Condemnations of a deadly shooting in a refuge for young gay people in Tel Aviv have been followed by accusations

The shooting at the gay youth club Bar-Noar in Tel Aviv, which resulted in the tragic death of 26-year-old Nir Katz and 16-year-old Liz Tarboushi, and the injury of 13 others, is sending political shockwaves across Israel. "This is our Stonewall," said activists in Israel's gay community this weekend, referring to the defining moment for the gay community in the US, back in 1969.

While everybody involved in gay events always anticipates violence in the religious and conservative Jerusalem – and particularly in the Jerusalem gay pride parade which has become a centre of controversy in recent years – the gay community sees Tel Aviv as its safe haven. No matter how segregated, old fashioned, grumpy and troubled the rest of Israel gets, Tel Aviv keeps shining as a liberated autonomous jewel, the iconic big city into which anybody can integrate, or at least be tolerated. Its proud gay community, which has turned Tel Aviv into a tourist attraction for many Europeans, is also part of what makes some Israelis hate the "bubble", as the city is often referred to.

Nobody knows yet the identity of the masked character, dressed in black, who ventured into the bubble and shot the young people at the gay youth club on Saturday night. But as one of the commentators on the subject noted, a hate crime is defined by its victims, not its perpetrators. This much was understood by everybody. Even the community's most bitter enemies, the orthodox Shas party, ultra-orthodox MK Yaakov Litzman of Yahadut Hatora (United Torah Judaism) party and others were quick to condemn the murder in no uncertain terms. "The Tel Aviv branch of Shas is shocked and pained and it condemns the murderous crime against the gay community," said Shahar Bakshi, a spokesperson for Shas. Litzman said he strongly condemned the killing and that the murderer should be caught and prosecuted "like any other murderer". The prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu; the president, Shimon Peres; the leader of the Labour party, Ehud Barak; and the leader of the opposition, Tzipi Livni, all voiced their condemnations and condolences, and spoke of the importance of equality, freedom and tolerance.

Those prompt responses say a lot about the influence the gay community in Israel has gained in recent years. The arrival of the first openly gay MK, Nitzan Horovitz (Meretz), in parliament after the last general election; the gay parade in Tel Aviv, which attracts national and international attention; and the struggle to keep a gay parade in Jerusalem have added many friends, and many foes, to the activist movement. The fact that the daughter of the previous prime minister, Ehud Olmert, Dana, is openly gay, has drawn some further attention to the community.

However, there are other reasons for the wall-to-wall condemnations. Many of the speakers would like some of their own past statements to be forgotten, and want to pre-empt accusations in case a member of their own community is implicated in the crime. Shas leader Eli Yishay carries quite an unimpressive can of worms with him in this respect. He has referred to gay people as "sick" and "perverse" and dubbed the Pride parade "the filth parade". Other members of his party have repeated his words at every opportunity. Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, a prominent and influential figure among religious settlers, has said "there is no such thing as gay and religious. This is a crime which is punished by death according to the Torah."

In Israeli political culture, and especially in the context of political violence, a "condemnation" is often a prelude for an attack on the victims, and on those in their community for "making political capital" out of the tragic event. Such voices are already heard in the discourse that followed the weekend's events.

The news websites are, as ever, full of mixed comments that mark the extremes of the debate. Some commentators, while paying tribute to polite condemnations, accuse the gay community of being "provocative", and bringing harm upon itself. Others point an accusatory finger at the orthodox religious community. Many mention that only a few days ago the Jewish people commemorated the fall of the second Temple (70 AD), which according to tradition was destroyed due to "causeless hatred". Sadly, many interpret this as referring only to hatred "among Jews" and voice shock and surprise that a "Jew would kill another Jew". Others mention the pink triangle that gay prisoners in Nazi concentration camps were forced to wear. Biblical and holocaustic allusions often mark efforts to construct a rite of passage into Israeli society.

And in the middle of all this havoc, the youth of Bar-Noar club remember their dead friends and tend to the injured. Their grief makes it very understandable why this little basement flat meant so much to them.

"The stairs that lead to this basement are the longest ones in the world because they lead to the greatest possible mental change," said one of them. "I hope young people won't be afraid to descend this staircase in the future."

The place was a refuge to Israeli youngsters of many different backgrounds, secular and religious, rich and poor, and in recent years many of its visitors have been from the Russian immigrant community – many of them well aware that a secular society is not, in itself, a guarantee for tolerance. "My parents only found out I was gay when they were called to come and see me in hospital," said one of the youths injured in the incident. "I'm not quite sure which bit startled them more."

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Condemnations of a deadly shooting in a refuge for young gay people in Tel Aviv have been followed by accusations

The shooting at the gay youth club Bar-Noar in Tel Aviv, which resulted in the tragic death of 26-year-old Nir Katz and 16-year-old Liz Tarboushi, and the injury of 13 others, is sending political shockwaves across Israel. "This is our Stonewall," said activists in Israel's gay community this weekend, referring to the defining moment for the gay community in the US, back in 1969.

While everybody involved in gay events always anticipates violence in the religious and conservative Jerusalem – and particularly in the Jerusalem gay pride parade which has become a centre of controversy in recent years – the gay community sees Tel Aviv as its safe haven. No matter how segregated, old fashioned, grumpy and troubled the rest of Israel gets, Tel Aviv keeps shining as a liberated autonomous jewel, the iconic big city into which anybody can integrate, or at least be tolerated. Its proud gay community, which has turned Tel Aviv into a tourist attraction for many Europeans, is also part of what makes some Israelis hate the "bubble", as the city is often referred to.

Nobody knows yet the identity of the masked character, dressed in black, who ventured into the bubble and shot the young people at the gay youth club on Saturday night. But as one of the commentators on the subject noted, a hate crime is defined by its victims, not its perpetrators. This much was understood by everybody. Even the community's most bitter enemies, the orthodox Shas party, ultra-orthodox MK Yaakov Litzman of Yahadut Hatora (United Torah Judaism) party and others were quick to condemn the murder in no uncertain terms. "The Tel Aviv branch of Shas is shocked and pained and it condemns the murderous crime against the gay community," said Shahar Bakshi, a spokesperson for Shas. Litzman said he strongly condemned the killing and that the murderer should be caught and prosecuted "like any other murderer". The prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu; the president, Shimon Peres; the leader of the Labour party, Ehud Barak; and the leader of the opposition, Tzipi Livni, all voiced their condemnations and condolences, and spoke of the importance of equality, freedom and tolerance.

Those prompt responses say a lot about the influence the gay community in Israel has gained in recent years. The arrival of the first openly gay MK, Nitzan Horovitz (Meretz), in parliament after the last general election; the gay parade in Tel Aviv, which attracts national and international attention; and the struggle to keep a gay parade in Jerusalem have added many friends, and many foes, to the activist movement. The fact that the daughter of the previous prime minister, Ehud Olmert, Dana, is openly gay, has drawn some further attention to the community.

However, there are other reasons for the wall-to-wall condemnations. Many of the speakers would like some of their own past statements to be forgotten, and want to pre-empt accusations in case a member of their own community is implicated in the crime. Shas leader Eli Yishay carries quite an unimpressive can of worms with him in this respect. He has referred to gay people as "sick" and "perverse" and dubbed the Pride parade "the filth parade". Other members of his party have repeated his words at every opportunity. Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, a prominent and influential figure among religious settlers, has said "there is no such thing as gay and religious. This is a crime which is punished by death according to the Torah."

In Israeli political culture, and especially in the context of political violence, a "condemnation" is often a prelude for an attack on the victims, and on those in their community for "making political capital" out of the tragic event. Such voices are already heard in the discourse that followed the weekend's events.

The news websites are, as ever, full of mixed comments that mark the extremes of the debate. Some commentators, while paying tribute to polite condemnations, accuse the gay community of being "provocative", and bringing harm upon itself. Others point an accusatory finger at the orthodox religious community. Many mention that only a few days ago the Jewish people commemorated the fall of the second Temple (70 AD), which according to tradition was destroyed due to "causeless hatred". Sadly, many interpret this as referring only to hatred "among Jews" and voice shock and surprise that a "Jew would kill another Jew". Others mention the pink triangle that gay prisoners in Nazi concentration camps were forced to wear. Biblical and holocaustic allusions often mark efforts to construct a rite of passage into Israeli society.

And in the middle of all this havoc, the youth of Bar-Noar club remember their dead friends and tend to the injured. Their grief makes it very understandable why this little basement flat meant so much to them.

"The stairs that lead to this basement are the longest ones in the world because they lead to the greatest possible mental change," said one of them. "I hope young people won't be afraid to descend this staircase in the future."

The place was a refuge to Israeli youngsters of many different backgrounds, secular and religious, rich and poor, and in recent years many of its visitors have been from the Russian immigrant community – many of them well aware that a secular society is not, in itself, a guarantee for tolerance. "My parents only found out I was gay when they were called to come and see me in hospital," said one of the youths injured in the incident. "I'm not quite sure which bit startled them more."

]]> http://israelpalestineblogs.com/2009/08/03/gay-shooting-inflames-debate-in-israel-daphna-baram/feed/ 0 http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/aug/01/madonna-kaballah-column http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/aug/01/madonna-kaballah-column#comments Sat, 01 Aug 2009 13:00:00 +0000 Daphna Baram http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/aug/01/madonna-kaballah-column

Madonna's column on Kabbalah will chime with devotees of Israel's new-age trends – but it has little to do with Judaism

Israel's biggest daily newspaper, Yediot Aharonot, and its affiliated website Ynet, has hosted a column by none other than Madonna. The singer has opted to share with her new Hebrew readership (and readers of Ynet's English version) her "way to Kabbalah".

Kabbalah, at least in its Madonnistic version, has little to do with Judaism as it is known to most Israelis, religious or secular, or to most Jews wherever they are. Madonna's account of her way to enlightenment leaves few cliches un-recycled, and contributes no new ones to humanity's body of knowledge. She has travelled the world many times, read the writings of many teachers, discovered that "when the student is ready the teacher appears," and, following the appearance of one, Eitan, she has, oh bliss, "found an answer".

The Israelis who are most likely to get upset by Madonna's Kabbalistic rambling are ultra-Orthodox Jews, who are unlikely to be exposed to it, as they do not read secular newspapers. Kabbalah in its "purest" form – before it replaced pilates, macrobiotics, Scientology or Zen Buddhism as the latest celebrity trend – is a rather complicated and mystical body of writing in Judaism. Its sensitive content makes it "forbidden" to young and excitable religious students, and only older ones, with their rabbi's permission, are allowed to delve into its enchanted world of spirits and legends. Learning too much Kabbalah is considered to be something that might "do your head in", which is exactly why the ignorant are advised to stay clear of it. Many Jewish and Israeli writers were enticed to take a peek into the "orchard" as it is often referred to, of Kabbalah, among them are Author Laureate Haim Nahman Bialik, and the writer Asher Barash.

All this, naturally, has little to do with Madonna's Kabbalah-lite, or maybe diet-Kabbalah, judging by her latest published images. Her exciting adventures in the spiritual orchard may actually find keen readers in Israel, which in recent years is being more and more infested by irrational mumbo-jumbo of all sorts, some of it affiliated loosely to Judaism, and some related to other sects, religions and beliefs. Many go to visit local "saints" who deliver "holy waters" and various ointments to cure everything from cancer to childlessness; numerologists and astrologists appear regularly on morning news shows as career advisers or wellbeing tutors. Hundreds of thousands of young Israelis visit India every year, and many of them return enlightened and "connected to themselves" after visiting various Ashrams, and enjoying a fair amount of recreational drugs. Others return home wearing black, after having met Hassidic missionaries, who hang around India and collect to the warm bosom of Orthodox Judaism lost sheep who got confused by a cocktail of strong weed and intense Buddhism. Young settlers on hilltops tend to grow their hair long, wear white knitted yarmulkes, and adopt Hassidic mysticisms which horrify their pioneering parents, whose style, if not their beliefs, tended to be more sober. The hippy aesthetics, in case anybody gets confused, ironically tend to signify the more violent among the hilltop settlers of the west bank.

This prevailing escapism sits well with the policy and tendency most Israelis have adopted towards the political situation, and mainly towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is connected tightly to another common concept known as "the bubble" – which most frequently refers to the hedonistic lifestyle of people in Tel Aviv. But unlike in Madonna's protected Kabbalah classes, in Israel reality never waits long before it bangs ferociously on any door, and pokes a sharp object into any bubble.

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Madonna's column on Kabbalah will chime with devotees of Israel's new-age trends – but it has little to do with Judaism

Israel's biggest daily newspaper, Yediot Aharonot, and its affiliated website Ynet, has hosted a column by none other than Madonna. The singer has opted to share with her new Hebrew readership (and readers of Ynet's English version) her "way to Kabbalah".

Kabbalah, at least in its Madonnistic version, has little to do with Judaism as it is known to most Israelis, religious or secular, or to most Jews wherever they are. Madonna's account of her way to enlightenment leaves few cliches un-recycled, and contributes no new ones to humanity's body of knowledge. She has travelled the world many times, read the writings of many teachers, discovered that "when the student is ready the teacher appears," and, following the appearance of one, Eitan, she has, oh bliss, "found an answer".

The Israelis who are most likely to get upset by Madonna's Kabbalistic rambling are ultra-Orthodox Jews, who are unlikely to be exposed to it, as they do not read secular newspapers. Kabbalah in its "purest" form – before it replaced pilates, macrobiotics, Scientology or Zen Buddhism as the latest celebrity trend – is a rather complicated and mystical body of writing in Judaism. Its sensitive content makes it "forbidden" to young and excitable religious students, and only older ones, with their rabbi's permission, are allowed to delve into its enchanted world of spirits and legends. Learning too much Kabbalah is considered to be something that might "do your head in", which is exactly why the ignorant are advised to stay clear of it. Many Jewish and Israeli writers were enticed to take a peek into the "orchard" as it is often referred to, of Kabbalah, among them are Author Laureate Haim Nahman Bialik, and the writer Asher Barash.

All this, naturally, has little to do with Madonna's Kabbalah-lite, or maybe diet-Kabbalah, judging by her latest published images. Her exciting adventures in the spiritual orchard may actually find keen readers in Israel, which in recent years is being more and more infested by irrational mumbo-jumbo of all sorts, some of it affiliated loosely to Judaism, and some related to other sects, religions and beliefs. Many go to visit local "saints" who deliver "holy waters" and various ointments to cure everything from cancer to childlessness; numerologists and astrologists appear regularly on morning news shows as career advisers or wellbeing tutors. Hundreds of thousands of young Israelis visit India every year, and many of them return enlightened and "connected to themselves" after visiting various Ashrams, and enjoying a fair amount of recreational drugs. Others return home wearing black, after having met Hassidic missionaries, who hang around India and collect to the warm bosom of Orthodox Judaism lost sheep who got confused by a cocktail of strong weed and intense Buddhism. Young settlers on hilltops tend to grow their hair long, wear white knitted yarmulkes, and adopt Hassidic mysticisms which horrify their pioneering parents, whose style, if not their beliefs, tended to be more sober. The hippy aesthetics, in case anybody gets confused, ironically tend to signify the more violent among the hilltop settlers of the west bank.

This prevailing escapism sits well with the policy and tendency most Israelis have adopted towards the political situation, and mainly towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is connected tightly to another common concept known as "the bubble" – which most frequently refers to the hedonistic lifestyle of people in Tel Aviv. But unlike in Madonna's protected Kabbalah classes, in Israel reality never waits long before it bangs ferociously on any door, and pokes a sharp object into any bubble.

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