printSO JEWS SUCK; I GET THIS ALL THE TIME. BUT WHAT ABOUT MEMBERS OF THE CHRISTIAN TRIBE? Emails flood this blog spot on a regular basis pointing to the machinations of Jews and to their tribal nature. As you know, I often publish these tracts. “Sunlight is the best disinfectant,” and all that stuff.
On the other hand, I’m totally tactful—and more than gracious—about Christian tics, despite my dismal experience with the decency and grace of this group’s individual members (one or two stellar individuals excepted.)
A kind word or a helping hand from a Christian? What’s that? Not in my world, although Christians do spend a lot of their time shouting “Praise the Lord” from the rooftops. Then again, perhaps Jews are not Kosher; don’t qualify for decent treatment? Who knows? All I know is that, in my experience, Christians are the quintessential tribalists. You’re either in or out.
The other day, a snippy, self-professed Christian, having befriended me on Facebook, wrote to demand imperiously that I justify the letter Aleph near the URL of my website.
I know better than to expect readers in “The Age of the Idiot” to have researched the object of their scorn, and thus to know that she is Jewish and grew up in Israel. That’s too much like fact-finding. So politely, I responded with a link to the Hebrew alphabet, explaining that my name begins with an Aleph.
But information was not what he was after. Judging from the obnoxious, follow-up on my Facebook Wall—a forum which is supposed to be collegial—some rude, distinctly theological routine was the man’s aim.
The chutzpah of this investigation into the legitimacy of an ex-Israeli, Hebrew-speaker’s use of her Hebrew name! What’s up with that?
I’m curious, truly. Where does he get off judging/commenting on my use of my native tongue, Hebrew? Can he speak the language? Can he even read the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew? Did he spend his formative years debating/conversing/conducting life in Hebrew? Did he take all his school exams in Hebrew?
I did. For the first 19 years of my life, I was “ilana” with an aleph.
It’s who I am.
UPDATE: Compassionate Fascist’s posts are an example of the collectivist, contempt-filled comments I’m pretty patient with. Isn’t it time to kick CF off BAB? Here he is below, maligning Jews again. At the same time, he is a recipient of my hospitality in cyberspace, where he is permitted to vent his disdain for the likes of his host. The way I treat Compassionate Fascist provides a measure of proof against his theorizing about how bad Jews are. In effect, by bad-mouthing Jews as a group, and posting here quite happily, for the most, he finds himself in self- contradiction.
Writing on the topic of Western Civilization, historian Alan Charles Kors once observed that avoiding self-contradiction is the touchstone of truth—being mired in self-contradiction, the touchstone of error. To the Greek philosophers, to be mired in self-contradiction was to be “less than human, less than coherent, less than sane.”
This is one Christian who likes and appreciates ‘Ilana’ with an Aleph.
“Where does he get off judging/commenting on my use of my native tongue, Hebrew?” The only thing I can think of jealousy. He can probably barely write and speak in English, let alone attempt Hebrew. (I took two years of Hebrew Scriptures in high school, without the Hebrew to English dictionary, I was lost.)
This brought to mind the rude uncalled for comments that were thrown your way when you did that interview on “The American Cesspool.”
Jews are just like everybody else. Only more so. And therein lies the problem. Envy + contempt is an explosive mixture.
Hi Ilana. Being a South African and Christian, I have always had the utmost respect for Israel and Jews (especially the IDF).
I have a ring with my name in Hebrew and have been trying to learn Hebrew for some time now, but alas, at my age, trying to get something new into my tired mind is not so easy. Ignore those who think they know what they are talking about.
Keep up your blog, as I visit it each day.
Regards
Dmitri
Ilana: There are two types of Christianity. One is the worship of the creator G-D in spirit. (Belief in the supernatural) and is personal. The other is a religion similar to Republican, Democrat, Oklahoma State Football Fans, Steelers fans, etc. It is like a team, and where there is a team, there has to be an opponent. Jews, Atheist, Muslims, any other religion are the enemy. Jesus is his name, not Ya’sula. That’s Jewish and anything that is not ‘Jesus’ (Greek) is sacrilegious. It’s all for the team. That’s why it’s only just that we go over there and bomb wedding parties; because, Muslims have a false religion and deserve hellfire. I don’t even want to get into the Democrat’s form of Christianity. I know, I overstated this a bit; but, I needed to be clear. I think most Christians are the spiritual ones I mentioned at the beginning; however, the team players are so loud, obnoxious in their denunciation of anyone that doesn’t follow their doctrines or is on their list that they drown the rest of us out.
This Christian also values Ilana and her wisdom.
Perhaps you should spell your entire name in Hebrew. Arrogance and ignorance seems to often be the hallamarks of “Christianity”.
There’s simply no excuse for such ugly behavior. Also, Mr. Glisson, I believe you’re referring to what I call mere cultural Christianity, which can be the great bane of the genuine article.
Planet Earth is a rather insignificant dot in a rather ordinary solar system in a galaxy that is one of billions …
Yet we have millions on Earth who think that some SuperDude – Jehovah, Jesus, Allah, Zeus, Vishnu, Buddha, Elmer-Fudd really really cares whether Romney beats Obama or whether you take some wafer from some priest or eat a pork chop. As a scientist, I find it somewhat incredible. But then people also believe in the Earth being 6000 years old, horoscopes, etc….
L’Shana Tova Ilana – before I get back to my patent – I will send this link on the use of ALEPH and infinity:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleph_number
[Chen-chen and Shanah Tova, my friend. Tell Anna to keep up her Hebrew.]
Ilana: I am also a Christian. I love your blog and everything I have ever read of yours. There a members of my faith that understand that our Founders were Hebraically-oriented and have the utmost respect for the Jewish people and their faith. You are very gracious and you do have every right in the world to use whatever characters you would like to spell your name. Personally, I think it is very very cool.
[It’s the name I was born with; I grew up in “Hebrew,” so to speak. Thanks.]
I like Albert Jay Nock’s assessment. He stated that having studied the history of Christian thought, the worst thing thing that befell it was that it became organized and institutionalized. He believed that Jesus was the last person who wanted “followers” going around using his name the way it is used today. I’m also reminded of Kierkegaard, who said that there’s Christ, Christianity, and Christendom. As you navigate that line, you move further from the original.
The sectarians, more commonly referred to today as “Christians”, have divided themselves into thousands of different sects, and are as divided in their doctrines as they are in their various denominations. All claiming divine interpretation of the English version of the Hebrew Bible.
As for the crusading “quintessential tribalist”, who is in the know and on the “in”, if he ( in this case a he ) is not contending with one of the various sects concerning their biblical interpretations, or perhaps a designated “cult” member, or “non-believer”, will occasionally, for lack of other opportunities, bash a Jew.
Didn’t Jesus teach…”he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me”? Perhaps the “Snippy” Sectarian should practice what Joshua ( If I am not mistaken, that is the Hebrew version of Jesus.) actually taught.
[So far, your explanation of the pattern of behavior I described in my post—reoccurring, in my experience—is most useful. Thanks.]
Christians can not be lumped into one group any more than Jews can. To even participate in this dog fight is a losing battle. Christians never profess to be overly educated and for the most part do not appropriate those that are. We are a rough bunch that has a set of rules of right and wrong very much like the old Scottish Highlander had and that is ” Don’t tread on me.” Many races of people in this world today owe their lives to these Crusading Christians. A Jew is a Jew until the day he dies, a Christian is a Christian because he is willing to die for a Jew. [News to me—and why should anyone die for anyone else? And what has this to do with the imperious attack on my name? It’s not the first time, btw.]
Ilana, it just never ends, does it?
I read your BAB, Horowitz’s FPM, and Schlussel’s on a regular basis. I read Geller’s and JPFO not so regularly.
By any stretch of the imagination, I have never seen and read anything more vile and violent than what appears on Schlussel’s site. Some of the tirades are so vulgar and threatening that Debbie has filed charges against the writers. Comp-Fasc is a novice compared to the hardcore filth I’ve read.
Ilana, I am not religious, but I have said that if push comes to shove with the Jews / Israel being the intended expendable pawns, I STAND WITH THEM. (BTW, Robert, I am not on a team and Comp-Fasc, your Nom de Plume is an oxymoron.)
So, please people, you do not have to agree with everyone or anyone, but if you do submit comments or questions, please be polite, non-threatening, and as rational / logical as possible otherwise what’s the point?
Remember, this is ILANA’S SITE…private property…and I suspect she does not suffer fools kindly. As Mark Scott of Radio Fame in Detroit used to say, DON’T LET THE KNUCKLE-DRAGGERS GET YOU DOWN…EXCELSIOR!
I started to say some of the following in my previous response but decided against it. However, I have decided to go ahead and give it a shot.
Psalm 119 written by David is divided into 22 stanzas, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. I believe that in the original Hebrew each stanza begins with the appropriate Hebrew letter. The book of Psalms is part of the Christian Bible as is the New Testament book of John. So I would also suggest that your Christian friend, and I use this word loosely, should familiarize himself with Psalm 119.
As a Christian and an engineer I find it interesting how similar the Greek and Hebrew letters sound when translated to english. The first two letters in Greek are alpha and beta, in Hebrew aleph and beth. Also as a Christian I realize that without Judaism there would be NO Christianity.
If memory serves me correctly, in Hebrew Jesus was pronounced the same as Joshua. The tranlation to Jesus came through the Hebrew to Greek to Latin to English translations and transliterations.
I think or at least I hope I have indicated that I have a tremendous respect for the Jews and Israel. I also may have Jewish Ancestory but I have no proof. Since my name is Michael Marks many assume that I’m Jewish upon introduction.
I really appreciate Mr. Glisson’s comments on the types of Christians. He admits that his comments are “over-stated” and I’d add a bit simplified. However, his point generally true and is well made.
Finally I would pray that the G-d of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob would richly bless you (Ilana) and your family according to the riches of His glory.
Go on, Ilana. The truth. And I nailed it in 4 sentences. When Jews manifest their multifaceted individual excellence, it breeds envy. When the Strauss-Kahns, Madoffs et al get caught out, it breeds contempt. Envy + contempt = massacres (holocaust) and counter-massacres (holodomor). Put it another way: anti-Semitism doesn’t drop from the sky or grow from the ground. Wherever Jews have gone for 3,000 years there’s been no antiSem until they got there and then, invariably, it builds and builds until there’s an explosion, a massacre or an expulsion. Then the cycle repeats. Jews need to stop trying to universalize everything and everybody, get off center stage. Stop playing the lightening rod. But we both know this won’t happen, and we know why: Jews take persecution as proof of Chosenness.
Robert, I’ve never heard it framed quite that way but I like it. The only point I would lean toward disagreeing with you on is your statement that “most Christians are the spiritual ones.” Over the years, I’ve given up on going to organised churches as my experience is that for the majority of members, it’s nothing more than a big social club, similar to Kiwanis or something.
And stop taking everything I say about “Jews” personally. As a libertarian, you should abandon ALL such collectiv(ist) identifications.
[Really? Have you ever made the distinction, on this blog, that each individual—Christian or Jew—is an individual, and should be judged as such? No.]
I think CF has a point, but gets it backwards. Excellence often breeds envy, and the Jews have consistently risen to the top of many fields. Check out the long list of Jewish Nobel laureates. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jewish_Nobel_laureates Of course this does not excuse such poor behavior towards you and others, but I think it does explain it.
Instead of telling Jews to “get off center stage,” others should strive for the same excellence. After all, that is what a meritocracy is about. (See Rand, Ayn.)
I believe the day when the world can find no more Christians is the day it will end. Like I said earlier we are taught that there is no greater act than giving your life for another. I was taught to fight the bully, or for the underdog. To help the helpless. when I was in high school i ask Dad about our Scottish ancestry and his reply was ” Forget the old country and the old ways, we are Americans by choice and be the best American you can be.” We have been here since the country’s inception and that is good advice to the weak citizens we have now. Maybe this is all the name thing is about. I am no longer a Mac anything and I no longer wear a Kilt. Just maybe?
To all the “Christian” haters out there:
Jesus was a Jew
And also:
If you were a true Bible reading christian you would know verbally assaulting someone is not what Christ or the Apostles taught on how you should behave.
Ilana as a Christian I can tell you those people are Christian in name only.I don’t believe God recognizes them as such.
Just an additional note, since we are agreed that a true Christian would not act like the above listed person. Jesus would not accept that either. The book, Matthew, chapter seven, states to the person who said that they cast out demons in his name. “Depart from me, I never knew you.” In other words, Jesus doesn’t condone their behavior either.
Supersessionism is part of Western Civilization, thanks to Augustine, Luther and Calvin. Even the atheist, the agnostic, and the fatalist (a form of predestination – also a product Augustine and the Reformers) are likely under its influence if they were reared in a Western culture. IMHO, it is the bane of any Gentile who succumbs to its error, whether Christian, libertarian … or Compassionate Fascist.
@Myron thanks for the link on Aleph and infiniti.
@Ilana, “Really..?” I’m not a libertarian. Philosophically, I’d prefer to treat each and every person as an “individual”; you certainly are, and a most interesting one. But operationally/politically, it’s impossible: there’s just too much group entitlement behavior going on. And not the least among that ultimate “victim” group entitlement: organized Jewry.
@Dennis “CF…oxymoron”. No it’s not. Destructive Libs have always considered themselves “compassionate”, and recently we had a dose of Bush-style “compassionate conservatism”. So we certainly can have compassionate Fascisti; it’s all relative. I thought at first the monicker was original…probably tho it comes from the Doonesbury character: that skinny bald guy with the Chinese girl friday who is always launching megalomaniacal projects.
Well that’s the problem with globalisation: people loose their tribal identities, and then it’s all downhill from there… in the end they are left with no sense of self. If there wasn’t an aleph near the URL, I’d be disappointed. I live abroad and teach people to pronounce my Afrikaans surname phonetically… because if my surname became “whatever” I could just as well not have a surname.
I believe in the individual more than the tribe, the religion, the party, the country, or whatever other collective identity. It is somewhat sad that people feel a need to only hang out with like minded-members of a group [what’s wrong with hanging out with people with the same values?] but maybe they have no confidence in themselves. Or they worry that if, for example, Gay Man A marries Gay Man B, that this will mean they too will have a gay marriage.
As for who is a “real” Republican or “real” Christian or whatever – these are dubious constructs. There might be an Ilana Mercer Cult or a Myron Pauli Cult 1000 years from now with idiot “followers of the faith” proclaiming all sorts of nonsense by cherry-picking what they like and applying it in circumstances to fit their current prejudices….
For example, I do not really “know” what Thomas Jefferson would think about the TSA – all we can really say is that, in his times, he was far from a complete idiot!
Only a few things to say…
1. Religions: Create a matrix for each of the world’s religions comparing the philosophy, rules, commandments, beliefs, etc., etc. of each and what, objectively, makes rational sense? Remember, each is a belief system based on faith.
2. Stop being jealous of what others achieve, earn, fame, attitudes, etc. Unless you, personally, strive for your goals, they will not be dropped at your feet.
3. Re compassion for others – an individual’s voluntary feeling and action – and Fascism, well, Mussolini’s claim to fame per FDR’s cadre of followers was that HE MADE THE TRAINS RUN ON-TIME! Considering one’s self or one’s actions to be compassionate in today’s society is so over-blown as to be laughable…just ask yourself “what would Oprah do?”…it’s all show – no go. As for someone dying for someone else, well, no one should have to do that nor should anyone be forced to do that, but, my personal decision re my wife is that I would voluntarily do so to save her life…my choice…and, yes, there have been situations in which that choice could have been an option if other options had failed.
So, look around. When has a Jew ever directly harmed you because you were not Jewish? My last time was when I was cross-checked in front of the opposing team’s goalie. It wasn’t personal. It wasn’t because he was Jewish and I not Jewish. It was because I could have tipped-in a goal or bigger yet, because it was A JEWISH MEN’S HOCKEY LEAGUE in which I, a goyim, played.
OMG…All this chatter over an ALEPH!?!?
[Exactly my sentiment: the most mundane topics I pursue generate the most interest. That applies to publishing books too.—IM]
and we’re facing $190 Trillion + debt, an unemployment rate of 9.5% – really more like 20% +, high school graduation rates of just 55%, and a system of roads & other infrastructure that is falling-down before our eyes. Yes, it is not my direct personal responsibility, but my taxes are taken for all manner of things not wanted or not used.
Sorry I am ranting, but in both my and my wife’s industries, government, not Jews, has ground things to a standstill. So, like it is said in the LEGION: MARCH OR DIE.
Adieu. I have work to do.
Here is the “perfect example” of why government should vacate its place in all education efforts:
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=346701
PRIVATIZE EDUCATION NOW.
Just today, another story and I do not understand why these things have to be the way they are…
http://frontpagemag.com/2011/09/20/anti-semitism-at-hampshire-college/
If you have kids who’ll be attending college soon, research is in order.
If one believes the Bible he will always support Israel. As this nation turns against Israel we need to get ready for the wrath of God. (Earthquakes, floods, runaway wild fires?) God is for Israel. He said as much. So who are a bunch of piddlers like Obama or his ilk to be against Israel. We need to get on the right side of this deal because no good can come of going against Israel.