Friday, March 29, 2024 -
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Basic deceny

It should come as no surprise that some will enthusiastically welcome the new arrangement for women’s prayer at the Western Wall, while others will strongly condemn it. But for the life of us, even given the radically different theological approaches to this issue, we are saddened and indeed embarrassed by some of the language deployed in the debate.

True enough, the fact that different versions of supposedly the same statement (as reported by JTA) raise the issue of media bias; but however the reference to “dogs” was actually couched, it is utterly beyond the pale. Not to mention, as an attempt to make a point, it only reinforces the user’s stereotypic image as lacking basic decency. As in:

“The next thing we’ll see is Reform Jews putting tefilin on dogs and calling them up to the Torah.”

There really are no condemnatory words commensurate to the offensiveness of this and similar locutions. They degrade their users most of all.

Copyright © 2016 by the Intermountain Jewish News




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