- As a young person, I was taught that there are three
things one must never discuss...... politics, religion and sex. My response
was "what else is there to talk about?" I have always found those
topics interesting to study, question and discuss.
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- I call myself a "truth seeker," and my pursuit
of truth has led me down some long and winding roads. I was born of Jewish
parents, became an atheist in my late teens (it seemed so hip) and ultimately
became immersed in psychology. From the readings of Carl Jung, it was a
short hop into the realm of metaphysics. My metaphysical pursuits led me
to Hinduism where I experienced Shaktipat with a Guru. Next came Buddhism,
which, although peace loving, lacked the passion I craved. Eventually,
a book about Vedanta introduced me to Jesus Christ.
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- As a child of Jewish parents, the mention of the name
Jesus had been verboten. This was, in part, because my mother had been
raised in a neighborhood in which part of the celebration of Easter included
throwing stones at my mother and her family and calling them "Christ
killers" However, I had not had my mother's experience. The Christ
according to Vedanta was a loving being.
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- I took to the words of Jesus and was baptized in 1991.
Christianity was fine until you got past the teachings of Jesus and entered
the realm of Paul's "hell fire and brimstone." The "exclusivity"
of the religion and the need to chapter and verse people over the head
with two by fours, sent me running from the church.
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- The Wiccan religion was probably my favorite. It was
a nature loving teaching with magical content. I did the readings and participated
in some rituals. And yet, at the end of the day, I am a solitary practitioner,
practicing nothing. I have eaten the center of the Oreo and tossed the
outer parts into the recyclable bin. Most isms hold no spell over me. I
believe in a loving Creator but that is where my belief ends. And, if I
should one day find that I am wrong, I will merely place the disillusion
in the large pile which has gone before. After all, who wants to live in
illusion?
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- Growing up, I had always heard that Israel was a Jewish
refuge.....a homeland for people who had been oppressed for centuries.
Israel, I'd been told, was a democracy, a little good guy surrounded by
a pack of big bad guys who were hell bent on driving the innocent state
into the sea.
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- "Why?" I asked.
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- The answer was muffled. It was something about jealousy
and anti-Semitism. My gray matter descended into a fog of distortions and
divisiveness. I remained innocent.
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- This myth of innocence began to unravel when, I began
reading The Spotlight. Don't ask my why, but it touched a nerve. Call it
intuition if you like, but something in that paper rang true. I was appalled
by the efforts, of some, to silence that voice, since, in my innocence,
I still believed in "freedom of the press." However, "the
powers that be" must have been successful and The Spotlight dimmed.
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- Enter the Internet. Family and friends tell me that I
have too intimate a relationship with the Net. I spend a great deal of
my leisure time surfing the web. I read "controversial" sites
and listen attentively to Internet broadcasts. It is here that my innocence
was lost. I am no longer a political virgin.
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- My myth of Israel was shattered. Through such Jewish
voices as Ralph Schoenman, Norman Finkelstein and Lenni Brenner, (three
courageous Jewish writers) a whole new picture of the "homeland"
was emerging. I read the "Hidden History of Zionism" by Ralph
Schoenman and "The Holocaust Industry" by Norman Finkelstein.
I began researching the writings of Lenni Brenner and attended a meeting
at which he spoke.
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- In addition, I listened to the lectures of the late Edward
Said. I was learning that Zionism was a dangerous geo-political movement
and the part that the Rothschilds had played in establishing the state
of Israel. I was learning about the Rothschilds' unholy relationship with
the Nazis. I was learning about the atrocities that were being perpetrated
on the Palestinians. I wondered "How could people who had suffered
so much turn around and do the same thing to the people who were living
on that land long before their arrival?" I was questioning everything
I had been taught.
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- According to Lenni Brenner's book, Zionism in the Age
of Dictators (Ch7) the Zionist party was the only other political party
in Nazi Germany that enjoyed a measure of freedom, and could publish a
newspaper. The reason: Zionists and Nazis had a common interest, making
German Jews go to Palestine. http://www.marxists.de/middleeast/brenner/ch07.htm
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- Another example from Brenner's book (Chapters 24 &
25) tells how the World Zionist Organization in Switzerland turned their
backs on the Jews' cries for help. The Zionists sacrificed their brethren.
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- The quote reads:
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- "For instance, in November 1942, Rabbi Michael Dov-Ber
Weismandel, a Jewish activist in Slovakia approached Adolph Eichmann's
representative, Dieter Wisliceny: "How much money would be needed
for all the European Jews to be saved?" Wisliceny went to Berlin and
returned with an answer. For a mere 2 million dollars, they could have
all the Jews in Western Europe and the Balkans. Weismandel sent a courier
to the World Zionist Organization in Switzerland. His request was refused."
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- The Zionists knew that "unless large amounts of
Jewish blood is spilled, we won't be able to establish the (Zionist) state
of Israel nearly as easily after the war."
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- Zionism, as we see now, has had disastrous consequences
for both the Jews and the indigenous Arabs. And now, there are dire consequences
for the whole world.
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- How many Jews are aware of what is going on in Israel?
How many Jews are aware of how they have been and are being duped. Since
I interface with many different types of people, all shapes and colors
and ethnicities, I have always been curious as to their perception of events.
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- I teach some Orthodox Jewish piano students. Occasionally,
I will get into a political discussion with the parents. My purpose is
to understand their point of view. I was quite surprised when one of them
told me about the huge split in the Orthodox (not Hasidic,) community.
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- "There is an extremely large segment who are anti-Israel,"
according to Mrs. L. and she is heartsick about what is going on in the
Middle East. She agreed that it was a land grab was going to hurt the Jews
in the long run. She said "We pray all the time."
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- Last October, my son hit a young Hasidic girl with his
car. (or should I say, more accurately, MY car) The little girl was not
hurt, but a lengthy dialogue between the Hasidic mother and myself ensued.
She invited me to lunch. This woman is a member of the Satmar sect and
is vehemently opposed to Israel.
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- In September of this year, a refusenick" named Adam
Keller spoke at the local College. He had been jailed for refusing to fight
in the occupied territory and said that he wouldn't even spit on Ariel
Sharon. (there are many who might disagree with this last sentence)
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- Some of my friends have discussed the innate problem
with Judaism and the implicit racism therein. I am avoiding this topic
because, in my experience, "feeling superior" is a disease that
has infected many groups of people. I am sitting in a country that slaughtered
millions of indigenous peoples and claimed land that was not ours. I am
sitting in a country that feels it is the best country and has the right
to march boldly onto foreign soil and take the resources of other lands.
"Feeling superior" is an egoic disorder that is pandemic.
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- The Jewish people are an extremely mixed group. The cultural
Jews (whose only relationship with the religion seems to be around holiday
time) seem pro Israel although they don't know why. The ones I have listened
to have no knowledge of the Talmud nor do they feel "chosen"
When you scratch the surface, you occasionally find a scared person hiding
underneath. They have been brainwashed into believing that there is an
anti-Semite under every rock and Israel is a safe refuge.
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- Among the varied groups, one often finds enmity. A few
years back, the news ran an interview with an Orthodox Rabbi who had made
a statement that the modern Jews were not Jews at all. It was not well
received.
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- Anyone who listens to the mainstream media thinks that
Israel is a helpless country which has to be constantly on guard against
terrorist threats. Loudmouth talk show hosts screech about suicide bombers
while never mentioning Israeli crimes. Through the effective use of "fear"
and the virtual media blackout, people are kept in darkness. People have
swallowed and choked on a veritable feast of lies.
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- I watched a video called "Palestine is Still the
Issue" by John Pilger. It showed the abominable conditions under which
the Palestinians live and the subhuman way in which they are treated. A
Jewish man, who had lost his daughter to a suicide bomber, though devastated,
told the host that he understood the frustration of the Palestinians. Why
has this documentary never been shown on network television?
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- Friends of mine refer to the Babylonian Talmud with its
philosophy of superiority. I have read some of it online and am appalled
by it. I am angered by the phrase "the chosen people." I don't
know why certain Jewish people would feel "chosen" and my question
would be "chosen for what?"
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- I asked an Orthodox female Doctor about a line in the
Talmud which stated that it is preferable for Jews to lie down with animals
than with non-Jews. However, this woman asked "How could that be?"
"Abraham was commanded to lie down with Hagar?"
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- In April of 2005, I read an article in a Neutrei Karta
Newsletter. A group of Orthodox Jewish people were brutalized by Israeli
police during a peaceful demonstration. They were demonstrating against
the desecration of their cemeteries.
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- The group, known for being outspokenly critical of the
State of Israel and its very existence were peacefully demonstrating at
the time. This attack follows a long history of violence against the Orthodox
Jewish community.
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- Consistent with fundamental Jewish beliefs, some of these
protesters often take part in demonstrations, side by side with Palestinians,
against the State of Israel and its inhuman policies toward the Palestinian
people." The apparent strategy of using organized violence through
private security personnel against these peaceful protesters is only one
of many tactics used by the State of Israel to intimidate and discourage
further protests. The police were nowhere to be found at the time or even
hours after the melee. Several Rabbis and children were attacked with electric
stun gun devices and knives, requiring some to be hospitalized.
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- Among the injured were Rabbi Leibl Deutsch and Rabbi
Yisroel Rothchild, both of Jerusalem who were stabbed in the lower back
and leg respectively. The Jewish cemetery at the heart of the incident
dates back to the Second Temple era, over 2000 years ago. Some of the caves
that comprise the cemetery have been destroyed as a result of the ongoing
highway work and there are heightened fears of further desecration as the
highway project continues unabated.
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- http://www.nkusa.org/activities/Demonstrations/April1705Regavim.cfm
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- So, who are the Jewish people? I have described a diverse
group who seem to have as many differences as similarities? The only connecting
thread appears to be their Judaism, a word without a clear definition.
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- At the end of the day, the people I call "friend"
come from many diverse families of origin. They do, however, have one thing
in common. They have distanced themselves from "Organized Religion"
Anything that divides weakens. Organized religion's divisiveness is repugnant.
Its history is bloody. And the "God loves me more than He loves you"
mindset is infantile at best, and homicidal at worst.
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- Copyright 2005 Judy Andreas
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- JUDE10901@AOL.com
- www.judyandreas.com
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