Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men attended a rally Sunday at the New York Mets’ stadium on the dangers of the Internet and how to use modern technology in a religiously responsible way.

Women were not permitted to attend the meeting at Citi Field in Queens. However, it was broadcast live to audiences of women in schools and event halls in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods. The event garnered so much interest that organizers rented the nearby Arthur Ashe Stadium for the overflow crowd. [Read More]

When I learned about conservative Judaism was the downfall of my respect for the religion (and only the religion). The misogyny hit deeply. I considered myself a feminist long before I became a self-proclaimed atheist. The event of learning more about “my religion” was a merging of the two (yet I still didn’t use the term “atheist” for a bit of time).

In any case, the idea of internet rules is something many of us fight tooth and nail against. With the plethora of congressional bills that have either died or are slowly working their ways around, one thing has become clear: people on the internet hate rules for the internet.

We can moderate ourselves. We don’t need religious groups dictating what we can and cannot view.

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Via CNN’s Belief Blog:

At a party this weekend celebrating New York Design Week, which begins today, the Chilean-born artist plans to hand out 100 “Christian Popsicles” made of “frozen holy wine transformed into the blood of Christ” and featuring a crucifix instead the tongue depressor that typically hosts the frozen treats, he said.

An image of Jesus Christ positioned traditionally on the cross is visible once the ice pop is consumed. As for the frozen wine, Errazuriz said, he concealed it in a cooler and took it into a church, where it was “inadvertently blessed by the priest while turning wine into the blood of Christ during the Eucharist.”

Errazuriz will hand out the wine creations on Saturday at Gallery R’Pure in Manhattan’s Flatiron District before the “Love It or Leave it” exhibit.

The phrase “inadvertently blessed” does make me chuckle.

Wine popsicles? I can see those taking off on their own.

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From The New York Times:

The first shock came when Mordechai Jungreis learned that his mentally disabled teenage son was being molested in a Jewish ritual bathhouse in Brooklyn. The second came after Mr. Jungreis complained, and the man accused of the abuse was arrested.

Old friends started walking stonily past him and his family on the streets of Williamsburg. Their landlord kicked them out of their apartment. Anonymous messages filled their answering machine, cursing Mr. Jungreis for turning in a fellow Jew. And, he said, the mother of a child in a wheelchair confronted Mr. Jungreis’s mother-in-law, saying the same man had molested her son, and she “did not report this crime, so why did your son-in-law have to?”

The moral fiber of a community strives for its people to feel safe from predators of all types. Mental and physical well being of children (but, really, all people) should be of the utmost importance. The safety of children needs to be considered. In some religious communities, it is not. We’ve all heard of priests molesting boys so much, it’s the butt of many jokes. This reminds me of this poorly executed Catholic group’s logo: 

All silliness aside, the Catholic molestation cases are prevalent in our minds but not so much the Jewish ones. Whether or not this is only happening in a handful of communities, the problem is that this is happening at all. Sometimes “keeping to themselves” becomes a hefty issue that the larger society must sort out.

Pearl Engelman, a 64-year-old great-grandmother, also noted that the community has failed her.

In 2008, her son, Joel, told rabbinical authorities that he had been repeatedly groped as a child by a school official at the United Talmudical Academy in Williamsburg. The school briefly removed the official but denied the accusation. And when Joel turned 23, too old to file charges under the state’s statute of limitations, they returned the man to teaching.

…

“There is no nice way of saying it,” Mrs. Engelman said. “Our community protects molesters. Other than that, we are wonderful.”

[Read More]

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I run into more transphobia on Reddit more than anything. The homophobia is bad and the biphobia is worse but the transphobia and gender-queerphobia is atrocious. I’m just pointing out something I have noticed. This, in no way, makes it “OK” for any sort of hateful comment against anyone.

I have noticed some women, even *gasp* feminists, exhibit a lot of transphobia. When dealing with issues of men and women, it’s important to remember that gender, like sexuality, is on a scale. Not everyone will fit into a neat little box.

That aside, anonymous comments are everywhere. We all know YouTube is one of the worst. I don’t put up many videos but I never check the comments. It’s the lowest common denominator of people who don’t read their entertainment. Everyone goes to YouTube at some point but those who hang out there often are probably not the reading type.

In any case, people have expressed concerns with r/atheism, so other communities are now emerging. I’d also like to say that r/atheism is a default subreddit, therefore non-atheists see it all the time. It is worth mentioning that not everything on r/atheism is even by atheists. People get their rocks off by making us look bad. But, if you still don’t like it, there are many other places even within Reddit that may be more palatable to some.

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I had a very small wedding. I don’t know if I wanted a big one but I wanted a secular one. I wanted a comedian to perform a very short ceremony followed by a more-casual-than-most type of reception. Since I had to have the Jewish ceremony, I opted for inviting no one but close family. The ceremony was long because rabbis don’t do short ones. We had the shortened version; it was at least thirty minutes. The rabbi was more concerned with getting paid than following any Jewish tradition anyway. He was fine to hold it before the sun went down on Saturday (due to Shabbat).

My father was happy so that’s what matters, right? He essentially disavowed one of his sons (my half-brother) for becoming a Christian. He said he would have had nothing to do with me if I were gay (so, no, I could never tell him about my bi/pansexuality). Parents don’t always prescribe to the mantra of “unconditional love”.

Because my father was unhappy with his sons from a previous marriage, the need for me to not be the disappointment often weighed heavily on my shoulders. I gave in because he said he’d pay for it. My mother really talked me into, too. Perhaps one may think that, as a mother, she’d empathize with me even in some small way. She didn’t.

I wish I would have run off to City Hall rather than sell out everything about me.

My point is this: Do what makes yourself happy. You may regret putting yourself on the shelf later on. In times of need, you may wish to put your needs on the back burner for loved ones but don’t so it for too long. While I recognize that it is may be of utmost importance to put others before you in times of need, this was not a time of need.

My father was happy for one night. Now he’s gone and I’m regretful forever.

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“Standing Silent” is a new documentary by Phil Jacobs. It uncovers the ritual abuse in an Orthodox Jewish community in Baltimore, Maryland. Jacobs went on a quest to uncover the stories from the sexual abuse survivors.

The Washington Post has a piece on it. It’s very moving.

One by one the victims stood and described their alleged molesters: the Torah teacher, the rabbi, the ice cream truck driver, the man at the mikvah.

That meeting, held nearly six years ago in a small room in a synagogue in Pikes­ville, just outside Baltimore, went on for four hours. Seated in a circle with the other victims was Phil Jacobs, a Baltimore Jewish Times journalist. He was not there as a reporter. He was there because he, too, had experienced sexual abuse.

…

“Standing Silent” was filmed between 2007 and 2010, with a three-person crew that traveled with Jacobs through Baltimore’s suburbs and to Israel, eventually recording more than 125 hours of video, much of it interviews with victims and alleged perpetrators.

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There is a gallery of a few still from the movie. You can view the “Standing Silent” gallery here. I’m unsure where to actually watch the film. Or when it’s coming out.

In any case, there’s also Survivors for Justice.

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One Iranian writes: “We are 2 civilizations with more than 2,500 years of friendship. Why should I hate Israel?”

With the war drums between Israel and Iran beating at a fevered pace, an Israeli couple has launched an online campaign with the hope of reaching out on a personal level to the people of Iran.

Ronny Edry, 41, said that he and his partner Michal Tamir, 35, both graduates of Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, created the poster campaign last Thursday on something of a lark, with no idea that within days it would take on a life of its own.

[Source]

I don’t know if ordinary citizens promises really hold up but it’s a nice thought. Visit Israel Loves Iran.

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I’m still around, so have no worries!

For now, enjoy this quick image manipulation I created recently. You can even see up my nose! :P

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