JIDF plea

Hey guys.
So there's a conference coming up in December in Israel -MFA's Global Forum to Combat Anti-semitism- that I think David, the leader of the JIDF, should go. It would be an amazing opportunity for him to further him on his quest to combat Anti-semitism on the Internet. Unfortunately, the JIDF doesn't have enough funding for him to go. Now, I know the recession is tough, but if a whole lot people chipped in what they could, it could greatly help towards getting David to this conference. I already donate to the JIDF monthly but I'm willing to throw in some. Let me know how much anyone would be willing to pledge so I can put it all together and see if it will be enough to get him there. Think of it as a Channukah gift of tsedekah.

Aight I'm out. Peace homes. Shalom.

not ok

In case you needed any more motivation to support the JIDF (or even if you didn't), take a look at this- an example of how JIDF founder David Appletree's life is constantly threatened.

This is not ok at all! It's threats like these that lead the JIDF to take precautions with David's privacy. This privacy is what Facebook took issue with when they booted him and his content from the site. This whole situation is beyond comprehension to me.

Take action and support the JIDF now, and be careful with Facebook, or just avoid it at all costs.

Lehit

israel boycott in france

This is a video of a boycott of Israel going on in France.

Anti-Semitism is EVERYWHERE. Anti-Israel sentiment is EVERYWHERE. These instances prove why advocacy groups like the JIDF are so important- we need to be louder than those that hate us if we want to end these feelings.

My friend Naomi brought my attention to another worthy organization,
Stand With Us. Check out their website.


Lehit homies.

donating money

So lately the JIDF founder has been under fire for asking for donations, and I'm not really sure why. Every day Planned Parenthood and Greenpeace stand on the block near the Starbucks close to me and beg me for money, but you don't see people going around calling them greedy, when they really are (I mean, they can afford to send people out begging for money and they're still resorting to begging on the street for money. and they're so annoying too). Organizations like these that fight for the causes we believe in can't possibly be expected do anything without the money we give. We all donate money, if we have any to spare, to the causes we support so that they can do the fighting for us while we go about our daily lives. The JIDF works tirelessly so that hatred of Jews and Israel doesn't get spread around the Internet. If you support what the JIDF does you should give them money just like you would give any other organization you support. Actually I believe if anything you should feel MORE confident in putting money into an organization like the JIDF- you know you're money is going to be put to good use, as opposed to say Greenpeace where your money is probably going to send people on the streets to raise more money.

Also, be cautioned that non-profits and advocacy groups carry a huge political undertow. Many have a hidden political agenda they operate according to, and while you may agree with however they seem to publicly relay their politically charged rhetoric, you don't know what goes on behind closed doors. Remember that a lot of non-profits spend much of their resources lobbying Washington, and lobbyists operate on a different moral and financial plane than a lot of people (I put most people at first, but then I realized that I was giving too many people too much credit). When you donate to an organization like the JIDF, you know your money is going toward all the actual hard work that they do advocating for Jews and Israel on the web. The JIDF is not running off to Washington to spend their money on lobbying doing Hashem knows what they will have to repent for on Yom Kippur- they're using it to navigate around the web and get rid of hatred against Jews and Israel. And stop hating for the fact that his organizations needs money to function, because EVERYTHING needs money to function in life.

Just my advice, we all work hard for our money and should spend it accordingly. But that's also a good reason why you should really take a look at what charities your money goes to. I think a lot of people just think that because it's a charity for a good cause that it's an organization worth donating too, but there's often a lot more to these organizations than meets the eye. Do your research, and if all else fails, just donate to a cause you already know is worthy, like the JIDF.

Done, I need to go cuddle Baxter. Lehit.

save the JIDF!

Sign this petition and let your money go to a good cause. It's the least any of us can do.

Way too early. Lehit.

JIDF

I just have one more thing to say about the JIDF shutting down.

I've already written about what the JIDF does, and spoken about how much they have accomplished. In today's world, the Internet is full of false and slanderous material that is meant to turn people against Jews and Israel. Many of this reaches us through social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Blogger. The JIDF has been integral in getting this material off the Internet. Without their work and the inspiration they provide Jews everywhere, there is no other organization out there that is nearly as powerful and influential enough to advocate for Jews on the Internet. I became more interested in advocating for Israel and Jews after visiting my Israel myself, but seeing David and the JIDF's work has given me confidence write my blog in hopes that my work will one day have the same impact as they do.

However, seeing what they go through every day- the threats they receive, the ignorant and spiteful comments left on facebook, twitter, and their blog, among other things- is discouraging. It is also empowering, because it is essentially the people who leave these comments whose minds we all seek to change. But what is the most horribly saddening thing is a lot of the negativity aimed at the JIDF is not from the Arab extremists, Jihadists, and anti-Semites he fights, but from Jews. Hello! Jewish people! Wake up! I think we can all agree on one thing- the Internet, and especially perhaps social networking sites like Facebook, CANNOT AND SHOULD BE USED TO SPREAD ANTI-JEWISH AND ANTI-ISRAELI SENTIMENT. If you think that hatred of any kind belongs on the Internet, that makes you a terrible person, but I'm not going to get started on that. If you are Jew and you disagree with that statement, then you obviously have a lot of self-hatred to deal with, there's something seriously wrong with you, you should seek help, and that's all I have to say about that. But if you are a Jew, and you agree with that statement, than you support David Appletree and his work. Is there any reason not to?

Jews- this is not the time to all hate each other. We have enough people who hate Jews- we cannot have Jews hating Jews! We all have different political views, many of which we don't agree on. But this is not what this is about. This about the hatred out there, the hatred the JIDF has worked so hard to stop. Do not let their work stop by hating on them.

I'm not asking you to do much- if you support the JIDF, let them know! If you can donate money, go ahead and do it. Just don't petty politics get in the way of a much bigger issue.

I'm so done now- and I gotta say, I feel much better. Writing is great medicine sometimes. Lehit.

JIDF shutting down?

This can't happen. I've explained why already. DO SOMETHING.

http://www.thejidf.org/

JIDF

Please go here and send out this letter. I will be doing this as soon as I get back from work, or maybe even at work depending on how crazy it gets. Maybe if the media makes Facebook look like the cotton-headed ninnymuggins they are (though you never know what the media might do), maybe Facebook will get the picture.

Be sababa. Lehit!

JIDF

As I mentioned yesterday, the leader of the JIDF, David Appletree, was removed from Facebook today as expected. This article does a great job of explaining why this is SERIOUSLY NOT OK!!!

The JIDF (you can check their website out by clicking on me) is an organization aimed towards removing anti-semitism from the Internet, a vast task as so many people post anti-semitic thoughts on the Internet, and their leader, David Appletree, is an incredibly brave person for the work he does. As a result of the work he does, he receives death threats and as a result needs to keep his identity protected, something which Facebook was willing to accept at one point, but apparently no more.

What's even more shocking is that Facebook took down not only David's Facebook page, but threatened other Jewish organizations as well. Meanwhile they have not approached anti-Israel and Holocaust denying pages found on their site about their identification.

It's instances like this that shock me and disgust me. I have always had a love hate relationship with Facebook, but after going to Israel and making Israeli friends, and especially now that I'm moving, I've been using Facebook a lot to keep in touch with people and hopefully in the future ask any questions I may have about moving. So right when I start to really use Facebook, something like this happens where I just don't want to be even associated with a site that can do something like this.

I hope that I can compel some people to act on David's behalf- I think Facebook is sick of me because I've already sent them a bunch of e-mails supporting David and the JIDF. Facebook should be a safe haven where everyone should be friends, not a means to spread hatred; David's work prevented this from happening, and I hope now that all of his hard work is not reversed because of some really inexplicable move by Facebook.

Done ranting. Lehit. :)

Facebook article

Read this great article about what's going on in the Facebook world. It's truly disgusting.

גמר חתימה טובה!

גמר חתימה טובה to all my chosen people! Hope you had an easy fast, mine wasn't so bad.

Temple was good too, someone put Gilad Shalit's name to mention in prayers there and that made me happy to know I wasn't the only one in my temple praying for him on Yom Kippur- and then I repented for Baxter and I's sins. (In case you don't know who Gilad Shalit is, http://www.habanim.org/en/index_en.html)

Next year hopefully I will be celebrating the high holidays in Israel! Sababa (awesome/cool)!!

So the Eagles won on Sunday, happy about that. After last weeks game I wondered if we could hold it together without McNabb and I think its been proved that we can! Another sababa moment.

On a more serious note, I am really distraught by the news that facebook is going to shutdown the facebook pages of many major respected jewish organizations. This doesn't make any sense to me, and I have no idea how facebook could do this. Of course, they chose to do it on the day after Yom Kippur. The JIDF and all of those organizations do great work to keep hatred off the Internet as well as provide a network for Jews. Why does the world hate us so much- and why do we keep asking ourselves this question throughout history? Without organizations to help hatred stay with the crazies who thrive off of it, more lies get spread about Jews, more lies that do not need to spread. Whether your Jewish or not, anti-semitism is a HUGE problem in this world, and I urge EVERYONE to help stop ANY sort of hatred towards ANYONE (except for terrorists- we can all safely hate them as much as we want).

I posted the news article about the Jewish organizations after this post. Read and take action- I did, 'cause I am sababa like that.

(see you later...love and peace) להיתראות... שלום ואהבה