Jordan has asked Canada to seize the 2,000-year-old Dead Sea scrolls, on display until Sunday at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, invoking international law in a bid to keep the artifacts out of the hands of Israel until their disputed ownership is settled.

Even if Canada ignores the request, it will make other countries think twice before accepting the controversial exhibit. Summoning the Canadian chargé d’affaires in Amman two weeks ago, Jordan cited the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, to which both Jordan and Canada are signatories, in asking Canada to take custody of the scrolls.

Jordan claims Israel acted illegally in 1967 when it took the scrolls from a museum in east Jerusalem, which Israel seized from Jordan during the Six-Day War and subsequently occupied. The Hague Convention, which is concerned with safeguarding cultural property during wartime, requires each signatory “to take into its custody cultural property imported into its territory either directly or indirectly from any occupied territory. This shall either be effected automatically upon the importation of the property or, failing this, at the request of the authorities of that territory.” This means Canada must act, says Jordan. “The Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan would be grateful if the Government of Canada would confirm … whether it is prepared to assume its international legal responsibility, and the means by which it intends to do so,” it wrote.

The Jordanian government must have a sever case of senile dementia as it forgets the only reason the Jordan government had custody of the ancient Jewish scrolls owes more to its own illegal occupation of the disputed territories from 1948-1967. I am not holding my breath but it does look like the Canadian government maybe refuse to be sucked into Pally-lawfare.

While confirming that Canada has received a message from Jordan, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade said yesterday that “differences regarding ownership of the Dead Sea scrolls should be addressed by Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority. It would not be appropriate for Canada to intervene as a third party.”

An eminently sane position but the Jordanians and Palestinians are not suggesting Canada seize the ancient Jewish scrolls from Israeli custodianship per say but act as a neutral third party in retaining the ancient Jewish scrolls until ‘ownership’ of the Dead Sea Scrolls can be ‘legally’ resolved. So the Jordanians want the international community to determine who is legal rightful custodian of ancient Hebrew scrolls documenting the ancient Jewish presence to the land – the Palestinian Authority or Israel, the homeland of the Jewish people.

I knew there was a scheduled protest against the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the ROM, and freed of family obligations I could easily make it home to change, catch the protest and be back home before the sun set. A funny thing happened on my way out the door. I ran into my youngest son, Isaiah Sender. He said he would go with me if I could wait for him to change. As I was waiting for Isaiah Sender, in comes the Last Amazon like a hurricane from work. She might have been hot, wet and cranky but when she learned we are off to catch the protests at the ROM – she demanded we wait for her to change so she can come too. The Last Amazon was a mite curious to see the kind of people who would claim the Dead Sea Scrolls were a part of Palestinian heritage.

What I was not prepared for when I turned the corner to the front entrance was the sea of blue and white … and I was worried about being alone on Friday night. My very bad. I ran into Right Girl and she smiled and said, “I knew you would come.” No doubt she will have pictures up soon and her unique brand of pithy take on it all. My eyes weren’t what they once were, and with the sun was shining bright on Zion’s side of the street it was hard for me to take pictures, so Isaiah Sender volunteered to do the honours. These are his pictures.

Of course, the reason we were gathered was because of the protests on the other side. Isaiah Sender decided no pictorial would be complete without pictures of the usual mosers. I know, I know, I shouldn’t call them that, but if not moser, then what are they? I don’t understand them, and I suppose I have gotten to an age where I no longer feel compelled to understand every dark turn or twist of their psyches. Instead, I just accept it. We all make our own choices. If there was one thing which stood out clearly it was this – across the street there was a distinct lack of pigment. They might have had the signs denouncing Zionism as racism but it was the Zionists who came in all colours. Zionists are also sensitive to the hearing impaired.

“BAD GUYS” GALLERY





After being roaming across the street snapping pictures and getting flack for hanging out with the ‘Zionists’ Isaiah Sender was more than happy to give Right Girl a break from holding high the Israeli flag.
And may the sun always shine on Zion.

Update: Lots more pictures and video at Lumpy, grumpy & frumpy

Now that I am paying attention to the Dead Sea Scroll exhibit at the Rom it looks like as if it is turning into quite a success. The Globe and Mail:

Attendance at the Royal Ontario Museum’s Dead Sea Scrolls: Words that Changed the World exhibition has exceeded even its organizers’ most hopeful projections, attracting an average of more than 2,000 people each day since it opened.

In the nine days after the Toronto exhibition opened on June 27, 18,324 people attended, exceeding the museum’s projections by 52 per cent, the ROM announced yesterday. And the ROM will hope to draw return visitors, as the 16 scrolls to be displayed are split between two three-month stints, the second of which begins in October. Dating as far back as the third century BC, but discovered just 60 years ago, the Scrolls include the oldest known examples of the Hebrew Bible as well as other religious and secular texts.

Attendance at the Royal Ontario Museum’s Dead Sea Scrolls: Words that Changed the World exhibition has exceeded even its organizers’ most hopeful projections, attracting an average of more than 2,000 people each day since it opened.

Since one of the writings on display in the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit contains the Tehillim, and it has now been co-opted as an ancient book of Palestinian-Arab prayers, I thought I would give my readers a picture of what said book looks like. Lucky for you, I just happen to have such a book on my desk. In fact, it is rarely out of my reach. Although, someone might want to have a word with the Kehot people for publishing such a book.

TORONTO – Frederic Geisweiller, owner of downtown restaurant Le Select Bistro, told the Jewish Tribune he didn’t believe his accusations against the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) regarding the current Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit would discourage visitors. Nor did he acknowledge that his comments about Israel were politically one-sided.

Geisweiller also claimed that due to pressure from Palestinian and other groups, the ROM has revised its information regarding ownership of the Scrolls. This was denied categorically by a ROM spokesperson. Until last week, the restaurant’s website, which publicizes local happenings and cultural events, included the following:

“Although we endeavour in this page to bring you the best this city offers, we wish – uncharacteristically – to warn against a show whose artifacts were obtained by force and looting, and which the ROM is – astonishingly – set on featuring. The so called Dead Sea Scrolls…showcases artifacts seized by Israel in its 1967 surprise war, which it waged against its neighbours. The war led to the seizure and the ongoing military occupation of many lands, including the West Bank, from where the scrolls were taken. They had been excavated in the early 50s’ (sic) by the Ecole Biblique Francaise, the Palestine Archaeological Museum, and the Department of Antiquities of Jordan. They represent a collection of nearly 900 ancient manuscripts, including portions of the Old Testament written in Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek. By showcasing these artefacts, the ROM is violating Canada’s responsibilities under the UNESCO Conventions and Protocols relating to cultural objects seized by arms and its own obligations as a principal member of the Canadian Museums Association (CMA).”
The site also connected readers to an anti-Israel petition by Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME). “I don’t think I was taking any political side,” Geisweiller said. Rather, he was highlighting “the fact that there’s a controversy about it.”

Greisweiller, has since see fit to change the website’s original stance and justified it this way.

“We don’t bow to pressure,” Geisweiller said, insisting that the site was changed only because, according to his information, the ROM had agreed to include the “controversial” facts in its literature, although he had just returned from France and hadn’t yet looked at the changes. According to the ROM, no changes have been made regarding the Dead Sea Scrolls Project, which was “created in partnership with the Israel Antiquities Authority.”

This controversy, reminds me of the time (circa 2003) when an Egyptian legal scholar proposed a lawsuit should be launched against all the Jews in the world for reparations of Pharaoh’s loot which had been ‘stolen’ when the ancient Hebrews fled Egypt during the Exodus. He even went so far as to calculate the approximate value in modern day terms. Of course, this wasn’t the first time the Jews were sued over the Exodus and the Talmud even details the appropriate defense that carried the day the last time the “Jews” were sued.

The latest manufactured controversy by the Palestinians would be laughable if people like Geisweiller weren’t buying it hook, line and sinker – and actively promoting it. One can argue till the cows come home whether the preemptive action taken by the Israelis in June 1967 against its neighbours was primarily defensive or not but there are some facts which are indisputable. The Jordanians did not have to join in the war between the Egyptians and Israelis but Jordanian King made a conscience decision to enter into the dispute. Furthermore, the Jordanian occupation of East Jerusalem and the so called West Bank was illegal nor did these lands ever represent the original Palestine Mandate given to the formation of Trans Jordan on the East Bank. Consequently, the Dead Sea Scrolls were acquired by the Jordanians during an illegal occupation. And do note – the scrolls were acquired by the Jordanians and not the PLO or the Palestinian Authority.

To suggest the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were the writings of ancient Jews are now an integral part of the Palestinian national heritage, has to be one of the most absurd international positions I have ever heard being actively promoted by the Palestinian Authority. What’s next – Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek are ancient Palestinian languages or that the Tanach is now part of the Palestinian religious tradition? But perhaps Le Select Bristo can post a definitive answer to these questions on the next update of their website.

Next Thursday I had intended to dine with the Last Amazon at Le Select Bistro to celebrate my birthday but it will now be a dark day in hell before I will ever pass through the doors of Le Select Bistro. Geisweiller will have to find some other suckers to fiance his restaurant and promote his political agenda because it sure won’t be on my dime.

One more thing. I realize some will think I am quibbling but there are no such religious writings called the ‘Old Testament’ in Judaism.

The party leader always has the first spot and how any given candidate assumes a place on the party list varies from party to party. Some do it by a membership vote by the party, others have the leader of the party appoint candidates, and still others use a mix of both. For instance, Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu got into trouble for allowing the Likud membership to vote on the list but when Moshe Feiglin was returned high on the list Netanyahu decided to circumvent the process rationalizing Feiglin’s nationalist stance would cause Likud to bleed votes to Kadima or Labor, hence the fudging of the lists.

Firstly, throw out everything you think ‘right-wing, left-wing, conservative and liberal stand for in a Canadian political context. Almost without exception, all Israeli parties fall on the left side of the Canadian political spectrum. Yes, even the so-called right-wing parties like Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu are still left on our political centre and are the Canadian equivalent of the Liberal party. What separates these two parties is not so much economic theory but their stances national security, the peace process, citizenship, and religious/secular values.

One of the true divides of Israeli political parties is religion or the lack of. Here’s an interesting tidbit. Shas stands approximately at the same point on the political left as the Israeli Labor party. The true separation between both parties has more to do with their belief in how religion should or should not determine how the state is run. Shas is an orthodox Charedi religious party while Labor is secular in nature. Shas’ political leader is Eli Yishai but Shas spiritual leader is Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. If Rabbi Yosef issues a directive, no one in Shas, including the party leader, will take a position contrary to Rabbi Yosef’s directive.

Traditionally, in western democracies Labor parties are said to represent the interests of working men and women but the Israeli Labor party today tends to attract the progressive intelligentsia of Israeli society while Likud, Shas, National Union, and Yisrael Beiteinu can be considered to more rightly representative of the interests of average working class Israelis. Here is another little quirk, communist parties, in most western style democracies are marginal groups at the best of times with a distinctly irrelevant aura; however, in Israel, not only is there one communist party but many and it gets more face time to promote its ideas in the Israeli media than you would find in ten years of Mondays in the media of any other western style country.

It’s been years since one political party has been able to capture more than 50% of the vote so coalition governments are the norm. The current coalition administration is lead by Kadima, the party Ariel Sharon founded after his break with the Likud party, although he never lead the party in an election. The Prime Minister is currently Ehud Olmert, but the leader of Kadima is Tzippi Livni, currently the Foreign Minister, who was chosen by Kadima to lead the party in Tuesday’s election.

Kadima was populated by a series of political opportunists drawn mostly from the ranks of Labor and Likud as well as a few other smaller parties in Israel. Kadima is commonly described as being in the political centre of Israeli leftism and Kadima was founded with much fanfare and excitement drawn from mostly secular ranks but its record of accomplishment has been hampered by general to rank incompetence and scandal upon scandal. It is committed to principle of establishing a two-state solution per the ‘Road Map’. The most important policy issues in this election are the continuing negotiations with the Palestinian Authority as per the Road Map, and instituting civil marriage and burial in Israel.

Currently, Kadima is trailing second in polls to Likud which brings me to the Likud-Ahi ticket. Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu is the current Likud-Ahi leader and this time round Likud has entered into a coalition with the Ahi party. Netanyahu, while a favourite for making Israel’s case aboard (especially in the Anglo media circuit) his record as Prime Minister was dismal and is credited for giving up majority control of the ancient Jewish city of Hebron, and second holiest place in Judaism to Arafat and the Palestinian Authority. Despite this, Likud remains a potent mix of the religious and secular elements and truly one of the last great tents in Israeli politics.

The party platform consists of being committed to negotiate peace with a Palestinian leadership ‘not compromised by terror’ which means I don’t know who they will actually negotiate with. An economic plan of fiscal well-being for the Palestinian Authority in the hope the Palestinians can be bribed from committing acts of political terrorism, and continued economic reforms of the Israeli government. Likud has also committed to the refusal to divide Jerusalem, the undivided capital of Israel, as well as any dismantlement of any major settlement blocs in the disputed territories. Currently, Likud-Ahi is favoured to win the election but what to watch for is how many seats over 30 Likud will win. Thirty is the current high for Bibi’s party which isn’t the strongest showing given the general Israeli malaise with both Kadima and Labor parties.

This brings me to Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel is Our Home) and the projected third runner up and potential kingmaker – a position usually held by Shas. Yisrael Beiteinu is lead by a rather brash and sometimes abrasive for Avigdor Lieberman. Check out my ‘Fun with Lieberman’ label which has been detailing the kind of antics that has sent progressive and Arab heads exploding in Israel for years. There are those who assume I am a natural Yisrael Beiteinu supporter being a self-declared Zionist but Yisrael Beitinu is not the natural home for anyone with religious sensibilities or a belief in Zion. Yisrael Beiteinu support traditionally was drawn from the Former Soviet Union citizens but in this election we are seeing support coming from outside the FSU community but still very little support exists from any of the national religious camps in the YB ranks.

I suspect his appeal lies in Israelis choosing to follow their basest instincts due to a number of converging factors such as a rather dramatic escalation in the number of attacks and a growing lawlessness emanating from the Israeli-Arab community. Israelis are tired of feeling like victims while their government twiddles its thumbs impotently and Lieberman is perceived as nobody’s victim and a tough guy able to stand up equally to the Israeli Arab and international community. One crucial party platform calls for a population/land exchange which would see the large settlement blocs in the disputed territories exchanged with large blocs of Israeli Arabs land within Israel. While the international community cringes at Israel Beiteinu peace and land exchange policies Kadima party leader Tzippi Livni is widely reported as saying the Israeli Arabs ‘must find their national solution elsewhere’ last December.

All ties with the Gaza Strip will be cut and any acts of aggression would be met with massive retaliation. A citizen’s loyalty oath would be instituted and required of all Israeli citizens. His party would actively lobby for membership in the EU as well as NATO as well as allowing for civil marriage which makes him no friend of the religious.

The fourth runner up brings in Labor lead by Ehud Barak, current Israeli Defense Minister. My how the mighty have fallen can best describe the political fortunes of the current Labor party. Ehud Barak’s former stint as Prime Minister of Israel is perceived as an even greater disaster than Bibi’s. Even the current party platform reeks of yesterday’s half-baked ideas. A commitment to the Saudi peace plan (with revisions) as a basis for negotiating with the Palestinians and a promise to reach a negotiated settlement within two years as well as reaching a negotiated settlement with the Syrians. Labor will use all legitimate means to ensure Iran’s international isolation, with an eye to ending Iran’s nuclear threat. On the home front, Labor will work on behalf of senior citizens by increasing pensions and increasing the safety of long-term savings. Talk about blowing and sucking at the same time and so it is no coincidence that home of the traditional progressive intelligentsia has deserted Labor in groves to either hitch its wagon to Kadima or the Hadash party.

Time is short so I am ending my primer for now and will update it tonight with a profile on the smaller political parties ahead of Tuesday’s election result.

The Update:

Having highlighted the four major parties involved in Tuesday’s election it is time to turn to the minor parties.

Shas – Former kingmaker of Israeli politics has been allegedly uprooted by Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu. Shas is described as an ‘ultra’-Orthodox Sephardi community party officially lead by Eli Yishai but ’spiritually’ mentored/directed by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. Shas is a left-wing religious party whose whole rationale for being is to support and protect the Sephardic way of life. It is commonly held belief in Israeli politics that Shas’ vote on any given issue can be had – provided one can meet the price Shas will extract.

Shas is currently against making any significant territorial concessions to the Palestinians or dividing Jerusalem. Shas believes all government policies should be based on strict adherence to Jewish law and is in favour of higher state pay-outs to large families as well as increased funding for religious schools. Recently, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef has taken to issue a set of rather harsh directives against Yisrael Beiteinu, and he has even gone so far as to suggest it is innately sinful to vote Yisrael Beiteinu. Furthermore, if Yisrael Beiteinu is returned with any kind of strength the country’s grocers will be forced to sell pork and Israelis of all stripes will be forced to pray in churches. While it would be easy to suggest Shas is undergoing a case of sour groups for being displaced as the kingmaker in Israeli politics, Shas does have a point, in that the incredibly secular Yisrael Beiteinu, is seeking a rather profound change in the nature of the world’s only Jewish state.

Meretz – no outline of Israeli political parties would be complete without mentioning the premier Communist party of Israel. Meretz is a completely secularly party which favors direct negotiates with the Palestinians, a dismantling of the settlements and a withdrawal from the disputed territories. It also wishes to accept any non-orthodox conversions and an acceptance of patrilineal descent as a valid determination as a source of ‘Jewishness’. It carries the traditional social justice agenda. Meretz has fallen on hard times lately among progressive circles and the ranks are now full of aging hippies while all the cool, hip progs have been increasing drawn to the ranks of Hadash and the Green party.

Since the Green parties world wide are fairly indistinguishable from each other and the current polling trend for the Meimad (Green party) is zero; I am not going to waste any more words on them.

United Torah Judaism. The Ashkenazi Anti-Zionist Charedim version of Shas without the political expertise, savvy or number clout to be relevant. Enough said.

Habayit HaYehudi – The Jewish Home party replaces the National Religious zionist party. The party platform is against any further withdrawals from the disputed territories. Stands against the creation of a Palestinian state and wants to strengthen both the state and religious education system. Not much to say really other than it could easily fit into a Likud lead coalition.

Gil or the Pensioners Party. The whole point of the Gil party is to increase funding and highlighting the needs of Israeli seniors. Gil burst on the scene in the last election and would be a fit with either a Kadima or Likud lead coalition. As far as I can determine, the pollsters are suggesting Gil will not be able to hold onto any of their current mandates.

The Hadash party is where all the cool, hip progressive leftie Jews go to hand out with progressive cool, hip Israeli Arabs who have left the traditional socialistic Arab parties. Standard progressive platforms, with the exception of wanting to completely dismantle the Jewish character of the Israeli state and replace it with a completely secular one. One Love people – except for religious Jews among us.

This brings me to the Arab parties. First off is the United Arab List which is a combination of 3 Arab parties. The A-List can be characterized as wanting the dismantlement of a Jewish homeland, the complete right of return for all Palestinians refugees from 1948, full withdrawal from the disputed territories and the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as the capital.

Balad or the National Democratic Assembly. Honestly, the only difference I can see from the United Arab List is the name. The platforms are so similar that is might as well be the same party. Maybe the difference is some kind of a clan thingy.

Finally, my political home in Israel – Ichud Leumi or National Union party lead by Yaakov “Ketzaleh” Katz. This is where I cheat and post directly from the National Union website.

The Ichud Leumi represents a broad consensus of the Israeli public that believes in the vital importance of safeguarding the security and national heritage of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. Our list includes candidates from various sectors of the Israeli public united by a shared commitment to the national rights of the Jewish people and the territorial integrity of our ancestral homeland. As the only party that has remained true to the ideals that have always defined Israel’s national camp, we offer our voters a practical platform to continue the Zionist endeavor and create a brighter future for the State of Israel.

There is one more or less fast rule in Israeli politics – the polls are often deceptive. I know of more cases, when the pollsters got it dead wrong than called it right. Why this is, I am not sure. It could be there are far more Israeli voters who are like me. My natural inclination and political sympathies lie with National Union, but if I had a vote to cast in tomorrow’s election, I would probably throw my vote at the Likud and hope I was strengthening the national religious element within the Likud party in order to counter Netanyahu’s base and worse instincts. Having said that, did I also mention a number of leading Chabad rabbis have endorsed Ichud Leumi? Call it my inner Lubavitcher asserting herself.

Here is the real deal with tomorrow’s election. Likud could very well come in with the majority of mandates, and then, a bit of political hanky-panky goes on behind the scenes and the country ends up with a Kadima coalition lead by Tzippi Livni and backed by Israel Beiteinu. Realistically, and despite Lieberman’s alleged hard edge/right credentials, Israel Beiteinu has more in common with the secular Kadima than the big tent mix of religious and secular hawks in Likud. Of course, there is always the outside chance that Lieberman pulls a rabbit out of his kippah and we all end up saying, “Prime Minister Lieberman.” And that is the great joy of Israeli politics – anything can happen.