Vienna - Vienna's Jewish community on Wednesday blasted a dog magazine for using yellow stars in a campaign fighting "racism" against attack dogs, and criticized the choice of a Nazi-era symbol. Authorities in the Austrian capital are currently assessing whether to introduce a special owner's license for dog breeds that are considered especially dangerous or aggressive, a measure that has incensed many dog owners in Vienna.
Wuff magazine had issued fliers showing two puppies, a labrador retriever and a pit bull terrier. The pit bull bears a yellow star in the shape of the Star of David with the word "evil" on it.
The publishers reacted to the criticism by saying they would replace the star with a red circle in the future.
"Equating examinations for certain dog breeds with the persecution, torture and murder of millions of people reveals the spirit of those who are responsible for designing and distributing such materials," Vienna's Jewish community said in a statement.
Jews in Hitler's German Reich and its occupied areas were forced to wear yellow stars with the word "Jew" written on it.
Anonymous members covered in saran wrap to symbolize frozen meat remember 'victims of human tyranny', protest 'horrors' of egg, industrial meat industries. 'Our intelligence does not justify abusing other creatures,' exhibit's organizer says
An exhibit featuring naked activists covered in saran wrap was held in central Tel Aviv on Monday, as part of the 11th annual International Animal Rights Day events, during which activists across the world "remember the innocent nonhuman victims of human tyranny and call for the recognition of their basic moral rights."
International Animal Rights Day was officially marked on December 10.
The exhibit, in which the activists were bunched together to symbolize frozen meat, was organized by Anonymous for Animal Rights to protest the "horrors" of the egg and industrial meat industries.
A handcuffed female activist waved a sign reading, "The right to move freely" in protest of the confinement of egg laying hens in "battery cages", which, according to Anonymous, have already been banned in 30 countries and are expected to be entirely banned in the European Union by 2012.
HELENA, Mont. — In Montana, a rabbi is an unusual sight. So when a Hasidic one walked into the State Capitol last December, with his long beard, black hat and long black coat, a police officer grabbed his bomb-sniffing German shepherd and went to ask the exotic visitor a few questions.
Though there are few Jews in Montana today, there once were many. In the late 19th century, there were thriving Jewish populations in the mining towns, where Jews emigrated to work as butchers, clothiers, jewelers, tailors and the like.
The city of Butte had kosher markets, a Jewish mayor, a B’nai B’rith lodge and three synagogues. Helena, the capital city, had Temple Emanu-El, built in 1891 with a seating capacity of 500. The elegant original facade still stands, but the building was sold and converted to offices in the 1930s, when the congregation had dwindled to almost nothing, the Jewish population having mostly assimilated or moved on to bigger cities.
There is a Jewish cemetery in Helena, too, with tombstones dating to 1866. But more Jews are buried in Helena than currently live here.
And yet, in a minor revival, Montana now has three rabbis, two in Bozeman and one (appropriately) in Whitefish. They were all at the Capitol on the first night of Hannukah last year to light a menorah in the ornate Capitol rotunda, amid 100-year-old murals depicting Sacajawea meeting Lewis and Clark, the Indians beating Custer, and the railway being built. The security officer and the dog followed the rabbi into the rotunda, to size him up.
Soldier sent to detention for cooking on Shabbat after cat ate his meal
Kfir brigade soldier about to eat Shabbat meal finds out a cat has 'tasted' their meal. Soldier offers to cook new meal, gets caught, sentenced to 20 days in detention for violating IDF rules
A combat soldier from the Nahshon battalion was sentenced to 20 days in detention, after he found out a stray cat "tasted" his Shabbat meal and decided to cook a new meal, despite IDF's strict orders that forbid cooking on the holy day.
Last weekend, the soldier and his friends, who serve with the Kfir division, entered the base's dining room, and intended to eat from a pot of cholent (meat stew) that was cooked according to the Shabbat regulations.
However, before they managed to dig in, the soldiers were surprised to discover that a cat ate out of the pot. The soldier, who refused to eat from the tainted pot, offered instead to make a light meal for him and his friends.
As his luck would have it, during the meal preparations, one of the kitchen's staff arrived and instructed the soldier to stop cooking immediately.
Details of the incident were handed over to the battalion commander, who decided to put the soldier on trial and sentenced him to 20 days in detention for violating IDF orders.
"There are clear orders about observing the Shabbat, and even if the food was inedible there are other options to get food without desecration of the Sabbath," said IDF sources.
Palestinians watch as butchers slaughter a calf on the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha in Gaza City November 27, 2009 Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha to mark the end of the haj by slaughtering sheep, goats, cows and camels to commemorate Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail [Jewish and Christian scriptures say it was Isaac!] on God's command. Reuters.
A Palestinian man pulls a bull by its tail as he slaughters it in a slaughterhouse, on the first day of Eid al-Adha celebrations, in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip, Friday, Nov. 27, 2009. Muslims worldwide celebrate Eid-al-Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice, with the sacrificial killing of sheep, goats, cows or camels. AP Photo.
A butcher's cleaver is seen leaning against a wall in a slaughterhouse, on the first day of Eid al-Adha celebrations, in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip, Friday, Nov. 27, 2009. Muslims worldwide celebrate Eid-al-Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice, with the sacrificial killing of sheep, goats, cows or camels. AP Photo.
What a bunch of freaking cowards and stinking hypocrites PETA are.
BARIYAPUR, Nepal – The ceremony began with prayers in a temple by tens of thousands of Hindus before dawn Tuesday. Then it shifted to a nearby corral, where in the cold morning mist, scores of butchers wielding curved swords began slaughtering buffalo calves by hacking off their heads.
Over two days, 200,000 buffaloes, goats, chickens and pigeons will be killed as part of a blood-soaked festival held every five years to honor Gadhimai, a Hindu goddess of power.
While cows are sacred and protected by law in Nepal, animal sacrifice has a long history in this overwhelmingly Hindu country and parts of neighboring India. The Bariyapur festival has become so big, in part, because such ceremonies have been banned in many areas in the neighboring Indian state of Bihar.
And while it is criticized by animal-rights protesters, the festival is defended as a centuries-old tradition.
Many Nepalis believe that sacrifices in Gadhimai's honor will bring them prosperity. They also believe that by eating the meat, which is taken back to their villages and consumed during feasts, they will be protected from evil.
Taranath Gautam, the top government official in the area, estimated that more than 200,000 people had come for the ceremony in Bariyapur, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Katmandu. Some brought their own animals to sacrifice.
"I am here with my mother who had promised the goddess she would sacrifice a goat. It was her wish and promise and I am glad we were able to fulfill it," said Pramod Das, a farmer from the nearby village of Sarlahi. "I believe now my mother's wishes will come true."
Animal rights groups don't have much power in Nepal, but they have staged repeated protests in recent weeks. Local news reports say some activists set up stands in towns on the way to the Bariyapur temple, offering Hindu pilgrims coconuts and other fruits to sacrifice instead of animals.
I'm sure that PETA neglected this mass animal slaughter in Nepal because they are so busy organizing their worldwide protests for the upcoming mass animal slaughter of Eid Al Adha.
IN DIS PICCHUR TAKEN KATURDAI, NOV. 7, 2009, DOMESTIC KAT - AN UNLIKELY EDISHUN 2 AN ASPIRIN ZOO, IZ SEEN CLIMBIN ITZ CAGE AT TEH MARAH LAND ZOO IN EASTERN GAZA CITY. THARS LIL 2 DO 4 ENTERTAINMENT 4 GAZAS 1.4 MILLION RESIDENTS CUZ OV 2-YER ISRAELI AN EGYPTIAN BLOCKADE, AN TEH TERRITORYS ZOOS BECAME POPULAR FORM OV PAST TIEM. IN 2008 TEH MARAH ZOO WUZ FULLY FUNCSHUNIN ZOO, BUT DURIN ISRAELS JANUARY OFFENSIV, 90 PERSENT OV TEH ANIMALS DID. DUE 2 RESTRICSHUNS OV TEH ISRAELI AN EGYPTIAN BLOCKADE - NEW ANIMALS CAN NOT BE OBTAIND - UNLES THEY R TRANZPORTD THRU TEH TUNNELS. AS RESULT, THAR R NOT AS LARGE VARIETY OV ANIMALS AS BEFORE, BUT GAZANZ STILL FLOCK 2 TEH ZOO, DUE 2 TEH LACK OV SOURCEZ OV ENTERTAINMENT IN DA GAZA STRIP. AP Photo
AP Caption, blaming Israel for "forcing" Gazans to imprison cats in the zoo:
In this picture taken Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, a domestic cat - an unlikely edition to an aspiring zoo, is seen climbing its cage at the Marah Land Zoo in eastern Gaza City. There's little to do for entertainment for Gaza's 1.4 million residents because of a two-year Israeli and Egyptian blockade, and the territory's zoos became a popular form of past time. In 2008 the Marah Zoo was a fully functioning zoo, but during Israel's January offensive, 90 percent of the animals died. Due to restrictions of the Israeli and Egyptian blockade - new animals can not be obtained - unless they are transported through the tunnels. As a result, there are not as large a variety of animals as before, but Gazans still flock to the zoo, due to the lack of sources of entertainment in the Gaza Strip.
Giant Hamas bee torturing cats in Gaza zoo (2 years before the "January offensive")
Following are excerpts from an address by Egyptian cleric Amin Al-Ansari, which aired on Al-Rahma TV on October 12, 2009.
Amin Al-Ansari: God has filled people’s hearts with loathing for these [Jews]. Let’s take a look at the field of sports. Forget about politics, military issues, and so on. Let’s look at sports on the international level. How come there are no successful Israeli sportsmen, like in any other people? They are abhorred. God does not let people be friendly with them.
[...]
Let’s see how the Jews are hated in the field of sports. They are abhorred. Let’s take a look.
Footage of soccer game, showing Chelsea player kicking the Israeli Yossi Benayoun, playing for Liverpool
Amin Al-Ansari: This is a Jewish soccer player, who behaved unjustly even on the field. But Allah be praised... Let’s take another look.
Replay of footage
Amin Al-Ansari: Look at this Jew being kicked. People hate them. They don’t like them.
[...]
We are not talking only about people. [The same goes] even for trees and animals. You know, there is rather peculiar footage, in which an Arab man who has a camel loves it and kisses it, and the camel kisses him back. Along comes a Jew and wants to kiss the camel, just like the Arab. What do you think the camel did? Let’s watch.
Footage showing Arab kissing camel and camel trying to bite Jewish man
Amin Al-Ansari: Look what happens when the Jew tries to kiss it... He’s fled the scene, of course. He’s fled from this “lion.”
A Delta Air Lines shuttle flight from Boston got a bloody nose yesterday, courtesy of a bird flying near La Guardia Airport.
The latest midair collision between a commercial airliner and a fowl happened just before 6 p.m. as the Boeing MD-80, which had taken off from Logan Airport at 4:30 p.m., struck the bird on final approach to the airport, an FAA spokeswoman said.
The crew of Flight 1393 "followed all established procedures and landed without incident," Delta spokesman Kent Landers said. Nobody was hurt.
An airport worker who saw the plane taxi to the gate said people on the runway were stunned.
"There was blood on the nose of the plane all the way up to the windshield," he said.
"There was a big dent. I saw feathers attached to the plane."
The worker said the pilot was "amazed" when he got out of the plane to inspect the damage.
"He said he heard it when he was coming in for a landing. He thought it was a goose."
Geese have been blamed for several recent collisions with planes. In the most notorious case, they brought down US Airways Flight 1459, which made a miraculous safe Hudson River landing.
The following is a press release from an animal shelter claiming to have ‘rescued’ a poor chicken named ‘chesed’ from sacrificial slaughter during Kapores in a Crown Heights seminary. Yes its real, a quick skim through the pages of the shelters website has a saved duck named Mishka, and cow named Nikki.
Today, as millions of Jews observe Yom Kippur, Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization, rescued a chicken, named Chesed, meaning mercy or loving-kindness in Hebrew, from sacrificial slaughter during the Jewish ritual of kapparot in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. This chicken will join the more than 200 other chickens the organization has rescued from kapparot rituals in New York City and the surrounding boroughs over the past three years.
The chicken was rescued by Brooklyn resident Wayne Johnson, who witnessed a massive kapparot gathering at a seminary in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn on Saturday night. At 9:30 p.m., a large truck transporting approximately 2,000 chickens, packed four to a crate, arrived at the seminary. A long line of people waited to purchase chickens for $13 apiece, which they then swung over their heads while reciting a prayer before taking them over to a table where a butcher slit their throats with a knife. Around 11 p.m., a man shoved a chicken into the arms of Johnson, who had made it known he did not approve of the inhumane ritual, and told him he could have the bird. Johnson gladly accepted the frightened chicken and took him to his Brooklyn Heights home to await safe transport to Farm Sanctuary’s shelter in upstate New York. Halfway through the subway ride home, Johnson says the chicken began to relax and nestled into his arms.
An Ultra-orthodox Jewish woman swings a chicken above her daughter's head during the Kaparot ceremony in Mea Shearim Ultra Orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem on September 23, 2009. According to Jewish beliefs, the ritual is supposed to transfer the sins of the past year to the chicken, and is performed before the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur, the most important day in the Jewish calendar, which this year falls on September 28. Getty Images.
Babushka visited the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem where a "Mercaz Hakapparot" was set up. Selected a chicken, said the prayers, swung the chicken, having also in mind the PETA activist who accosted me on Rehov Strauss with anti-kapparot leaflets. They claim kapparot is "humiliating" for the chicken.
Babushka does not believe that chickens are capable of feeling "humiliation" or any other human emotions that PETA insists on assigning to animals. Babushka hopes that the little chicken has now achieved a tikkun, and will be reincarnated as a higher life form, including maybe even a little baby human being.
If PETA really believes that animals are capable of feeling the whole range of human emotions, as they claim, then why are they mass slaughtering dogs and cats (who are certainly capable of higher emotions than chickens or fish) at their "animal rescue" facilities?
Palestinian women and children look on as a man slaughters a bull at the family's house in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on September 5, 2009. Part of the meat will be distributed to the needy and poor on the occasion of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, during which observant Muslims fast from dawn until dusk and should spend time in prayer and contemplation. Getty Images.
You notice that PETA always runs and hides whenever there is mass animal slaughter all over the place during Eid. It's so easy for them to have their "Chicken Holocaust" and "Pig Crucifixion" campaigns because they know that Jews and Christians aren't likely to slit their vegan throats.
Witness: Pug Owner Was Jew-Bashing During Subway Arrest
A bystander who witnessed the arrest Monday of a woman carrying her sick pug in the subway says the dog owner made anti-Semitic remarks toward the arresting officer, who happens to be the city's first Hasidic cop. Yesterday the pug-owner, Chrissie Brodigan, told us (and a second witness corroborated) that when she became upset during the incident, Officer Joel Witriol said, "If you're going to act like a woman I'm going to treat you like a woman."
She says that as Witriol arrested her, "He punched me in the back (there are bruises), he handcuffed me, and in the scuffle grabbed my breasts and pinched them." And Jason Wagner, another passer-by who took these photos, tells us Witriol said, "Do you wanna talk like a woman? Do you wanna get knocked around like a woman?"
But witness Viane Delgado tells the Post that Witriol "repeatedly" asked Brodigan to place the pug "in a carrier she had." (Brodigan says she'd been carrying the dog in a tote bag, but it had vomited in there, which is why she was carrying it out of the station.) Delgado goes on to insist that during the argument, Brodigan told the cop, "You f---ing Jew, you're not even human." And an unidentified source tells the Post that Brodigan also exclaimed, "Jewish people think they own everything."
Chrissie Brodigan denies shrieking anti-Semitic epithets at Officer Witriol, although she admits to calling the police officer an "asshole," screaming, cursing, and resisting arrest.
An Israeli citizen who was among 21 peace activists apprehended by the IDF en route to the Gaza Strip says she was held under conditions resembling a "horror movie."
Houida Araf, who was released on Wednesday, told Ynet that she and a fellow Israeli peace activist were separated from the group and taken to the Ashdod Port.
"They put us in a warehouse, where we slept on a cockroach-infested cement floor, as armed soldiers were monitoring us," she said. "They didn't say a word to us. They confiscated all our personal belongings and phones, and they didn't let us contact anyone. A day later they left us at the Ashdod central bus station without any money or belongings."
"What they did to us is unforgivable, but we're not the story here," Araf said. "The fact they threatened us with violence because we wanted to transfer medical supplies and drawing equipment for children is simply absurd."
Meanwhile, 19 foreign peace activists detained on board the Gaza-bound ship are still behind held by the Immigration Authority at Ben Gurion Airport. The activists, whose vessel was seized, will soon be expelled from Israel, but they say they are determined to come back.
(IsraelNN.com) Knesset Member Menachem Eliezer Moses, chairman of the Haredi-religious United Torah Judaism party, has found that an animal welfare bill supported by the government could make his shtreimel an endangered species. The shtreimel is a unique fur hat traditionally worn by members of Hassidic sects on special occasions.
The proposed legislation, which gained the cabinet's support, was brought to the attention of the broader coalition leadership forum on Monday. The amendment to the Animal Welfare Law would outlaw the import of products made from the fur of dogs, cats or rabbits. Specifically noted are furs imported from east Asia. The penalty for violation of the clause, which would be treated as a criminal offense, would be up to a year in jail.
MK Moses wants fur imported for use in making shtreimels be exempted from the general prohibition. "It is inconceivable," he said, "to support a bill that outlaws imports for such a clear and important religious need."
The proposed law would not ban the import of shtreimels--they are made of sable, mink or fox fur, even synthetic fur.
Babushka proposes that Hasidic Jews in Eretz Yisrael should forego the shtreimel and go back to wearing the fez or the turban, like this 19th-Century Jerusalem gentleman:
NYC to Remove Canada Geese Near Kennedy and LaGuardia Airports
June 11 (Bloomberg) -- New York will remove thousands of Canada geese from city-owned properties near John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports as part of a strategy to keep the birds from interfering with flights.
The city said in a statement that it’s contracting with the U.S. Agriculture Department to “remove and dispose of” Canada geese from about 40 parks, wastewater treatment plants and other properties within 5 miles (8 kilometers) of the two airports from mid-June to the end of July, during the birds’ molting season.
The city said it will also fill in a depression on Rikers Island that’s known to attract geese, and install new signs banning the feeding of animals at parks within 5 miles of the airports.
The city estimates the program will remove as many as 2,000 of the region’s 20,000 to 25,000 resident Canada geese. The steps are the first taken by a city committee formed after US Airways Group Inc. Flight 1549 struck a flock of birds Jan. 15 and made an emergency landing in the Hudson River.
“The serious dangers that Canada geese pose to aviation became all too clear when geese struck US Airways Flight 1549,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, said in a statement. “The incident served as a catalyst to strengthen our efforts in removing geese from, and discouraging them from nesting on, city property near our runways.”
Coordinated Effort
The panel, made up representatives from the city, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Agriculture Department and other groups, will coordinate efforts to remove Canada geese and other wildlife in the metropolitan area.
The Port Authority, which operates New York’s international airports, will pay half of the cost of the culling program.
The authority already works to control bird populations through methods including shooting, trapping and removing nests as part of a federally mandated wildlife mitigation plan.
LaGuardia has a particular problem with birds because many of its natural features and man-made structures are attractive for perching. Seagulls often laze on the edge of a pier that carries one of the airport’s runways over the East River.
Army continues to investigate foiled terror attack south of Karni crossing. Initial probe reveals cell believed to be affiliated with al-Qaeda arrived with trucks, horses loaded with explosive devices, may have planned to kidnap soldier
An Israel Defense Forces' investigation into a major terror attack thwarted Monday morning south of the Karni crossing in the Gaza Strip revealed that the gunmen, believed to be affiliated with al-Qaeda, arrived at the crossing with several trucks and at least five horses loaded with explosive devices and mines.
According to the army, it is possible that the gunmen had planned to kidnap a soldier.
A new organization called "the army of Allah's supporters" claimed responsibility for the foiled terror attack. The organization said it would release details about the attack later in the day
About 10 to 12 terrorists took the horses off the truck and began planting the devices near the fence. At this stage, they were spotted by an IDF force and began firing at soldiers from Golani's 13th Regiment.
The troops fired back, and the terrorists tried to escape and return the horses into the truck. At least four gunmen were killed in the battle.
The force chose not to enter the Strip for fear of an abduction trap, and the army sent warplanes and tanks to the area instead.
Meanwhile, the IDF continues to investigate the foiled terror attack. The initial probe revealed that the cell had prepared for the attack for a long time. A senior military source told Ynet that complicated and combined attack had been thwarted and that it was safe to assume that the terrorists had planned a kidnapping as well.
The cell's goal was undoubtedly to target soldiers near the border fence. The terrorists were first spotted some hundreds of meters from the border fence, after opening fire at a Golani force on the Israeli side of the border.
Melbourne, Australia - It took almost two years, cost more than £5000 and involved two donkeys, one sheep, a case of mistaken sexual identity, several DNA tests and the unwavering faith of two ultra-Orthodox Jews in Australia.
This week, more than 1500 mainly Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jews in Melbourne witnessed what is believed to be Australia’s first-ever Pidyon Petter Chamor — the redemption of the first-born male donkey.
Berel Goldberger, a Vishnitzer, and Binyomin Friedman, a Belzer, stumbled across the tractate during their daily study session at the Adass Israel Congregation.
Similar to the Pidyon haBen ceremony of the redemption of the first-born male child, this ritual involves buying the first-born male donkey back from a cohen in exchange for a sheep rather than money. The redemption means the donkey need not be slaughtered.
Mr Goldberger said: “Even though it’s not a kosher animal, the donkey has special significance because when the Jews went out of Egypt, the donkeys carried lots of loads.”
Inspired, the pair investigated the possibility of conducting the mitzvah in Australia. “We found out it can be done halachically and practically,” Mr Goldberger said. But the only donkey breeder they could find was in Canberra, more than 600km away. There, a female donkey who had never been pregnant or miscarried was selected and mated with a male.
The men waited anxiously for news from the donkey farm. Then on March 12 they received a bittersweet phone call from the breeder: the donkey had given birth … to a female. The ceremony was off. “We decided we wanted to keep going and started looking for a new maiden donkey to start the whole process over again,” Mr Goldberger said.
And then came the twist. “Within a few days the breeder called back, and said, ‘I made a mistake, it’s a male’.”
Adass Chief Rabbi Avrohom Zvi Beck suggested a DNA test to double check the maternity of the baby donkey. Because its hair was too thin, the first two tests were inconclusive. But the third test was positive. “We were thrilled,” Mr Goldberger said.
The Adass community — a non-Zionist, tightly-knit cluster of about 200 families in Melbourne — threw a simchah, with guest of honour Federal MP Michael Danby.
After several blessings, the sheep was handed over to the cohen.
His big moment over, the future looks bright for the donkey, newly named Petter, and his mum, Tip Top. They are living happily on a farm outside Melbourne.
Things did not go so well for the unnamed sheep. It was slaughtered, and its meat distributed to needy families, apart from the cheeks, one of its legs and stomach, which were given to the cohen as tradition demands.
Its unique role will never be forgotten nonetheless. A cushion is being made from its skin to be used at circumcision ceremonies in the Adass community.
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