PM #105 The Donut Wars (fwd)

[at marie a. failinger]

I'm resending this with a nice exam question because I don't think it got
through, but my apologies if you received it twice:  what would happen if
the U.S. military refused the doughnuts admission?





From: RA Israel <raisrael at JTSA.EDU>
Reply-To: "Masorti:  Torah and News from the Masorti Movement in Israel"
     <MASORTI at JTSA.EDU>
To: Multiple recipients of list MASORTI <MASORTI at JTSA.EDU>
Subject: PM #105 The Donut Wars

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Masorti Movement                              RAISRAEL at JTSA.EDU
Rabbinical Assembly of Israel                 Tel:972-2-678-2433
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Pinah Masortit #105  The Donut Wars
Rabbi Michael Graetz

The latest battle in the "kulturkampf" of Israeli society
is being fought over Sufganuyot (Jelly Donuts). For
several years Habad has organized mass distribution of
Sufganuyot to IDF bases. The Hasidim have pulled up to
the bases with large cartons of the oily jelly filled
Hanukah donuts, traditional in Israel. They have gone
onto the bases, with full permission, and distributed the
Sufganuyot to the soldiers, along with promotional
literature about Hanukah put out by Habad, pictures of
the Rebbe and singing and dancing in Habad style.

Over the past year there has been a rather vituperative
debate about the appearance of Habad on IDF bases. There
have been numerous objections to both their missionary
approach, i.e. trying to get soldiers to become Haredim,
and to the political message of Habad which is extreme
nationalistic right wing and which deprecates Arabs as
less "fully human" than Jews. There are almost no Habad
rabbis in the IDF chaplaincy, I know of only one, still
many of the IDF chaplains are favorable to Habad
activity, if only because it frees them from having to
run the "Jewish activity" for that week.

In the end, after a heated Knesset debate, it was decreed
that Habad would NOT be allowed on IDF bases. The main
reason was because they were a political movement whose
religious message was never separated from their
political message. Since the principal of divorcing
politics from IDF bases was upheld, the Knesset decided
that Habad could not appear on the bases. Every once in a
while a stories broke about Habad proselytizing just
outside the bases, or about a base commander or rabbi
breaking the rule and allowing them on the base. But,
these were isolated instances.

Then came Hanukah. An outcry was raised about the usual
Habad practice of handing out Sufganuyot on the bases.
The Minister of Defense, the Chief of Staff etc. (you can
see what a major issue this was) met and decided that
Habad could bring the Sufganuyot up to the base gate,
hand them over to the soldiers of the local rabbinate,
and they would hand them out, beshem ha-movilim.

Then, the Reform movement announced that it also was
going to give out Sufganuyot to soldiers, and asked the
IDF Rabbinate to take them in the same fashion. The IDF
Rabbinate absolutely refused to give out Donuts brought
by Reformim!! (This is a kal ve-homer, if you cannot
accept their giyyur, then obviously you cannot accept
their jelly donuts). In the end, the Army quartermaster
corps volunteered to give out the Reform Donuts.

Today, a scuffle broke out in the Knesset. Habadniks
brought Sufganuyot into the Knesset to give out at a
committee meeting. The head of the committee objected,
saying they were a political group etc. Lots of screaming
and donuts being pushed around.

Hevre, this is NOT a satire, but hard news. I call on the
Masorti Movement next Hanukah to go to any lengths to be
part of the great food giveaway. However, in the spirit
of Pluralism, which is our motto, WE SHOULD GIVE OUT
LEVIVOT (Latkes to you galutniks, potato pancakes). Now,
finally a Jewish dispute you can sink your teeth into.

Shabbat Shalom
Shalom to all.. Please feel free to use what
I send. My only request is that if you
print it anywhere that you cite me as the source.