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The Hanukkah menorah is a sign of peace and joy, symbolic of a miracle in the Jewish religion.
But a menorah in Miami Beach, Fla., has also become an attraction for hate speech, with someone scribbling "you killed Jesus" on the base of the prominent Chabad Hanukkah display.
Rabbi Zev Katz, who put up the menorah, is disappointed.
"I hoped that people from other religions, we could all get along, we all have what we believe in, respect each other and live with each other," said Katz, of Chabad House in Miami Beach.
At Temple Beth Torah, in the Wellington community near West Palm Beach, there was more anti-Semitism this past weekend. In that incident, somebody painted a swastika along with some offensive words on a dumpster.
The Anti-Defamation League condemned both incidents and reported them to the authorities. Desecration cases like these sometimes go unsolved, but authorities use such reports to track any possible hate crime trends.
Unfortunately for Rabbi Katz, this isn't the first anti-Semitic attack against his giant menorah.
"Twelve years ago someone smashed it, terrible, and we weren't sure if we're going to actually light the menorah the first night of Hanukkah," he said.
But they did then, and they will again this Saturday night as Jews ring in the first night of Hanukkah. Organizers said they are expecting 1,000 people to attend.
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Either you believe that Jesus was the almighty and it was God's plan that he die on the cross, in which case Jews merely carried out God's wishes, or you believe Jesus was a fraud and a criminal and just pissed off the wrong people. There are no other possibilities that make any logical sense. So there is no reason to hate Jews either way.
I'm totally non-religious but I respect all people & their right to whorship as the please. I was born in S.Florida & lived here all my life, this just makes me sick no matter where such ignorance accurs. What kind of people raised these idiots?
"Poot taste and misinformation go hand in hand and are seemingly what passes for "cool" these days!
Do Christians actually know anything about their religion or do they mostly just go to church and think that's enough? I mean, seriously, read your Bible already! Jesus was Jewish. He did not hate the Jews. He did everything he could to fix things he saw that were wrong with the faith... such as merchants in the temple. Jesus was arrested by Sanhedrin priests who paid Judas to point him out. During questioning, Jesus agreed that he was the King of the Jews. He was brought to Pontius Pilate who also asked if it was true that he was King of the Jews and Jesus agreed. This made Jesus a potential political threat, as well as blasphemous according to the Sanhedrins. Jesus knew this and knew what his fate was if he continued to make these statements. Pilate did not believe Jesus was guilty of anything and did not wish to execute him but he didn't have much choice. Since it was Passover, tradition allowed the crowd to choose to release a prisoner... the options were Jesus and Barabbas, a notorious prisoner. Pilate hoped they would choose to release Jesus. They did not. This is why people blame the Jews for the death of Jesus.
The Romans carried out the execution, but it was the crowd of people, presumed to be Jews because it was Passover, who decided Jesus' fate. The Romans, much like a modern prison with an executioner, were just doing their jobs. Pilate tried to save him, but the crowd refused. The crowd could be considered to be at fault... but is it really fair to blame ALL Jews for the decision of a crowd of people who had no idea who Jesus was? Seriously? The crowd knew Barabbas, he was a local. Jesus was not local. And the world then is nothing like it is now, where the media is everywhere and the world just keeps getting smaller and smaller because we can know what happened in Japan 5 seconds ago all the way in New Orleans, Louisiana by reading the news on the internet.
And just think about where Christians would be today if Jesus hadn't died on that cross? I mean, really... your entire religious belief system is based on the idea that Jesus was the literal son of God and he came here with a mission to save humanity. By being sacrificed on that cross, he opened the Kingdom of Heaven to everyone who believed and lived a life that religion deems as worthy of entrance. Before his death, no one could get into the Kingdom of Heaven. Shouldn't we then be glad that this happened? I mean, wouldn't those gates still be closed right now? Think, people! Use some deductive reason! Quite hating stupidly!
Sadly, you are correct. Few Christians know anything about their faith. But sitting in a church for 2 hours once a week, doesn't make you a Christian; just like sitting in MacDonalds doesn't make you a Big Mac!
There you go making sense! Unfortunately, most of the people that need to read your post, wont.
Tori, there is a lot correct in what you say. There is a lot of evidence (notice I did not say proof) that Yeshua ben Yosef (or Yeshua ben Miriam) existed. IF one takes the lineage in the Bible as gospel (no pun intended), then through both Yosef and Miriam he was a decendent (directly) for the throne to be king. Thus, the sign above him on the "cross" was actually correct, and a statement to the Zealots of what would happen to any participating in a political uprising as they were attempting. Yeshua ben Yosef was royalty, a prophet, and a practicing Kabalist....a trifecta threat in the Roman eyes. Crucification was a punishment for political prisoners (historically). Was he the "Son of God"? I do not know. What I DO know is that there is evidence he existed, and if the Jews wanted him killed, they did have it within their power for blasphemy. After all, they stoned prostitutes and adulterers....a far less charge than blasphemy.
But, for Christianity to be able to begin and evolve, the tale had to be spun, and there were willing participants enough to spin it. Does that make the "religion" any less real? No. But then, religion is man made, faith is divine inspired.
The Bible is not "evidence" of anything.
The bible says the the universe and everything in it was created in 6 days, 6,000 years ago.
The bible says serpents talked, and a man lived inside a whale for 3 days.
No, the Bible is not evidence, there are archiological records of Yeshua ben Yosef.
Yeshua ben Yosef?
Who the hell is that? We're talking about Jesus here. You can't just pick some guy that you think you have evidence existed, and say it was Jesus.
That, my friend, is his ACTUAL name, which you would know if you dared to pick up a book to at least study before you decide to shoot off your mouth, lol! Do you actually believe "Jesus" is a Hebrew name???
But in all honesty, I prefer Yeshua ben Miriam....
Gods, but you are too funny!
Is that name in the Bible? The King James Bible is the "LITERAL" word of GOD. If God wanted his name to be something other than Jesus, he would have made it something other than Jesus in the KING JAMES BIBLE, the "literal word of GOD", and if God says his name was Jesus, then by god, his name was JESUS.
...AND he was a white guy with long flowing hair. Very northern California looking.
Come on Sam, you can do better....
Keastral is correct Jesus's name appeared in scriptures as Yeshua and God appeared as Yahweh. It is also the way Jehovah's witnesses literature still reads.
"During questioning, Jesus agreed that he was the King of the Jews. He was brought to Pontius Pilate who also asked if it was true that he was King of the Jews and Jesus agreed."
This is incorrect according to the written accounts in the gospels. When asked by Pontius Pilate if he was the king of the Jews, Jesus replied "It is you who say that I am". This is NOT the same as agreeing that he WAS the king of the Jews! No where in the New Testament does Jesus EVER admit nor CLAIM to be either "the king of the Jews" nor "the son of god"! I find this fact to be VERY significant! Think about it...
First of all, there is no historical record of Jesus. The only reference is based in Christian mythology as written in their holy book which contains a collection of letters and writings compiled several hundred years after his supposed death. According to these writings, Jesus was a Jew who was arrested by Roman guards and was placed on Sanhedrin trial before a Jewish Council for claiming to be the King of Jews. He was found guilty and the council requested the death penalty be administered by Pontius Pilate under Roman law, which was most commonly crucifixion at that time.
This graffiti incident exemplifies the dangers that religion poses to society. As long as people believe they can do anything they want if it's done in the name of their God, peace on earth can never be achieved.
Sorry to disagree, but there is a lot of historical evidence that Jesus existed. I won't go into too much detail here but there is a whole field of study called apologetics that covers the evidence of the Christian faith. You might want to check out www.alwaysbeready.com for more info.
There is historical record, see my response above.
Well then, you need a history class or two....but, I support your "belief." And no, I am not a Christian, I just did a bit of NON-religious reading of historical texts over 30 years. :)
So no, I an not a Christian, but I DID stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night....
It was the Italians that killed the carpenter who then became a carpenter zombie, but let's not quibble on details.
FWIW does anyone really believe that bunk? That there is a god, that we're made in his image, that god was so mad at us for not obeying his rules he is going to send his son to be killed by us to forgive us for not following his rules. REALLY PEOPLE?
There's no Great Pumpkin, no chance for the Cleveland Browns to make the playoffs and there are not gods as described by any of our myths. Quit looking for the guy in the sky for help, it is you and nothing else.
This God, who created DNA, the Universe and everything else in it, gave mankind's greatest revelation to a bunch of Bronze Age goat herders then gave his "Only Begotten Son" to a people who didn't even have a word for "gravity". They got all kinds of miracles that can't today be scientifically proven and yet we are to believe our "immortal lives" lives are in danger and we could be subject to eternal torture if we question whether any of this happened?
This is fair why?
"I hoped that people from other religions, we could all get along, we all have what we believe in, respect each other and live with each other," - Does he mean like the Jewish and Christian and Muslim religions? Not a chance in hell...no pun intended.
But then there's the rub. While all three of those religions have many similarities, they all profess to be the one true religion which means their more fanatical followers believe any action they take is somehow sanctioned by "their" God and they can do no wrong. Compounding the problems mortal men have written rules designed to further dig in their positions to make their brand stronger.
Personally, I think that's why many people identify as spiritual these days as opposed to X religion. The message of "be a good person" and the golden rule seem to be lost in all the red tape each religion has created.
Get back to the basics and those religions would get along - unfortunately we've had thousands of years to get to that point and we're still stuck at "my God says I'm better than you"
Or in today's vernacular...'My God can beat up your God'
Since there seems to be some confusion about who killed Jesus and why I'll go into it a little here (i'll try to not be preachy).
Jesus is the Son of God who willingly was born into a Jewish family (the Jews are God's chosen people) in order to live a perfect, sinless, human life so that he would be a blood sacrifice of attonement for the sins of the world. That means everyone, past, present, and future. In essence we all killed Jesus by our sins, the Jewish leaders who plotted against Jesus and the Roman Soldiers who executed Him were just the means to the ultimate end. AMomma2 had it correct that Jesus willingly gave up His life. He didn't have to let anyone do anything to Him, He chose to suffer and die for all of us.
I thought the world was over the whole 'my god demands a blood sacrifice' thing... Next thing we'll be back to throwing virgins into the volcano to help 'all mankind'!
I'm still trying to figure out who shot J.R.
Just you rrobeson. You can be our sacrifice...lol.
The irony lost on most Christians is that Jesus came to Earth in order to die for your sins. Someone had to kill him, so what is the problem?
Okay, here's what I don't understand about the blame game. If Jesus had not been crucified he would not have risen from the dead. No rising from the dead, no everlasting life? If Jesus had died peacefully in his sleep at 102, would there even be a religion called Christianity?
Not only that question, but, HOW and WHY did the crucifiction of Jesus "save" others from eternal damnation, anyway? What about the multitudes of good people who lived BEFORE Jesus was born, whose hearts and intentions were pure already? Were those unfortunate souls doomed to eternal sufferring because Jesus hadn't come yet???? And what about good people who never heard of Jesus? Will THEY burn in eternal damnation too? WHY?
But, the big question here is: How do we know that Jesus actually DID "rise from the dead", hmm? He only spent 3 days on the cross, less than the usual 5 to 7 days that crucifictions typically take before the victim dies. He is then laid to rest in his tomb, but mysteriously dissappears at night (probably with help from friends) and is later seen by several followers in the days after his entombment! These witnesses see the wounds on his arms and legs and report that Jesus says goodbye to them and is never seen again! There is NO body buried and NO known grave of Jesus. How do we know that he did not simply recover from his near death experience, then flee in exile after saying goodbye to his closest followers? This scenario makes MUCH more sense to me and makes me think that Jesus lived out the rest of his life somewhere else...
why is this news when princess kate is knocked up and has an upset stomach? come on msnbc we want more stories about morning sickness.
At least she's a real person, and morning sickness is real.
The purpose for Jesus Christ to have had an earthly body and existence WAS to die for the sins of all mankind. More importantly, after experiencing death, his "mission" was to open the gates of heaven. These two actions were an integral part of the "Plan of Salvation".
Without the participation (albeit it in ignorance or arrogance) of the Jews or the Romans, this process would have failed. I suspect that as a result of this failure, we would eventually all lose our free will and become subject to saharic law.
Now, there's some food for thought....
How did that work exactly?
Was it like the guy in "The Green Mile", who sould suck out the evil from your body? What about all the people around the world at the time who never heard of Jesus, like South American natives, for example? Did he die for their sins too? What good does it do to die for the sins of someone who will die without ever hearing of you.
I've never heard a logical explanation of the "Jesus die for your sins" crap that made ANY sense at all.
If you really want to know. God the Father laid the punishment for everyone's sins on His Son. In this way anyone who comes to God through Jesus may be forgiven for their sins. As to those who may or may not have heard about Jesus; it's my understanding that God holds each of us responsible for the revelation of God given to each of us in our lives. There is no one blanket judgement for all, but one on one with God when we die. We are each responsible for ourselves.
John XXIII "absolved" the Jews during the Second Vatican Council.
Roncalli did the right thing when he saw the Birth Certificate.
come on msnbc we want more stories about morning sickness.
I had a bad hang over this morning. Does that count?
If anyone here had half a clue about it at all they would know WE killed Jesus. All of us. Blind idiots.
Not me. I was just driving the car. I had no idea they were going to kill him.
For Once and For All "Therefore does My father Love Me, because I Lay Down My Life. That I might Take it Again. No Man Takes it From Me, because I Lay it Down Myself. I have Power to Lay it Down and I have Power to Take it Again. This Commandment I received from My Father." John 10:17-18 JESUS Willingly Laid Down HIS Life For All. No One Took It From HIM. You Can't Take Something That Belongs to GOD and GOD Alone. Glory Be To YAHWEH and HIS Only Son YAHSHUA-JESUS Forever!
Good on ya Alan!
Witnesses saw Mel Gibson fleeing crime scene
Gotta love those Christians.
Just curious....
I find it quite interesting that the very same carbon copy names posting here condemning this act done out of religion (and rightfully so) are the very same carbon copy names that will run and hide (or even rationalize) religious acts done in the name of Islam when peoples heads are sawed off or when girls are beaten or murdered in Afghanistan.
So, spraypainting "You killed Jesus" on a Jewish site is vandalism. But if the person spraypainted "Bow to Allah" that would have all been fine and we need to show tolerance, right?
Right... because every time a head gets sawed off by radical crazies all I see in here are those damn liberal commie socialist marxist Obama worshiping hippies demanding tolerance.... And I'm sure you're absolutely right, had someone spray painted "Bow to Allah" it wouldn't be a story. One step away from sharia law now that the Kenyan has been re-elected!
*facepalm
As it turns out there is a common thread with defense of Islam and some of these comments. The reason why I have defended Islam, and I have, is so that a large group of people don't get blamed and suffer because of the acts of a few. Similiar to those who wish to punish all Jews for the acts of a few. In the end, looking at people as "groups" is the lazy way out. We are all individuals and if there is a God who judges then we will be judged as individuals, not "groups".
I thought read that our sin is what killed jesus.
He came to die for us all.
Why is it hate speech if it's accurate?
...assuming Jesus existed.
Hate speech or no, it is the destruction of property, which is wrong. It is no different than some punk "keying" your prize Cadillac Escalade, or your Lexus, or even your revered Chevy Nova.... In other words if it is not yours, than leave it alone!!!!!
Jesus' death would have no meaning if he had not conquered death by being made alive again. Oppressive political regimes always try to use death as the "ultimate" weapon or threat, but if someone can conquer death it makes the political oppressors as powerless as their victims.
Modern hospitals postpone death through medical means. Jesus was the pioneer. I would rather go to a hospital built by Christians than built by atheists. Wait a sec, are there any hospitals built by atheists?
I had a wisdom tooth removed. Took it home and put it under my pillow.
Nothing happened. I don't get it.
Mel Gibson did it.
We love science fiction movies. We LOVE the MARS rover thingy. BUT, I'm sorry to inform us all that we are STUCK on planet earth for at least another 1000 years so long as our more "caveman-esq" brothers exits. In this case, the cavemen are on all sides of the discussion. 1. who cares about what happened to Jesus. 2. who cares if someone else cares about what happened to Jesus. 3. continuing along these lines of discussion, is akin to chasing our cultural tails and we will chase this tail, fight over this tail and eventually suffer some ugly calamity, due in part, to our inability to catch and subsequently IGNORE our tail.
I thought I read that our sin is what actually killed Jesus.
I also read that he died for us ALL.
He was the sacrifice, so that our sins would be forgiven.
That is the gift of God.
So he was sent here BY God, to be "sacrificed" to God. The "sacrifce" being to sit in Heaven until it's time to come back to earth. I don't really see what the big "sacrifice" was. Leaving earth to go back to Heaven?
I made you a sinner, so I'm going to send my son to earth to die for you sins BEFORE YOU WERE BORN. Huh?
There is no possible way to make that make sense.
This DOES explain how people can be talked into borrowing money against their house to buy overpriced aluminum siding. They're stupid.
You realize of course, that his sentence has no REAL meaning, right?
Blood sacrifice? Seriously?
Who was he sacrificed TO?
How does his death "attone" for our sins exactly? Can anyone explain the mechanism at work here?
Since he was only "dead" for 3 days, exactly what was the big sacrifice? A few more years living among mortals?
Is there anything more illogical than the story of Jesus?
Help! My statue is bleeding! What should I do?
reply to sam-298381: you wrote "Is there anything more illogical than the story of Jesus?"
A pink rose is illogical. Why should we enjoy beauty? A colorful sunset is illogical. Bright autumn leaves are illogical even if the scientific causes are understood. Heroism is illogical unless you factor in love. Love is illogical. Jesus' love for mankind is illogical.
A pink rose exists. I understand it's existence. A colorful sunset exists, I understand it's existence and why it's colorful.
The Jesus story doesn't make enough sense for me to believe it. I'm still waiting for someone to explain how Jesus death on the cross, "attoned" for MY sins, exactly. How does that work?
.....and what about my bleeding statue?!?!?
I wouldn't have a problem believing in God except that I don't and see no reason to start. If there is a God then why the relentless silence? The goat herders 2,000 years ago got all the miracles(see, they didn't need faith. God was right there in their face.) but they would have just made them up anyway, like people everywhere were doing at that time,before and after. Why not something for us,now?Surely a God so capable can be a little less confusing?A little more clear?
Why does God only talk to TV preachers?
Actually we don't know that he DID die from his crucifiction, do we? What if he simply survived his ordeal and was released from his tomb at night by friends, then fled in exile after saying goodbye to a few followers? We know from actual eye-witness accounts of crucifictions that were still happening in the early 20th century, that victims would often live for 5 to 7 days before dying on their cross! Jesus was removed from his cross after 3 days and then laid in a tomb where he very well might have recouperated! Think about it!