Land of Dreams

A text only post, and about history, afield from fauna and flora, sort of...and grim, so dear readers, a caution to read on...

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Israel’s security cabinet voted unanimously Thursday evening to permit the use of sniper-fire against stone throwers in circumstances where an officer’s life is not at imminent risk. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed the changes and declared the increased measures were a “fight against those who throw rocks and firebombs, and shoot fireworks.” - See more at: http://mondoweiss.net/2015/09/mandatory-sentences-throwers#sthash.2rTEIZYt.dpuf

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So, in yesterday's news, the IDF maybe mistakes a 'bush for a bear' and shoots a Palestinian girl who maybe was brandishing a knife...a Palestinian watchdog took some photos that show the girl, dressed from head to toe in black, the customary garb for Palestinian girls when outside, and it's the photos that brings doubt to the IDF story...she's standing still while being confronted...it's one of those photos from war coverage that sums everything up...

and yesterday too the Pilgrims in Mecca stampeded and many died...this has happened before...and like last week a crane fell on the Pilgrims too during a sudden wind storm...

the Pilgrims come to Mecca because it is an ordinance of Islam...more of a request really...that once during one's life one makes the pilgrimage, if one can afford it...that 'afford it' qualification suggests that the rich 'must' make it to Mecca, and of course spend a lot of money the Saudi king can pocket...but that's being sardonic!

Islam swept away pagan nonsense at its beginning, only to replace it with nonsense of its own!...and by nonsense, I mean what looks to be just plain silly...it makes sense to the Pilgrims...the journey to Mecca will further their spiritual path by walking around the Kaabba...and there are numerous theological explanations of why they do these things...at the stampede in Hebron they were engaged in throwing stones at a pillar that represents the Devil...oh...wait...that was at Mina...Hebron is where the girl was killed...and where the Tomb of the Patriarchs is...I don't know if at the start of Islam, pagan faiths were regarded as nonsense...maybe pagan ordinances made sense to Islam, but were to be opposed...

nowadays, scientific thinking regards religious ordinances as nonsensical...but scientists being curious, study religions anyway, and come up with explanations of this and that...the ordinance not to eat pork in ancient times being a good health advice, as pork spoils quickly and has trichinosis...what scientists are about is finding practical reasons for religious ordinances...

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According to a report from popular haredi news website Kikar Hashabbat , the Sadigora Rebbe, who heads that hassidic dynasty, said Wednesday that "we have merited to see miracles since the rocket did not injure anyone or cause damage to property," crediting this to the "thousands of Jews that observe Shabbat and the right to prayer [in Ashdod]."

The Sadigora Rebbe also took the location of where the rocket fell as a sign, since it fell close to the Big Fashion shopping mall, which is open on Shabbat. 
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Hasidic-rabbis-see-rocket-as-a-sign-from-heaven-to-observe-Shabbat-404236

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The rabbis are upset that stores are open on Shabbat, which I think is Saturday...time was stores closed on Sunday...it's in the Bible, an ordinance for everyone to rest on Sunday...

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“A Jewish and democratic state cannot ignore the fact that it is indeed a Jewish state,” said the chief rabbi. “Shabbat is a symbol and we shouldn’t be ashamed of it.

The Jewish people are the ones who taught the whole world that a day of rest is healthy for the soul.

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Chief-Rabbi-Lau-We-must-preserve-sanctity-of-Shabbat-in-Israel-415174

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is a day off healthy?...is the same day off healthy for everyone?...makes sense...but it bumps up against making money 24/7...

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Speaking to the Chief Rabbis Yitzhak Yosef and David Lau, as well as the Council of the Chief Rabbinate, Pope Francis said that great progress had been made in recent decades in the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people calling the development "a gift from God." 
http://www.jpost.com/Elections-2013/Pope-calls-for-bonds-of-true-fraternity-between-Jews-and-Christians-at-meeting-with-chief-rabbis-354371

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well, I didn't realize the quotes were from the Chief Rabbi, which I have it is like the Pope in stature, which brings me to where I was reaching, the Pope in the news today speaking to Congress!...

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Here too I think of the march which Martin Luther King led from Selma to Montgomery fifty years ago as part of the campaign to fulfill his “dream” of full civil and political rights for African Americans. That dream continues to inspire us all. I am happy that America continues to be, for many, a land of “dreams”. Dreams which lead to action, to participation, to commitment. Dreams which awaken what is deepest and truest in the life of a people.

Pope Francis

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yeah, well, some day dreaming IDF soldiers shot an eighteen year old Palestinian girl...and there things stand...an occasion for tears...

DavidDavid