Michael Ben-Ari, a member of the National Union Party in the Israeli Knesset, wanted a staff member to film him recently for his constituents to see. While most politicians go for the baby kissing scene or memorial day speech, Ben-Ari wanted to be shown tearing out the New Testament from a bible and throwing it into the garbage — a despicable act of religious intolerance and hate.
Ben-Ari is reportedly a devotee of the late Meir Kahane and apparently a Jewish version of Rev. Terry Jones. To their credit, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee have condemned the action.
A Christian member of the Knesset has called for Ben-Ari to be charged with incitement, which I believe is a mistake. Such prosecutions are part of a trend of prosecuting critics of religion. Rather than punish such acts as crimes (under international blasphemy standards or hate crime laws), such acts should be subject to this type of universal condemnation. It is an act of free speech but it is also hateful and disgraceful. Notably, the destruction of the bible did not trigger the type of vandalism and killings often following the destruction of Korans. However, it should result in the censorship of this member by the Knesset.
Ben-Ari has been outspoken in opposing the visit of the Pope to Israel and advancing his extreme agenda. His 2012 visa application to attend a conference in D.C. was denied on the State Department’s as part of its “prerogative to ban terrorists from entering the country.”
Ben-Ari later explained his actions by insisting “Millions of Jews were murdered in the name of the New Testament, this revolting book brought massacres of Jews in the [Spanish] Inquisition and throughout history.”
It always impresses me how prejudiced hateful people like Ben-Ari will reach back to find some historical excuse for hating other people or faiths — in this case the Spanish Inquisition.
Despite the criticism of some leaders, the response to Ben-Ari has been rather muted, including from his fellow party members. There is no indication whether he will face a formal sanction for his hate-filled demonstration.
Source: JPost
Sorry, Malisha. The post at 1:45 PM was not directed at you, yours just happened to be the post right above. I was making a broad point that, since the US Government apparently thinks that Israel can do no wrong and that it is our duty as a people to support anything that Israel does, any time, any where and to anyone, that perhaps anyone being critical of Israel for any reason might arouse some sort of suspicion. My tongue was probably planted to deeply in my cheek that time, and I LOVE the fact that “I calls ‘em as I seezem, religious or national affiliation notwithstanding.”!
He actually cited the Spanish Inquisition?????? I didn’t expect that, but then again, as the guys in Monty Python said, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition!
Kraaken, see, that’s where you lost credibility. The fact that somebody who does not choose to idly cast aspersions where they should not be cast WILL, on the other hand, use her free speech to criticize anybody she believes deserves it. SEE? So if she thinks a Jew and an Israeli has done something reprehensible, and she chooses to say it, she is neither “casting aspersions on Israel” nor breaking any kind of sacred vow to support any kind of unsupportable behavior.
UNLIKE people who have decided, before knowing anything, that anybody who lends support to anyone in Israel for anything is just blindly being anti-non-Jew, or that anyone who condemns any Jew or any Israeli Jew for anything is either agreeing that Jews and/or Israeli Jews are BAD or that those who harbor prejudices against them are RIGHT.
I calls ’em as I seezem, religious or national affiliation notwithstanding. The number of Jews and/or Israeli Jews who also do that is a larger number than many ignorant people may imagine.
a real man would have torn the book in half
Its Ok. I took the toilet paper out of the outhouse here at the marina and left a copy of the Sears Roebuck Old Testament Bible in there with the cover open and some pages torn out ready to use. You guessed it. Even the holy rollers when in a pinch employed page after page to cleanse themselves of any debris or sins. I noticed several of them crossing themselves as they walked away though. So we are even Knesset hoodies.
Be careful what you say, now. Remember, Michael Ben-Ari IS an Israeli. We wouldn’t want to cast aspersions on Israel now, would we?
OH WHAT A REPREHENSIBLE ARROGANT B*STARD!
IF he were not the kind of guy who would go berzerk if someone tore up the Torah on a video that was publicly broadcast I might be able to see him as merely an idiot, but he’s a lot worse than that.
OH WHAT A REPREHENSIBLE ARROGANT BASTARD!
IF he were not the kind of guy who would go berzerk if someone tore up the Torah on a video that was publicly broadcast I might be able to see him as merely an idiot, but he’s a lot worse than that.
Any chance we could lock Terry Jones and Michael Ben-Ari in a room together and not open the door until noises stop coming from the room. For some reason I am reminded of this little tune my kids liked when they were little.
I’m with Ben Ari. Who needs all that human sacrifice and blood letting. I wonder what he tore out? Diamonds or dunghill? Next he can work on most of the Old Testament!
In extracting the pure principles which he taught, we should have to strip off the artificial vestments in which they have been muffled by priests, who have travestied them into various forms, as instruments of riches and power to themselves. We must dismiss the Platonists and Plotinists, the Stagyrites and Gamalielites, the Eclectics, the Gnostics and Scholastics, their essences and emanations, their logos and demiurges, aeons and daemons, male and female, with a long train of … or, shall I say at once, of nonsense. We must reduce our volume to the simple evangelists, select, even from them, the very words only of Jesus, paring off the amphibologisms into which they have been led, by forgetting often, or not understanding, what had fallen from him, by giving their own misconceptions as his dicta, and expressing unintelligibly for others what they had not understood themselves. There will be found remaining the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man. I have performed this operation for my own use, by cutting verse by verse out of the printed book, and arranging the matter which is evidently his, and which is as easily distinguishable as diamonds in a dunghill. The result is an octavo of forty-six pages, of pure and unsophisticated doctrines.
~Thos. Jefferson, letter to John Adams (1813)
What we need are blasphemy laws! Seriously, who cares? A religious nut job tears up paper and ink and it’s “hate speech”? We are too fast on the draw when it comes to labeling hate speech which is increasingly more often than not, speech we find disagreeable.
And the man has a point, the new testement has indeed resulted in countless crimes against those who follow the Torah. I’m astonished we have churches that still bear the name Luther(an). And when you invent a religion and portray yourself as the special chosen ones you’re bound to eat some crow, force fed at times.
Silly religionists do and say silly things, this should not be a shock. We should be laughing and ordering another latte with out morning paper. For those who find this outrageous I would encourage you to read the morning paper, this is not outrageous, it’s idiotic, there is an important distinction to be made here.
ps: To our Muslim friends, note people can and do say offensive things about other’s religion and riots and death do not have to ensue. Laughing or just disagreeing an option!
“An idiot ripping up a storybook should not be a big deal. His position in the Knesset makes any public gesture news. A stupid religious fanatic making the news reminds me of Michelle Bachman.” (raf)
Yep
Extremist Fundamentalism=Monumental Ignorance=Irrational Acts
From the perspective of free speech though, one person’s irrational deeds equal another persons absolute truth. The problem with the right of free speech will always be the idiots who test its extremes and our need to allow them to do so in the service of a greater good.
“…this revolting book brought massacres of Jews in the [Spanish] Inquisition and throughout history…”
Now, there’s a relevant, timely protest.
The fundamentalists are at it again.
It seems as though he chose to pick on the ones who won’t fight back. Now had he done that with the Qu’ran…
A religiously insane person doing an insane thing . . . gee, where have we heard this story before?
Dose not matter what they call their cosmic muffin, Yahweh, God, Allah, Shiva, poisoned minds do irrational things and claim they do it in the name of their cosmic muffin. That they do it to offend or denigrate some other cosmic muffin (who often is in fact the same CM just under a different name) is either incredibly sad or terribly hilarious depending on how many people are killed or injured by this particular outbreak of religion insanity.
Life is sacred, a book not so much.
An idiot ripping up a storybook should not be a big deal. His position in the Knesset makes any public gesture news. A stupid religious fanatic making the news reminds me of Michelle Bachman.
Let him say as he wishes…… The Law of Moses will respond in kind….