So I see this AP article, headlined “Passover Goes High-Tech in Israel,” and I think, well, let’s take a look, because I have no idea how Passover and high-tech would go together. So I read the article. It leads with the heavy security Israel is taking to prevent another Netanya massacre.
JERUSALEM (AP) – With the Palestinian territories sealed off and armed guards posted at synagogues, Jews gathered Wednesday for the ritual Passover meal that commemorates the flight of the ancient Israelites from bondage in Egypt.
During the weeklong Passover holiday, observant Jews eat matzo – unleavened bread – to illustrate how the Israelites had no time to let their bread rise as they fled.
Israeli security forces were put on high alert for the duration of the holiday, with some 13,000 troops deployed across the country to prevent possible attacks by Palestinian militants. Security forces have received more than 80 warnings about planned attacks, somewhat higher than the usual level, media reported.
The police commissioner, Moshe Karadi, said each synagogue would have at least one armed guard, and police would be posted at hotels where many Israelis were attending Passover meals after sundown Wednesday.
Four years ago, a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 29 Israelis at a ritual Passover dinner in a hotel in the coastal town of Netanya.
Notice, however, that they manage to downplay the fact that hundreds were wounded besides the 29 killed, and that some of the victims were Holocaust survivors. Never forget.
Hamas was behind the Netanya Massacre. Now Hamas is in charge of the PA. Does anyone with half a brain truly doubt that their aims have not changed? They want to destroy Israel.
But I digress.
Next, the article covers two Fatah terrorists killed by the IDF on their way to infiltrating into Israel. Finally, the AP gets to the “high-tech” Passover schtick:
The Internet offered a wide variety of sites for those who put a premium on convenience when carrying out the ceremonial custom of “selling” nonperishable forbidden food to a non-Jew, for “repurchase” after the holiday. Faxing sale transaction requests through a religious intermediary was another option.
The government took the low-tech route. Israel’s chief rabbis, in keeping with state tradition, sold the country’s leavened foods to an Israeli Arab from a suburban Jerusalem town Tuesday for a $4,350 down payment. The man will sell the food back to the state after the holiday ends, and the buyer will have his money reimbursed.
Wow! Faxes and the Internet! How much higher tech can you get? I sit, stunned, at the ingenuity of those wily, hi-tech Jews. Of course, contrast that with the government’s low-tech, traditional ways and hang your head in shame.
But the AP isn’t finished with slamming Israel. No, they have to get in a bit more bad news. So they report on the rise of poverty in Israel (which is, truthfully, a shame that needs to be addressed). They don’t mention whether or not the soup kitchens are high tech.
Yeah, I know, I could just stop reading the AP. But then where would I get my post fodder?
Sadly, security at Jewish ceremonies is neither high-tech or new. At my synagogue, we routinely have off-duty police guarding the building. And the town doesn’t pay them–the synagogue pays them. I don’t know why this makes me mad, but it does.
Miriam, the reason it makes you sad is because you are a thinking, rational being who thinks that Jews should be able to worship without being guarded by armed, off-duty police.
Funny how America’s Muslims don’t have to hired armed guards on their holy days. At least, they don’t have to protect themselves from Jews.
Re: poverty in Israel – expect this to get (predictably!) worse as Labor and other entitlement factions undo Netanyahu’s market reforms, and/or plunder the treasury.
If you think that the increase in poverty is bad, why slam the AP for agreeing with you? Is there any reason that I should trust this kind of reporting?
Because, bbustard, the headline says “Passover Goes High-Tech in Israel.” What does that have to do with the poverty rate in Israel?
And if by “reporting” you mean my post, boy, are you in the wrong place. I don’t report the news. I just snark at it.
NPR’s Marketplace had a short segment yesterday on the new minhag of selling one’s hametz on eBay and donating the proceeds to charity.