Let Me Guess…The Donut Store Was Closed That Night?

From the Department of Wasted Taxpayers’ Dollars:

A Jerusalem court has awarded three Israeli far-right activists NIS 4.500 (that should read 4,500 – ed.) each in damages after they were detained by Jerusalem police for publicly celebrating the death of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat four years ago, court documents released Sunday showed.

The three men, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Baruch Ben-Yosef and Israel Bramnson, had been taken in for questioning by police after holding an honorary barbecue in a central Jerusalem square in November 2004 following news of Arafat’s death.

The three activists, who had filed suit against the State, were detained by police for three hours after refusing to vacate the site, and were later released without being charged.

“The venue in which the plaintiffs chose to express their joy is one of the city’s hubs and is no stranger to rallies and demonstrations,” Judge Aryeh Romanoff wrote in his ruling, rejecting the state’s claim the group caused a public disturbance by the gathering.

If celebrating the death of arch terrorist Arafat makes someone far-right, then I’m guessing most of Israel would be far-right.

Meanwhile, 4,500 NIS multipled by 3 will buy a hell of a lot of steak.

What do you say, guys?

12 thoughts on “Let Me Guess…The Donut Store Was Closed That Night?”

  1. B”H

    Good. Now they can pay me the money they owe me.

    J/K ๐Ÿ˜‰

    There’s no more right and left anymore….

    There’s Jewish and UnJewish.

    How’s that for a bit of controversy to chew on (ie. Is this not subjective?, etc.)

  2. I think there’s a difference between being relieved that a dangerous man has gone, and actually holding a party to celebrate. It can’t be right to celebrate the death of any human being, however evil he might be.

    That said, I think the police should have left them to party.

  3. How is holding a barbacue for Arafat in Bad Taste? Satan is probably loading extra picante triyaki sauce on him right now as he roasts on a spit in such good company as Stalin, Pol Pot and Esla Koch. Barbacue is what is going to happen to him for a good long time.

  4. We don’t celebrate the downfall of our enemies (at least not in public!).
    If they wanted to celebrate then they should have done it within the privacy of their hill town caravan!

  5. B”H

    Dave,

    Looks like you have some interesting readers here. I’m all for expressing opinions, but now it looks like deedybeedy maybe crossing the line into “halachic rulings,” perhaps. Would he care to share his [halachic] source?

    Once he said “We don’t…” he opened up the halachic can of worms.

    This should be good!

    BTW, all of the men mentioned live in houses or apartments. Are you suggesting there’s something wrong with living in a caravan and/or on a hill?

  6. deedybeedy Says:
    August 4th, 2008 at 10:34 am

    We donโ€™t celebrate the downfall of our enemies (at least not in public!).

    Who is “we”? Do you mean the “we” that know about some Pasuk in Mishle, like 24:17:

    “When your enemy falls, do not rejoice, and when he stumbles, let your heart not exult”

    but seem to always be ignorant of the earlier pasuk in 11:10:

    “When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish, there is song.”

    Is that the royal “we” you – DeedyBeedy – are referring to?

    And how do the Mefarshim reconcile those apparently conflicting verses? I’ll tell you one thing: I can think of a lot of hill top caravans where the people therein have learned enough Torah to know the answer (sample hint: see Rabbeinu Yona on Mishlei 24:18).

    What do you live in, DeedyBeedy? An ivory tower or a shtetl?

  7. Foxx Says:
    August 5th, 2008 at 6:07 am

    MMmmmm, barbecue Arafat day. That ought to become a new holiday.

    Therefore, in Israel the custom is to grill a chicken with a strictly kosher hechsher that still has a lot of the feather stubble protruding from its skin.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top