Refunds for false Jews

I converted to Judaism in 1988. My reasons for doing so are private and have nothing to do with anyone, but is choosing to join a religion that outlasted the roman empire and 5000 years of abuse not reason enough? The bottom line is that as a young man I chose to become Jewish and joined a tribe of people that I admire and aspire to understand better. Ten years later I moved to Israel and became an Israeli citizen. In Jewish circles this used to be considered a very positive move as it shows support for the base of Judaism, Israel. The only place in the world where being Jewish is not an exception.

Did I convert to orthodox Judaism, conservative Judaism or reform Judaism? Aha .. now the cracks are beginning to show. Many Christians may not understand where this is leading as the very essence of Christianity is not to pass judgement on your fellow worshipers. In Israel however, the chief rabbinate has a problem with people converting to Judaism. They claim that most conversion process's are not challenging enough and that too many people are becoming Jews and are not taking it seriously enough. I quite understand their complaint - I am a prime example.

I spent only a year doing my conversion to Judaism. I financially supported the Synagogue and attended Synagogue every Sabbath as well as on the high holy days. I have no aspirations to become a Rabbi or be any more religious than I am. Essentially, I am no more Jewish, than I was Christian. In orthodox Jewish terms, I am not trying to be more Jewish than I am, so I am not Jewish enough.

I have lived in Israel for the past 12 years, learned the language, paid my taxes and adjusted to suit a whole new lifestyle. I don't go to Synagogue like the majority a Israeli's. I don't wear a yarmulke, like the majority of Israelis. I don't observe the Sabbath, like the majority of Israeli's.

I do however believe there is only one God. I don't have any idols at home, unless you include the TV or PC. I respect my parents, I do not sleep around, steal, kill or lie.

But the chief Rabbinate says I am not Jewish enough so here is my proposal:

- refund the 1 year of expenses I incurred during my conversion

- supply me and my family with return tickets home to South Africa

- finance my moving all my belongings home

- refund the 12 years of taxes that I've paid to the Israel tax authorities

- refund the 12 years of taxes that I've paid to Israeli national insurance

- release my 15 year old son from any military obligations to the state of Israel

- notify all anti-semitic groups that I've changed my mind

If all these conditions are met, I will gladly pack my things and return to being a Christian in a Christian country where nobody hates me.

Until then, I choose to continue being as Jewish as I feel comfortable with.

Health system that has lost its soul!

If you happen to be a free thinking individual who enjoys freedom of choice and not being told what to do by the state, you may enjoy this little, real life story about a guy I know.

He was diagnosed as bi-polar about ten years ago. His sever mood swings had begun affected his marriage so he saw a bunch of doctors who 'tried out' a range of tablets on him to see which one would have the least side affects. These types of drugs take about a week or two before they show any affects ... so essentially he could not tell what was affecting him .. the drugs .. a good day ... coffee ... a happy event .. who knew!

He knew that something was not right when he stopped having moods at all. He was emotionally flat-lining, but the doctors were pleased. Success .. they had made him emotionally balanced and no longer a problem to the state. Friends and family slowly became friendly strangers who he vaguely recognized through the state sponsored, drug-induced haze.

Then one day he forgot to take his meds .. or should I say he didn't remember to care anymore .. and in a moment of clarity, he had an epiphany ... maybe he was over dosing and needed to consult another doctor? It's a tricky situation trying to ascertain if a patient feels better when the patient feels nothing at all.

Understandably this is not a process he wanted to endure too many times. After the third 'try out' with yet another generic drug .. desperation drove him to seek out a solution. He was a capable 40 year old, who could fix just about anything .. why not his own body chemistry? After doing a lot of research on the internet, he discovered that there were many natural cures to his bi-polar condition, but they cost a fortune and required homeopaths as well as a range of expensive tests .. and guess what, they were not covered by his national health plan.

The cheapest and easily most available ingredient needed for his first trial therapy was marijuana. Yes - mary jane, doob, ganja, weed, zorl, grass .. or as they call it in educated circles - cannabis. He already smoked cigarettes, so smoking joints seemed like an easy method of 'delivery'.

I'm not sure what qualifies weed as medical cannabis. What does it offer that regular pot does not? Anyway he got hold of some illegal weed and began his treatments. To begin with, it was just great not being depressed. After a short time, he learned to judge how much he needed to smoke to maintain his mood 'balance'. In general it was about one joint - smoked at intervals throughout the day. Someday's he did not smoke at all. There were no side affects and the results were immediate. He quickly learned how to responsibly 'self medicate'. Doing the monthly shopping totally stoned was not a good idea, it took too long and was not good for his monthly budget.

After a few years of successful treatment, he got tired of the stress and cost of finding weed through disreputable channels and dealing with people he did not want in his house. He discovered that just as the name says .. weed grows like a weed! In no time at all he had weed growing in his tomato patch. His medicine was now totally free. What state institution do you know of that can offer free medical therapy? I have as yet to find one!

So the story goes on. He is not a moron and realized that the weed he was growing was against the law, but he was not forcing it down children's throats or selling it by the container load to Sweden (who so desperately need it). It was for personal use only and kept a secret from the neighbors.

You can imagine how surprised he was to find the police at his house one day. They had come to confiscate his medicine. And to add insult to injury, they put him in hand-cuffs and locked him up for 5 days while they investigated his 'drug operation'. Not what any of his doctors recommended as proactive treatment for the depression or bi-polar disorder.

The naive assumptions he had made about the system being understanding were quickly dispelled. His having to shit on a toilet in front of fellow inmates was an alarming experience that quickly focused his thoughts and clearly outlined how little the system cared about the individual. When you do no abide by the law, you quickly become irrelevant.

We are disappointed that the drug industry has a tighter control over our government than we do. It is all about money after all. Drug companies make billions every year and their patients are too medicated to notice. Health problems continue to increase, but the drug companies keep making more and more drugs to treat all the mounting side effects.

Cannabis offers a cost effective solution to many illness's, but it cannot be patented by the drug companies so they will ensure it stays illegal. The drug industry has become unsustainable by putting a price to health that we can no longer afford. In the process, the system has lost its soul and we have relinquished the responsibility to look after ourselves.

Helpful stranger in Jerusalem Central Bus Station

Anyone who has visited Israel in recent years knows that it is a very busy place. It's not because Israel is such a small country, it's just that donkey trails and camel tracks have become roads and 6 lane highways. Small farms and kibbutz's have been overrun by sprawling cities. For a sixty year old country, we sure have a lot of roads, but very few alternative forms of transport which brings me to my story.

In November of this year (2009), I made my way by bus from Kfar Saba to Jerusalem. I don't normally catch buses, but long trips are more relaxing by bus .. or so I thought. The young female driver of the inter-city bus which I boarded to Jerusalem seemed to have had a bad night. Apart from honking her horn at everyone and bullying other vehicles by following them too closely, she seemed intent on keeping everyone else on the bus awake by braking as hard as she could fairly often. Being that we live in the land of miracles, I was not surprised to arrive in Jerusalem 40 minutes later totally unharmed. I did think of complaining, but when I noticed that no-one else seemed bothered, I put my reaction down to my being a sensitivity Anglo and left it.

After finishing my meetings in Jerusalem, I nervously made my way back to the central bus station. I've been told there is an information desk in the station somewhere, but I think they forgot to sign post it .. just like they forgot to sign post the toilets, departures, arrivals, and any other locations that tourists may seek.

People move through the bus station like ants on a mission. If you are too shy to ask people for help, I suggest you avoid the place at all costs.

After several requests for help I managed to arrive at the departure point for my bus to Kfar Saba, clearly marked Haifa! Unless you are a local and know the geography of Israel, you will never understand how buses are marked or which bus to take. Just like all the Tsomets (junctions) that everyone knows so well by name .. I have as yet to see a clearly named and sign posted tsomet.

While waiting for my bus to Haifa, I noticed a quiet, elderly woman waiting in the queue with an over-sized bag, obviously a foreigner and like me, a first timer at the central bus station. When the bus arrived, I noticed her struggling in the queue with her luggage. After offering to put her bag into the luggage bay under the bus .. I realized she was English. I think we were both relieved knowing we were not 'alone'. I asked the bus driver to please tell us when we arrived at the Ben Gurion Airport bus stop and we found our seats.

We began chatting and sharing 'war stories' and the time flew. Her name was Carol. I luckily noticed that we had passed the entrance to the Israel Aircraft Industries, which I know is at the airport. I jumped up and asked the driver where the airport stop was … only to be told we had passed it and he would drop Carol off at the next stop .. and no, she could not use the same ticket to get back there!

I exited the bus to help my new friend with her bag from the luggage bay and quickly explained what she needed to do to get back to the airport, before jumping back on the bus as he tried to escape without me. I felt this enormous feeling of failure and betrayal that I had disrupted the travel plans of a kind and gentle soul. Maybe Carol would have done better on her own and made it to her bus stop without being abandoned in the middle of nowhere by a helpful moron. Yes, the bus driver should have announced every stop and reminded her where to get off .. but thats what people used to do in the old days. Nowadays, apparently all you get from a bus service is the ride. There are no frills or helpful hints to get you through.

I still feel really dreadful and ashamed about the whole event. I feel especially sorry for the next first time tourists who decide to take that romantic bus ride to Jerusalem.

And I will always wonder what happened to Carol, a kind and adventurous lady who we abandoned. Welcome to Israel … hope you know where you going.