Today's Viral Vid: Maria the Messiah

Ever hear of the "Jerusalem Syndrome?" No?! Wellll, then... Meet Maria:

"For some visitors to Jerusalem, the spiritual rapture is overwhelming - and ultimately unhinging..."

(HT: American Jewish Life mag - where - ahem - I did the July 2006 cover story).

Here's the background and audio.

Jews, they're like, so... over

Yes, I know it's waaaay too late to be blogging. But this was great in a Manhattan snarky (what th' hell does that mean, anyway?...) kinda' way, thanks to Harry, of course:

Let's start by saying we're not forsaking Israel or siding with Hezbollah or proclaiming our love for Mel Gibson. But? We do think the Jew thing is a little tired. Who isn't Jewish nowadays? Being a part of the tribe, one of God's chosen ones -- we're just not so special anymore.

We're not talking about Judaism overall (that's still rock solid); this is about the Jewish culture, and the culture's long been co-opted by the goyim. There was a time when being a member of the tribe helped you work the system and climb the ladder; nowadays, even all the non-Jews are so Jewish that the ladder's collapsed under their collective weight.

Look around you. Everyone New York is Jewish, even the anti-Semites -- especially the anti-Semites! There's got to be an anti-Semite Jewish mafia out there. You just know it.

Read on.

JerusalemOnline news update: 00:00, Sept. 3rd (Video - Channel 2 TV)

• Police: President Katsav threatened female accuser
• Donors hand out 50,000 school bags to first-graders
• Lebanese refugees in Israel fear deportation
  
  
  
  Click on image for latest Israel
  Channel Two TV News Update
  

Mr. Sparks? Meet Mr. Dry Twigs: Ehud Olmert Vs. Rabbi Meir Kahane - the debate (Video)

Pardon me while I hastily don fireproof gloves and mask, and quicky step back and offer up some fascinating viewing from the "wayback machine":

A televised debate between (then "merely" a Likud Knesset member) Ehud Olmert and the late Rabbi Meir Kahane on the loyalty of Israel's Arab population to the State, and Israel's future as a Jewish state:

Face it: I'll never be a celebrity...

Here's a fun, Israeli Internet invention:

MyHeritage enables users to send in a photograph of themselves, family or friends, and seconds later receive up to 10 pictures of their celebrity look-alikes.

The celebrities include anything from Hollywood A-list actors like Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt, to athletes, politicians, scientists and even long-forgotten historical figures.

MyHeritage went on air in January, and already has 2.38 million subscribers, a figure that its founder and CEO, Gilad Japhet estimates will be around 2.5 million as this article reaches the press. Around 100,000 photos are uploaded to the site every day, and MyHeritage has become the 19th most talked about company on Internet blogs, beating Internet giants like ICQ, which only appears in the 82nd slot.

Here's another cute time-waster: View a clever VH1 clip of the app with funny comments by comedians.

Actually, this app was probably originally designed to ID terrorists waiting in line at the ATM, to take out money to buy Semtex, but really, I feel it was also meant just for me, with my face just made for radio...

Pro baseball coming to Israel

The boys of summer, courtesy of Israel21c:

On a Massachussetts baseball diamond, 60 American ballplayers of various skills, ages and religious persuasions have gathered in pursuit of a common goal: To play professionally in the Israel Baseball League in June 2007. Along with bringing pro ball to Israel, league organizers Larry Baras and Dan Duquette are pushing for an Israeli entry in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

...Baseball's quest to globalize has helped the sport make inroads in several new frontiers. When Jim Lefebvre is preaching the gospel in China, Lee Smith is teaching curveball grips to young pitchers in South Africa and Stubby Clapp and the Canadians are beating the tar out of the United States in the World Baseball Classic, the baseball landscape clearly is changing.

So why not Israel, a nation with a fondness for pizza, bowling, malls, reality TV, McDonald's, Home Depot and Blockbuster Video? Statistics show that Israel has the highest percentage of home computers per capita in the world, the highest ratio of university degrees and the second highest per capita output of new books each year. Shouldn't a society this enlightened embrace the most cerebral sport of all?

Good stuff. Read more here. Background, stats, facs & and pics of Israeli baseball here, and here.

JerusalemOnline news update: 00:00, Sept. 2nd (Video - Channel 2 TV)

• UN Chief Annan in Tehran
• EU gives Iran 2-week extension
• IDF in Gaza: 3 Palestinians killed

Tom Sawyer accepts Allah - Mark Twain reported loading pistols (UPDATE)

And if you thought the "Mohammed Cartoons" scandal was a passing phase...

Geez, ya' can't make this crap up:

Pinocchio, Tom Sawyer and other characters have been converted to Islam in new versions of 100 classic stories on the Turkish school curriculum.

"Give me some bread, for Allah's sake," Pinocchio says to Geppetto, his maker, in a book stamped with the crest of the ministry of education.

"Thanks be to Allah," the puppet says later.

As one talkback on Little Green Footballs put it: "I'd like to see those bastards rewrite Green Eggs and Ham!"

Abbagav sez':

	Green Eggs and Ham (Hebrew) Lo Ra-ev Velo Ohev
	Dr. Seuss
	ISBN: D-726
	Format: Hardback 1 pages	Description
	Publish date: 01/1000
	Price: $18.95 Special Price: $14.95

Tower of David, Old City of Jerusalem (Photo)

Tower of David, Old City of Jerusalem (Photo: Dave Bender)

Shabbat Shalom & have a great weekend. I'll be back Saturday night, IST.

Armed Arabic-speaker threatens suicide at UK Embassy in Tel Aviv (UPDATE)

UPDATE at Haaretz:

Israel Police on Thursday night captured and disarmed a Palestinian man from the West Bank city of Ramallah, who had successfully infiltrated the British Embassy grounds in Tel Aviv, and threatened to shoot himself if Great Britain did not grant him political asylum.

The capture ended an hours-long standoff after the man managed to enter the embassy parking lot at around 3 P.M., and began yelling that he was holding a handgun and would shoot himself if he were not promised asylum.

BREAKING NEWS at YNET News:

Man enters British embassy with gun pointed at own head, threatens suicide unless he is granted asylum. Eye witness: Police have deployed all around the embassy, area is closed

Large police forces have been dispatched to the British embassy in Tel Aviv, where a man is threatening to commit suicide.

At around 2:45 p.m. embassy employees reported that an Arab-speaking man jumped over the embassy’s fence and entered the building with a gun pointed to his own head. Apparently the man is requesting asylum.

Read more.

And now back to our previously scheduled blog entry...

Hizballah's Rocket Campaign Against Northern Israel:
A Preliminary Report

From July 13 to August 13, the Israel Police reported 4,228 rocket¹ impacts inside Israel from rockets fired by Hizballah.

No geographical area in the world has sustained such a large quantity of rocket strikes since the Iran-Iraq war in the early 1980s.

The rocket attacks on northern Israel were anticipated and were factored in to the decision to respond in force to Hizballah's July 12 attack.

Read more.