“Against this background, it is shocking to learn that yesterday the Knesset decided to extend the so-called Tal Law…a cynical, immoral law that absolves a significant portion of Jewish Israelis from the need to either do army service or work for a living. The fact is that 80 percent of ultra-Orthodox men do not work; instead, they live on government grants and stipends and the earnings of their wives.
“The secular donkey does not merely bear the military and economic burden; it also continues to expand the scope of government support for ultra-Orthodox education, including even the most extremist strains. About two months ago, the Knesset, by a large majority, approved the so-called Nahari Law, which compels the municipalities to grant equal funding to ultra-Orthodox schools that are not part of the official education system. These are extremist institutions…they do not teach mathematics, English, nature, science, civics, geography or history. In other words, they deliberately fail to train their graduates for a life of work and productivity. So these graduates have no choice but to cling to the coattails of ultra-Orthodox activists.
And where will the new funding for these extremist schools come from? [2]
Every day the U.S.A. provides over $7,023,288.00 to the Israeli government and military and over $108 Billion since 1948. “Generous as it is, what Israel actually got in U.S. aid is considerably less than what it has cost U.S. taxpayers to provide it. The principal difference is that so long as the U.S. runs an annual budget deficit, every dollar of aid the U.S. gives Israel has to be raised through U.S. government borrowing.”- Richard Curtiss [3]
On July 19, 2007, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Professor Albert Aghazarian, addressed nearly three dozen international and Palestinian youth and this reporter who had gathered for Sabeel’s 2nd International young Adult Conference: 40 Years in the Wilderness…40 Years of Occupation...
He said two things that have not left my conscience since: “In a nutshell, there is a deep schizophrenia in the Holy Land; what we see, hear and talk. Zionism is the original sin; Zionism is an untouchable icon. You can curse Mohammad, you can curse Mary, but not Zionism…Do your best, and as long as you give it your best shot, don’t worry about the rest.”
But injustice is unsustainable and all things must pass...
“There is a time for everything; a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.” –Ecclesiastes 3: 1, 7, 8
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