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Last update - 00:00 04/05/2009
Making swine flu kosher: A symptom of the disease of Israeli politics
By Benjamin L. Hartman
Tags: Israel News, Swine Flu 

On what must have been a slow day at the Knesset, the de facto head of the Health Ministry, MK Yakov Litzman, stated Monday that swine flu would be from here on in referred to as "Mexico Flu," as pork is non-kosher and considered unclean under Jewish law.

While "Mexico Flu" sounds like something you'd contract during a long weekend in Nuevo Laredo, and which could be treated through a quick visit to a local free clinic, swine flu can kill, and if the early reports end up to be correct, it may have already made its way to Israel.
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Litzman was quick to point out that the authorities are on top of things and are prepared to handle any cases of swine flu, even though the authorities in question are currently being managed by a man who just tried to rename swine flu so that Jews in the State of Israel will not be forced to utter a reference to pork.


While this may seem to be just the semi-weekly "Haredi government minister gone wild" comment that makes for great office banter, the truth is that it's just one more in a series of state-sanctioned declarations by a government official that serves only to further humiliate Israel in the eyes of the world.

The blame ultimately lies at the feet of Benjamin Netanyahu and the glorious parliamentary democracy that makes Israel increasingly unstable and ungovernable. Israel is blessed by a voting system where if you don?t secure a majority, your only recourse is to cobble together a coalition with whichever fellow travelers and fringe parties will agree to sit with you, get the stamp of approval from the president, and then settle accounts with your coalition partners, now waiting in the shadows with a list of demands. While it has been established that Litzman did not want to be named deputy health minister (and with the lack of a superior, the acting head of the ministry), the fact is that under the demented Legoland makeup of Israel's governing system, ministerial seats are assured to those who broker the deals, no matter how horribly ill-suited they may be to the post.

Such is the system that produces a government where a party representing a community whose media cannot print the word sex, airbrushes women out of photos, and binds them into a strict second-class status, can be put in charge of the Health Ministry, a ministry legally bound to protect the well-being of all Israelis, regardless of gender, race or religion. How can a man who comes from a community which views as immodest talking about or referring to genitalia, be in charge of issues like reproductive health and gynecology, where he may have to hear or say the word "vagina?"

Litzman's absurd first act in office is merely a glaring symptom of the disease of Israeli politics. This closed-door system of coalition building awards shameless men with no internal filter on their mouths, whose absurd statements are most suited to a street corner. By helping form a coalition, they're given control of crucial government ministries and therein a platform, a microphone, and a direct line from their convoluted logic to the press, who are more than happy to snap up a ridiculous statement from a public official. Unfortunately, the hilarity that ensues only brings fleeting relief from our collective humiliation.

This attempted rebranding of swine flu raises another issue about the dangers of Israel's lack of separation of synagogue and state, albeit one less important or divisive than the monopoly held by the religious over marriage, death, circumcision, public transport, and dietary laws. This danger is the constant ability of the religious, when put in charge of government ministries, to make a mockery of a modern, would-be sophisticated western country that sees itself as a beacon of pluralism and modernity in a region darkened by religious fundamentalism and political extremism.

It lessens our ability to see ourselves beholden to a political culture superior to that of our neighbors in the region, giving us more and more in common with those further to the east who banned kite flying, the playing of music, and whistling. On the other hand, that may be the upside of such humiliating comments as those of Litzman, they may actually serve to make us feel like we belong in the Middle East.


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      1.   Well written, one must be able to call things what they are 19:44  |  Jacob 27/04/09
      2.   Sounds like the Taleban. 19:45  |  Michael 27/04/09
      3.   How ridiculous can it get!!!!! 19:56  |  Etelle 27/04/09
      4.   Making swine flu kosher 20:10  |  Ivor Therblig 27/04/09
      5.   and binds them into a strict second-class status 20:11  |  RB 27/04/09
      6.   Sounds like the Arabian Gulf and Freedom Fries 20:11  |  Mark Lincoln 27/04/09
      7.   Sounds like the Arabian Gulf and Freedom Fries 20:11  |  Mark Lincoln 27/04/09
      8.   LOL -Made my day ! 20:12  |  David 27/04/09
      9.   kosher flu 20:13  |  Dawn 27/04/09
      10.   #2 20:14  |  Melman 27/04/09
      11.   How to win against an illness? Rename it, and it wanishes! 20:15  |  Kris Lazar 27/04/09
      12.   exactely 20:17  |  who cares 27/04/09
      13.   Making Swine Flu Kosher 20:25  |  Susan H. Sachs 27/04/09
      14.   Haaretz grow up - it`s an issue out of nothing just 2slam Haredis 20:27  |  Ari 27/04/09
      15.   kosher 20:32  |  rm 27/04/09
      16.   This is ridiculous.... 20:38  |  JP 27/04/09
      17.   I know this might sound crazy, but changing the name could save u 20:46  |  Dan 27/04/09
      18.   Making swine flu..... 20:49  |  Sid Skippy Marcus 27/04/09
      19.   it was doing well until... 20:53  |  menuchasarah 27/04/09
      20.   ....if any of you yodels actually saw the clip.... 20:56  |  TruthMonger 27/04/09
      21.   Making swine flu 20:59  |  Sid Skippy Marcus 27/04/09
      22.   Is it Purim shelishi? 21:04  |  Sherlock Holmes 27/04/09
      23.   Low point 21:07  |  Danny 27/04/09
      24.   Reply to #2 `What`s in a name?` 21:14  |  Akiva 27/04/09
      25.   Mexico Flu -- lighten up, Hartman, it`s hilarious 21:16  |  roc 27/04/09
      26.   Did Benjamin L. Hartman heard about The 1918 Spanish pandemic flu 21:17  |  Joseph.E 27/04/09
      27.   Religious ministers make a mockery of a modern democracy 21:21  |  Ben Azzai 27/04/09
      28.   tears 21:25  |  itsik 27/04/09
      29.   This government cannot stand one more month! 21:29  |  Recovering values 27/04/09
      30.   why not call it low cow flu? 21:33  |  Arturin 27/04/09
      31.   At least the satire programs will have somthing to laugh at 21:48  |  Yehudah 27/04/09
      32.   Ben Hartman, you made me laugh! 22:03  |  Geoff 27/04/09
      33.   "Mexico Flu" is actually a good idea. 22:11  |  MB 27/04/09
      34.   The-flu-that-must-not-be-named 22:21  |  Aviva 27/04/09
      35.   Something`s wrong. C`mon guys, you`re better than this. 22:44  |  Lou Medel 27/04/09
      36.   Best thing .... 22:51  |  JW 27/04/09
      37.   It`s just a name. 23:14  |  Mike 27/04/09
      38.   Only a Secular Israeli 23:36  |  Yaakov Noach 27/04/09
      39.   Baseless Hatred 23:44  |  Jeremy 27/04/09
      40.   Baseless Hatred 2 23:49  |  Jeremy 27/04/09
      41.   #8"This government cannot stand one more month! " 23:50  |  Esther 27/04/09
      42.   Disease of Israeli Politics 23:56  |  Dr. Elliot Rothkopf 27/04/09
      43.   OK, Ben #6,,, but none of these British ministers... 00:00  |  Esther 28/04/09
      44.   If it is what the scariest scenario`s predict 00:07  |  Mark B. 28/04/09
      45.   This reminds me of former Surgeon General C. Evert Koop 00:26  |  Jacob Blues 28/04/09
      46.   More hate than information 01:04  |  Moises 28/04/09
      47.   Swine Flu 01:41  |  Leonard Oberstein 28/04/09
      48.   Really? No piggies at all? 01:41  |  Rafael 28/04/09
      49.   IT`S NOT EVEN MEXICO`S FLU...IDIOT! 01:48  |  MAX 28/04/09
      50.   White meat flu? 01:56  |  TBD 28/04/09
      51.   Israel IS in the ME... 02:55  |  Ed 28/04/09
      52.   Ah, but this is easily solved 03:24  |  Bitin Dawg 28/04/09
      53.   Mexican Flu 03:26  |  David K 28/04/09
      54.   Brilliant article 03:55  |  Dan 28/04/09
      55.   swine flu 03:58  |  Karl 28/04/09
      56.   Sounds nice, like an exotic cocktail. 06:07  |  Doreen 28/04/09
      57.   Dhimmitude is a pandemic mental virus 06:53  |  Joseph.E 28/04/09
      58.   MK Yakov Litzman and his medical background 07:54  |  SJ 28/04/09
      59.   Offensive labels 08:08  |  hala 28/04/09
      60.   Ignorant on Chardi issues 08:29  |  Lisa S 28/04/09
      61.   Haredim at Durban 2 09:21  |  Ellen 28/04/09
      62.   Calm down 13:17  |  Bryan 28/04/09
      63.   A mockery of western secularism 14:24  |  An Orthodox Rabbi 28/04/09
      64.   Stupid 18:07  |  Michael Greenberg 28/04/09
      65.   Grippe Mexicaine 18:10  |  MR 28/04/09
      66.   Cuckoo 18:18  |  leo 28/04/09
      67.   Ban Kevin Bacon! 19:40  |  vildechaye 28/04/09
      68.   As if god cares! 20:56  |  MAN 28/04/09
      69.   grippe porcine, virus H1N1 21:24  |  sh 28/04/09
      70.   Mexican Flu 23:36  |  Devi 28/04/09
      71.   Pigs 23:43  |  Ellen 28/04/09
      72.   rediculous but if the mexicans dont object call it mexico flu 00:26  |  zionist forever 29/04/09
      73.   MEXICO FLU,ISRAELI CUCKOO! 00:35  |  patrick hammel 29/04/09
      74.   USA Government 00:44  |  Joe 29/04/09
      75.   US government agrees with the Rabbi/MK ! 00:51  |  Aaron 29/04/09
      76.   Mexican Flu 01:37  |  Jim 29/04/09
      77.   There are 2 jobs where you dont need any minimum qualification 02:26  |  khaleb 29/04/09
      78.   Important detail overlooked 03:10  |  Kraychik 29/04/09
      79.   Changing Avian Flu to Bird flu is ok but.., 04:49  |  Avian 29/04/09
      80.   Serious sickness 09:16  |  JW 29/04/09
      81.   #69, read something, sometime 11:00  |  MR 29/04/09
      82.   Belgium 11:03  |  Ted 29/04/09
      83.   MUST READ! - Ben Hartman, take your aggressions out elsewhere! 11:09  |  Doron 29/04/09
      84.   http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N28343516.htm 11:09  |  Doron 29/04/09
      85.   Are you mad - DHS is changing it to H1N1 15:40  |  Barry 29/04/09
      86.   Swine Libel 17:00  |  Josh 29/04/09
      87.   France #71 17:42  |  MR 29/04/09
      88.   H1N1 18:54  |  eliora 29/04/09
      89.   wrong, actually 20:19  |  tom 29/04/09
      90.   #74 21:11  |  Ted 29/04/09
      91.   Litzman performs a Blasphemous act 22:36  |  I.R. 29/04/09
      92.   Making swine flu kosher 23:09  |  James Lee 29/04/09
      93.   President Obama also changed the name 00:16  |  Harry Glazer 01/05/09
      94.   theocratic states are known 18:37  |  T A Sheppard 01/05/09
      95.   Swine Flu name in Europe and more... 16:37  |  ines 03/05/09
      96.   Re! the fact is that is not only a Swine flu ..it is 16:43  |  ines 03/05/09
      97.   Re # 2 It sounds like the Taleban.. but we all... 17:27  |  ines 03/05/09
      98.   Re# 3 Well as we know all is actually relative 17:33  |  ines 03/05/09
      99.   Re# 5 The author is not making anything up 17:42  |  ines 03/05/09
      100.   Re # 8 As far as I know some religious won`t even 18:16  |  Ines 03/05/09
      101.   Re# 9 Judaism is vey very different from islam in 18:26  |  Ines 03/05/09
      102.   Re# 8 Down for what I know... 18:33  |  ines 03/05/09
      103.   Re# 10 Perhaps that is the basic idea 18:38  |  Ines 03/05/09
      104.   Re # 11 Probaly You haven`t read that many 18:39  |  Ines 03/05/09
      105.   Re # 12 Well actually it seems that the 1918 18:52  |  Ines 03/05/09
      106.   Re# 12 We should learn to love all ... 18:55  |  Ines 03/05/09
      107.   Some Asian countries like Indonesia for example 18:58  |  ines 03/05/09
      108.   Canada farm worker `infects pigs` 19:39  |  Ines 03/05/09
      109.   Kosher or no Kosher the main thing here is 19:49  |  Ines 03/05/09
      110.   Re# 13 C`mon Ari take it easy 19:56  |  Ines 03/05/09
      111.   Former "swine flu" 21:33  |  Aryeh Leib 08/05/09
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