RAWA - A RAY OF HOPE
Every support should be extended to these remarkably intrepid and dedicated women, whose courage most of us are not even in a position to appreciate:
http://www.rawa.org/index.php
Let us not say there is "no one to talk to". They want to communicate.
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Alternative Suggestion for Battling Poverty with a Proven Track Record of Success
This article is in response to an article that appeared in the 23/11/07 issues of "Kol HaIr" and "Chadash B'Galil", the two largest local newspapers in Tzfat.
The article reports the conclusions of a convention of social workers that was held at the Tzfat College, which is a branch of Bar Ilan University.
The gist of their conclusions is summed up in the following quote, which I will herein translate:
"One of the principle conclusions that arose from the convention (is that) in spite of the devoted care of the social workers, who are positioned on the vanguard of the social battle, and the professional values that accompany their work, the (social) workers are occupied with preserving the existing policy and are not sufficiently involved in the practical processes of social and communal reform. It behooves the social workers, who work in the establishment's service, to change the situation and transfer (their efforts) to the level of change."
The following is my response to their statement:
Not possessed of the analytical abilities of those who studied mathematics; the real sciences or philosophy at university; the Social Workers, products as they are of the very least intellectually demanding and rigorous courses that colleges and universities have to offer, cannot be expected to perceive the inherent contradictions in the passage above.
One cannot receive one's salary from "the establishment", be in and at its service, as the vast majority of Social Workers are, and fight against it. One cannot be more moral than one's boss. One does not do battle with one's boss.
They are correct in describing themselves as being in "the vanguard", but not in the way that the establishment they work for has made them think. Rather than being given equitable salaries and being provided with work conditions in which they will be able to affect some good, they are given illusions about themselves. They are told that they are doing "holy work" and that they are among the most socially aware. They are, as anyone who has ever had the misfortune of needing their services knows painfully well, neither.
Think for a moment. Think about all of the scandals and corruption of the government that we hear about almost continuously. Think about the exposes in the press. Think about the scathing reports of the State Comptrollers. Think about the police investigations. Think about the many times that they have increased their salaries by many percentages, even as they raised the prices of staple food items.
Are we to believe that the social workers, in the employ of a government such as this are really working for the benefit of society at their behest? Is the government ruining society only to send out its employees to fix what they systematically destroy to their own ends? Is the government employing social workers to re-empower the populace while they invest so very much in de-empowering us? Not likely.
How then are the social workers in "the vanguard"? They are the government's first line of defense, and its cheapest one, against the desperate becoming radicalized revolutionaries. It is the social workers' job to keep the potentially explosive sectors of society on a low flame of rage. If the rage of those systematically impoverished and disempowered by the government does flare up, it is the job of the social workers to keep them frightened, confused, threatened and most of all helpless.
I understand that these are very difficult realizations to absorb. But if you will consider these matters, and I, unlike those in whose employ the social workers are, respect your intelligence enough to know you can understand these matters if you set your minds to them, you will apprehend matters that heretofore have confounded you.
There is great re-empowerment in understanding the truths about a far-reaching, deeply entrenched social phenomenon. But this is not enough to right the wrong. We must be able to proffer a better alternative. To this purpose I will turn presently.
A quiet revolution is well underway in the Kibbutz Movement.
Literally hundreds of small Urban Kibbutzim, or K'vutzot as some call themselves due their small size, are springing up all over the country - most of them in development towns and in distressed neighborhoods.
They are models of mutual sufficiency based on cooperation.
You'll read a bit about the Urban Kibbutzim and K'vutzot on the following links. The second was written by a member of one of those K'vutzot.
http://tinyurl.com/24rtkv
http://tinyurl.com/2zj6yu
They are small groups of people who not only pool their resources, live their lives according to direct democratic principles that they carry out in their regular meetings; they devote their lives to helping others in distress.
A number of them have developed innovative programs of education for people of all ages.
Kibbutz Mehanchim (Educators) help youth at risk in the Hadar neighborhood of Chaifa. See: http://tinyurl.com/2tgr9h Note that the article states that "the city (of Chaifa) called on 70 young people from all over the country, members of the Noar Haoved Vehalomed (Working and Learning Youth) youth movement, to establish an urban kibbutz to work with the neighborhood's at-risk youth. That means that they provided housing and initial services for the program to get underway.
Kibbutz Tamuz in Beit Shemesh (a rapidly developing town near Jerusalem) is the oldest of the Urban Kibbutzim. We visited Kibbutz Tammuz when it was about five years old. We were very impressed with the warmth and dedication of those young people. They had received a building from Amidar that was pretty run down and renovated it themselves. It is a pleasure to present an idea to you of how far they've gotten since and how much they contribut to Beit Shemesh: http://tinyurl.com/ypxxg2
And now we get down to takhlis. K'vutzat Re'ut is located in the housing project Gilo Aleph in Jerusalem. It is one of two urban Kibbutzim in Jerusalem. One of the Urban Kibbutzim in Jerusalem is entirely religious. It is called Reishit (The First).
The population of Kvutzat Re'ut is mixed - more and less religiously observant. They run a number of projects of neighborhood aid. Additionally, they have a beit midrash and a pre-army leadership training program (a mekhina). My son visited K'vutzat Re'ut when he was doing his pre-army leadership training course at Meitzar. Meitzar took their students to K'vutzat Re'ut because their program is so very good. : Please see their web site: http://www.reut.org.il/
There are people that are considered "Friends of Urban Kibbutzim". While they are not members themselves, they support the programs and learn and work with the K'vutzot for the betterment of the environs.
K'vutzat Re'ut is all about Jewish learning and mutual tolerance. It is a model of cooperation. They go beyond mere toleration of varying viewpoints. They incorporate them into one beautiful, and very productive mosaic.
The problem setting up more Urban K'vutzot seems to be funding.
We see, then, that there are many advantages to having Urban K'vuotzot and Kibbutzim in one's town.
They are not in the employ of the government, and so may act as independent moral agents.
They are themselves examples of independence and the attaining of a very respectable standard of living based on mutual aid.
Their approach to the communities that they take up residence is not patronizing and not one of superiority. They don't see the people that they worth in tandem with as those needing treatment. They work shoulder to shoulder and eye to eye with people and empower them to help themselves. This is an essential point. Dependence on a "vanguard" to do one's fighting, even if that were possible, and we have seen that it is not, can only lead to increasing dependence and weakness. Those whose dependence is cultivated and perpetuated by those who rule over them with a heavy hand and who are made to think of themselves as "weak" or "miserable", cannot ever help themselves. Only those who are shown and convinced of the power that resides within them when they work together on the basis of mutual aid are in the position to really improve their lives and the lives of others.
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com
This article is in response to an article that appeared in the 23/11/07 issues of "Kol HaIr" and "Chadash B'Galil", the two largest local newspapers in Tzfat.
The article reports the conclusions of a convention of social workers that was held at the Tzfat College, which is a branch of Bar Ilan University.
The gist of their conclusions is summed up in the following quote, which I will herein translate:
"One of the principle conclusions that arose from the convention (is that) in spite of the devoted care of the social workers, who are positioned on the vanguard of the social battle, and the professional values that accompany their work, the (social) workers are occupied with preserving the existing policy and are not sufficiently involved in the practical processes of social and communal reform. It behooves the social workers, who work in the establishment's service, to change the situation and transfer (their efforts) to the level of change."
The following is my response to their statement:
Not possessed of the analytical abilities of those who studied mathematics; the real sciences or philosophy at university; the Social Workers, products as they are of the very least intellectually demanding and rigorous courses that colleges and universities have to offer, cannot be expected to perceive the inherent contradictions in the passage above.
One cannot receive one's salary from "the establishment", be in and at its service, as the vast majority of Social Workers are, and fight against it. One cannot be more moral than one's boss. One does not do battle with one's boss.
They are correct in describing themselves as being in "the vanguard", but not in the way that the establishment they work for has made them think. Rather than being given equitable salaries and being provided with work conditions in which they will be able to affect some good, they are given illusions about themselves. They are told that they are doing "holy work" and that they are among the most socially aware. They are, as anyone who has ever had the misfortune of needing their services knows painfully well, neither.
Think for a moment. Think about all of the scandals and corruption of the government that we hear about almost continuously. Think about the exposes in the press. Think about the scathing reports of the State Comptrollers. Think about the police investigations. Think about the many times that they have increased their salaries by many percentages, even as they raised the prices of staple food items.
Are we to believe that the social workers, in the employ of a government such as this are really working for the benefit of society at their behest? Is the government ruining society only to send out its employees to fix what they systematically destroy to their own ends? Is the government employing social workers to re-empower the populace while they invest so very much in de-empowering us? Not likely.
How then are the social workers in "the vanguard"? They are the government's first line of defense, and its cheapest one, against the desperate becoming radicalized revolutionaries. It is the social workers' job to keep the potentially explosive sectors of society on a low flame of rage. If the rage of those systematically impoverished and disempowered by the government does flare up, it is the job of the social workers to keep them frightened, confused, threatened and most of all helpless.
I understand that these are very difficult realizations to absorb. But if you will consider these matters, and I, unlike those in whose employ the social workers are, respect your intelligence enough to know you can understand these matters if you set your minds to them, you will apprehend matters that heretofore have confounded you.
There is great re-empowerment in understanding the truths about a far-reaching, deeply entrenched social phenomenon. But this is not enough to right the wrong. We must be able to proffer a better alternative. To this purpose I will turn presently.
A quiet revolution is well underway in the Kibbutz Movement.
Literally hundreds of small Urban Kibbutzim, or K'vutzot as some call themselves due their small size, are springing up all over the country - most of them in development towns and in distressed neighborhoods.
They are models of mutual sufficiency based on cooperation.
You'll read a bit about the Urban Kibbutzim and K'vutzot on the following links. The second was written by a member of one of those K'vutzot.
http://tinyurl.com/24rtkv
http://tinyurl.com/2zj6yu
They are small groups of people who not only pool their resources, live their lives according to direct democratic principles that they carry out in their regular meetings; they devote their lives to helping others in distress.
A number of them have developed innovative programs of education for people of all ages.
Kibbutz Mehanchim (Educators) help youth at risk in the Hadar neighborhood of Chaifa. See: http://tinyurl.com/2tgr9h Note that the article states that "the city (of Chaifa) called on 70 young people from all over the country, members of the Noar Haoved Vehalomed (Working and Learning Youth) youth movement, to establish an urban kibbutz to work with the neighborhood's at-risk youth. That means that they provided housing and initial services for the program to get underway.
Kibbutz Tamuz in Beit Shemesh (a rapidly developing town near Jerusalem) is the oldest of the Urban Kibbutzim. We visited Kibbutz Tammuz when it was about five years old. We were very impressed with the warmth and dedication of those young people. They had received a building from Amidar that was pretty run down and renovated it themselves. It is a pleasure to present an idea to you of how far they've gotten since and how much they contribut to Beit Shemesh: http://tinyurl.com/ypxxg2
And now we get down to takhlis. K'vutzat Re'ut is located in the housing project Gilo Aleph in Jerusalem. It is one of two urban Kibbutzim in Jerusalem. One of the Urban Kibbutzim in Jerusalem is entirely religious. It is called Reishit (The First).
The population of Kvutzat Re'ut is mixed - more and less religiously observant. They run a number of projects of neighborhood aid. Additionally, they have a beit midrash and a pre-army leadership training program (a mekhina). My son visited K'vutzat Re'ut when he was doing his pre-army leadership training course at Meitzar. Meitzar took their students to K'vutzat Re'ut because their program is so very good. : Please see their web site: http://www.reut.org.il/
There are people that are considered "Friends of Urban Kibbutzim". While they are not members themselves, they support the programs and learn and work with the K'vutzot for the betterment of the environs.
K'vutzat Re'ut is all about Jewish learning and mutual tolerance. It is a model of cooperation. They go beyond mere toleration of varying viewpoints. They incorporate them into one beautiful, and very productive mosaic.
The problem setting up more Urban K'vutzot seems to be funding.
We see, then, that there are many advantages to having Urban K'vuotzot and Kibbutzim in one's town.
They are not in the employ of the government, and so may act as independent moral agents.
They are themselves examples of independence and the attaining of a very respectable standard of living based on mutual aid.
Their approach to the communities that they take up residence is not patronizing and not one of superiority. They don't see the people that they worth in tandem with as those needing treatment. They work shoulder to shoulder and eye to eye with people and empower them to help themselves. This is an essential point. Dependence on a "vanguard" to do one's fighting, even if that were possible, and we have seen that it is not, can only lead to increasing dependence and weakness. Those whose dependence is cultivated and perpetuated by those who rule over them with a heavy hand and who are made to think of themselves as "weak" or "miserable", cannot ever help themselves. Only those who are shown and convinced of the power that resides within them when they work together on the basis of mutual aid are in the position to really improve their lives and the lives of others.
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
"ISSTA" - One of the Companies that Makes Workers Pay for their Errors
The day my son flew to the US, the woman who sold him his ticket called the house asking for him.
I told her he was en route to the States.
She told me that a mistake had occurred with the amount he was charged for the ticket and that he owed "Issta" another 150 NIS.
I asked her how that happened. She said she made an error.
I asked if they have anything in writing saying that he still owes them money. She answered in the negative. In fact, the receipt indicates that he paid in full.
I asked my son about it and he said that he thought a mistake occurred, but not to pay it as it was the ticketing clerk who made the mistake.
I called her back and said: "If you made a mistake and the receipt says my son paid in full, then you have no legal charge against him. Would you pay your local grocer if he one day said to you that you owe him 150 NIS but had no proof that you in fact owed the money? It's a bad precedent."
She answered: "I understand, but if you don't remit the money; I will have to pay the difference out of my pocket."
That pulled the worker solidarity strings of my heart as two memories came back to me. In the first, I was a 15-year-old worker in McDonald's, my first job. A quick change artist came to my counter and ripped me off. The rip off was deducted from my salary, as was the amount that my cash register was once *over*. Fast forward six years. I am working as a cocktail waitress at the Fountainbleu Hotel on Miami Beach once got bumped into by a customer as I was carrying a full tray of drinks that went all over the floor. *I* had to pay the full price of those drinks, which was considerably more than I made that night of eight hours on my feet.
I sent the check - which the company said should be made out to "Issta".
I also sent a letter to the main branch of "Issta" telling them that I am utterly disgusted with their policy of making workers pay for errors when they make so much money hand-over-fist.
Many of you will be in a Capitalist state of mind and will agree with the company policy. "Hey, you'll say, she made the mistake. She has to pay for it. Right?"
Wrong.
A simple clerk earns enough working for a company like "Issta" to live an upper middle class lifestyle after two hours of work per day on the average. All the rest goes into the company's pocket.
That's right. A full 75%, at least, of your work time is for the benefit of the company, not to your benefit. If your boss is a real SOB, even by Capitalist standards, and forces you to work overtime, without reimbursing you time-and-a-half, and some don't reimburse at all, that too goes to their advantage, obviously. When I worked in a "Telma" food factory*, the workers were forced to work overtime, *LOTs* of overtime, and still earned so little that they had to get an income supplement from National Insurance.
*(That's right; I've worked as a counter girl, waitress, factory worker and lowly clerk at about 50 low-class various jobs despite my fancy shmancy education, which, as Jim Croce said so very eloquently "prepared me for life in the Middle Ages", because my heart is with the workers and I wanted to know their lives first hand. I've done jobs that involved more "prestige" too, including teaching and conducting research, and found that, with one notable exception when I tutored at a boarding school for asthmatic youngsters with a prince of a General Manager and a dream staff, that those "respectable" jobs always involved the moral degradation of shutting up and covering up, which I could not conscience and also paid far below the worth of the workers.)
Take into account too that when a worker "reimburses" hir (hir is the accepted non-gender specific form of both his and her) boss for a mistake zie (zie is the gender non-specific form of both he and she) doesn't pay the net cost of the good or service, but the resale cost.
I realize that this abuse of workers is so very much the norm that it is taken as a given. As I wrote, I have been a victim of it. I also realize that it is the corporations that determine what people are generally made to think is right and wrong and they train people how to react emotionally to them via the mass media, but this practice is an abuse and must be stopped. People have the right to make honest mistakes. Don't the owners and bosses tell themselves they're only human when they make mistakes? Too bad they don't tell themselves they're only human when they relate to their workers and set company policy.
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com
The day my son flew to the US, the woman who sold him his ticket called the house asking for him.
I told her he was en route to the States.
She told me that a mistake had occurred with the amount he was charged for the ticket and that he owed "Issta" another 150 NIS.
I asked her how that happened. She said she made an error.
I asked if they have anything in writing saying that he still owes them money. She answered in the negative. In fact, the receipt indicates that he paid in full.
I asked my son about it and he said that he thought a mistake occurred, but not to pay it as it was the ticketing clerk who made the mistake.
I called her back and said: "If you made a mistake and the receipt says my son paid in full, then you have no legal charge against him. Would you pay your local grocer if he one day said to you that you owe him 150 NIS but had no proof that you in fact owed the money? It's a bad precedent."
She answered: "I understand, but if you don't remit the money; I will have to pay the difference out of my pocket."
That pulled the worker solidarity strings of my heart as two memories came back to me. In the first, I was a 15-year-old worker in McDonald's, my first job. A quick change artist came to my counter and ripped me off. The rip off was deducted from my salary, as was the amount that my cash register was once *over*. Fast forward six years. I am working as a cocktail waitress at the Fountainbleu Hotel on Miami Beach once got bumped into by a customer as I was carrying a full tray of drinks that went all over the floor. *I* had to pay the full price of those drinks, which was considerably more than I made that night of eight hours on my feet.
I sent the check - which the company said should be made out to "Issta".
I also sent a letter to the main branch of "Issta" telling them that I am utterly disgusted with their policy of making workers pay for errors when they make so much money hand-over-fist.
Many of you will be in a Capitalist state of mind and will agree with the company policy. "Hey, you'll say, she made the mistake. She has to pay for it. Right?"
Wrong.
A simple clerk earns enough working for a company like "Issta" to live an upper middle class lifestyle after two hours of work per day on the average. All the rest goes into the company's pocket.
That's right. A full 75%, at least, of your work time is for the benefit of the company, not to your benefit. If your boss is a real SOB, even by Capitalist standards, and forces you to work overtime, without reimbursing you time-and-a-half, and some don't reimburse at all, that too goes to their advantage, obviously. When I worked in a "Telma" food factory*, the workers were forced to work overtime, *LOTs* of overtime, and still earned so little that they had to get an income supplement from National Insurance.
*(That's right; I've worked as a counter girl, waitress, factory worker and lowly clerk at about 50 low-class various jobs despite my fancy shmancy education, which, as Jim Croce said so very eloquently "prepared me for life in the Middle Ages", because my heart is with the workers and I wanted to know their lives first hand. I've done jobs that involved more "prestige" too, including teaching and conducting research, and found that, with one notable exception when I tutored at a boarding school for asthmatic youngsters with a prince of a General Manager and a dream staff, that those "respectable" jobs always involved the moral degradation of shutting up and covering up, which I could not conscience and also paid far below the worth of the workers.)
Take into account too that when a worker "reimburses" hir (hir is the accepted non-gender specific form of both his and her) boss for a mistake zie (zie is the gender non-specific form of both he and she) doesn't pay the net cost of the good or service, but the resale cost.
I realize that this abuse of workers is so very much the norm that it is taken as a given. As I wrote, I have been a victim of it. I also realize that it is the corporations that determine what people are generally made to think is right and wrong and they train people how to react emotionally to them via the mass media, but this practice is an abuse and must be stopped. People have the right to make honest mistakes. Don't the owners and bosses tell themselves they're only human when they make mistakes? Too bad they don't tell themselves they're only human when they relate to their workers and set company policy.
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com
Monday, November 19, 2007
Anarchism in the Jewish and Muslim Traditions
http://tinyurl.com/2opoga
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com
http://tinyurl.com/2opoga
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com
Where Have Greatness of Spirit and Nobility of Character Gone?
Looking back over history, until about two generations ago; there were moral giants in every generation, in the midst of every People.
They were, to be sure, the minority, but there were enough of them for their influence to be felt.
Humanity has lost not only its morally elevated, but the capacity to appreciate moral elevation and internalize the spirit of it.
I look about me and see a world virtually devoid of such greats of character and the few, very, very few who do exist exert no influence in raising the general population out of the muck and morass.
Something changed after the Holocaust, something terrible. Not only were the wise in the House of Israel taken from us, the eyes of the world at large were closed to the exalted, to the wondrous - as though that was humanity's collective punishment for allowing a horror of such imaginable proportions to occur.
I don't think that humanity is even aware to what extent they were degraded by having allowed something so barbarous to occur in their midst. Not only were we stripped of our former capacity for greatness, we have no desire for such greatness and consider the very idea something to smirk at and mock.
God is kind. Would that we, as a species, appreciated the low to which we have been reduced; we would, all of us, mourn all the day long - as do the very few within whom the barest realization of that former glory still resides.
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com
Looking back over history, until about two generations ago; there were moral giants in every generation, in the midst of every People.
They were, to be sure, the minority, but there were enough of them for their influence to be felt.
Humanity has lost not only its morally elevated, but the capacity to appreciate moral elevation and internalize the spirit of it.
I look about me and see a world virtually devoid of such greats of character and the few, very, very few who do exist exert no influence in raising the general population out of the muck and morass.
Something changed after the Holocaust, something terrible. Not only were the wise in the House of Israel taken from us, the eyes of the world at large were closed to the exalted, to the wondrous - as though that was humanity's collective punishment for allowing a horror of such imaginable proportions to occur.
I don't think that humanity is even aware to what extent they were degraded by having allowed something so barbarous to occur in their midst. Not only were we stripped of our former capacity for greatness, we have no desire for such greatness and consider the very idea something to smirk at and mock.
God is kind. Would that we, as a species, appreciated the low to which we have been reduced; we would, all of us, mourn all the day long - as do the very few within whom the barest realization of that former glory still resides.
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com
Saturday, November 10, 2007
NEW CONSUMER AND CIVIL-MINDED YAHOO! GROUP FOR ENGLISH-SPEAKING ISRAELIS
I have begun a Yahoo! Group called Loosen the Fetters of Injustice.
This is the group description:
This group has been created as an alternative. It is meant for people who are ready and willing to take charge of their lives and assume the responsibility of bettering Israeli society.
We concern ourselves with getting the tarnish off the gold that the government has appropriated from us, not getting the tarnish off our silverware. There are groups that deal with the small issues. This is for people able to cope with the big stuff.
Our purpose is not simply to inform and debate, that of course is necessary and even enjoyable, but out focus is the creation of affinity groups and task forces that will organize direct action when government and business abuses us.
This group is run democratically.
All the Owner/Moderator will do is screen members to make sure that no spammers get in and delete the spam if they do manage to get through the net.
There is no censoring of topics.
There is no censoring of opinion.
Posts are not moderated or edited.
The group is set so that your messages go to the entire group and are in the messages archive. Your message will not go just to the person that you are responding to unless you decide they will. Discussion is encouraged here!
No member can be expelled without the group as a whole voting on it.
The polls will be used to reflect democratic opinions and decide how to take action.
This group is OURS. All of the members are equal partners. That includes the person who hit the buttons in order to initiate this group. That's all the initiator is supposed to do and the title "Owner/Moderator" should be understood as nothing but a meme from a society accustomed to thinking in hierarchical terms.
Breathe freely. Be yourself. Allow yourself and others the joy and empowerment of emancipation from the manacles and gyves of government, business and moderation of groups that acts as though it was a government or a business. Have fun!
Israel, Jewish, Consumer, Government, Grassroots, Affinity Group, Task Force
I think you'd be a very valuable member of the group and request your participation.
Please feel free to extend this invitation to those whom you know to be like-minded.
Link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Loosen_Fetters/
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat - aka D2
DoreenDotan@gmail.com
I have begun a Yahoo! Group called Loosen the Fetters of Injustice.
This is the group description:
This group has been created as an alternative. It is meant for people who are ready and willing to take charge of their lives and assume the responsibility of bettering Israeli society.
We concern ourselves with getting the tarnish off the gold that the government has appropriated from us, not getting the tarnish off our silverware. There are groups that deal with the small issues. This is for people able to cope with the big stuff.
Our purpose is not simply to inform and debate, that of course is necessary and even enjoyable, but out focus is the creation of affinity groups and task forces that will organize direct action when government and business abuses us.
This group is run democratically.
All the Owner/Moderator will do is screen members to make sure that no spammers get in and delete the spam if they do manage to get through the net.
There is no censoring of topics.
There is no censoring of opinion.
Posts are not moderated or edited.
The group is set so that your messages go to the entire group and are in the messages archive. Your message will not go just to the person that you are responding to unless you decide they will. Discussion is encouraged here!
No member can be expelled without the group as a whole voting on it.
The polls will be used to reflect democratic opinions and decide how to take action.
This group is OURS. All of the members are equal partners. That includes the person who hit the buttons in order to initiate this group. That's all the initiator is supposed to do and the title "Owner/Moderator" should be understood as nothing but a meme from a society accustomed to thinking in hierarchical terms.
Breathe freely. Be yourself. Allow yourself and others the joy and empowerment of emancipation from the manacles and gyves of government, business and moderation of groups that acts as though it was a government or a business. Have fun!
Israel, Jewish, Consumer, Government, Grassroots, Affinity Group, Task Force
I think you'd be a very valuable member of the group and request your participation.
Please feel free to extend this invitation to those whom you know to be like-minded.
Link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Loosen_Fetters/
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat - aka D2
DoreenDotan@gmail.com
Thursday, November 08, 2007
ELECTRIC COMPANY NOT HONORING THEIR COMMITMENT TO POOR ELDERLY RECEIVING NATIONAL INSURANCE PAYMENTS
By law, the electric company is now supposed to give a 50% discount on the first 40 kilowatt hours to senior citizens who are receiving National Insurance and Insured Income.The discount was supposed to become effective starting the middle of the month of September 2007 and so it is supposed to show up on the bill they just sent out.We know of at least one case where the bill does not show the discount.Attempts to rectify the situation were first met with a total brush off.Only after an insistent call was placed did they agree to refund the discount, but only on the next bill in two months.That agreement was verbally stated. The Electric Company refused to back up the promise with an e-mail.If you have been cheated, put in a complaint to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor and to the State Comptroller.It is very likely that that will not be enough, as the Electric Company seems smug in their self-assurance.I would go further and advertise all over the net and the media that the Electric Company has not honored their commitment if this has happened to you.Write to: the mass media in Israel and abroad, to Olim Societies telling them of the matter; to any and all seniors groups; especially those who are planning to make Aliyah; etc.ORGANIZE!I've been contacted about this off line by interested parties.
The National Insurance Agency is the body that can tell you if you are eligible.
For the sake of solidarity: Use less electricity this winter, especially for heating. Nothing hurts them like getting it in the pocket. This may not apply to you directly, but it may to someone dear to you. Even if it does not apply to those near and dear to you, this is a very serious matter and should be one of general concern. No one knows what tomorrow will bring and any one of us may find ourselves old, frail, without means and being taken advantage of by a giant corporation.
Show them that they will pay many times over if they try to cheat someone, especially and elder on limited income!
I am really incensed by this and I need to say more about it.When a poor wretch robs an elder who has just received their Social Security money, the full force of the law comes down on them. When a company clicks a mouse and does the same thing, they do so with all impunity because the law has been devised by the flunkies and lackies of the rich to protect their interests. Stealing from the old, fragile and poor is as despicable as it comes. It is really a form of ELDER ABUSE and should be treated by society as such as such.
A suggestion: Plant Trees Strategically to Lower Your Energy Bills: http://tinyurl.com/2apyjw
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com
By law, the electric company is now supposed to give a 50% discount on the first 40 kilowatt hours to senior citizens who are receiving National Insurance and Insured Income.The discount was supposed to become effective starting the middle of the month of September 2007 and so it is supposed to show up on the bill they just sent out.We know of at least one case where the bill does not show the discount.Attempts to rectify the situation were first met with a total brush off.Only after an insistent call was placed did they agree to refund the discount, but only on the next bill in two months.That agreement was verbally stated. The Electric Company refused to back up the promise with an e-mail.If you have been cheated, put in a complaint to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor and to the State Comptroller.It is very likely that that will not be enough, as the Electric Company seems smug in their self-assurance.I would go further and advertise all over the net and the media that the Electric Company has not honored their commitment if this has happened to you.Write to: the mass media in Israel and abroad, to Olim Societies telling them of the matter; to any and all seniors groups; especially those who are planning to make Aliyah; etc.ORGANIZE!I've been contacted about this off line by interested parties.
The National Insurance Agency is the body that can tell you if you are eligible.
For the sake of solidarity: Use less electricity this winter, especially for heating. Nothing hurts them like getting it in the pocket. This may not apply to you directly, but it may to someone dear to you. Even if it does not apply to those near and dear to you, this is a very serious matter and should be one of general concern. No one knows what tomorrow will bring and any one of us may find ourselves old, frail, without means and being taken advantage of by a giant corporation.
Show them that they will pay many times over if they try to cheat someone, especially and elder on limited income!
I am really incensed by this and I need to say more about it.When a poor wretch robs an elder who has just received their Social Security money, the full force of the law comes down on them. When a company clicks a mouse and does the same thing, they do so with all impunity because the law has been devised by the flunkies and lackies of the rich to protect their interests. Stealing from the old, fragile and poor is as despicable as it comes. It is really a form of ELDER ABUSE and should be treated by society as such as such.
A suggestion: Plant Trees Strategically to Lower Your Energy Bills: http://tinyurl.com/2apyjw
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com
ATHEISM – RIGHT DOWN TO THE REAL NITTY GRITTY
Finally one of them had the bollocks to just come right out and articulate the one and only final logical conclusion of atheism.
And here it is:
"I don't believe any individual, group of individuals, culture, or religion, has a right to exist. This is because I don't believe in any natural or god given rights at all. "
And I'll tell any atheist or person who denies intelligent and compassionate design who tries to bullshit me with "Oh, no, we really are moral and caring human beings" that they are a fucking liar to their face.
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com
Finally one of them had the bollocks to just come right out and articulate the one and only final logical conclusion of atheism.
And here it is:
"I don't believe any individual, group of individuals, culture, or religion, has a right to exist. This is because I don't believe in any natural or god given rights at all. "
And I'll tell any atheist or person who denies intelligent and compassionate design who tries to bullshit me with "Oh, no, we really are moral and caring human beings" that they are a fucking liar to their face.
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
RABBI YEHUDAH ASHLAG, BAAL HaSULAM – THE ANARCHIST KABBALIST
Bet you didn't think there were any Anarchists who look like that!
Read on, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Ha-Levi Ashlag (1885- 1954), one of the most famous Kabbalists in the Jewish world, was utterly amazing in every way:
"Through intensive study of Kabbalah, a person's desire to give to others is developed in relation to this goal. Ashlag believed that the coming of the Messiah meant that humans would attain this quality which would allow them to give up their selfishness and devote themselves to loving each other for the sake of life's purpose, as stated in the commandment "love thy neighbor as thyself."
Ashlag had strong political opinions, believing in a religious version of libertarian communism, based on principles of Kabbalah, which he called altruist communism. Though his anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist ideas show some Marxist influence, he strongly opposed communism instituted by force. He supported the Kibbutz movement and preached to establish a network of self-ruled internationalist communes, who would eventually annul the brute-force regime completely, for “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”, because there is nothing more humiliating and degrading for a person than being under the brute-force government. However, most of the contemporary followers of Ashlagian Kabbalah seem to ignore the radical teachings of their rebbe. "
Not only are these teachings ignored, they have been silenced. As famous as he is, almost no one knows this aspect of his thinking.
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com
Thursday, November 01, 2007
TWO MASTERS OF THE KABBALAH ON RATIONALITY
Rabbi Avraham Abulafia (Born: Saragossa, Spain, 1240, Died: Greece after 1291) wrote:
"Here (in Torah) you will discover that which you seek and you will see that they all (all of the Teachings) cry out in protest against the absence of widsom, against unworthy deeds, and against limited understanding."
His student, whom he guided in the Way of Kabbalah Nevu'it, wrote:
"I did not, to be sure, experience the corporeal (magic) effects (of such practices); and even granting the possibility of such a form of experience, I for my part want none of it, for it is an inferior form, especially when measured by the perfection which the Soul can attain spiritually. Indeed, it seems to me tht he who attempts to secure these (magic) effects desecrates God's Name and it is this that our teachers hint at when they say: "Since license prevailed, the Name of God has been taught only by the most reticent priests."
Similarly, some claimed that: "It is a well-known and undisputed fact among the people of Spain, and a tradition handed down from their ancestors, that Rav Natronai came to them from Babylonia by means of a "leaping of the road." He taught Torah, and then returned. He was not seen to travel in any caravan, and nobody observed him on the road. "
A century afterwards, when the incredulous Rav Hai Gaon (born 939; died on March 28, 1038) was asked to express his opinion about this story, he dismissed it, suggesting that some imposter might have been passing himself off as the eminent scholar. "
There is no room for magic, superstition or irrationality in Torah - not only not even in the Kabbalah, but most especially not in the Kabbalah.
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com
Rabbi Avraham Abulafia (Born: Saragossa, Spain, 1240, Died: Greece after 1291) wrote:
"Here (in Torah) you will discover that which you seek and you will see that they all (all of the Teachings) cry out in protest against the absence of widsom, against unworthy deeds, and against limited understanding."
His student, whom he guided in the Way of Kabbalah Nevu'it, wrote:
"I did not, to be sure, experience the corporeal (magic) effects (of such practices); and even granting the possibility of such a form of experience, I for my part want none of it, for it is an inferior form, especially when measured by the perfection which the Soul can attain spiritually. Indeed, it seems to me tht he who attempts to secure these (magic) effects desecrates God's Name and it is this that our teachers hint at when they say: "Since license prevailed, the Name of God has been taught only by the most reticent priests."
Similarly, some claimed that: "It is a well-known and undisputed fact among the people of Spain, and a tradition handed down from their ancestors, that Rav Natronai came to them from Babylonia by means of a "leaping of the road." He taught Torah, and then returned. He was not seen to travel in any caravan, and nobody observed him on the road. "
A century afterwards, when the incredulous Rav Hai Gaon (born 939; died on March 28, 1038) was asked to express his opinion about this story, he dismissed it, suggesting that some imposter might have been passing himself off as the eminent scholar. "
There is no room for magic, superstition or irrationality in Torah - not only not even in the Kabbalah, but most especially not in the Kabbalah.
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com
USHERING IN THE MESSIANIC AGE
Rabbi Hillel Livlin of Shklover, the grand-nephew and disciple of the famous Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Kramer, the Ga'on (Genius) of Vilna (1720-1797; See: http://tinyurl.com/ccwdh http://tinyurl.com/a9mzr http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilna_Ga'on ) wrote the very mystical work קול התור, KOL HATOR, THE VOICE OF THE TURTLEDOVE, - the latter term being a name for Messiah as found in Song of Solomon 2:12). Rabbi Livlin of Shklover did not simply interpret the passages in the Bible that I will quote presently to mean that one must not use unfair weights and measures when conducting commerce as they are usually interpreted. He went much further than that. He said that the passages actually mean that the Messianic Age cannot come until there is economic equality in Israel and he was basing his interpretation on ancient sources. The passages that speak of the demand for equality most clearly are: Deuteronomy 25: 13- 16. "There we read: " Thou shalt not have in thy bag diverse weights, a great and a small. Thou shalt not have in thy house diverse measures, a great and a small. A perfect and just weight shalt thou have; a perfect and just measure shalt thou have; that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. For all that do such things, even all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the LORD thy God." The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text, The Jewish Publication Society translation [1917].
Rabbi Livlin's interpretation is astounding. For it means that only in an Anarcho-Communistic society will the inner Torah, the Torah as it will appear during the Messianic Age, be revealed. Therefore, that society must be founded previous to the Messianic Age. We cannot wait for the Messianic Age in order for perfect economic justice to be brought about. We are invested with the responsibility to create that society, not the Messiah.
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com
Rabbi Hillel Livlin of Shklover, the grand-nephew and disciple of the famous Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Kramer, the Ga'on (Genius) of Vilna (1720-1797; See: http://tinyurl.com/ccwdh http://tinyurl.com/a9mzr http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilna_Ga'on ) wrote the very mystical work קול התור, KOL HATOR, THE VOICE OF THE TURTLEDOVE, - the latter term being a name for Messiah as found in Song of Solomon 2:12). Rabbi Livlin of Shklover did not simply interpret the passages in the Bible that I will quote presently to mean that one must not use unfair weights and measures when conducting commerce as they are usually interpreted. He went much further than that. He said that the passages actually mean that the Messianic Age cannot come until there is economic equality in Israel and he was basing his interpretation on ancient sources. The passages that speak of the demand for equality most clearly are: Deuteronomy 25: 13- 16. "There we read: " Thou shalt not have in thy bag diverse weights, a great and a small. Thou shalt not have in thy house diverse measures, a great and a small. A perfect and just weight shalt thou have; a perfect and just measure shalt thou have; that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. For all that do such things, even all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the LORD thy God." The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text, The Jewish Publication Society translation [1917].
Rabbi Livlin's interpretation is astounding. For it means that only in an Anarcho-Communistic society will the inner Torah, the Torah as it will appear during the Messianic Age, be revealed. Therefore, that society must be founded previous to the Messianic Age. We cannot wait for the Messianic Age in order for perfect economic justice to be brought about. We are invested with the responsibility to create that society, not the Messiah.
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com
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