And While We're Already Over at WorldNetDaily...
...let's check out this fine article by WND's Jerusalem correspondent, Aaron Klein:
Did God send Katrina as revenge over Gaza?
Eerie parallels between forced evacuations spark speculation
By Aaron Klein© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
JERUSALEM – While most religious authorities seem to agree one cannot discern the intentions of God, there has been talk in some circles here and on the Internet the storm that turned parts of the Gulf Coast into a disaster zone, prompting hundreds of thousands to evacuate their homes and possibly causing upwards of 10,000 deaths, was thrust upon the U.S. for its support of the Gaza evacuation.Because no one's more qualified to discern the will of God than commentors on the Internet.
"Katrina is a consequence of the destruction of [Gaza's] Gush Katif [slate of Jewish communities] with America's urging and encouragement," Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Lewin, executive director of the Rabbinic Congress for Peace, told WND. "The U.S. should have discouraged Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon from implementing the Gaza evacuation rather than pushing for it and pressuring Israel into concessions."You'd think that if God were really pissed about the Gaza evacuation, He'd have gone after Sharon rather than killing thousands of people who had nothing to do with it.
Lewin is one of many rabbis in Israel and abroad who have been making similar statements both in private and in speeches to their congregations.God help us.
Rabbi Joseph Garlitzky, head of the international Chabad Lubavitch movement's Tel Aviv synagogue, recounted for WND a pulpit speech he gave this past Sabbath:
"We don't have prophets who can tell us exactly what are God's ways, but when we see something so enormous as Katrina, I would say [President] Bush and [Secretary of State Condoleezza] Rice need to make an accounting of their actions, because something was done wrong by America in a big way."So while God didn't see fit to attack America with natural disasters back when we were enslaving Africans or killing Native Americans, but He did send a hurricane to kill people when we supported the evacuation of settlers who were illegally living on occupied land. Makes sense to me.
"And here there are many obvious connections between the storm and the Gaza evacuation, which came right on top of each other. No one has permission to take away one inch of the land of Israel from the Jewish people."Except, uhm, the Jewish people who took the land away from them?
Abraham, the biblical father of the Jews, received this promise from God in the book of Genesis: "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."As anyone familiar with Jewish history knows, God didn't exactly do such a good job of keeping that promise, so I don't think it should be used as a basis for claiming territory.
Now, Garlitzky and many others here and on the Internet are pointing to what they call eerie similarities between Katrina and the evacuation of Gush Katif, including parallels in events, names and numbers:
-Close to 10,000 Jews were expelled from their homes in the Gaza Strip and parts of northern Samaria. Katrina's death toll is now expected to reach at least 10,000.Wow! So for every Israeli evacuated from Gaza, God kills one poor American! That's Biblical justice at its best!
-America's population ratio to Israel is about 50:1. Ten thousand Jews who lost their Gaza homes is the equivalent of about 500,000 Americans who are now reported to be displaced as result of Katrina.Oh, even better! This means that for every Israeli to leave Gaza, God will destroy fifty American homes! I can't wait to see what happens once Sharon starts taking settlers out of the West Bank!
-Gaza's Jewish communities were located in Israel's southern coastal region; America's southern coastal region now lies in ruins.Uhm, weren't Gaza's settlers located in the south western coastal region? By this logic, shouldn't God have taken out San Diego?
-The U.S. government called on Louisiana residents to evacuate their homes ahead of the storm. The Israeli government, backed by statements from U.S. officials, demanded Gaza residents evacuate their homes.Quite an eerie parallel. And as we all know, the American government has never called for an evacuation prior to a major storm before.
-Katrina, written in Hebrew, has a numerical equivalent of 374, according to a biblical numbering system upheld by all traditional Jewish authorities. Two relevant passages in the Torah share the exact numerical equivalent: "They have done you evil" (Gen. 50:17) and "The sea upon land" (Exodus 14:15).Jesus H. This is just getting too stupid for words.
-Bush, from Texas, and Rice, from Alabama, were the most vocal U.S. backers of the Gaza evacuation. Hurricane Katrina hit the states in between Texas and Alabama – Louisiana and Mississippi.Sure was thoughtful of God to bypass the states where Bush and Rice lived to kill a bunch of innocent people.
The connections have caused a firestorm of speculation on Internet blogs and in chat rooms.And also a firestorm of derision from Sadly, No!
Anyway, here are the results of WorldNetDaily's poll on the matter. Surprisingly, more than a quarter of their readers are somewhat sane:
Do you think Hurricane Katrina is God's punishment for something?
No, Katrina is merely a natural disaster 27.26% (1052)Yes, He wants New Orleans and America to repent of a wide variety of sinful behavior 24.62% (950)I'm not sure, but it's certainly possible the hurricane was divine action 14.77% (570)
Yes, He was judging U.S. support for forced evacuations in Israel 13.22% (510)
Posted by Brad R. at September 7, 2005 06:56 PM
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TrackBack URL for this entry:http://sadlyno.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/1750
Comments
By this logic, shouldn't God have taken out San Diego?
Bush was speaking there. You see? It all makes sense!
BTW, I was posting without the 'extended post' thinger and a bunch of other thingers. Fixed now, but how's your interface working?
Posted by: Gavin M. at September 7, 2005 07:51 PM
Man. And these guys think global warming is some whacked out delusional conspiracy? Thanks for clearing that all up, WND!
Posted by: D. Sidhe at September 7, 2005 07:51 PM
Do you think Hurricane Katrina is God's punishment for something?
Why should God be punished? I mean, I know he/she forgets to put the seat up/down from time to time...
Posted by: no religion at September 7, 2005 07:51 PM
well, mother nature will kick god's ass every single time, for leaving the seat up.
Posted by: mdhatter at September 7, 2005 07:52 PM
BTW, I was posting without the 'extended post' thinger and a bunch of other thingers. Fixed now, but how's your interface working?
Much better.
Posted by: Brad R. at September 7, 2005 07:54 PM
well, mother nature will kick god's ass every single time, for leaving the seat up.Remember when the toilet bowl deodorizer lasted for one thousand flushes? That was awesome!
Posted by: no religion at September 7, 2005 08:00 PM
"according to a biblical numbering system upheld by all traditional Jewish authorities."
Interesting. Would this system happen to be the Qabalah? Or Crowley's Sepher Sephiroth?
Posted by: Thorlac at September 7, 2005 08:09 PM
As long as it isn't Crowley's Liber Al.
Now there's a pun.
Posted by: Gavin M. at September 7, 2005 08:20 PM
I noticed a typo in your commentary: "God help us." It woulda been funnier if you had said "G-d help us." Hope this helps.
Posted by: Ray-o-vac at September 7, 2005 08:23 PM
Remember when the toilet bowl deodorizer lasted for one thousand flushes? That was awesome!
well, it WAS god's own deodorizer.
Before we let all those heathens in, and God moved inside the beltway.
Posted by: mdhatter at September 7, 2005 08:23 PM
Hey Toolz!!!1! Look at me!! I'm the president!!1!! I'm the president!!!11! *arms splayed parallel to the ground mimicking flight - adorned in superman underoos and a cape made by Mom*
Posted by: F.M. Asshat at September 7, 2005 09:42 PM
There is a part of me that wonders if this whole story isn't a fake to discredit Jews, sort of like a modern-day Protocols of the Elders of Zion. I am fairly sure that's not the case, but it's not immediately clear just from reading it.
Posted by: Dan Someone at September 7, 2005 09:54 PM
Just FYI: "The Biblical numering system" is actually called gematria and it is an accepted method of Torah hermeneutics. Kabbalah is just a freaky offshoot of gematria, so is the infamous "Bible Code".That being said, this rabbi guy is totally cuckoo-bananas. Gematria only applies to the Torah and no self-respecting, Torah-respecting and SANE Jewish scholar would ever try to prove this wacko idea of God's retribution by applying gematry to a huricanes name. I have seen some grade A religious wingnuttery and this makes top 5.
Posted by: bulbul at September 7, 2005 09:55 PM
personally i prefer "g to tha' d" in referring to the bearded man who prefers not to have his name spelled even though you cannot actually discern his will. it reaches out to today's youth.
Posted by: nancy wheedle at September 7, 2005 10:04 PM
...let's check out this fine article by WND's Jerusalem correspondent, Aaron Klein:
Did God send Katrina as revenge over Gaza?
Eerie parallels between forced evacuations spark speculation
By Aaron Klein© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
JERUSALEM – While most religious authorities seem to agree one cannot discern the intentions of God, there has been talk in some circles here and on the Internet the storm that turned parts of the Gulf Coast into a disaster zone, prompting hundreds of thousands to evacuate their homes and possibly causing upwards of 10,000 deaths, was thrust upon the U.S. for its support of the Gaza evacuation.Because no one's more qualified to discern the will of God than commentors on the Internet.
"Katrina is a consequence of the destruction of [Gaza's] Gush Katif [slate of Jewish communities] with America's urging and encouragement," Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Lewin, executive director of the Rabbinic Congress for Peace, told WND. "The U.S. should have discouraged Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon from implementing the Gaza evacuation rather than pushing for it and pressuring Israel into concessions."You'd think that if God were really pissed about the Gaza evacuation, He'd have gone after Sharon rather than killing thousands of people who had nothing to do with it.
Lewin is one of many rabbis in Israel and abroad who have been making similar statements both in private and in speeches to their congregations.God help us.
Rabbi Joseph Garlitzky, head of the international Chabad Lubavitch movement's Tel Aviv synagogue, recounted for WND a pulpit speech he gave this past Sabbath:
"We don't have prophets who can tell us exactly what are God's ways, but when we see something so enormous as Katrina, I would say [President] Bush and [Secretary of State Condoleezza] Rice need to make an accounting of their actions, because something was done wrong by America in a big way."So while God didn't see fit to attack America with natural disasters back when we were enslaving Africans or killing Native Americans, but He did send a hurricane to kill people when we supported the evacuation of settlers who were illegally living on occupied land. Makes sense to me.
"And here there are many obvious connections between the storm and the Gaza evacuation, which came right on top of each other. No one has permission to take away one inch of the land of Israel from the Jewish people."Except, uhm, the Jewish people who took the land away from them?
Abraham, the biblical father of the Jews, received this promise from God in the book of Genesis: "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."As anyone familiar with Jewish history knows, God didn't exactly do such a good job of keeping that promise, so I don't think it should be used as a basis for claiming territory.
Now, Garlitzky and many others here and on the Internet are pointing to what they call eerie similarities between Katrina and the evacuation of Gush Katif, including parallels in events, names and numbers:
-Close to 10,000 Jews were expelled from their homes in the Gaza Strip and parts of northern Samaria. Katrina's death toll is now expected to reach at least 10,000.Wow! So for every Israeli evacuated from Gaza, God kills one poor American! That's Biblical justice at its best!
-America's population ratio to Israel is about 50:1. Ten thousand Jews who lost their Gaza homes is the equivalent of about 500,000 Americans who are now reported to be displaced as result of Katrina.Oh, even better! This means that for every Israeli to leave Gaza, God will destroy fifty American homes! I can't wait to see what happens once Sharon starts taking settlers out of the West Bank!
-Gaza's Jewish communities were located in Israel's southern coastal region; America's southern coastal region now lies in ruins.Uhm, weren't Gaza's settlers located in the south western coastal region? By this logic, shouldn't God have taken out San Diego?
-The U.S. government called on Louisiana residents to evacuate their homes ahead of the storm. The Israeli government, backed by statements from U.S. officials, demanded Gaza residents evacuate their homes.Quite an eerie parallel. And as we all know, the American government has never called for an evacuation prior to a major storm before.
-Katrina, written in Hebrew, has a numerical equivalent of 374, according to a biblical numbering system upheld by all traditional Jewish authorities. Two relevant passages in the Torah share the exact numerical equivalent: "They have done you evil" (Gen. 50:17) and "The sea upon land" (Exodus 14:15).Jesus H. This is just getting too stupid for words.
-Bush, from Texas, and Rice, from Alabama, were the most vocal U.S. backers of the Gaza evacuation. Hurricane Katrina hit the states in between Texas and Alabama – Louisiana and Mississippi.Sure was thoughtful of God to bypass the states where Bush and Rice lived to kill a bunch of innocent people.
The connections have caused a firestorm of speculation on Internet blogs and in chat rooms.And also a firestorm of derision from Sadly, No!
Anyway, here are the results of WorldNetDaily's poll on the matter. Surprisingly, more than a quarter of their readers are somewhat sane:
Do you think Hurricane Katrina is God's punishment for something?
No, Katrina is merely a natural disaster 27.26% (1052)Yes, He wants New Orleans and America to repent of a wide variety of sinful behavior 24.62% (950)I'm not sure, but it's certainly possible the hurricane was divine action 14.77% (570)
Yes, He was judging U.S. support for forced evacuations in Israel 13.22% (510)
Posted by Brad R. at September 7, 2005 06:56 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:http://sadlyno.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/1750
Comments
By this logic, shouldn't God have taken out San Diego?
Bush was speaking there. You see? It all makes sense!
BTW, I was posting without the 'extended post' thinger and a bunch of other thingers. Fixed now, but how's your interface working?
Posted by: Gavin M. at September 7, 2005 07:51 PM
Man. And these guys think global warming is some whacked out delusional conspiracy? Thanks for clearing that all up, WND!
Posted by: D. Sidhe at September 7, 2005 07:51 PM
Do you think Hurricane Katrina is God's punishment for something?
Why should God be punished? I mean, I know he/she forgets to put the seat up/down from time to time...
Posted by: no religion at September 7, 2005 07:51 PM
well, mother nature will kick god's ass every single time, for leaving the seat up.
Posted by: mdhatter at September 7, 2005 07:52 PM
BTW, I was posting without the 'extended post' thinger and a bunch of other thingers. Fixed now, but how's your interface working?
Much better.
Posted by: Brad R. at September 7, 2005 07:54 PM
well, mother nature will kick god's ass every single time, for leaving the seat up.Remember when the toilet bowl deodorizer lasted for one thousand flushes? That was awesome!
Posted by: no religion at September 7, 2005 08:00 PM
"according to a biblical numbering system upheld by all traditional Jewish authorities."
Interesting. Would this system happen to be the Qabalah? Or Crowley's Sepher Sephiroth?
Posted by: Thorlac at September 7, 2005 08:09 PM
As long as it isn't Crowley's Liber Al.
Now there's a pun.
Posted by: Gavin M. at September 7, 2005 08:20 PM
I noticed a typo in your commentary: "God help us." It woulda been funnier if you had said "G-d help us." Hope this helps.
Posted by: Ray-o-vac at September 7, 2005 08:23 PM
Remember when the toilet bowl deodorizer lasted for one thousand flushes? That was awesome!
well, it WAS god's own deodorizer.
Before we let all those heathens in, and God moved inside the beltway.
Posted by: mdhatter at September 7, 2005 08:23 PM
Hey Toolz!!!1! Look at me!! I'm the president!!1!! I'm the president!!!11! *arms splayed parallel to the ground mimicking flight - adorned in superman underoos and a cape made by Mom*
Posted by: F.M. Asshat at September 7, 2005 09:42 PM
There is a part of me that wonders if this whole story isn't a fake to discredit Jews, sort of like a modern-day Protocols of the Elders of Zion. I am fairly sure that's not the case, but it's not immediately clear just from reading it.
Posted by: Dan Someone at September 7, 2005 09:54 PM
Just FYI: "The Biblical numering system" is actually called gematria and it is an accepted method of Torah hermeneutics. Kabbalah is just a freaky offshoot of gematria, so is the infamous "Bible Code".That being said, this rabbi guy is totally cuckoo-bananas. Gematria only applies to the Torah and no self-respecting, Torah-respecting and SANE Jewish scholar would ever try to prove this wacko idea of God's retribution by applying gematry to a huricanes name. I have seen some grade A religious wingnuttery and this makes top 5.
Posted by: bulbul at September 7, 2005 09:55 PM
personally i prefer "g to tha' d" in referring to the bearded man who prefers not to have his name spelled even though you cannot actually discern his will. it reaches out to today's youth.
Posted by: nancy wheedle at September 7, 2005 10:04 PM
1 comment:
those guys are so smart
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