The Ladies Vanish in Israeli Cabinet Photos
Call it the case of the vanishing cabinet ministers. Two ultra-orthodox newpapers thought it risqué to show the official photo of the new Israeli cabinet because –-gasp!-- it included two women ministers. So they air brushed the two females out of Bibi Netanyahu's gigantic cabinet because their haredi readers might find the photo too “immodest”.
It's not as if the two women ministers were dressed in bikinis --a la Israeli Supermodel Bar Refaeli on the cover of Sports Illustrated-- but no matter. (Couldn't resist putting in the link as a completely gratuitous tangent to this rather prudish story! But it's worth showing the full range of Israeli views. Israeli mainstream papers displayed local girl Bar Refaeli's selection as SI covergirl on their front pages. ) One newspaper, Shaa Tova, simply photo-shopped the two ladies out of the group portrait but the other, Yated Neeman, went a step further and replaced them with two bearded men. As a representative from Shaa Tova explained to Ma'ariv: "Anyone who is acquainted with the ultra-orthodox press knows that from time immemorial, ultra-orthodox newspapers avoid publishing pictures of women."
In the last elections, campaign posters of front-runner Tzipi Livni, the woman Kadima party leader, were defaced all over Jerusalem's ultra-orthodox neighborhoods, but it's doubtful that any of the black garbed haredim would have voted for her anyway. When Black Eyed Peas played Jerusalem a couple of years back, Fergie was photo-shopped off the bus ads, and boy, was she steamed.
But the two women ministers may not be the only disappearing act in Bibi's boisterous cabinet. It looks like the police are closing in on Avigdor Lieberman, the new foreign minister who has been spouting anti-Arab views. If Lieberman is indeed indicted (he claims the charges are “politically motivated”) he will be forced to resign, and will be replaced most likely by Likudnik Silvan Shalom. Lieberman may face charges for alleged bribery.
What is happening to the morals of Israeli politicians? Ehud Olmert lasted 2 ½ years as premier before he was brought down on corruption charges. With Lieberman it could be a matter of days. Surely, that's some kind of dubious new record. His first seven hours in office, it seems, had nothing to do with representing Israel abroad but in answering police interrogators curious about a few shell companies in his daughter's name. Bibi Nentanyahu can't be too stunned or upset by all this. In fact, he's probably happy. Lieberman's savagely anti-Arab rhetoric may have helped to get his party elected, but it wasn't going down too well with Americans or Europeans.
by Tim McGirk/Jerusalem
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"What is happening to the morals of Israeli politicians?"-Tim McGirk
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Israeli politicians are just as immoral TODAY as they were in 1948.
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In Tel Aviv "on March 10, 1948, eleven men had a meeting in the Red House headed by Ben Gurion. The eleven decided to expel one million Palestinians from historical Palestine. No minutes were taken, but many memoirs were written about that fateful meeting. A systematic ethnic cleansing of Palestine began and within seven months the Zionists managed to expel one half of all the Palestinian people from their villages and towns."-Dr. Ilan Pappe, Nov. 8, 2006 at the Notre Dame Conference center to over 330 International ecumenical Christians during Sabeel's [Arabic for THE WAY] 6th International Conference: The Forgotten Faithful: AKA Palestinian Christians.
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In March 2008, the whistle blower of Israel's WMD Program who is appealing 3 more months in jail for talking to foreign media in 2004, wrote in an email to me:
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"Court hearing postponed to May 13, 2008-the appeal against 6 month prison sentence for speaking to foreign media. I found out about the change a few days before Easter, but not until Easter Day, did I learn about the day for the next hearing...I think the hearing was postponed because, from the beginning of the trial until now, they really don't know what they want. All was a game to try to put me under new pressure to see if they can gain something by holding me here…
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"All this means is that Israel just continues what they have done since my release in 2004, delaying and holding me here instead of sending me for real freedom. They want me very poor and angry, but I am surviving. One thing is very clear: my case is over. They should let me go free.
."…My lawyer is very busy with the trial of the previous president Kasav.
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"He was accused of rape and sexual harassment by many women in his office, while as a minister office many years ago, and again in his palace as president. But the turmoil here is that the prosecutor made a deal with him; no trial no prison sentence, just a symbolic punishment.
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"So today he will go to court with my lawyer to get his deal and be totally free.
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"There is a lot of suffering here…Israel wants to hide so much because it is not good for its image as a democracy and a friend of America...'1984' is here in 2008."-vmjc
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VMJC stands for Vanunu Mordechai John Crossman. The 5th year of restrictions that deny him the RIGHT to speak to non-Israeli's expire April 21, 2009.
."Israel is a not a democracy but is an Ethnocracy, meaning a country run and controlled by a national group with some democratic elements but set up with Jews in control and structured to keep them in control.”-Jeff Halper, American Israeli, Founder and Coordinator of ICAHD/Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and a Noble Peace Prize Nominee for 2006, to me and excerpted from my MEMOIRS in OPT.
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http://www.wearewideawake.org
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TWO MEN are also missing from the back left-hand corner of the picture. Is this the tail wagging the dog? Or what?
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