Jokes in Shmita Shiur

On Sundays at Yeshivat Petach Tikva I go to a shiur on shemita with Rav Gil. He told a few jokes in shiur today.

He told the one about the psak not to smoke which in the American version goes
After it was decided it that smoking was against Halacha (which it of course is [even if you are addicted]) the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Rabbis get together to decide what to do.
The Reform Rabbis simply decide that since this is a Halachik ruling they can ignore it.
The Conservative Rabbis decide that from now on Conservative Rabbis will no longer smoke.
The Orthodox Rabbis decide that before a Jew may smoke he must sell his lungs to a Non-Jew.

The Israeli version which doesn't play on movements that don't exist in Israel, simply has a guy taking a neder (oath) not to smoke. Making the same point about the legal fiction of Matana Al Minat L'Hachzir (A gift on the condition of return) and the general idea of selling Hametz on Pesach.
This of course relevant to Heter Mechira. Some Talmidim were complaining about it, so he said everyone sells hametz on pesach, and eats hametz that was sold by big companies over pesach.

Then the other really good joke which has a good moral that he told goes as follows:
A rav of a town was very respected and served his congergation day and night. After many years this exuasted him so he decided to go on a short vacation. The community was petrefied, what would they do without the Rav. As the Rav leaves he gives intsturctions as to how to check if meat is kosher. He tells them to throw any questionable meat to his dog. My dog is smart he says, he knows you are supposed to throw treif meat to the dogs, so if he knows its treif he will eat it. If he doesn't' eat it, then its kosher. After a few weeks teh Rav comes back and everyone is so happy to see him. The first thing they say to the Rav on his return is: "We are so glad to have you back, your dog is so machmir!(gives strict rulings)"... Which goes to teach any old dog can be machmir, but it takes a real Rav to be meikil.

And just to add in a joke which reminded me that I wanted to post this, from MomInIsrael

A girl comes to her father and announces her marriage plans. When the father asks the boy's occupation, the girl tells him that he is a chazan (cantor). The father says, "No daughter of mine will marry a chazan!" The girl and her mother cry and beg, but the father is adamant. He won't consider a chazan for his daughter. Finally, they convince him to go to shul to hear the potential chassan (groom) in action. After the davening the father comes to his daughter and wishes her mazel tov. The daughter, delirious with joy, asks her father what changed his mind about her intended. He replied, "I heard him, and he's no chazan!"

(Unfortunately, the bar mitzvah speaker who originally told this joke concluded by saying that the bar mitzvah boy was also no chazan, but had other wonderful qualities!)

Off to the Trail

I will be backpacking for the next week, so there goes nay hope for me updating the blog.

Meanwhile I will leave some questions for people to ponder:

How should one view the "kiruv" of Jews to non-observant but involved Judaism, and why?

Which is more important: Kiruv Rechokim (bringing those who are far close to Judaism) or Kiruv Krovim (bringing those who are close into a real care and vibrancy about Judaism)

Why is Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel important (imagine in theory Jews could live in Israel peacefully under foreign rule)?

Does a Jewish democracy have din malchut, if not is a theocracy (more accurately a monarchy becuase the kohen kadol/ Av beit din) is the religious leader the ideal?

Is it a form of tzedakah to save the environment?

If your brother has a flu and your neighbor is getting a stroke, who do you deal with first? If a Jewish person has the flu and a non-Jew is getting a stroke who do you deal with first?

Should the a government be responsible for needs beyond basic necessities of life towards its citizens?

Should the Israeli government be a diffrent case becuase it is obligated to care for the Jewish people?

Is a representative democracy the same thing as the people?

If Am Yisrael is obligated to do something is the government obligated?

If you take in refugees to save lives, how do you draw the line at which you can't save more lives?

Is it better not to accept any refugees because you really can't help every single person in the world or is it better to set an arbitrary line?

How can you accept the 1000th person but not the 1001st?

If the lives were Jewish Lives would you act the same way? Is it ok if the answer to that was yes?

and a bonus:
What should be the place of Arab's in Israel (politically, socially etc)?

Is it (and if yes to what extent) is it ok to use psychological warfare in the occupation of the West Bank? If shooting at a blank wall in an Arab village will stop terrorists from shooting at nearby settlements for instance...or random arrests and detentions?

Is it ok for Jews to settle in the West Bank considering there are Arabs in Israel?

If the Palestinians view themselves as at war with Israel and some/most see it fit to resort to violence why is it wrong to play our side of the struggle and try to build on as much land(not that belongs to private Palestinians) as possible?

English helps Israelis study Torah at YPT

I plan to write up the shiur I heard today from Rav Ti about Ruth, but with my laptop broken I wasn't able to take notes, and it may take some time. Meanwhile, its just intresting that for all the complaints people make about having to learn Tanakh in Hebrew, it actually helps to know English. Transilations by thier very nature will be impercise, but in the Tanakh it makes a big diffrence because the language is meant to be very very percise. Normally that means that when you try to transilate the Tanakh you have two problems (well there are many more, but these ones are relevant to what I am saying).

1) It is difficult or impossible to fight the equivlent word in English (or whatever language you are transilating into)

2) Since most words don't have an exact 1-to-1 correspondance from Hebrew to English, your word choice is by definition an interpretation.

So after all that introduction, what is my point?
רות א:5 Ruth 1:5

וַיָּמֻתוּ גַם-שְׁנֵיהֶם, מַחְלוֹן וְכִלְיוֹן; וַתִּשָּׁאֵר, הָאִשָּׁה, מִשְּׁנֵי יְלָדֶיהָ, וּמֵאִישָׁהּ.

And Mahlon and Chilion both died, and the woman (Naomi) Va'tishaer from/of her two children and of her husband.

So what belongs in place of Va'tishaer ?

Well Rav Ti asked the full room: "מה התגום של ותשאר...הרתגום לאנגלית?" (What is the translation of Va'Tishaer, the translation into English)

So people threw out ideas: survived, left, stayed, remained

The point was that it was pretty obvious that if her husband and children died, then she was survived by them, so what is this verse adding?

In context if you use the word stayed or remained then you develop a picture that Naomi is staying in the Galut outside of Eretz Yisrael. This is why English helps you understand Tanakh

This is a good time to mention that "A Jew is Israel has G-d, a Jew outside of Israel has no G-d." Not "is like he has no G-d." There is a reason that it was especially true in biblical times, but here is not the place to expand on it.

An interesting post on translating and Torah can be found here

RAL – facebook and Ha’aretz

Gush alumni are big fans of RAL. Some are so devoted to him that they ironically become Hassidim of Rav Aharon Lichtenstein. If you thought rebbe worship was something only for the ultra-Orthodox, you would be mistaken.

There are facebook groups such as I♥Rav Aharon

People at Gush were even thinking of printing shirts with “I♥Rav Aharon”, of course not to be worn in the biet midrash or anywhere where Rav Aharon would see you

One of this years ideas for the overseas program sweastshirt with Mt. Gushmore, moddled of course on Mt. Rushamore with the likenesses of the four Rashei Yeshiva (Rav Ahraon, Rav Amital, Rav Gigi, Rav Medan) cast into the cliff face.

There is this fan website. He admits:

This is either the closest thing I have to God or the closest thing I have to Avoda Zara. Or both.

If you want a more reasoned approach to Rav Aharhon I suggest you read his books, or at the very least this Ha’aretz article

Concerning Yonatan Bassi, Lichtenstein argues that, as head of the Sela disengagement administration, he displayed conduct reflecting profound morality, as well as Zionism and a sense of mission. "His actions betrayed neither his nation nor the religious camp," he states categorically. "He wanted to serve Israel's best interests. He wanted to open the eyes of a public that was uninterested in understanding the situation. I think such conduct deserves respect. I am very angry that there are still people in my world who not only state that he failed but joyously celebrate that failure."

This does not mean that Lichtenstein completely condemns the criticism directed at Bassi. He believes that, when people say harsh things, they are showing they really care. "We live in an era when the future of the Jewish community here and Israel's future hang in the balance, and some people are more sensitive to this than others," he notes. "The British poet and writer T.E. Hulme related how, during a discussion in France of who was the better dramatist, Shakespeare or Racine, people threw chairs at one another. That shows they deeply cared about the issue."

Somehow I don’t think that Rav Aharon would find it acceptable to throw chairs in the beit midrash. Also he is not exactly condoning people’s actions, he is just saying that it is good that people are passionate.

Nonetheless, he observes: "When people become more religiously observant, they are convinced they have a monopoly on the truth. Although they might care more passionately about certain issues, they are not particularly imbued with a sense of humility or self-criticism that is rooted in a full-fledged spiritual world. They are unprepared to hear what others have to say because they believe it might weaken their religious faith."

It is easy to imagine that this criticism is leveled against the Hardali - the Hebrew acronym for Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) nationalist - community. Although, in his view, the Hardali community displays some degree of intolerance, he sees a definite advantage in the strengthening of religious behavior it has fostered: "The Religious Kibbutz Movement is considered tolerant but is also perceived as prone to making compromises. Religiously speaking, it is less impassioned. The Hardali community is devoted to the Torah and strictly obeys the commandments."

Its interesting that he says that, considering how I have heard many times that despite the machon at gush he doesn’t exactly have a great love of academic Jewish studies. I for one would much rather be an impassioned meticulous member of the Religious Kibbutz Movement than an open-minded Hardali

Lichtenstein says that it's not his political positions that have changed; rather, the national-religious camp has moved further to the right. "Today," he admits, "I am in a political wilderness. I once belonged to the National Religious Party, but today the party is unprepared to hear my views."

People tried to obfuscate and doubt the move to right religiously, but I doubt people have the hutzpa to try the same tactics to convince us that Religious Zionism hasn't taken a drastic right wing turn politically. They also have taken on right wing politics as a religious credo, almost on the level of Rambam's 13.

Nevertheless, he emphasizes that he has never been a member of Meimad, although he supports it from behind the scenes: "I do not see myself going down that route. I advocate territorial compromise, but also hold the view that Jews must never be indifferent to the various parts of Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel."

His support of territorial compromise is based on the religious principle of piku'ah nefesh, Judaism's paramount directive to save human life. Soloveitchik also spoke of the need for territorial concessions. "When we talk about territorial compromise, we are talking about a calculated risk," explains Lichtenstein. "And, as long as experts see such concessions as serving Israel's best interests, we must respond. If every lieutenant in the army chooses to ignore policies established by democratic forces, that is a problem."

Don’t worry folks he hasn’t turned left on you. He is still central, all of you just ran as far up those Judean hilltops as you could.

There is also the moral aspect. "When a society becomes overly militaristic spiritually, a price is always paid," he explains. "One price is narrow-mindedness. Unfortunately, that statement holds true for a fairly large segment of the religious-Zionist community."

I’ll let that stand

*BONUS*

Then why is he in the minority? Why has modern Orthodox Judaism not caught on here in Israel?

"The very complexity of that outlook," he replies, "requires a certain level and ability to balance things and clarify issues. It is much simpler to follow a single flag."

Darfur: The "palestine" of American Jews

No one will accuse me of thinking that Darfur is not one of the most important issues that is facing World Jewry and humanity at large.

So I do not need to start by saying that I am glad that the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) put Darfur high on their agenda.

However, I am disappointed by lack of effort to bring awareness to the genocide which Iran is planning.

The JCPA explained afterward that the resolution was voted down for technical reasons, not because of its content. However, it seems indisputable that the issue of Iran's nuclear armament was not the most popular item on the agenda of the JCPA's plenum: The genocide in Darfur was the top-priority international item on that agenda. In the case of Darfur, a divestment resolution was passed by a large majority.

The mood at the JCPA conference gives some indication of public opinion on the "Jewish street" in America. The fact is that there has been no massive Jewish mobilization to date for the struggle against a nuclear Iran. The largest mass demonstration, in which tens of thousands of American Jews participated, was held in protest of the genocide in Darfur. Israeli leaders like former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and even historians like Benny Morris have declared that Israel is facing the prospect of a second Holocaust; however, Jewish activists in the United States prefer to deal with the genocide of another nation that is taking place right before our eyes.

- Ha'aretz

While it is commendable to be working against a current genocide, that is no excuse to ignore a imminent threat of genocide directed at your people. So what are their excuses?

David M. Elcott, who was recently appointed executive director of Israel Policy Forum, believes that American Jews are simply smarter than Israeli politicians. He says that Netanyahu's apocalyptic rhetoric is not acceptable from the standpoint of Jewish theology; the Jews, he notes, have always spoken of hope, and the language of despair is foreign to Jewish tradition. (still Ha'aretz)

Since when did most of American Jews care about theology? Which tradition is he talking about? Jews are always in despair and they turn to many recourses including Messianism throughout the ages.

In an unforgettable speech that he delivered of the United Jewish Community's General Assembly in Los Angeles last November, Netanyahu kept repeating the same point - namely, that it is as if we are in 1938, but instead of Germany, the threat is an Iran that is trying to arm itself with weapons of mass destruction.

In Elcott's view, the analogy Netanyahu made between Iran and Nazi Germany has a flip side: It draws an analogy between Israel and European Jewry on the eve of World War II. As Elcott sees it, saying that the Jews in Israel are in the same situation as the Jews of Warsaw or Berlin in 1940 "undermines the Zionist vision of an independent State of Israel." (still Ha'aretz)

How are we in such a different position? We were afraid to rock the boat and protest without a state of our own, and now even with a state of our own we are afraid to rock the boat. Political action and acknowledgment of threats to Israel undermines the Zionist vision? What does he suggest, oh right, Jewish theology. I guess by that he means pray to G-d and hope that everything will be alright. G-d forbid you should take action and try to find solutions to the threat of a nuclear Iran, because that would undermine the Zionist vision. I guess when I learned about how Zionism was about taking bold action as opposed to sitting around and talking and waiting for the messiah to come, it was all lies.

I am not saying we should be rushing to go to war with Iran. I know that many people don't want another Iraq, but that is no excuse to hide under the covers and hope it all blows over. It won't blow over if we ignore it, it will blow up in our faces.

But why did I call Darfur the "palestine" of American Jews?

Given the choice between an internal threat and a threat aimed at Israel, many of America's Jews prefer to sit on the fence. It is much simpler and much easier to struggle for the victims of genocide in Darfur. (still Ha'aretz)

Its exactly the same reason the left focuses on Palestinian issue when it looks for someone to rally for. Its easy, and to them non-controversial. We can't just save Darfur because it is convenient and everyone else is doing it. We must do it with the same conviction against genocide that will make us stand up to genocide anywhere in the world, including from Iran. We should not just be interested in Darfur because its the "in" thing. We must stand up in North Korea as well. And as for Jewish groups, its great how we are helping others, but lets not die in the process

Oh... and SAVE DARFUR!

Targum for Pequdei - Engraving in Hebrew and Aramaic

Shabbat, just a few hours ago for me we read Vayaqhel-Pequdei. I made a note to myself to blog about this for Tetzaveh, but I forgot about it, so luckily it completely repeats itself in Pequdei.

What I was interested in was the word גלופה which I became acquainted with when I trying to translate the order forms for the SAVE DARFUR / הצילו את דרפור shirts
which HAeD prints. In modern Hebrew גלפ means
גְּלוּפָה שֵם נ' (printing) block, plate
גִּלּוּף שֵם ז' carving, etching, engraving

What piqued my intrest in the root גלפ is that it for some reason sounded familiar in the context of printing. After a few days of it bothering me, I finally hit on it. גלפ or גלופה (g-l-pf or glufa) sounds exactly like glyph. Here is what glyph means according to Answers.com (Answers.com is actually an Israeli company, that much I knew. But who knew they are right next to the mall in Jerusalem!)

A symbolic figure that is usually engraved or incised or A displayed or printed image. In typography, a glyph may be a single letter, an accent mark or a ligature.

They have some etymology too

Etymology

The term has been used in English since 1727, loaned from glyphe in use by French antiquaries (since 1701), from Greek γλυφη "a carving," from γλύφειν "to hollow out, engrave, carve" (cognate to Latin glubere "to peel" and English cleave). - http://www.answers.com/glyph&r=67

They have some Hebrew translation, but every time I copied it to blogger, it would mess up the whole post reversing the English and messing all the HTML so if you want to see it, take a look its at the very end of the site.

They may be right that glyph reached English though French, Greek and Latin, but I will tkae it a step back and say that it comes from the Aramaic גלפ

Here is where the word appears in the Targum to this weeks Parsha
שמות לט,ו
וַיַּעֲשׂוּ אֶת-אַבְנֵי הַשֹּׁהַם, מֻסַבֹּת מִשְׁבְּצֹת זָהָב, מְפֻתָּחֹת פִּתּוּחֵי חוֹתָם, עַל-שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
וַעֲבַדוּ יָת אַבְנֵי בֻּרְלָא, מְשַׁקְּעָן מְרַמְּצָן דִּדְהַב,גְּלִיפָן כְּתָב מְפָרַשׁ, עַל שְׁמָהָת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

שמות לט,יד
לט,יד וְהָאֲבָנִים עַל-שְׁמֹת בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל הֵנָּה, שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה--עַל-שְׁמֹתָם:פִּתּוּחֵי חֹתָם אִישׁ עַל-שְׁמוֹ, לִשְׁנֵים עָשָׂר שָׁבֶט

וְאַבְנַיָּא עַל שְׁמָהָת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אִנִּין, תַּרְתַּא עַסְרֵי--עַל שְׁמָהָתְהוֹן: כְּתָב מְפָרַשׁ כִּגְלָף דְּעִזְקָא גְּבַר עַל שְׁמֵיהּ, לִתְרֵי עֲסַר שִׁבְטִין.


Other instances of root גלפ in the targum
שמות כח9
שמות כח11
שמות כח21
שמות כח36

A friend deals with the etymology of Ptil/פתיל with his knowledge of Russian http://kopo.livejournal.com/15941.html

Germany, no not the Jews...

Israellycool comes out with this
Cardinal Sin

Germany's top Roman Catholic official has said that a controversial comparison made by a group of German Bishops between conditions in the West Bank and the Holocaust was "not appropriate."

The comments, made in a letter by Cardinal Karl Lehmann to Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev, came one day after Israel's Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority blasted the German comparison between the Palestinian-controlled West Bank cities and the Warsaw Ghetto as "political exploitation and demagoguery."

The German Cardinal wrote to the Yad Vashem director that the "oppressive situation" in the West Bank, "in the shade of security fences and walls in Bethlehem," was "reflected in some harsh statements, of which some…were certainly not appropriate," according to an English translation of the March 7 letter released Thursday by Yad Vashem.

- Jpost



Well at least we know its not just the Jews of Germany who have lost the plot

A close look at the IAJV Declaration

The Blue italics will be my comments

The Declaration

Statement of Principles: A Call for an Alternative View

We are Jews with diverse opinions on the Middle East who share a deep concern about the current crisis in the region.

How many affiliated Jews aren't deeply concerned about what is happening in Israel and the middle east?

We are committed to ensuring a just peace that recognizes the legitimate national aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians with a solution that protects the human rights of all.

Most people shouldn't have a problem with this. However not everyone will agree that the Palestinian national aspirations are legitimate. Certainly Hamas's vision of a Palestine that destroys and conquers Israel is not legitimate, so it wouldn't be included. Now skeptics will point out that most national aspirations of the Palestinians, including Fatah's are illegitimate, and would be right. I think that being that this organization is set up against the mainstream it will have a very broad definition of what is legitimate, but this line doesn't necessarily imply that. Very few Zionists cling to a one Jewish state solution, so I don't think people can complain about this line

We condemn violence by all parties, whether state sanctioned or not. We believe that Israel’s right to exist must be recognized and that Palestinians’ right to a homeland must also be acknowledged.

Treading on dangerous ground of moral equivalence. Israel's right to exist is not exactly Zionism, but it certainly isn't Anti-Zionism. I don't know exactly why the Palestinians have a "right" to a homeland. Maybe it is necessary to give them one given the situation, but a "right" to a Palestinian homeland that isn't Jordan is already becoming left wing. But thats OK, no one claimed that they weren't left wing Zionists.

As Australians we are privileged to live in a democratic state that embodies the principles of tolerance and free speech. We feel there is an urgent need to hear alternative voices that should not be silenced by being labelled disloyal or “self-hating.”

Often those being labeled disloyal or "self-hating" are, but I know plenty of people who are mislabeled, as I argued in my last post, they have a point.

Uncritical allegiance to Israeli government policy does not necessarily serve Israel’s best interests. Our concern for justice and peace in the Middle East is a legitimate opinion and should be met by reasoned argument rather than vilification and intimidation. In particular, we are concerned that the Jewish establishment does not represent the full range of Jewish opinion. Contrary to widespread concerns, anti-Semitism is not fuelled by Jews who publicly disagree with actions of the Jewish State.

Well the Orange anti-disengagement people will agree with that first sentence. Its hard to be against Justice and Peace, I know many a right-winger who are for that just us much as anyone else. I think they are being a bit alarmist in saying that the Jewish establishment does not represent the full range of Jewish opinion. Sure there are politics, in the Jewish establishment, but the ones who are attacking these progressive voices are much extreme and far form the centre than these progressives. Rather than remove themselves from the establishment, maybe they should have protected their rightful place inside the establishment. However, removing themselves from the establishment instead of firing back at those who attack them can be commended. At the end of the day, they are doing a disservice to themselves by removing themselves from the debate; they are also doing a bigger disservice to the establishment by removing themselves from it.

On the last point they are just plain wrong. Neturei Karta and Extremely Left-Wing Jews are some of the biggest fuelers of Antisemitism. Many Left-Wing groups which "publicly disagree with actions of the Jewish State" and don't do a good enough job at separating themselves form anti-zionists and antisemites bring about both antisemitism and mar the Left-Wing.

Jews understand what it is to suffer racism and victimization and therefore we are not only concerned about anti-Semitism but also the demonisation of all other minorities.

Sorry, but that therefore doesn't work. While I am concerned about all discrimination, I don't think one neccasarily has to lead to the other. While I use a variant of this approach to support Jewish efforts for Darfur, I think this statement could be clearer. Nothing wrong with it though.

We call upon fellow Jews to join us in supporting free debate to further the prospects of peace, security and human rights in the Middle East.

Free debate sounds good. As long as we are not talking about Holocaust Denial, which we aren't.

So I got through all of it, and found nothing wrong. Well, just that anti-semitism should be spelled antisemitism, because there is no such thing as "semitism"

Blogger rights in Egypt

I talked about Orthomom, and now a much more serius case of blogger rights is taking place in Egypt.
Its a pity because Egypt is one of the more moderate Arab nations.

An Alexandria court convicted an Egyptian blogger on Thursday for insulting both Islam and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and sentenced him to four years in jail over his writings on the Internet.

Abdel Karim Suleiman, 22-year-old former law student is getting four years in Jail for this

He described some of the companions of the Muslim prophet Mohammad as "terrorists," and has likened Mubarak to dictatorial pharaohs who ruled ancient Egypt.

The last part is especially interesting, because it makes us think if we should relate to Egypt in at all the same way as we relate to the Biblical Egypt. Also the modern day Persia/Iran which is once again threatening to wipe out the Jews "Men, Women, and Children in one day", can we compare Iran's nuclear ambitions with Haman?

"I was hoping that he would get a harsher sentence because he presented to the world a bad image of Egypt. There are things that one should not talk about, like religion and politics. He should have got a 10-year sentence," said lawyer Nizar Habib, who attended the trial as a member of the public.

Nizar Habib, my friend, you just gave me a worse impression of Egpyt than anything this blogger my have written would give me

A Dry Adar

This seems like really good news

Alcohol-free pub for youngsters opens in J'lem


Just in time for Purim too, on Rosh Hodesh Adar.

For those who don't know, on Purim the teens in Israel get drunk, this includes even the RZ "good kids"[i.e. the ones who aren't off the derech or disillusioned] who would never ever think of drinking at any other time of year.

Racist or Misinterpreted?

There is a whole scandal going on right now with a visiting professor in Australia who made talked about Islamic immigration to Australia.

“You have to infiltrate all those circles where the Muslim radicals operate, to arrest them, and to limit immigration into western countries where these Muslims, who are bent on destroying western civilisation ... to limit immigration, even students who apply to come from Islamic countries to the West,” he said.

“It serves no purpose when you have this home-grown terrorist, who has been preparing for years to blow up undergrounds in London, and all you do is lead a war of words. The war of words doesn’t help. There is a whole gamut of actions that are possible in order to check this threat of Islam.”

I might want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but due to another "Australian" using the misunderstood defense, I am disinclined to do so. Sheik Hilaly himself:

Children and mothers are crying. Sons of Islam, there is a war of infidels taking place everywhere. The true man is the boy who opposes Israeli tanks with strength and faith. The boy who, despite his mother’s objections, goes out to war to become a martyr like his elder brother...
...Don’t be surprised if one day you hear the Muezzin calling for prayer and saying “Allah Akbar (Allah is Great)” from the top of the white house. September 11 is God’s work against oppressors.
-ABC

If you haven't heard about him I suggest you read these.

On the other hand, we really do have some misinterpreted Israeli academics lately. A Bar Ilan Professor writing about blood libels


Another important factor in deciding how comments should be considered is if there are other people saying the same thing who are clearly not racist.
And there are.

After a suicide truck bomb killed more than 132 people and wounded hundreds in a Baghdad market a few weeks ago, the head of the Shiite-controlled Interior Ministry's explosives department, Maj. Gen. Jihad al-Jabiri, told state-run Iraqi television: "I call on the government to deport (foreign) Arabs immediately."
...
A day after the Interior Ministry general asked for Arabs' deportation, some Shiite members of parliament echoed the call. That led to a dispute after the parliament speaker, a Sunni Arab, retorted that both Arabs "and others" should be deported — a reference to Iranians. Many Sunnis here fear Iranians are infiltrating Iraq.
- Yahoo News

I guess the context is very different in this case. After all we have no problems with Jews making Jewish jokes, or blacks making black jokes etc. Then again Sunnis and Shiites aren't one big happy family. Maybe they deserve equal condemnation as our visiting professor, or maybe we can forgive them because of the pressures of a war.

So there you have it...make up your own mind, but I hope I gave you some directions to think in