Lieberman's settlement bars Russian-Israeli families from buying homes
Settlers in Nokdim, home to Russian-born FM, fear new residents not classified as Jewish by halakhic law could corrupt local morals.
By Chaim LevinsonThe Nokdim secretariat ruled two weeks ago to bar non-Jewish Russian-Israelis from buying homes in the small Bethlehem-area settlement where Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman makes his home. The decision came after a frenzied debate between residents over whether the entry of individuals not considered Jewish by religious law would lead to "assimilation" or improper behavior on the part of veteran residents and their children.
The current fracas was sparked after a number of families of Russian origin applied to be accepted in the community. In each of the families, at least one member is not Jewish according to halakha, or religious law. Nokdim is a mixed community of religious and secular Israelis, both native and Russian-speaking, in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc southeast of Jerusalem.
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The West Bank settlement of Nokdim |
| Photo by: Alex Levac |
After several residents expressed opposition to admitting the families, the settlement's absorption committee decided to bring up the issue at a secretariat meeting. Two weeks ago the panel decided the families' applications would be rejected.
Nokdim's secretary, Yossi Heiman, told Haaretz: "If there were an easy solution to this issue, we wouldn't have to hold hearings on it. There are many considerations both ways; there are also strong arguments in favor of accepting these families. But, ultimately, the majority decided they were opposed to such a high number of these families coming in and changing the community's demographics.
"The biggest problem is that if you accept 10 families in which the mother isn't Jewish, then soon there will be 30 children, and tomorrow your son could fall in love with the good-looking girl next door. It's a real problem," Heiman said.
"It's difficult enough with the dozens of terrorists who enter each morning," added Nokdim resident Amit Gruen, in apparent reference to Palestinians employed in home construction in the settlement.
"We have to separate ourselves from the gentiles in commerce and everything else - particularly when it comes to living with them. It could lead to assimilation or idol worship; it opens the door to all kinds of trouble. They might lead us into committing offenses that Jews normally don't do, like idolatry and incest and all kinds of other perversions. That's why we have no place for them here," he said.
"In principle, the fact that they serve in the army is a problem. They must not serve in the army - the fact that the state brought them over doesn't mean a thing. Just as it brought them over, it can send them back to their own countries," Gruen said.
Gil Gan-Mor, an attorney heading the branch on housing rights at the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, said any decision not to accept a family as residents in a community on the basis of race, religion or sex is illegal discrimination.
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Government sponsored rapid (Yes/No) conversion of all who live in Israel and want to be a Jew (including Russians, Palestinians, Americans, Europeans, Asians, Australians, Marsians etc).
Today is a mourning day in Europe for the victims of Srebrenica genocide, people who were killed and expelled from their homes just because they were different. Today people in this illegal settlement of Nakdim speak of Palestinians as terrorists, of not allowing non-Jews to live in their midst. They speak of 'racial purity'. Holocaust has thought us nothing, Srebrenica has thought us nothing. This is the ugly face of Israel, a small minority that sees itself as superior to everyone else, and a man who is supposed to be the public face of Israel comes from this community. It is a revolting thing to comprehend. Honest Israelis, and there are such, despite what many would have us believe, should put an end to these settlements, should not allow few twisted minds to drag them and Israel through the mud. Do not become like those who have extinguished so many innocent Jewish and Bosniak lives.
I'm amused to learn that only Gentiles have problems with incest, "idolatry" and other social problems. You could have fooled me. I missed how perfection came with circumcision.
Truely, this is so very sad to read, i had no idea that it had reach a point ,where we are now seen as "contaminated people" i am a gentil , christian,who love this country, so where do i stand now??or am i to contaminated???
I'm not Jewish myself, but that's what it says in the bible.
In a place in which its essence is illegal, a settlement, there is discrimination by "Kosher" Jewish settlers of "Treif" or not Jewish enough potential settlers... in order to prevent assimilation or "idol worship." A rather moronic concern, to say the least coming from a place built on the essence of idolatry, the Occupation.
Jew or none jew who cares . Are they Israelis yes or no . The questin in a democracy is about citizenship not religion or bloodline . The nazis argued who is a jew . What's next do the gentils have to wear a badge ?
but not new - they had a notion in internal Israeli passposrts (unidentified) for all 2/3, 1/2, 1/4, " jews"
Hitler did not discriminate because he wanted to eliminate any Jew. Maybe Israel should be devided: Israel01(Pure Jewish Israel or Halakhaic Israel), Israel02 (More or Less Israel - one of the parents is Jewish, preferrably the mother - this part can still be sub-divided), Israel03 (No Matter What Israel - if one member is Jewish its OK, Israel 04 (None of the family members are Jewish), 5. 6. 7. For Israeli Arabs who are Christians, Moslems, Mixed, non-Christians and Non-Moslems and 7. 8. 9 10. For all Others that do not apply to the Above Israels... When another Hitler or enemy want to destroy us maybe he will kill only a small community and maybe we will join hands again, the defunct Jewish Agency will be recreated, the Israels will become one safeheaven again and we will discriminate less! It's Perfect!! I found the solution and we still have room to invent other rules to stay away from total destruction, at least until the enemy understands our intelligence! Maybe I need to go to Israel to create the ASDP (Anti-Self-Destruction Party). But we must keep secret because our neighbors can unite, do the inverse untill now and destroy all of the Israels!
Best way to solve the problem of the mixed breeds is that these officially discriminated people (they are denied the right to merry in Israel according to Israeli law) be offered an orderly transfer to less racially pure places. Just to add that the current president of the state, Mr. Shimon Peres, was quoted in press by allegedly saying ‘if you are not Jewish, you cannot be an Israeli.” So, why is all this fuss about the sincerity of the settlers in Nokdim? I am sure that America or Canada, and so on, will gladly accept the mixed one because most of these people are well educated as is the Russian aliyah in general, and have also good-looking children, as stated in the article by one of the pure breed. One must be genuinely disturbed in not accepting such people.
You cannot choose yur family or pick your neighbors. Any effort like that is racist and discriminatory .
This Lieberman is racist against how many more peoples? Turks, Russians.. whose next? How the heck did this guy become the FM?
There are those who claim Avigdor Lieberman works for Hamas' PR Department. Don't know if it's actually true, but you've got to agree he's doing a good job for the other side.
...divde people like that in the books of laws as far as i know. This is embarrasing for Israel if Israel want the rest of the world to look at Israel as a true deomcracy. Clearly it is not a true deomcracy right now when just one group are privliged by the society and laws. I am amazed
imagine the outcry if a municipality in the diaspora had prohibited Jews from purchasing housing because they were Jewish......
it's me or this is the kind of racist rant that in gentiles' mouth's we'd call antisemitism?
I mean, the guy is afraid Jews are going to fall in love with "good looking gentiles".
Maybe we could start a Beth Din to judge the beauty of people wishing to settle in Nokdim?
I would like to see these people discussing about some Jew or mixtes families being forbided to live in a specific place in USA or Germany or Russia, etc.. Antisemitism!!!! they will cry!
Corrupting values, gotta be kidding with the minister living there how can it be any worse in terms of human values ? the only thing not mentioned along with incest is drugs, need hard drugs, the tomb of Goldstein in Hebron is the meeting place for users and dealers both Arabs and Jews.
Wow ... I did not know that Lie(Do)berman's morals were so high ...
The decision is right. No one said that the non -Jewish Russians are of lower level or 2nd class people. They just do not fit to a Jewish community.
With a logic like yours why will fit Jews to live in USA or anywere in the world? Let-s expell them! What will you say? Truly.
Jews do not belong to USA or Europe. Jews belong to Israel. They all should come home already.
Is bigotry in "Nazi proportions"! And the State supports it, no wonder some people calls for the destruction of Israel?
and stop throwing racist accusations at a clearly religious issue. If you're too lazy to read the article or are just too stupid to get it, then please don't waste everyone's time with your pointless posts.
The settlement is secular and the issue is ethnicity, clearly it's about racism.
When are Israelis going to figure out they need to stop subsidizing this medieval jackassery?
as if by being pure ( 100% Jewish) makes you are superior. And their comments on what "gentiles"do is so self righteous. With this attitude these families would not feel comfortable there anyway.
A light unto the nations...
This isn't racism, my friends. It is the favorite game in Israel, known as "I'm holier than you are."
Wow! I don't know what to choose. Living among the goyim or even semi-goyim will make me idolatrous, and perverted and with a tendency to commit incest. But living among the settlers like those in Nokidim will turn me into a racist bigot..OY
I would cry racism, but if it means a few less settlers that will have to be resettled in the end, maybe we should be encouraging these communities to be even more exclusive.
This is what spreads anti-semitism and who is to blame? The only way to stamp out anti-semitism is to stamp out anti-goyim. Idolatry, incest and so many other even more shocking crimes committed in Israel today by Jews was already happening even in biblical times by the tribes of Jacob and nothing much has changed.
There is only one word: Racism
all different ,all equal. the moment a person has embrassed israel , is a part of us. we should block any person jew or not who by his dids is harming israel. and sometimes the people who are harming israel are the ultra orthodox.
The sad fact is that all this nonsense about anti discrimination law is meaningless. What's going to happen is the what usually happens, the settlers will go to the high court and their racism will be upheld. The rest of 'democratic' Israel won't even move a muscle.
in addition to dividing the population into two general categories (in this case, the Jews and the Arabs), an additional and separate category is evolving: Non-halakhic Jews, which is an Israeli equivalent onf South African "mixed race."
It does take time, but it's worth it in the end.
this attempt to portray decision of local rabeinu ( and his possibly his son in law ) mayor is a cheap shot spun around by cross outs in the Haaretz.
You had better be productive and develop Israeli land.
it's 2010, man. the pogroms are over. you aren't excluding nazis and soviets here, you're excluding people who happen to have one jewish parent and one non-jewish parent... people who want to live in israel. get with it.
They not hundred percent gentile and not a hundred percent Jew. Caught in the middle. They are most like secular Jews in their lifestyle. True a few of truly non Jewish nature got in but the bulk are of Jewish ancestry, neither here or there. Russian goyin the bulk are not- we know the difference. And there acceptance to the Jewish fold is objectable to them because they do not want to live like orthodox Jews, much like "secular Jews" do not want an orthodox lifestyle. This is their crime. Apart from that they bleed and die like the rest of us, and do the army ( where they die too) , unlike some orthodox groups. I would hate to depend on the orthodox for my survival, nor my Jewishness. Secular and not Russian.
So yiu immigrate to Israel and the first thing you do is display apalling racism that is contrary to all the principles in the Torah?
If your grandmother is Jewish (on mothers side), you are Jewish. Just like there is no such thing is half pregnant, there is no such thing as half Jew.
Well, at least they're honest about their xenophobia.
Corrupt the morals of the 'full-bloods'?? How could they get any more corrupt and unsavoury than Lieberman himself.?? ...Who in their right mind would accept him into their community.? Genetically, Ashkenazi Jews are already rather 'generically' assimilated' as blue eyes andf blonde hair are not a 'natural' genetic feature of any semitic people...Only amongst the 'Ashkenazi' do these genes manifest themselves as dominant... The right wing whacko Jews are likely to become even more fascist in their vetting of who is a 'Jew'.
to seperate the Jews and Palestinians and those in between. 3 states that house only the same ethnic Groups Israel for Jews , kick out non-jews, Palestine for Arabs and third one for all those others. Solution to Mideast problem in 2 sentences.
The story is to be translated into Russian and distributed as wide as possible among the local "Russians" - many, too many of them voted for Lieberman. As a Russian saying goes, "The country has to know her heroes".
It's illegal so they should and must.
yet no one does anything about them. They keep expanding, despite Israeli Supreme Court rulings against them, next to international condemnation.
Racism in its full "glory"!
Looking at settler future right in the eye. When, oh lord, will they come to their senses?
sometimes i can understand why the orthodox don't like associating themselves with, uh, "gentiles", but this is ridiculous. they hire palestinians to construct their homes... in a palestinian territory... then call them terrorist invaders when they come to work. they say that because a person has a non-jewish mother, even if they identify as jewish, they engage in "incest and other perversions". seriously, wtf? no wonder lieberman is such a nutcase, living with these people.
The question is whether "was such a nutcase" in choosing a home there in the first place?
...that Amit Gruen fellow should be able to leverage his firmly-held points of view into some sort of "celebrity-of-the-hour" career. (Like "Joe the Plumber," say.)
Can it be any more ironic and racist ?