Unlike most of the Greeks who suffered under Roman and Turkish occupations without being ethnically cleansed from their homeland, we Jews are more sensitive to the threat of exile. If you read what you call the "Old Testament", you will see passages alluding to the idea that the punishment for sin is exile and/or death. It's a "bloody song-and-dance" because it strikes at the heart of Jewish/Israeli existence. We love our home and don't want to be forced to leave- ever again...

Your hypocracy i see knows no limits. You live in the USA enjoy full freedom and democracy in your comfortable life style yet you feel its your duty to tell people in Israel how to live their lives, yet you yourself are not willing to make Aliah? Thankyou for all your advise but we will decide what we eat and when we eat it and will not be dictated to by either a bunch of fanatical religious nut cases or you for that matter. The resturants they talk about are not kosher resturants and serve non kosher food all year round and do not cater to the religious public. Must be quite a challenge for you eating glatt Kosher in the holy city of LA, but heaven forbid you actually give up your life style and make aliah!

Reading your comment reminded me of something interesting I once read. It lamented the fact that Israelis living in the United States don't socially interact with American Jews to the extent that one might expect. However, one of the reasons the Israelis give is that they resent the fact that American Jews feel Israelis should be more religious than the Americans themselves are willing to be. Now, reading some of the talkbacks, it becomes apparent just how true this is.

These rabbis are doing their job to warn these entrepenaurs of what our Torah says. They are NOT making this stuff up. Mazuz goes against halacha and it is sad. He thinks he runs this land but he does not.

We don't live in Iran, we live in Israel -some of us want to eat bread on passover and the likes of YOU will not stop us. You sad sorry miserable wretch - get a life.

go ahead, eat bread on passover! i'm a miserable religous person. those who eat bread have a better life than me, so NO ONE should going around forcing religion on anyone!

NYC girl is right! I live in Israel and I hate haredim!! they do nothing for their land: they don't serve the IDF, they don't pay property taxes, they get money from Bituach Leumi for thier 10 kids. Basically they are living off hard working taxpayers money!! So shut up!

yes the rabbis are doing their job, regarding the religious public. however Israel is a democratic country and not a state run according to Jewish Law. They have no right to force a religious belief on non belivers what so ever. It is someones basic human right to decide what he or she wants to eat and when. The resturants in question do not cater to the religious public and serve non kosher food all year round are open on Shabbat. So you can have shrimps in cream sauce if you like on a saturday but you cant have bread! Do me a favor! Stay out of our lives and out of our resturants. No one is forcing you to eat bread. Whats next will they be coming round to check our homes ?

rioting over stores selling any kind of meat on Thanksgiving other than turkey? Sounds like the same kind of mentality. Let people buy and do what they want. Your vision of the world should not supersede mine!

It is bad business to insult a significant portion of the population. These businesses will then complain about charedi bias when they can't get a kashrut certificate they need to sell to non-charedi religious. It is also bad manners and disrespects their neighbors' religious sensitivities. But the secular jews in Israel have never shown any sensitivity or tolerance for Torah judaism. Only christianity and Islam.

instead of going on a reactionary rant about "oh those evil imposing Haredim" you might actually see the KINDNESS of the intent. Unfortunately, it requires a LITTLE understanding of Torah to appreciate. Let me translate it into a less personally threatening example: If you know that some fellow will have an audience with a King in a foreign country where the proper show of respect is to wear and keep one's hat on (being a gesture akin to spitting at someone if one REMOVES one's hat)-- and the fellow who is visiting is from a country where one DOES remove one's hat as a gesture of respect....one needs to inform him of the proper etiquette lest he find himself thrown in the dungeon or flogged. Does that sound like the decent thing to do, to give a warning? Now....the Torah does not espouse "every man for himself" -- it actually says "kol Yisrael areivim zeh l'zeh" (that all Jews are responsible for one another). The Torah explicitly says that if one eats or benefits from leavened bread during the Passover holiday (it is only ONE week), the consequence is "Kareit" (that translates into one of several things: 1) being cut off from the Jewish people, 2) an early death of oneself or a family member or 3) childlessness). Additionally, the "Holy City of Jerusalem" and the "Holy Land" in general have a special status in the Jewish world and have higher expectations for the Jewish populace than anywhere else in the world. If one does not keep the most basic laws of Judaism, it is said that "the land will spit you out". SO, understand where these people are coming from: they feel a responsibility to warn their fellow Jews of the danger that could befall them and additionally they fear the danger that those who cannot refrain from 1 week of bread can bring upon their fellow Jews, they fear they will be held responsible and be "thrown in the dungeon," so to speak, along with the offenders. Now, you may not believe in the Torah or halacha, but for those who DO, the danger is very real and the warning is heartfelt. For those lefty liberals who like to think of themselves as so "multi-cultural" and tolerant...try understanding where your OWN is coming from, perhaps.

I DO find it truly ironic that your talkback on the article in the "activism" section, on the article about the vegetarian demonstrators, is SO positive. I mean, they DARE comment about the dangers of Meat eating (not bread eating) on the individual AND, (here they go with their imposing viewpoints for the rest of humanity) on the ENVIRONMENT......meaning they are concerned for the individuals they are warning and for themselves as part of the world-community. Fanatics? Or is it okay to believe strongly in something and to try to persuade others if it is NOT religion? "Meatout Day" is okay, but not "Breadout Week"?

Well done , yes i am a vegetarian out of choice, but i do not force my views on others. if you want to eat a steak , enjoy ! In fact my Independence day barbeQs are famous, so that put an end to that myth ! Somehow i think a stand in Shenkin street could hardly be termed a demonstration , Were they closing roads and throwing stones at cars or buring a few trash cans in true ultra orthadox style, or physically attacking people eating meat? LOL ! However for the religious to impose their lifestyle on non belivers and the very same resturants that are not kosher and do not cater to the religious public is unacceptable. We have a choice in life if you choose not to eat bread then good for you. As usaul from the Charideem it comes with threats of violence. Whats next checking our homes? Stay out of our lives thankyou very much and have a happy and Kosher Pesssach.

The reason why your comparison isn't quite valid is because the people behind "Meatout Day" aren't implying there'll be all sorts of recriminations (such as riots, perhaps?) if the butcher shops aren't closed down. Do you recall Bill Clinton's campaign slogan, "It's the economy, stupid"? Well, think of this as, "It's the coercion, stupid."

The truth is simple, there is no Torah Judaism in Israel; rabbinic Judasim only. Bitching about the secular brings the same actions by the secular towards the religious. Israel was formed as a home for ALL Jews, she has deteriorated from it's original intention courtesy of the religious as a home for only the religious. Of course the religious haven't got a clue other than whatever their particular rabbi defines as Judaism. Each time I say this bluntly, Ynet thinks I'm being nasty and this winds up in the waste basket. Nonetheless, I will continue to tell the honest truth and one day it will slide through to an honest person who will agree that it should be shown for those who really care about Judaism. Religious sensitivities run in many directions. We see quite clearly that the herediim don't give 2 hoots in hades for any "sensitivities" other than their own. That's why they believe it's proper to attack women, to stone vehicles, to demand special flights and treatment on El Al, to have Egged have special buses to fit their "needs". It's obvious the herediim are most sensitive, BUT only to their desires.

You threaten to riot. If the note passed around was simply an appeal to refrain from selling bread along the lines you are writing about L., it would be fine and appropriate. The threat of riots is not! The Haredi community can't claim to take offense to these restaurants only during Pesach because of bread sales. These are not Kosher restaurants at any time of the year. If the fear is based on Hashem's punishment for the transgressions of the community as a whole as you imply, than those transgressions take place every day of the year. I wouldn't eat there during Pesach or any time, but I'll be damned if I will threaten anyone else because they want to. Have a safe and Kosher Pesach.

I believe ,in Israel ,only Kosher food should be sold. Anyone ,living or visiting Israel,should have the tranquility and bless to eat only Kosher food. When one eats Kosher food,he/she are eating along a philosophy of not ill treating animals;of physical and espiritual cleaness,and much more.. The value of the symbolism is implied,as anything else in Judaism,and all of us are influenced by symbols,thus the best is to live under a set of symbols that have virtually shaped the whole humanity in ethic and moral values,and that,after all ,it is ours. I wish ,soon,not to have to think whether a store,restaurant or supermarket sell Kosher or not in Israel but enter confidently in any place knowing that there everything is obviously Kosher. I am sure that even Gentiles visiting Israel will be happy to taste the taste of Purity and Rightousness.

I think that any enclave in Israel,being it Christian,Muslim,Armenian or what ever else;any "arab"town in Israel should,sooner or later,be subject to the same laws to all Jews in Israel,being them Shabat laws;Pesach laws;Kosher laws. Torah should be "enforced"to all living under a Jewish State.

Yes Karen or Keren or whatever your name is. You prove with your stupidity the problem orthodoxy causes upon all. You demand, not ask, demand, that anyone living in Israel behave as if he were an orthodox Jew. That is obvious stupidity and hatred on your part and those who agree with BS. Your post is the living example why religious intolerance is so tragic and stupid. The Christians demand that we Jews adopt their religion and you demand that they follow our religious laws like blind sheep. How did you grow into such idiocy? We who have given our lives to remain Jews, now expect others to give up their religion and accept ours. There is no surprise that millions have died in the name of god. You match all other religious nut cases out there. What amazed me was that Ynet was stupid to the point of permitting your idiocy to see the light of day.

A better comparison would be to a shop selling whisky in Mecca. Bread during Passover has that strong a connotation!

You are correct. Rioting and threats of violence are inappropriate. My point was that the letter distributed -in and of itself- was not threatening, but rather passionately concerned with the individuals "transgressing" and with the repercussions on the Jewish community as a whole (being that Jews who are aware of the severity of the transgression are held responsible if they don't try to protect their fellows. They would say that NOT saying anything would be akin to standing by while someone eats poison and does/says nothing). As for not being equally concerned with these restaurants being non-kosher year round: there is an especially severe consequence of eating bread (et al) on Passover that is not, however much against the Torah, incurred by eating non-kosher food. It is said that one who eats "chometz" (bread, cereal, pasta, etc) is "cut off from the Jewish people". Yes. It does not even say this about consuming pork. The man interviewed said they would hold "demonstrations" which to me means: marching with signs, perhaps bullhorn announcements, that sort of thing. He did not include himself in the riot comment, just said that he thought they would undoubtedly occur as a result. Unfortunately. Ynet, of course, likes to vamp up the "threat" by titling the article "...warned not to sell bread..." (implying that the letter is threatening physical repercussion rather than concern for the spiritual repercussions) -- otherwise they wouldn't bother with the article if they couldn't slant it that way. Speaking one's disagreement is a right as is the right to choose. Violence, however, is not.