{"id":2420,"date":"2015-05-21T14:34:01","date_gmt":"2015-05-21T19:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/?p=2420"},"modified":"2015-05-21T14:52:07","modified_gmt":"2015-05-21T19:52:07","slug":"israeli-foreign-policy-medieval-version","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2015\/05\/israeli-foreign-policy-medieval-version.html","title":{"rendered":"Israeli Foreign Policy…Medieval Version"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Repeat after me, \u201cThe Bible is not a real estate guide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obviously, Israel\u2019s brand-new Deputy Foreign Minister, Tzipi Hotovely, does not understand why reasonable people generally believe that. At least not according to her\u00a0laughably ridiculous\u00a0briefing this morning to\u00a0Foreign Ministry employees. This modern Orthodox woman is currently pursuing a doctorate in law at Tel Aviv University. But never mind all that secular legal baloney. Based on her remarks, what she really wants to be is a medieval rabbi. Maybe Rashi.<\/a><\/p>\n

From Haaretz:<\/a><\/p>\n

The world understands Israel\u2019s security needs, she said, but arguments relating to morality and justice will always prevail over any security argument. In an effort to demonstrate her point, she gave the large group of diplomats who crowded into the Foreign Ministry auditorium the equivalent of a Torah commentary, speaking about the interpretation by the medieval Jewish scholar Rashi of the story in Genesis about the creation of the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cRashi says the Torah opens with the story of the creation of the world so that if the nations of the world come and tell you that you are occupiers, you must respond that all of the land belonged to the creator of world and when he wanted to, he took from them and gave to us,\u201d she quoted from the commentary.<\/p>\n

\u2026\u201cPeople were in shock,\u201d said one diplomat. \u201cIt\u2019s the first time they have asked us to use a Torah commentary for purposes of public diplomacy around the world.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yes, and with good reason. It\u2019s patently ridiculous and a really terrific way to get your ass laughed out of any meeting with sane world leaders.<\/p>\n

The secular(-ish) Israeli right knows that they should stick to\u00a0security arguments even when they justify almost any foolish treatment of the Palestinians. I\u2019ve been saying for years that the security hawks are really just providing cover for a fast-growing band of theological nationalists. What else can explain the out-of-control settler situation?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll give her points for honesty. Most right-wing Orthodox\u00a0Zionists have the good sense to let the security hawks talk to the world. Ms. Hotovely just laid it all out there. Israeli policy will now be articulated in the words of an eleventh-century rabbi. I\u2019m sure that\u2019ll go over big in Brussels.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Repeat after me, \u201cThe Bible is not a real estate guide.\u201d Obviously, Israel\u2019s brand-new Deputy Foreign Minister, Tzipi Hotovely, does not understand why reasonable people generally believe that. At least not according to her\u00a0laughably ridiculous\u00a0briefing this morning to\u00a0Foreign Ministry employees. This modern Orthodox woman is currently pursuing a doctorate in law at Tel Aviv University. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[20,21,31],"class_list":["post-2420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogentries","tag-israel","tag-israeli-palestinian-conflict","tag-orthodox-judaism"],"yoast_head":"\nIsraeli Foreign Policy...Medieval Version<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Repeat after me, \u201cThe Bible is not a real estate guide.\u201d Obviously, Israel\u2019s brand-new Deputy Foreign Minister, Tzipi Hotovely, does not understand why\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2015\/05\/israeli-foreign-policy-medieval-version.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Israeli Foreign Policy...Medieval Version\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Repeat after me, \u201cThe Bible is not a real estate guide.\u201d Obviously, Israel\u2019s brand-new Deputy Foreign Minister, Tzipi Hotovely, does not understand why\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2015\/05\/israeli-foreign-policy-medieval-version.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Atheist Rabbi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-05-21T19:34:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-05-21T19:52:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeffrey L. Falick\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeffrey L. Falick\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2015\/05\/israeli-foreign-policy-medieval-version.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2015\/05\/israeli-foreign-policy-medieval-version.html\",\"name\":\"Israeli Foreign Policy...Medieval Version\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-05-21T19:34:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-05-21T19:52:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/#\/schema\/person\/fc95554b64c99ed45146c32bf5cd2372\"},\"description\":\"Repeat after me, \u201cThe Bible is not a real estate guide.\u201d Obviously, Israel\u2019s brand-new Deputy Foreign Minister, Tzipi Hotovely, does not understand why\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2015\/05\/israeli-foreign-policy-medieval-version.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2015\/05\/israeli-foreign-policy-medieval-version.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2015\/05\/israeli-foreign-policy-medieval-version.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Israeli Foreign Policy…Medieval Version\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/\",\"name\":\"The Atheist Rabbi\",\"description\":\"The blog of Jeffrey L. Falick, Secular Humanistic Rabbi.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/#\/schema\/person\/fc95554b64c99ed45146c32bf5cd2372\",\"name\":\"Jeffrey L. Falick\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f4f93646f1bdd3c145883cb358ed21b6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f4f93646f1bdd3c145883cb358ed21b6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jeffrey L. Falick\"},\"description\":\"Jeffrey L. Falick is the Secular Humanistic Rabbi of The Birmingham Temple Congregation for Humanistic Judaism in Michigan. He is also certified as a Senior Humanist Celebrant by the American Humanist Association and is president and founder of Humanists of Southeast Michigan.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/author\/jfalick\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Israeli Foreign Policy...Medieval Version","description":"Repeat after me, \u201cThe Bible is not a real estate guide.\u201d Obviously, Israel\u2019s brand-new Deputy Foreign Minister, Tzipi Hotovely, does not understand why","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2015\/05\/israeli-foreign-policy-medieval-version.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Israeli Foreign Policy...Medieval Version","og_description":"Repeat after me, \u201cThe Bible is not a real estate guide.\u201d Obviously, Israel\u2019s brand-new Deputy Foreign Minister, Tzipi Hotovely, does not understand why","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2015\/05\/israeli-foreign-policy-medieval-version.html","og_site_name":"The Atheist Rabbi","article_published_time":"2015-05-21T19:34:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-05-21T19:52:07+00:00","author":"Jeffrey L. Falick","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jeffrey L. Falick","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2015\/05\/israeli-foreign-policy-medieval-version.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2015\/05\/israeli-foreign-policy-medieval-version.html","name":"Israeli Foreign Policy...Medieval Version","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-05-21T19:34:01+00:00","dateModified":"2015-05-21T19:52:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/#\/schema\/person\/fc95554b64c99ed45146c32bf5cd2372"},"description":"Repeat after me, \u201cThe Bible is not a real estate guide.\u201d Obviously, Israel\u2019s brand-new Deputy Foreign Minister, Tzipi Hotovely, does not understand why","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2015\/05\/israeli-foreign-policy-medieval-version.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2015\/05\/israeli-foreign-policy-medieval-version.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2015\/05\/israeli-foreign-policy-medieval-version.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Israeli Foreign Policy…Medieval Version"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/","name":"The Atheist Rabbi","description":"The blog of Jeffrey L. Falick, Secular Humanistic Rabbi.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/#\/schema\/person\/fc95554b64c99ed45146c32bf5cd2372","name":"Jeffrey L. Falick","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f4f93646f1bdd3c145883cb358ed21b6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f4f93646f1bdd3c145883cb358ed21b6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jeffrey L. Falick"},"description":"Jeffrey L. Falick is the Secular Humanistic Rabbi of The Birmingham Temple Congregation for Humanistic Judaism in Michigan. He is also certified as a Senior Humanist Celebrant by the American Humanist Association and is president and founder of Humanists of Southeast Michigan.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/author\/jfalick"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2281"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2420\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}