Every so often events like this happen which make me ashamed to be a Jew. Or I should say, ashamed to share a religion with biryonim (“hooligans”) like the ones I’m about to portray.
Justice Richard Goldstone, author of the UN report on Operation Cast Lead, was expecting to travel back to his home in South African to share in the nachas of his grandson’s bar mitzvah. Not so fast. The South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) got wind of this and decided they’d make a huge stink. They threatened to picket outside the shul DURING the bar mitzvah. As a result, the machers of the community got together and did one of those great back-room deals. To preserve shalom bayit they arrived at what they called a “sensible agreement” which disinvited Goldstone from his own grandson’s simcha.
This man who is a child of South African Jewry, whose courage helped transform South Africa’s apartheid system in one of democratic rule, one of the world’s most distinguished international jurists, and a fearless champion of human rights and justice, is persona non grata in his own Jewish community. They want to diss a Jew who does their community proud by having had an affiliation with it? What have these people come to? What sort of Judaism is this? Who ever said that politics should trump religion? Do these people even care about religious values? Do they know what it means to be a Jew?
Of course they don’t have a religion in that sense because their real religion is Israel. How else to explain that they are willing to cut off their noses to spite their face in this way? I am sorry but these Jews make a laughingstock of my religion. If they want to do this fine, but let them call themselves something other than Jews. Perhaps Judeans would be more appropriate since they’re far more likely to support settlers and their friends in the current government.
This is the voice of a barely concealed hooligan and hypocrite to boot, not a Jewish leader in the true sense of the word:
Avrom Krengel, chairman of the SAZF, said: “We understand there’s a barmitzvah boy involved – we’re very sensitive to the issues; at this stage there’s nothing further to say.” While Krengel said the SAZF had “interacted” on the matter with the chief rabbi, the Beth Din and others, his organisation was “coming across most forcefully because we represent Israel”.
And this, I’m sorry to say is actually the voice of a South African rabbi, Rosh Beth Din Rabbi Moshe Kurtstag:
“I think [the agreement] was quite a sensible thing to avert all this unpleasantness.”
Unpleasantness indeed. The only thing unpleasant here is the stench rising from this pile of manure which he calls a “sensible agreement.”
I repeat, this is not Judaism. This is mean-spirited, atavistic tribalism. And of course it has been blessed not just by South Africa’s chief rabbi, but likely by the Israeli government (or perhaps instigated by it), which has been on the warpath against Goldstone for many months.
When you watch politics as long as I have you understand that there is a point at which your opponent gets a bad case of hubris and overextends himself. Bush did it. You know when this happens that pride goes before a fall. These Jews have done precisely that. I hope there will be a backlash by reasonable-minded rabbis and Jews throughout the world. If these Jews want to be a)&holes, gesund a heit. But not in my name.
To their credit, some of Goldstone’s South African Jewish colleagues have come to his defense:
Mr Justice Dennis Davis said…he assumed that pressure had been brought to bear on the family. “If that assumption is correct, then it is outrageous because it seeks to place a ban on somebody participating in his grandson’s barmitzvah.
“Have we now got to the point that because we don’t like what somebody says or does, we place a ‘cherem’ on them? What right do we have to do that? I would like to add that people who are gleeful about it must remember what Pastor Niemoller said: ‘Who will speak up for them when they are finally excommunicated for some misdemeanor?’”
Retired president of the Constitutional Court, Mr Justice Arthur Chaskalson said it was “disgraceful” to put pressure on a grandfather not to attend his grandson’s barmitzvah.
“If it is correct that this has the blessing of the leadership of the Jewish community in South Africa, it reflects on them rather than on Justice Goldstone. They should hang their heads in shame.”
H/t Didi Remez (font of amazing story tips!).
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Medawar suspects that this breaches South African law and the Constitution.
If a similar thing were done in England, blackmail charges could be brought, exactly as they are against animal rights extremists. The going rate for a politically or racially motivated blackmail conviction is twelve years. Although, I can’t see this sort of thing happening in Highgate or North Ilford in any case.
All decent South Africans should picket this joke of a Bar Mitsvah, from which a man who played an important role in the abolishment of Apartheid has been banned!
Too bad for the grandson perhaps, but I do not understand anyhow why he -and the rest of his family- wants to go through with this as it is now.
It is heartbreaking that it has come to this. I’m especially saddened to see so clearly illustrated the depth of the denial of Zionist Jews of the crimes that have been committed against the Palestinian people. This is deeply disturbing and unsettling.
Until the denial ends, the apartheid and the oppression will continue. People who do not recognize their crimes will not stop committing them.
Judge Goldstone is a good man. To publicly insult and personally hurt him this way is an inexcusable sin.
This case is a perfect illustration of the immorality of the methods used by Israel’s lobby against their perceived foes. Disgraceful.
RE: “JUSTICE GOLDSTONE DISINVITED FROM GRANDSON’S BAR MITZVAH BY SOUTH AFRICAN JEWRY” – R.S.
MY COMMENT: Words fail me!
A RELEVANT FACEBOOK GROUP
Richard J. Goldstone: Integrity Personified
Category: Common Interest – Beliefs & Causes
Description: A group for individuals who respect Justice Goldstone and admire his integrity.
Open: All content is public.
LINK – http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=152832719154
Justice Goldstone is a great person who protects human rights. He is a white person who contributed to the collapse of the South African white apartheid and a Jewish person who contributes to bring the Israeli war criminals to justice what may lead to the collapse of the Isareli Apartheid regime. In his work justice Goldstone protects not only human rights, but also the good name of Judaism. He expressed the right values of Judaism, when war criminals make their crimes on behalf of Judaism. HEZAK V-EMACH, Justice Goldstone, a Human Rights Hero.
Correction: chazak v’amatz.
A bar mitzvah can be celebrated privately even within own’s own house (or just about anywhere else) on just about any Saturday on or after the boy’s 13th birthday if there are 10 (male, depending) Jews present along with a Torah (rabbi optional, cantor optional, wine or grape juice not optional).
If the boy’s family wanted Richard Goldstone at the grandson’s bar mitzvah, they could have him there.
I think there are family issues here.
I think you should prob. not speculate about another person’s family unless you know the facts.
I cannot help but think that the bar mitzvah boy will, someday, be ashamed of his family for the disrespect shown to his grandfather, and for his own role, and his parents’ role, in it.
Courage and deep moral sense is, apparently, not genetic.
[comment deleted for violating comment rules]
The New York Times has published an article on this
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/17/world/middleeast/17goldstone.html
There is enough antisemites in the world. We dont need jewish antisemites. All of of you including the the writer should be ashamed.
If a commenter like didn’t exist we’d have to invent you to show how reasonable our views are compared to yr own. Luckily no one had to invent you. You appeared of yr own volition!
Any reading of the Goldstone report would show that the charge of antisemitism (or the equally ridiculous charge that he ignored Hamas violations) is utterly absurd. The report is a prosecutor’s brief. The charges still have to be proven in court (against all sides). But the evidence against IDF is well documented and damning.
All sides ignore the report because it is so … inconvenient. But it is really the best chance of reducing violence against civilian populations. Carried to its logical conclusions, funders of that violence (state funders as well as private) would be punished. Rich guys and dumb leaders would risk jail. Much more powerful deterrent than use of force.
Goldstone acquitted four white police officers who broke into a white woman’s home to “prevent” her from committing the “crime” of having relations with a black man. He could have overturned the acquittal on the grounds of simple tresspass; he did not.
There are many other stories of this man’s support for Apartheid. He went out of his way to publicly support “the gallows” for crimes committed by Blacks, saying that “fury is a legitimate response.”
Now, THIS MAN, is going to sit in judgment of Israel for responding to thousands of bombs dropped on Sderot (and other places) by Palestinian terrorists? What a joke.
A zoch in vey. More bulls(&t fr. the hasbara crowd. Look, Shaun just brought this crap here. It didn’t work for him. It’s not gonna work for you. YOu’re not a lawyer, not a judge. You don’t know shit fr. shinola in terms of the cases or precedents of S.A. law.
Goldstone did not support apartheid & in fact made the first judicial ruling which broke down apartheid. Or did you forget that? Or forget the courage it took to go against a white gov’t & it’s full police & military force? Yeah, you “forgot” that. Conveniently. And did you forget that S.A. had capital punishment when he was a judge there? And did you forget that judges have to uphold the rule of the law, even if they disagree w. it unless they can find a precedent allowing them to overturn it? Forgot that too, didn’t you? Forgot a lot, didn’t you? Did you remember anything?
The “joke’s” on you I’m afraid. And we’re all laughing–but at you, not Goldstone.