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What does Israel buy with American aid money? Mezuzahs
Itamar Eichner
Published: 15.11.06, 10:54
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21 Talkbacks for this article
1. Waste of money and for that I canvassed
Mezuzas wont ,   save us this time   (11.15.06)
my butt off..do u people realise how hard it is to get money from people nowadays...after this article is circulated it will be even harder.. Again Olmert and is cronies are to blame..thanks once again.
2. Mezuzahs didnt stop the holocaust.
(11.15.06)
3. mezuzahs are
Israel   (11.15.06)
mezuzahs will keep you safe than any other tank/jet/gun/bunker.
4. What a creative way
Piranha ,   Chicago, USA   (11.15.06)
What a creative way to meet the US-spending requirements and at the same time provide for genuine protection of government facilities.
5. usually you have to spend aid money with the aid giver
johanna ,   tsfat   (11.15.06)
it doesnt' suprise me that the government would spend money given by the US with US producers. this is normal. often it is written into the aid contract. lets hope that the mezzuzahs that they bought guard their offices. i'm sure they didn't cost $30,000 dollars tho... that's a lot of mezzuuzahs! don't most of the buildings have them all ready. ?
6. Budgetary item in the US Aid Programme to Third World
Michael ,   Haifa   (11.15.06)
Nothing out of the ordinary. By the same token, this same budget supplies dolls and pins to Voodoomen in Haiti, toad bladders to medicine men in Chad and bottled polar bear scent to Eskimo shamans
7. THIS AUTHOR DOESNT LIKE OBSERVANT JEWS
MEZUZAH $50.00 USD ,   ..............DACON9   (11.15.06)
8. Before the usual Haredi-bashing begins
Kyle ,   Southpark, CO, USA   (11.15.06)
No Haredim were involved in this decision, it was the government wasting other people's money as usual. In this case maybe some of the money went to poor sofrim to support their families so it wasn't a total waste.
9. One more thing
Kyle ,   Southpark, CO, USA   (11.15.06)
Most US Judaica retailers buy mezuzah scrolls, tefillin, megillos, etc. from sofrim in Israel.
10. Makes sense, sorta
Ilan ,   Ariel   (11.15.06)
It makes more sense to bring in Mezuzot from the US then it does to have antisemites living in Israel on a regular basis. Nothing third world about some of these haters. They live up to the European standards of racists.
11. #3 look at #2 and get a life. I prefer tanks & planes
Avi ,   Jerusalem, Israel   (11.15.06)
12. IGNORANT AUTHOR
DAVID ,   NEW HAVEN USA   (11.15.06)
i f the author believes that military budgets go only to buying guns and bombs, he has lost touch with reality. like any operation, there are a myriad of expenses. a building needs plants for decoration, lysol for the bathroom and YES mezuzahs for the doors. i am also suspicious if the mezuzahs were bought in the U.S. because the U.S. grant requires that the money be spent to buy american items.
13. #11 prefers but plugs
(11.15.06)
14. Enlist Haredim to make Mezuzot
malcolm   (11.15.06)
Why on earth are haredim so exempt from the military that they can't participate on the level of doing Miztvot for the IDF? If they can't carry guns and co-mingle with the rest of the soldiers, male or female, why can't they be conscripted like everyone else and and from an isolated location be military scribes and mashgiachs?
15. First Torah then safety is gauranteed
Basya ,   B   (11.15.06)
The Torah rules the world, and through having mezuzahs, enables safety to the Jews the be possible. This is the way our country needs to be run in every aspect and until then, the country will never see true peace. This is the true sign of Moshiach. (our redeemer)
16. Israel buying Mezuzhahs with American aiid.
Robert Levita ,   Thornhill, Canada   (11.16.06)
Let us now wonder if the contractors who installed the mezuzahs did it without removing the instructions from each one.
17. Good thing they don't waste money on flags
David ,   TA   (11.15.06)
18. Mezuzot are THE BEST security!
NYC, USA   (11.16.06)
Nothin' like it!
19. Collecting mezuzahs
(11.16.06)
AND pens?
20. April Fool????
Liz   (11.16.06)
Please, someone, confirm that this is a windup. The Defense Ministry can spend $30,000 on mezuzot, but sent an army to war in July without proper equipment? Was it only three months ago that there were parents who had to collect money to provide their children with flak jackets and helmets etc. Some screwed up priorities this country has. BTW last time I bought mezuzot - excatly three months ago, I paid 100 NIS for each scroll (at my local religious council) and NIS 10 for very simple, but perfectly nice burnished steel cases. I could have paid 150 and bought the scrolls written by a "tzaddik who fasts all day" but I am on a tighter budget than the Defense Ministry. They could have spent NIS 50 on each case and bought the cases from the Ethiopian embroidery project through ESRA (English Speaking Residents Association) http://www.esra.org.il/gifts.htm, thereby keeping the money in Israel, and helping Ethiopian olim at the same time. I cant work even out how many mezuzot they could get for $30,000 if a really good mezuza and case in Israel could cost NIS 200 ($50). Are there really 600 rooms in the Kirya? PER
21. #1 For that I canvassed
Gladdie ,   USA   (11.17.06)
You seem more distressed that this misuse of US taxpayer's dollars was publicized, than by the misuse of the money itself.
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