Shas Demeans Russian Jews

Last updated on: January 10, 2013 at 7:28 pm by Jeffrey L. Falick

Shas Demeans Russian Jews 2013-01-10T19:28:59-05:00 Jeffrey L. Falick

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

For those who say that I have spent too much time here on Haredim, I say, “How can you blame me when they give me such good material?”

Just as a bit of background, Israelis are not subject to endless election ads on radio and television because the government allocates chunks of time and what you get is all you get. The ads are also subject to review for racism, incitement and so forth.

It’s a wonder, then, that this piece of crap from the Shas Party (Sephardi Haredim) got through:

In short, the bride with the grotesquely ridiculous Russian accent, is informing her groom that the fax machine under the chuppah is a present from Yisrael Beiteinu, the right wing party most identified with the Russian émigré community. She’s waiting for a confirmation from “*CONVERT” that she’s now Jewish. The groom’s surprised that she’s not Jewish, but then the fax comes in. The end title is: “Preserving Jewish tradition: Shas.”

There are around 300,000 Israelis who are considered non-Jews under Jewish law. Their path to conversion has been inexcusably slow and riddled with obstacles. They speak Hebrew (and certainly not with such a clownish accent) and serve in the military (unlike many in Shas).

Moderate Orthodox Rabbi Dov Lipman, running on the centrist Yair Lapid-headed Yesh Atid list, wrote this in The Times of Israel:

I am embarrassed with my country. I am ashamed that a racist attack against our brothers and sisters from the former Soviet Union was even allowed to be aired last night on national television and the time has come for serious soul searching.

The ad was subsequently banned, though it was only intended to air once anyway. There were also some objections about it by Shas supporters. Not to the message of the ad. They objected to the length of the woman’s skirt on the left.

Really now… how CAN I be blamed when they give me so much material?!

Blog Entries

Haredim

Israel

Previous Post

January 7, 2013

Making Humanism Relevant

Next Post

January 10, 2013 How Far Can We Extend Our Concern?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Blog Entries

Select a Month January 2017 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 March 2015 December 2014 February 2014 December 2013 October 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 September 2012 August 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "Give us this day our daily bread"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jesus David Paul Isaiah