5 comments on the Mahmoud-Morel wedding and Israel’s intermarriage problems

[King_David]

Protesters hold signs and shout slogans against the wedding of groom Mahmoud Mansour, 26, and bride Maral Malka, 23, outside a wedding hall in Rishon Lezion, near Tel Aviv August 17, 2014. Photo by Reuters/Ammar Awad

Israel is suddenly in intermarriage frenzy. The reason? No more than anecdotal: a Jewish woman decided to marry an Arab (Muslim) man. They had their wedding earlier this week. A big event for them, a non-event for the public. That is, except for the fact that a radical right-wing group, named Lehava, insisted on arranging a demonstration close by. A controversy-seeking media, possibly bored by now with Gaza and in need of fresh material, turned this fringe demonstration into a national spectacle. The ugly scenes of bearded Jewish men shouting "Muhammad is dead", coupled with the haste of politicians that saw an opportunity to score some points, occupied Israel for 24 hours. Pundits were asked to analyze. Rabbis were summoned to talk shows. Leaders were urged to "respond". Assimilation, for a short moment, replaced "the tunnels" as the big threat to Israel's survival.

Here are 5 comments on this controversy (which isn't expected to last for very long)

http://www.jewishjournal.com/rosnersdomain/item/5_comments_on_the_mahmoud_morel_wedding_and_israels_intermarriage_problems

[King_David]

1. 5.

5.

Try to remember that Israel is a curious little country. We tend to be very conservative on some things – or to have such an image (an image which this wedding controversy might strengthen). But we are also one of the most liberal countries on earth on other matters. Consider this: just last week, with very little fanfare, Israel extended it "law of return" privileges to gay couples. So when you are told that Israel is becoming a "theocracy" or is "ruled by the rabbis" or other such nonsense, don't think about a small group making big noise about one couple – think about official Israel changing its policy in a way that will have an actual impact on new immigrants.

[get the red out]

2. We've got ours too

The US certainly has it's crazy, theocracy oriented, Christian fundamentalists too. Ours have stooped to killing, considering the women's health clinic attacks.

[Israeli]

3. Wow ....just wow King_David....

What planet are you living on ???

Quote : " Israeli Jews are under no serious threat of assimilation for a simple reason: they have no one to marry but their own breed "

On my kibbutz alone last year there were five sons/daughters of the kibbutz that married non Jews that they had met whilst either traveling abroad after army service or here as tourists .

This one is hysterical :

Quote : " Truth must be told: It is harder for many Israelis to swallow the bitter pill of intermarriage between a Jew and a Muslim Arab than it is to accept intermarriage with a Christian Norwegian Kibitz volunteer "

He cant even spell Kibbutz correctly ....
Have you any idea how many Kibbutzniks have married volunteers ???
Going by my Kibbutz it must be in the thousands overall by now .

Israelis love to travel King_David......especially after army service ....to clean their heads ...they are usually in the age group that are ripe to fall in love ...last thing on their minds is Shmuel Rosner.

[King_David]

4. That's why the Gay law of return law for non Jewish spouses

Is so important .

Since I never wrote the OP , you should change your comment from "wow King David (yada yada) to Wow Shmuel Rosner
( yada yada )"

[Israeli]

13. Shmuel Rosner is religious Right wing King_David....

..they are using you and you keep falling for it .

"" Since I never wrote the OP , you should change your comment from "wow King David (yada yada) to Wow Shmuel Rosner
( yada yada )" ""

Shmuel Rosner did not post it here on a progressive site King_David .....you did .

[King_David]

18. I don't think Shmuel Rosner is religious or right

He writes for New York Times and he's not religious either .

What's his views on Universal health care ? Gay Rights ? Tax policy ? Gov Financial help for the poor? Incarceration ? Harm reduction ? and multiculturalism?
Support for immigration and immigrants
( lots of Israeli "left" are very anti immigrant )

( unless your left = communist ? Then yes Rosner is "right&quot

Here's article he wrote:



How to Silence the Israeli Right
APRIL 7, 2014

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/04/08/opinion/rosner-how-to-silence-the-israeli-right.html?_r=0&referrer=

[Israeli]

20. he is ...nt

[King_David]

21. Ok I trust you.

I just never saw proof.

[DanTex]

5. I thought interreligious marriage was not permitted in Israel. Has that changed?

I knew an American Jewish man who told me he met an Israeli Jewish woman and they wanted to get married in Israel. But they weren't allowed to because he was deemed not Jewish enough because apparently his mother was a converted Jew. Does this kind of thing happen or used to happen? The guy was quite a bit older than me so this probably would have been a few decades ago. I can't vouch for the truth of his story, other than that he told it to me.

[Israeli]

14. No ....

I have posted about this subject so many times .....just looked for the last time I did ...here @ : http://www.democraticunderground.com/113477496#post5

If you want to learn more go here :

http://hiddush.org/subchannel-15-0-Marriage.aspx

[King_David]

6. That's great news thanks for sharing

Proof the Jews of Israel are as progressive and tolerant as the Jews in the Golah .

Kol Hakavod !!!

Thank you for telling us all this.

When we constantly hear how racist Jewish Israeli society is and when the extremely progressive attitudes towards gays is actually "pinkwashing " etc it's really good for us to read an actual Israeli explain to us how progressive the young Jews of Israel really are in the intermarriage area as you explained there's no bigotry at all -- same as the Golah .

Great News , thank you . That's why it's good to have an Israeli perspective here to correct all that nonsense we hear about bigotry in Israel that those people are fringe.

[Israeli]

15. I would have thought ....

....that as you are such a great expert on everything Israeli you would have known " all this " without me sharing

Its " Proof " that the secular Left wing are progressive and tolerant King_David , however , there is nothing about our religious Right wing that is ....and I expect that also goes for "the Golah " .

[King_David]

16. I agree

That's why we are here on DU and we learn from each other .
You have been teaching us how progressive and tolerant Israeli Jews are as are Golah Jews.

[Israeli]

19. I have learnt much since I joined here King_David...

its been a great experience .....you and shira have been an eye opener for me ...I could add a few other names to the list if you like ... but you all sing the same song .

" You have been teaching us how progressive and tolerant Israeli Jews are as are Golah Jews. "

Really ?? ....thats what you think

Once again King_David.......there is nothing about our religious Right wing , or this most right wing gov in our history that is progressive or tolerant .

[King_David]

22. Well in post number 3 you taught us how progressive

And tolerant Israeli Jews are , I wasn't talking about the verkukte government .
Same as Golah Jews , in the USA more than 80% are Democratic Party supporters.

Thank you for your insight .

[DemocratSinceBirth]

7. Why Would a orthodox Jew question the authenticity of a convert?/nt

[King_David]

8. I don't think so but

I don't know much about them.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

9. All I did to become Jewish is to have Jewish parents and get circumcised.

I never even had a Bar Mitzvah. To become an Orthodox Jew a man or woman would have to do a lot more than that.

Most of my cousins are married to Christians, two of whom are African American. However in almost every instance they converted to Judaism.

The protesters in this instance shock the conscience.


However it should be noted that marriages of people from different religions among the religious does pose problems.

When I was in grad school I had a friend from Morocco. His dad was Muslim. His mom was a Jewish convert to Islam. He asked me not to share that fact with other grad students who were Muslim because they would give him a hard time.

[Mosby]

10. the orthodox would consider you Jewish

Their problem Imo is that they are a little obsessed with lineage.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

11. That's the most interesting thing about Judaism

It has elements of a race, of a religion, of a nationality, of an ethnic group.


What makes it primarily a religion is that people can freely join it but DNA studies demonstrate that most Jews are more closely related than , say, a group of Episcopalians.

I live in L A and there is a magazine that targets the Jewish community and is called Tribe. Are we a tribe? Usually when I hear Tribe by non Jews it's not meant to be flattering.

To me being Jewish was always more of an ethnic thing than a religious thing.

[King_David]

12. To me being Jewish was always more of an ethnic thing than a religious thing.

Me too

[oberliner]

17. What is Islam's view of intermarriage?

I may have this wrong, but I think I read that Muslim men are allowed to marry Jewish women but Muslim women are not allowed to marry Jewish men. Can anyone share more light on the subject? I hate relying on Google and would love to hear from someone with more firsthand knowledge.