US visitors to Israel advised to dress modestly

[CatMandoo]

JERUSALEM — The US State Department is advising visitors to Jerusalem to dress modestly when visiting certain neighborhoods, or to avoid the areas entirely, in hopes of not provoking local sensitivities.

The State Department guidance did not specify which neighborhoods are considered problematic, or what, exactly, constitutes "modest" attire.

The Jerusalem advisory, updated on 10 January, says travelers "should exercise caution at religious sites on holy days, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays" and "dress appropriately" when visiting ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods and the Old City of Jerusalem, where religious Jews, Muslims and Christians live in distinct quarters.

The warning notes that most roads into ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods are blocked off on Friday nights, Saturdays, and Jewish holidays, and that "assaults on secular visitors, either for being in cars or for being 'immodestly dressed' have occurred in these neighborhoods."

The advisory was added to the State Department's website for travel to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. It comes in the wake of many recent incidents in which ultra-Orthodox Jewish extremists physically or verbally attacked women they said were dressed immodestly.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women cover up everything except their faces, necks and hands.

In Beit Shemesh, a city between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, extremists have attacked religious schoolgirls on their way to school, deeming them not religious enough.

For years, ultra-Orthodox Jews have also stoned cars driving in or near their neighborhoods on the Sabbath or holidays.

[CatMandoo]

Forgot to add link

U.S. tourists to Israel advised to dress modestly - The Washington Post

[hubbly_bubbly]

Yes. It has been happening for years.

One way to define Jerusalem is: 40% Shas (Ultra-Orthodox Jews), 40% Hamas, 10% crazies and it's a wonder if you can find any of the remaining 10% who are 'normal'.

I still love being/going there though; it's the epicentre for everything that mankind should not stand for. Philosophically anyway.

[CatMandoo]

A Conservative Estimate of Total Direct U.S. Aid to Israel: Almost $114 Billion
By Shirl McArthur
TABLE 1: Direct U.S. Aid to Israel (millions of dollars)
Year Total Military
Grant
Economic
Grant Immigrant ASHA All Other
1949-1996 68,030.9 29,014.9 23,122.4 868.9 121.4 14,903.3
1997 3,132.1 1,800.0 1,200.0 80.0 2.1 50.0
1998 3,080.0 1,800.0 1,200.0 80.0 ? ?
1999 3,010.0 1,860.0 1,080.0 70.0 ? ?
2000 4,131.85 3,120.0 949.1 60.0 2.75 ?
2001 2,876.05 1,975.6 838.2 60.0 2.25 ?
2002 2,850.65 2,040.0 720.0 60.0 2.65 28.0
2003 3,745.15 3,086.4 596.1 59.6 3.05 ?
2004 2,687.25 2,147.3 477.2 49.7 3.15 9.9
2005 2,612.15 2,202.2 357.0 50.0 2.95 ?
2006 2,534.53 2,257.0 237.0 40.0 ? .53
2007 2,500.24 2,340.0 120.0 40.0 ? .24
2008 2,423.8 2,380.6 0.0 39.7 3.0 .5
Total 103,614.67 56,024.0 30,897.0 1,557.9 143.3 14,992.47

Notes: FY 2000 military grants include $1.2 billion for the Wye agreement and $1.92 billion in annual military aid. FY 2003 military aid included $1 billion from the supplemental appropriations bill. The economic grant was earmarked for $960 million for FY 2000 but was reduced to meet the 0.38% rescission. Final amounts for FY 2003 are reduced by 0.65% mandated rescission, the amounts for FY 2004 are reduced by 0.59%, and the amounts for FY 2008 are reduced by .81%.


Sources: CRS Report RL33222: U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel, updated Jan. 2, 2008, plus the FY ’08 omnibus appropriations bill, H.R. 2764.

As with previous Washington Report estimates of U.S. aid to Israel, this analysis is based on the annual CRS report, U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel, which uses available and verifiable numbers, primarily from the foreign operations appropriations bills. Although the CRS report does include such things as the old food for peace program, the $1.2 billion from the Wye agreement, the $1 billion in FMF included in the FY ’03 Emergency Supplemental appropriations bill, the subsidy for “refugee resettlement,”� and money from the ASHA account, it does not include money from the DOD and other agencies. Nor does it include estimated interest on the early disbursement of aid.

The January 2008 CRS report on aid to Israel shows a total of $101.1908 billion through FY ’07. Table 1, on the previous page, is drawn from the summary table of that report, plus $2.4238 billion from the FY ’08 omnibus appropriations bill and estimates for ASHA and “other”� amounts in FY ’08, for a total of $103.6147 billion through FY ’08.

To that has been added $10.2407 billion, as detailed below, for a grand total of $113.8554 billion.

Estimated Amounts Not Included in Table 1: $10.2407 Billion
Defense Department Funds: $7.694 Billion. For previous estimates, a search going back several years was able to identify $6.794 billion from the DOD to Israel through FY ”˜06. Adding $450 million from the FY ’07 DOD appropriations and $450 million from the ’08 appropriations gives a total of $7.694 billion. (The FY ’08 appropriations bill earmarks $155.6 million for Israel. However, AIPAC’s Web site reported that the total for earmarked and non-earmarked programs was $450 million—and who would know better than the Israel lobby itself?)

The military aid from the DOD budget is mostly for specific projects. The largest items have been the canceled Lavi attack fighter project, the completed Merkava tank, the ongoing Arrow anti-missile missile project, and several other anti-missile systems, most recently the “David’s Sling”� short-range missile defense system. Haaretz reported in June that a senior U.S. defense official has said the U.S. will support and help Israel’s development of the advanced Arrow 3 designed to intercept advanced ballistic missiles. The fact that the U.S. military was not interested in the Lavi or the Merkava for its own use and has said the same thing about the Arrow and the other anti-missile projects would seem to jettison the argument that these are “joint defense projects.”� The FY ”˜01 appropriations bill also gave Israel a grant of $700 million worth of military equipment, to be drawn down from stocks in Western Europe, and the FY ’05 defense appropriations bill includes a provision authorizing the DOD to transfer an unspecified amount of “surplus”� military items from inventory to Israel. In addition, since 1988 Israel has been designated a “major non-NATO ally,”� giving it access to U.S. weapons systems at lower prices, and preferential treatment in bidding for U.S. defense contracts.

Interest: $2.089 Billion. Israel receives its U.S. economic and military aid in a lump sum within one month of the new fiscal year or the passage of the appropriations act. Applying one-half of the prevailing interest rate to the aid for each year (on the assumption that the aid monies are drawn down over the course of the year), the July 2006 estimate arrived at a total of $1.991 billion through FY ’06. To that, using an interest rate of 4 percent, is added $50 million for FY ’07 and $48 million for FY ’08, for a cumulative total of $2.089 billion through FY ’08.

Other Grants and Endowments: $457.7 Million. The July 2006 report included $456.7 million in U.S. grants and endowments to U.S.-Israeli scientific and business cooperation organizations. The two largest are the BIRD (Israel-U.S. Binational Research & Development) Foundation and the BARD (Binational Agriculture and Research and Development) Fund. While these are mostly self-sustaining, the BARD Fund gets about $500,000 a year from the Agriculture Department. Adding $0.5 million for each of FY ’07 and ”˜08 to the ’06 total gives a new total of $0.457.7 billion.

For the convenience of those who wish to look up more details, citations for the foreign aid and DOD appropriations bills for the past five years are given in Table 2 above.
Congress Watch | A Conservative Estimate of Total Direct U.S. Aid to Israel: Almost $114 Billion

And.....American citizens need a WARNING when traveling there!!!! I SO RESENT THIS!!

[hubbly_bubbly]

The aid is (scandalously) one thing.

But Jerusalem alone (not the rest of Israel - as the heading of the article insinuates) is a different beast all together.

Most Israelis will agree to that. Many of them actually resent the ultra-Orthodox and much of what they stand for - they are too radical, even for the Israelis.

And to add to the fascinating absurdity of the place, in the centre of Jerusalem's old city you will find Jews making their incantations to the surrounding wall of a destroyed temple - Temple Mount, Muslims kneeling down and praying just above their heads in the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock (where Mohammed passed by on his way to heaven) - both have segregated areas for men and women to pray, btw - and Christian pilgrims blindly following the alleged path of Christ in his final days, only to kneel down, or even prostrate themselves, and kiss the supposed place of his death.

Arguably the epicentre for three different religions, three different gods... within a mile of each other, casting out their 'spell' to all corners of the globe.

No wonder there are warnings. But I reckon that inappropriate dress seems to be the very least of their issues.

[CatMandoo]

Nice to see you back HB!~

Are the Ultra Orthodox Jews the same as ones referred to in many news articles as "settlers"?

[hubbly_bubbly]

Originally Posted by CatMandoo

Nice to see you back HB!~

Are the Ultra Orthodox Jews the same as ones referred to in many news articles as "settlers"?

Nice to see you too, Cat.

It's sort of complex as ultra-Orthodox Judaism is in itself multilayered and multi-faceted. And from the wider political-religious-nationalistic stance of Zionism and Judaism, ultra-Orthodoxy as a whole, is a faction - made up by a collective of ultra-Orthodox factions, if you will.

But within a headline, yes, the settlers are ultra-Orthodox. But they are one facet of Jewish ultra-Orthodoxy. The men who wear the black hats and woollen coats are ultra-Orthodox, ("Haredim", means "those who fear god"), but may not necessarily have much to do with the settlers, let alone believe in the same political-sociological ideology, which then may differ from their religious beliefs.

Here. I hope this better explains it.

The Ultra-Orthodox Jews in the West Bank | Peace Now

(If you can't read the page, I'll post it or send it to you.)

[CatMandoo]

Complex indeed.

The reason I asked if they were one and the same is that I recall reading several years ago how Israel was actively recruiting them from the states and elsewheres with the promise of "free land?" ie more land they continually steal from Palestinians.

I guess with the average rate of SEVEN children per family, there will be no need

[hubbly_bubbly]

In that case, everything goes under "the right of return" - and we know how that works.

[isradutch]

The simple answer is no.
The so called settlers are people who believe their goal in life is to expand the Jewish population into unsettled areas.
They hate Arabs and they also hate most other Israelis because 95% of Israelis simple loath these people.
Most of the settlers are Orthodox Jews however some of them are secular or mildly religious (shomrey mizvot).
They enjoy provocation and publicity.

The stone throwing Jews you find in Jerusalem are ultra Orthodox Jews who for the most part are non zionistic - i.e. they don't recognize the Israeli state or government unless it gives them any benefits (mostly financial), they don't serve in the army and view other Israelis as lower class.

If you want to simplify things then you see the Israeli jewish population like this:
- 80% "normal" people who are either secular, mildly secular, mildly religious or practice religion - these people get along relatively well with each other
- 10% Orthodox Jews which recognize the state
- 5% ultra Orthodox Jews who for the most part hate the state and the other population
- 5% settlers

Originally Posted by CatMandoo

Nice to see you back HB!~

Are the Ultra Orthodox Jews the same as ones referred to in many news articles as "settlers"?