Women and girls are the first victims of fundamentalism. When you see a movement that represses women, know that it is an unhealthy one. It will prove to be repressive for society as a whole, not just women. It will maintain itself on the backs of others and at all costs, for the rules of fundamentalism mean that nothing — not even human freedom — is as valuable as the cause itself. Fight extremism the moment you see it...

 

Fundamentalism never dies (In Any Cult)

Fight extremism the moment you see it, for unless you are as fervent in your beliefs as the fundamentalists are in theirs, they will eventually come for you too 

 

 

POSTED SIGN IN JERUSALEM - IT IS FORBIDDEN TO HAVE A FEMALE EMT RESCUE YOU - RATHER DIE OR KILL YOURSELF FIRST - IT IS TANTAMOUNT TO SLEEPING WITH SOMEONE ELSE'S WIFE (LOOSELY TRANSLATED)

Taliban fighters take control of the Afghan presidential palace, after the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 15, 2021. The man standing second from left is a former bodyguard for Ghani

 

Those of us who remember the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 1996 likely recall it as a nightmare. The images that reached us were horrific, suited to a dystopia movie set in a world where extremists and misogynists ruled.

Immediately, women and girls were subject to intense oppression. The Taliban prohibited women from working, shuttered girls’ schools, made the burqa mandatory, and leaving home without a male escort illegal. Breaking these rules meant public whipping or even execution. Minorities were persecuted. Cultural treasures were destroyed.

Now, 25 years later, while we watched, city after city fell to their hordes.

Again, our hearts break for the Afghan people.

Tragically, we at home can only wait to be told how we might possibly help those in Afghanistan. But we can — and must — learn from what is happening.

1- Fundamentalism does not go away. We ignore it at our peril. Fundamentalism follows a strict interpretation of religion or ideals and sacrifices everything — and everyone — at its altar. 

Fundamentalism may be briefly beaten back, but without intense education to counter deep-seated extremist beliefs, and prevent them from taking root in each generation, it won’t be defeated. It is patient and feeds on itself and others’ dismissal of it. Extremism will resurge when we are least prepared, mainly because we think we have done away with it.

2 – When someone says they want to destroy your way of life, believe them. The Western mind still refuses to understand Middle Eastern culture. The rules are different. For many in this part of the world, culture and enlightenment aren’t values — neither to appreciate nor to strive to achieve. More often, might makes right. And the one with the might makes the rules. Add to this the fundamentalist belief that the ends always justify the means, and you have a holy war. And holy wars only end one way — with the “infidels'” total defeat.

3 – Women and girls are the first victims of fundamentalism. When you see a movement that represses women, know that it is an unhealthy one. It will prove to be repressive for society as a whole, not just women. It will maintain itself on the backs of others and at all costs, for the rules of fundamentalism mean that nothing — not even human freedom — is as valuable as the cause itself.  Fight extremism the moment you see it, even if it doesn’t affect you. Even if you may benefit from it…for unless you are as fervent in your belief as the fundamentalists are in theirs, they will eventually come for you too.

4 – Where women and girls are secondary to men, have value only in relation to men, when men restrict women’s movement, deny girls and women education, and dictate their dress — this is not culture, this is control. The noble Western call for “cultural sensitivity” cannot be applied when it comes to abuse. There can be no tolerance for abuse in the name of culture. When a society cannot make room for women at the helm, when it chafes at women’s accomplishments, when it removes their rights and freedoms, it is deeply, deeply flawed.

5- Do not analyze conflicts, issues, and situations solely from your own lens. Understand that the way that you see something, from your perspective, with your history — individual and collective — with your education and experience, is not the way others will. Listen to the people affected by the issues and help if you can, but don’t dictate your solution to the people who live the problem. This applies just as much to your local community as it does to the global one.

6 – Recognize the stakes. Understand your opponents and what will happen if they win. People are shocked at the Taliban’s success, and at the speed with which they achieved it. But, recall #1, fundamentalism doesn’t die on its own. They have waited, stockpiling both weapons and fervor for decades, for the moment they could strike. In a power vacuum, the strongest, most ruthless, most committed will win. Remember that when someone screams, “End the occupation” or “Free, free Palestine.” What is the plan for this demand that Israel withdraw on its own? Who comes in to fill the breech if Israel moves out, as it did in Gaza…? Slogans are great for protests and the ego of the social justice warrior. But real change needs real planning, as well as a reality check– see #7.

7- Understand reality. Accept what *is* and not what you wish would be. Policies and decisions cannot be made on ideals alone. They must be grounded in fact. No matter how much we might want things to be different, we need to deal with what is — and plan for when things go wrong.

What does this mean for us, for those of us who are lucky enough to be far from Afghanistan? To what extent, if at all, we will be able to help the Afghanis remains to be seen. But we can learn from their experience of the past weeks, on the heels of the past 20 years. We can identify areas of our own worlds that need improvement, recognize when we are up against a version of fundamentalism (as above), and focus our energies on the change we want to see.

Ask:

• What do we see — what is the problem we want to solve?
• What are the policies that bring harm?
• Who needs help and what do they need?
• How can we suggest changes that will be accepted?
• Who are our allies in this struggle?
• Who are our opponents and what are their goals?
• What are the challenges in our path?
• How do we set goals we can actually achieve?
• What does change look like practically — and how do we get there?

Whether fighting antisemtism, advocating for peace, championing minority rights, or even fighting the Taliban — whatever your cause, these questions are the foundation of what must be asked and answered.

If we want to do something with the pain we feel for the people of Afghanistan, we should choose something local to sink our teeth into. While we may not be able to help the Afghanis right now, we can make a difference for the people around us.

Turn off the news. Look up. Go change your world. 

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/fundamentalism-never-dies/?utm_source=The+Blogs+Weekly+Highlights&utm_campaign=blogs-weekly-highlights-2021-08-19&utm_medium=email

I'm in "relatively" good company :-)

 

BRILLIANT

MESSED UP

Cry Me A River ---- "He also said vaccines had been developed “through the use of the cell lines of aborted fetuses” and that “a kind of microchip needs to be placed under the skin of every person, so that any moment he or she can be controlled by the state regarding health and about other matters which we can only imagine”.

 

Vaccine skeptic US cardinal on ventilator after Covid diagnosis

Cardinal Raymond Burke: ‘Please pray for me’

 

Cardinal Raymond Burke during a March for Life in Rome, where he lives, in May.

Maya Yang in New York

Mon 16 Aug 2021 10.30 EDT

Last modified on Mon 16 Aug 2021 11.19 EDT

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Cardinal Raymond Burke, a staunch conservative in the US Catholic church who has emerged as a leading critic of Pope Francis and a vaccine skeptic, was placed on a ventilator just days after testing positive for Covid-19.“Doctors are encouraged by his progress,” the cardinal’s official Twitter account announced. Supporters were asked to “pray the Rosary for him”.

The 73-year-old, who has frequently been seen maskless in Rome, where he lives, tested positive last Wednesday while visiting Wisconsin.

Burke said then: “Thanks be to God, I am resting comfortably and receiving excellent medical care. Please pray for me as I begin my recovery. Let us trust in Divine Providence. God bless you.”

Last May, Burke spoke out forcefully against Covid-19 vaccines, saying: “It must be clear that vaccination itself cannot be imposed, in a totalitarian manner, on citizens.”

He also said vaccines had been developed “through the use of the cell lines of aborted fetuses” and that “a kind of microchip needs to be placed under the skin of every person, so that any moment he or she can be controlled by the state regarding health and about other matters which we can only imagine”.

Experts on health and misinformation have repeatedly debunked such conspiracy theories.

Cardinal Burke has not said if he has been vaccinated.

The former archbishop of St Louis was made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 but demoted from a senior Vatican position by Pope Francis in 2014.

Burke is often seen as the ringleader of a faction opposed to Francis, whom he has publicly challenged on issues including abortion and homosexuality.

In an interview with Buzzfeed in 2014, for example, Burke criticised Francis’s liberal beliefs on homosexuality, claiming he had “done a lot of harm”.

In 2015, Burke said the Catholic church had developed an increasingly “feminized environment”, saying: “Men are often reluctant to become active in the Church. The … lack of the Church’s effort to engage men has led many men to simply opt out.”

The cardinal, who has had strong ties with the former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, has also spoken out against immigration, saying: “To resist large-scale Muslim immigration in my judgement is to be responsible.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/16/vaccine-skeptic-us-cardinal-raymond-burke-ventilator-covid

These radicals have no place within the ultra-Orthodox community; they have no place in Judaism; and they have no place in Israel. They need to be isolated and excommunicated.

 

We Must Uproot Religious Extremism From Israel

 by Eli Beer

Candles are seen during a vigil for the people killed and injured in a stampede

On July 14, unidentified ultra-Orthodox extremists vandalized and destroyed a memorial that was set up to commemorate the deaths of 45 people, most of whom were from the ultra-Orthodox community, at the site of the deadly stampede in Meron.

The memorial had been erected on the outside wall of United Hatzalah’s medical clinic, which was a few meters away from where the tragedy occurred during the Lag Ba’Omer festival. This desecration is a terrible insult to the families of those who perished. And it represents an extremism that, unfortunately, has continued to fester inside some communities in Israel.

Meron was the worst civilian tragedy in Israel’s history, and every Jew in Israel — religious and secular alike — took it to heart. People all over the country lined up for hours to donate blood after the tragedy. Everyone wanted to do what they could to help in the face of this horrible disaster.

It seems that the only ones who didn’t connect to the tragedy were the extremist radicals in the ultra-Orthodox community, who comprise a very small group of people who are making a chilul Hashem and giving the rest of the ultra-Orthodox community a bad name.

Groups like Neturei Karta and similar extremists are destroying the upstanding reputation of the Orthodox community in Israel, which birthed an overwhelming number of chessed organizations that help everyone in Israel, ultra-Orthodox and non-Orthodox, Jewish and non-Jewish alike. These organizations include Yedidim, Ezer MIzion, Yad Sarah, our organization, and many others. The amount of volunteering that takes place in Israel by people who simply want to help others is unmatched anywhere else in the world.

These small groups of extremists, who are really akin to idol worshipers, care more about controlling the site of Meron than they do about people’s lives. When they saw the faces of those who were killed in the tragedy and heard that the government was planning an investigation, they took matters into their own hands and lashed out by desecrating the memorial that had been set up for the fallen.

They had no remorse or kindness for the families of the victims — no qualms about disgracing the memory of 45 holy Jews who died celebrating a Jewish festival; one that the ultra-Orthodox community, in particular, celebrates widely.

Video footage showing these radicals tearing down the memorial was sent to me by a very special person, Aryeh Morris, the father of Donny Morris, a beloved boy who was one of the 45 people who died in the tragedy. I was so angry when I saw it that I had no words. I was devastated, but not nearly as devastated as Donny’s family was. I was embarrassed to no end by the actions of others who claim to have a Jewish heart. I don’t understand how someone with a Jewish heart, who comes from a community that upholds the Jewish ideals of kindness and chessed, could do such a thing. What’s worse, the incident occurred during the nine days before Tisha B’Av.

Until we eradicate such people from within our society, we need to look no further to understand why the third temple has not been built. These radicals have no place within the ultra-Orthodox community; they have no place in Judaism; and they have no place in Israel. They need to be isolated and excommunicated.

We really don’t want to get to where other countries are, having to fight radicalism among our own populations. We are a peaceful country with a people who are filled with loving-kindness. Therefore, it is imperative that each of us weed out radicalism wherever we find it, in all of its forms. We must be successful, or we will bear the consequences for generations to come.

Eli Beer is the father of five children, a social entrepreneur, and president and founder of United Hatzalah of Israel, an independent, non-profit, fully volunteer EMS organization that provides fast and free emergency first response throughout Israel. Last year he almost lost his life to Covid-19 while in Miami.

https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/08/15/we-must-uproot-religious-extremism-from-israel/

Some people are complaining, “Well, my freedom is being kind of disturbed here.” Well, I told them, “Screw your freedom.” You have the freedom to wear no mask. But if you exercise that freedom, you’re a schmuck—because you’re supposed to protect your fellow Americans.

 

Don’t Be a Schmuck. Put on a Mask.

 

Generations of Americans made incredible sacrifices, and we’re going to throw fits about putting a mask over our mouth and nose?

By Arnold Schwarzenegger

Earlier this week, I delivered a simple message: There is a virus here. It kills people. The only way you can prevent it is to get vaccinated, wear masks, and do social distancing.

Some people are complaining, “Well, my freedom is being kind of disturbed here.” Well, I told them, “Screw your freedom.” You have the freedom to wear no mask. But if you exercise that freedom, you’re a schmuck—because you’re supposed to protect your fellow Americans.

I’ll admit, calling people schmucks and saying “Screw your freedom” was a little much, even if I stand by the sentiment. But there is nothing that I’m more passionate about than keeping America great, and it’s the only subject that can make me lose my temper.

David Frum: Vaccinated America has had enough

I knew I’d be called a RINO, but that doesn’t bother me. Honestly, rhinos are beautiful, powerful animals, so I take that as a compliment. I anticipated being called a Nazi and a Communist. But I’ve got thick skin stretched over my metal endoskeleton, so I knew I could take it.

But some of the responses really worried me. Many people told me that the Constitution gives them rights, but not responsibilities. They feel no duty to protect their fellow citizens.

That’s when I realized we all need a civics lesson. I can’t help but wonder how much better off we’d be if Americans took a step back from politics and spent a minute thinking about how lucky we are to call this country home. Instead of tweeting, we could think about what we owe to the patriots who came before us and those who will follow us.

I am not an academic, but I can tell you that selfishness and dereliction of duty did not make this country great. The Constitution aimed to “promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.” It’s right there in our founding document. We need to think beyond our selfish interests.

I am an immigrant. This country gave me everything. I often tell people not to call me self-made; I prefer to call myself American-made. My success would have been impossible without the principles of the United States and the generosity of Americans.

I could just keep making more money, but that would be selfish. I feel a responsibility to do everything I can to help this country remain great. That’s why I traveled to all 50 states as the chair of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports on my own dime, that’s why I accept every invitation to visit our troops, that’s why I’ve invested millions to create a nationwide after-school program, and that’s why I walked away from $30 million movie deals to serve as governor of California for no salary. And even after all that, I’ll be paying down the debt I owe America for the rest of my life.

It’s up to all of us to recognize that the great privilege we have of being Americans comes with the great responsibility to keep this country No. 1.

I often think about how many Americans sacrificed to make this country great. John Adams wrote that “it was the Duty of a good Citizen to sacrifice all to his Country.” Or, as the classic film Team America taught us: “Freedom isn’t free.”

Every generation has heroes who have put the country ahead of themselves. From the men who left their families at home to fight for independence to the teenagers who shipped over to Europe and the Pacific to fight fascism, our history is defined by sacrifice. From the fields of Gettysburg to the beaches of Normandy, our country’s greatness is steeped in duty. From women’s suffrage to the civil-rights movement, our nonstop efforts at creating a more perfect union are underwritten by the men and women who were willing to give up everything for the United States.

Our country began with a willingness to make personal sacrifices for the collective good. It’s right there in the closing line of the Declaration of Independence: “We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” Almost two centuries later, John F. Kennedy posed his famous challenge: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” Our country became great because every generation before us knew that liberty and duty go hand in hand. I am worried that many of my fellow Americans have now lost sight of that.

When I look at the response to this pandemic, I really worry about the future of our country. We have lost more than 600,000 Americans to COVID-19. Are we really this selfish and angry? Are we this partisan?

George Washington wrote, “Every post is honorable in which a man can serve his country.” When we wear a mask or get a vaccine, we are serving our country and our fellow citizens.

When people call this fascism, I can’t stand it. Just a few generations ago, this country stood up to real fascism. (And yes, I know that my father was on the wrong side of that conflict.) And we didn’t win just because of our love of freedom. We won because Americans came together and did their duty.

Americans accepted the rationing of food and gasoline to win that war. Mothers and fathers sent their kids off knowing it could be the last time they saw them. Women worked tirelessly in factories to make the weapons our troops needed. Americans lived through four years of brutal sacrifice, and we’re going to throw fits about putting a mask over our mouth and nose?

“Wearing a mask is nothing compared with what we were going through then,” one member of that generation, Bill Platts, recently told the Idaho Statesman. “It’s so comical nowadays to think that somebody won’t wear a mask when in those days they would do anything for the United States.”

We are fighting a war against what President Donald Trump correctly called an “invisible enemy.” Hospitals are once again filling up in some states. Deaths are rising.

Some people want to create an alternative America, where we have no responsibility to one another. That America has never existed. They may tell you that what we are doing to fight the war against the coronavirus is unprecedented. They’re full of crap. They are lying to you because they make money from your anger.

As Americans, we have agreed to vaccinations to eradicate diseases since George Washington mandated the smallpox inoculation for his troops. “Upon the principle of self-defense, of paramount necessity, a community has the right to protect itself against an epidemic of disease which threatens the safety of its members,” the Supreme Court said in 1905, in a ruling supporting vaccine mandates.

Read: How the pandemic now ends

We need to protect ourselves and win this war. We don’t need to close our economies again. We just need to come together like the generations of Americans who came before us, and to give just a tiny fraction of what they gave.

We need to prove to ourselves and to the world that we can unite to defeat a common enemy, because, trust me, the coronavirus is not the biggest challenge we will face this century.

What will you do for your country?

Arnold Schwarzenegger was the 38th governor of California.

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/08/schwarzenegger-schmuck-mask-vaccines/619746/

Get Vaccinated or Face Severe Consequences Here and in Israel!

 

Health officials predict thousands of seriously ill COVID patients within month

 

Bennett reportedly agrees to expand hospital capacity after being presented with numbers showing hospitalizations quadrupling by mid-September; funding for plan unclear

Shaare Zedek hospital team members wearing safety gear as they work in the coronavirus ward

 

Israeli hospitals have to prepare for an influx of nearly 5,000 coronavirus patients within weeks, half of whom will need acute care to deal with severe bouts of COVID-19, health officials have warned Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, according to reports Wednesday.

The dire predictions came during a Tuesday meeting between Bennett and senior health experts amid a major influx of new cases, prompting the premier to back a plan to expand hospital capacity, a signal that the government will look to absorb the crush of severe cases head-on rather than attempt to swerve out of its way.

Senior Health Ministry officials and other experts presented Bennett with data forecasting some 4,800 coronavirus patients requiring hospitalization by September 10. The experts expect half of the patients to be seriously ill, putting a major strain on Israel’s health system, according to Hebrew-language media reports on the closed-door meeting.

Israel has seen new case numbers skyrocket in recent weeks from a few dozen a day to over 6,000 on Monday. Another 5,755 were diagnosed on Tuesday, the Health Ministry said Wednesday morning, bringing the number of active cases to 38,942.

Ministry numbers showed 694 patients hospitalized as of Wednesday morning, 400 of whom were listed in serious condition. Sixty-two people were being treated on ventilators.

The predictions from the health experts were based on a doubling of the number of hospitalizations and serious illnesses every 10 days.

Bennett and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz agreed to pump money into the health system to bring in 100 more doctors, 500 nurses and 200 paramedical and support staff every 10 days to keep up with growing demand, according to a summary of the meeting drafted by the Prime Minister’s Office and published by the Ynet news site.

 

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, center, watches a resident of the Migdal Nofim retirement home in Jerusalem be tested for the coronavirus on July 27, 2021

 

Some 3,000 students will also be hired and paramedics and military medics will be brought in to carry out home visits and assist in home treatment for coronavirus patients.

Special summer camps and afterschool care will be provided for the children of health workers to free up their time.

The plan will also increase the capabilities of the geriatric care system and boost the ability of HMOs to treat patients at home in order to ease the load on hospitals.

During the third wave of the virus, which crested in January with some 10,000 new daily cases, health officials warned that the health system would be unable to cope if the number of seriously ill patients rose above 800. At the pandemic’s peak, nearly 1,200 patients were listed in serious condition, and some 50 people died each day.

Hospital internal ward heads told Health Ministry Director Nachman Ash Wednesday that they were already dealing with “heavy crowding,” and feared beds in their units would be moved to coronavirus wards, worsening the pressure, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

 

A health care worker tests Israelis for coronavirus at a drive-through complex in Rehovot

 

The proposal is estimated to cost between NIS 1.5 billion to NIS 2 billion ($465 million to $620 million), Channel 12 reported. Bennett was to meet later Wednesday with the heads of the country’s hospitals to present them with the plan, Ynet reported.

While the source of the money has yet to be determined, Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman has promised on numerous occasions to fund hospitals in order to increase capacity and deal with the rising case numbers.

Liberman, who has likened COVID-19 to the flu, and other government officials see expanding the ability of the health system to deal with thousands more patients as key to pursuing its policy of avoiding lockdowns or strict restrictions that could harm the economy, seeking to “live with” the virus and vaccinate where possible rather than attempt to eradicate it from public life.

Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked came under fire Tuesday after appearing to brush aside the pandemic’s human toll while defending the government’s stance, telling Channel 13 news that “we have to to know how to accept severe cases and also to accept deaths, because this is a pandemic and in a pandemic people die.”

Ministers were to convene later Wednesday to discuss broadening the scope of the so-called Green Pass system to apply to most events and leisure activities. Under the system, Israelis seeking to enter most venues aside from stores will have to show proof they are vaccinated, have recovered from COVID-19, or tested negative for the virus in the past 72 hours.

KUDOS TO RAV YANKEL BENDER SHLITA

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/health-officials-predict-thousands-of-seriously-ill-covid-patients-within-month/?utm_source=The+Daily+Edition&utm_campaign=daily-edition-2021-08-11&utm_medium=email