach them a thing or two about dollars?