Democracy? More like a theocratic tyranny.

39 parliament members of the Israeli Knesset voted Civil marriage off today, with only 11 voting in favor of it (making it only 50 of 120 MK attending the voting in total), meaning the Israeli government still doesn't allow people to marry outside of their religious association, regardless of their beliefs or sexual orientation. This is a dark day for a country that prides itself as the "only democracy in the Middle East".

That makes Israel one of the few countries in the world that only allows marriage of a Jewish woman to a Jewish man, a Muslim woman to a Muslim man, and a Christian woman to a Christian man, through their respective religious institutes only.

Israel will only register and acknowledge civil marriage if they were performed outside of Israel in any number of countries that allows civil marriage, but will not allow them to be performed in Israel due to religious and financial motives.

The rabbinate institute is a business, making a staggering amount of money annually through performing marriage between Jews and Jews, according to the Ultra Orthodox method alone, while humiliating and discriminating those who were born outside of marriage (bastards), those whose family names belong with different groups, and those whose Judaism "must" be questioned by said institute.

I'm utterly disgusted by the actions of my government today, all the more reason why there must be a separation of church and state as soon as possible in Israel.

Podcast This Saturday - YouTube and Atheism

Sadly, I will not be co-hosting and screening calls this time, however The Thinking Atheist and this podcast's guests will make sure its as entertaining, informative and interesting as ever.


Shelly

Am I Jewish Enough?

When discussing Atheism with an Israeli theist I'm often confronted with the question "If you don't consider yourself as Jewish then what are you doing here? What gives you the right to live here?"

That question alone infuriates me – as if my belief, or the lack of it, determines the legality of my citizenship. It reminds me of the No True Scotsman fallacy, which I'm sure many of you are familiar with. Can one not be a true Israeli if they don't consider themselves Jewish?

76% of the population in Israel is Jewish; however the majority of them don't practice Judaism religiously. Depending on your religious upbringing, those who weren't brought up the same way are not real Jews. Where do you draw the line?

With over 10 different movements in Judaism (Orthodoxy alone divides into 3 sub-groups, Haredi, Hassidic and Modern) that can't even decide what a true Jew is, how can one determine who is Jewish enough to be eligible to live in Israel as a citizen.

"According to traditional Jewish Law, a Jew is anyone born of a Jewish mother or converted to Judaism in accord with Jewish Law. American Reform Judaism and British Liberal Judaism accept the child of one Jewish parent (father or mother) as Jewish if the parents raise the child with a Jewish identity…

…The question of what determines Jewish identity in the State of Israel was given new impetus when, in the 1950s, David Ben-Gurion requested opinions on mihu Yehudi ("who is a Jew") from Jewish religious authorities and intellectuals worldwide in order to settle citizenship questions. This is still not settled, and occasionally resurfaces in Israeli politics."

Why isn't it enough for people that I, despite being an Atheist – am attached to this place because I was born and grew up here?  I consider myself as Israeli because I love this country enough to fight for equality for secular Israelis. If I didn't care about my country, I wouldn't have been politically involved since my early teens to promote topics that are close to my heart. The question whether I am Jewish enough to be considered a citizen is irrelevant and pales into insignificance considering the amount of effort, time and care I've spent to promote causes that are dear to my very-much-Israeli heart.

The question should never be how Jewish you are (or whether you consider yourself Jewish at all) nor should it be how much you contributed to your country. I am Israeli by law and I have every right to live in Israel. No justifications needed.

Shelly 

We're (not) all Mad Here

"I have to ask, is it difficult to live in such a theocratic country? You must feel like a lone voice of sanity in a mental asylum. Have you lived there all of your life?" 

Dave

I've lived in Israel my whole life, and despite how theocratic Israel is (and its getting worse) there are many, many free-thinkers, seculars and atheists alike. I don't want to make this a too long of a post and I will address the issues in separate posts in the future - I'll just say that while most of the laws based on and originated in the Jewish religion and religious motives do not effect me directly, there are many that subliminally - do.

For instance, non-religious Israelis have to carry the burden of paying higher tax rates because Orthodox Jews don't pay taxes at all. One of the many reasons Israeli economy is in the mess its in nowadays, is because the Ultra Orthodox sector has the highest rate of non-working men and women with 5 to 10 (and more) children whose financial life line is their monthly Social Security pension paid by, you guessed it, non-religious, tax paying Israelis. The Ultra Orthodox sector has the highest poverty rates and is a significant percentage in the national poverty rates to date.

Another example is that religious, practicing Jews (mostly Orthodox) are automatically given exemption for religious reasons and do not serve the army, and those who serve the IDF are given better benefits to their service than a secular Israeli who has been drafted, and I won't go into how many of those who don't serve cause Israeli soldiers to risk their lives protecting them in illegal settlements while tolerating bad mouthing, violence and disgraceful treatment.

There is also the issue of how the Israeli government, over the past 60 years, has constantly given monstrous budgets to the very same sector in order for them to continue living their religious way of life while burdening the non-religious sector and shrinking the budgets for education, health, security and more.

This is what its like being a sane Israeli in an insane Israel.

Shelly

The good, the bad and the greedy

It seems the Atheist YouTube community is recently gushing over Thunderf00t's latest video. I'll be honest, I've not watched it fully as I seem to be in more of a disagreement with the way he has expressed his opinions about the very same community recently.

You can't take away what TF has given to this community over the years. Many of his videos have served as ammunition and reliable sources in the Theist vs. Atheist debate and vice versa. The quality of his videos and its content has made him one of YouTube's most influential Atheists as well as one of the most loved ones, and yes, one of the most scorned ones.

His most famous videos up to date are unarguably "Why do People Laugh at Creationists" series and despite being somewhat insulting at times, it is still one of the greatest video series many of us have watched and felt educated by. You simply can't argue with the numbers.

And since we're discussing numbers here, Tunderf00t is, undoubtedly, the most subscribed YouTube Science/Atheism channel up to date.

I think very highly of TF's videos, content and knowledge wise but up until now I could not thoroughly judge him as a personality. I admit I've not religiously (pun unintended) been involved in the behind the scenes of the community and until now I've discussed what I did care about with my friends rather than with those from within the community I am friends with.

I'm not familiar with TF's life outside of the YouTube community and so I don't know how much he makes for a living or what kind of a person he's like. I have respect for him as a fellow Atheist and as an intellectual, but his recent, more personal uploads were more than saddening to watch.

One would say not to judge a person once they've walked a mile in their shoes. But as a person who has been more then judgmental towards fellow YouTubers and as a YouTube persona himself, TF should be more then aware his actions, recent and in the past, will be dissected, interpreted and judged by his subscribers and viewers. The internet is a platform for opinions to be raised (some say, for opinions to die in) and when you allow comments, you should be well-aware some of them will be more then offensive and criticizing.
Someone with as large of a subscriber base as TF should know that opinions attract supporters as well as haters, and be willing to accept it, rather than voice their opinion over a more then offensive, generalizing video themselves.

I, as a long time supported, felt appalled by watching a video where everyone as a whole were called, subliminally, unworthy of the content of TF's videos.

But with that aside, let's move on to his latest upload where he has expressed the difficulties of maintaining a YouTube channel. Maintaining a YouTube channel such as TF's undoubtedly time and money consuming, However YouTube is first and foremost an entertainment website and it is bound to cater to many people's tastes. And if people find 'entertainingly angry man rants at camera about opinions' entertaining, so be it. Its every person's right to make a living off of something they are passionate about and if make up guru's, comedians and angry people can do that, who are we to judge them?

If TF wants to quit the website to make a better living because he is unable to do so by producing videos on YouTube that's his choice only and it should not be influenced by who makes more money off of something they like doing, or has more subscribers then him. Presenting yourself as a person who is poorer compared to others on the website while bashing those who aren't is not a legit request for help. The most of us are poorer then the average and many fantastic YouTubers cannot make a living off their channels despite making higher end content with their own money then TF himself.

There is nothing wrong with asking for financial help, however asking for it while showing little to no respect to the rest of the community, YouTubers and subscribers alike - as well as trying to blackmail them with a threat "Quitting the site" - is.


- Chaotic Shelly

Sex-Segregation, The New Apartheid

In recent events in Israeli news, I heard about two stories, each occurring in different times to two different elder women in two different cities in Israel. Both women got on a bus and both women were attacked by two Orthodox Jews for - in one event, sitting next to him in a seat that is reserved for elderly people, and on the other, for sitting at the same kind of seat, in a "separated" line. Now, before I go on I'll explain what meticulous lines are and why they exist in the first place.

According to Orthodox Judaism, a woman is bad influence and can cause men to stray from their ways; meaning, they won't pray, or that they will be aroused by her "god forbid". That can be caused by either a woman being in the same room with them, or, sitting next to them in public transportation, for that matter.
In some cities in Israel it is common to find separated lines, where women - just like in good ol' apartheid days, sit in the back whilst men sit in the front - for the comfort of the Orthodox Jews public. That is, even though there is no state law that allows them to operate. Only reason they do, is public pressure that Israeli public transportation companies have to follow, or they will lose income.

Anyway, the first woman was attacked verbally and physically by a young man who refused to let her sit next to him, again, in a seat that was reserved for her. The other passengers assisted the woman, and the bus driver had to interfere and move the young man to a different seat, that is after the woman was already attacked. In another event, the secular, elder woman, got on a separated line knowingly - and asked to sit at the very same seat that is reserved to elderly people by state law. And yet, the 18 years old Orthodox Jew verbally attacked the woman for doing so, since it is a separated line. Threatened by his behavior, the woman sprayed him with teargas and is now facing charges for assault.

In both events, the two women stood for their rights, and claimed their sits rightfully. Our very own Rosa Parks and I salute them.

In Israel of 2010, there are no laws that allow separated lines, yet, there are no laws that prohibit them - Until now. We, nonreligious citizens of Israel, have to watch ourselves so that we won't offend those who are and yet, certain people in a certain public, feel that in the name of their God, they are above the law, above… morality?

As Chazal (Jewish Sages) say "Derech Eretz Kadma Latorah" - "Manners come before the Torah" and in every bus in Israel you will find the phrase from Leviticus 19:32 "Stand up in the presence of the elderly, and show respect for the aged". These two young Orthodox Jews didn't have manners, and certainly didn't respect an elder woman.

In the beginning of next week Israel's Minister of Transportation, Mr. Israel Katz will present his stance on this issue to Israel's High Court of Justice. Mr. Israel Katz feels that there is nothing wrong with allowing this minority to demand and receive sex-separated public transportation, for a cheaper bus fare non the less - with two possibilities, one, separation of both sexes under a voluntary agreement and under the supervision of the office of Transportation, and the other, operating of such service through private bus companies. In both cases, either way - tax money will be the only way of funding such thing.

This is by far one of the greatest examples of how the Ultra-Orthodox minority in Israel succeeds to extort the Israeli government on the back of the secular, tax-paying people. Approving of such thing would be a great waste of funds that could benefit far better things and yet, because of the great power Ultra-Orthodox public has in the Israeli government and because of the current status quo where Israel is supposedly a democratic Jewish state - what is currently illegally executed will become legal, amongst other things we will become one step closer into becoming a real theocracy.


Shelly

* Originally posted January 08, 2010 via YouTube.