Want To Know How To Slow Ebola? Start Practicing The Kosher Laws!

Ancient Kosher Laws Have Lessons for a 21st Century War against Ebola

by Lawrence Kadish
November 12, 2014 at 4:30 am

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4873/ancient-kosher-laws-ebola

40

Comment

Rabbis became, in essence, the health department of their time.
Much as Jews were accused and attacked for supposedly spreading the plague in the 14th Century because their dietary ad sanitary rituals gave them a slight edge in preventing disease, doctors in West Africa have been attacked on suspicion that they are actually infecting people with the disease rather than combating it.

In an era before antibiotics, blood tests and digital scanning thermometers; In an era before EKG's, stethoscopes, blood transfusions and even refrigeration; In an era before doctors, science and even a rudimentary understanding of human anatomy, there was the ancient Jewish dietary law of kosher, which continues to offer a lesson for today's fractured societies of western Africa struggling to contain the Ebola epidemic.
Centuries ago, with an understanding of microbes and hygiene still far in the future, Jews observed that those who ate meat from sick or dead animals would often fall ill and die. Similar woes could result from animals not consumed in a timely way after being slaughtered. While they didn't know of trichinosis, they also saw that eating pork could be fatal. Shellfish and fish without scales contained a similar lethal threat. The rich and frothy milk of that time could produce gastro illness when served with meat.
While the society was agrarian, life was harsh and painfully short and government was the oppressive rule of hostile royalty, there was an understanding among Jews that certain culinary behavior triggered serious illness. As a result, dietary laws were put into place by an observant community that sought to protect the individual and public health. They were then codified by religious leaders for the purpose of creating a collective societal memory of what the faithful could and could not consume. Rabbis became, in essence, the health department of their time, providing approved animal certification prior to slaughter.
Today, in western African countries, where Ebola has left villages and towns looking like the plague-stricken Medieval communities of Europe, the lessons of how and why kosher laws were created and sustained have a practical application for those struggling to subdue Ebola. Like plague-wracked Europe in the mid-1300s, cultural patterns play a significant role in shaping how the disease spreads among West Africans. For example, West African funeral ceremonies traditionally mandate the kissing of the deceased body or touching the corpse in a final farewell. In addition, a communal meal is often observed while sitting beside the dead. Seeking to prevent these practices, doctors have warned that these rituals expose scores to the Ebola virus at its most virulent stage.
In addition, superstition is alive and well in West Africa. Much as Jews were accused and attacked for supposedly spreading the plague in the 14th century because their dietary and sanitary rituals gave them a slight edge in preventing disease, doctors in West Africa have been attacked on suspicion they are actually infecting people with the disease rather than combating it.

Health workers in West Africa are sometimes accused of spreading Ebola and attacked. (Image source: Luigi Baldelli/Flickr)

As our national focus remains centered on preventing the further intrusion of Ebola in the United States, and the international medical effort seeks to contain the disease, it is time to go beyond the plasma, vaccines and science SWAT teams now on the ground. Sociologists and anthropologists can play an equally critical role by taking a page from the ancient kosher laws drafted by Jewish elders by beginning the task of changing critical aspects of tribal culture. This will help ensure that Ebola and other future viral borne diseases meet a firewall of prevention based on an individual's revised cultural behavior and the adjusted collective response from the larger community. The village elders, traditional healers and church leaders all must become part of the response network that alters the cultural behavior patterns that currently give Ebola a virtual highway to further infect and decimate. They need to be made part of the affirmative process of changing cultural and tribal behavior to prevent disease.
In the centuries since the Jews wove their kosher rules into their religious rituals, science has established why those intuitive laws imposed on their community made so much sense. Today, some might argue that applying kosher laws in an era of electricity, hygiene, regulatory oversight of food production and a health care infrastructure of extraordinary depth makes them all irrelevant. Or have they? When we learn of agribusiness contamination, salmonella outbreaks, seabed toxins and similar threats to the food chain, those centuries-old kosher laws seem more relevant than ever.
In a land where official corruption robs West Africans of basic necessities and a sorely tested international medical community can't plug the gaps in preventing new Ebola cases fast enough, it's time to take a page from what the Jews wrote long ago and use these fundamental principles as part of the response required to stop a 21st century plague.

Lawrence Kadish is a member of the Board of Governors of the Gatestone Institute.

Will The US Become Part Of A World Wide Caliphate?

We just posted an article that speaks about the sudden creation of a Caliphate in Syria and Iraq in a matter of weeks which was followed by a video of the 2012 New York City Muslim Day. That piece got us thinking about where the US and other western countries are going.  

In recent weeks we have posted articles on Germany, France, the Netherlands and other western countries facing riots, destruction and other mayhem at the hands of Muslims in those countries. These nations are now experiencing events which are foreign to us here in the US. However, we believe that our time is coming.

How long will it be before there are major riots in New York, Dearborn,  (Michigan), Los Angeles and Chicago where Muslims demand that their rights are being abridged or that they deserve special rights? We think not long.

When (not if) they do occur, how will the police, the City Administrations react? We suspect that they will give into their demands. Why?

Most Americans are used to being able to go to their own religious congregation and not to have anyone question them. It is "you worship the way you want, I will worship the way I want."  Unless there is something that is not legal (child molestation or child endangerment come to mind) , anything goes. Churches, Mosques, Synagogues, Temples are all tax exempt and police rarely interfere with their activities.  

So how does this change if Muslims demand special rights for Islam?  We fear modern American leaders (city,county, state and Federal), who are usually weak-kneed cowards will acquiesce to the protests. Their answer will be something like "How could we do anything else, it is a religion and we have freedom of religion in this country."  The point they miss is that if a Muslim has special rights in regard to his religion, my rights as another American are decreased. Equal rights are fair, special ones are not.

In France, Muslims take over whole intersections while they do their daily prayers. Would we allow that here? Probably.  In many places around the world, the Muslim daily prayer call is heard throughout the city. Is that fair to those who do not practice Islam? Sharia Law allows men to punish their wives, to commit "honor killings" of a family member (usually female) who dishonors the family, and to do genital mutilation of women. Would we allow that there?

Of course, the answer is yes, yes and yes. We, like Europe, will give in to their protests for fear of upsetting them. Little by little we will see Muslim rights increase and those of the rest of the country decrease. Hopefully, we are wrong but we doubt it.

We have seen Rabbis bend over backwards to have a relationship with an Imam only to see their work go up in smoke when the Mosque hears about the "friendship".  Muslims do not want an understanding of Judaism or any other religion, they want to conquer it. It is ingrained in their thinking, in the Quran, and in the daily sermons. Anyone who tries to bridge the gap is met with hostility.  How can one have a one sided relationship? It is impossible.

It has been our considered opinion that most Muslims are decent people who want to raise a family and live a comfortable life. However, in recent discussions with several Chaldeans (Catholics from Iraq), we have come to understand that our ideas are wrong. Instead of 90% good,10% bad, our friends have told us the real numbers are 10% good and 90% bad. 

Their experience with Muslims can be a learning experience for us all. According to my sources, Muslims cannot be trusted.  They will say anything they want to a non-believer (dimmi). A lie is not a lie when told to someone who does not practice Islam. 

The belief system of the Muslim does not involve any other religion. He believe he is superior to all others. That Allah is the supreme being and all others are inferior.

They believe that their mission is to conquer the world for Allah. If it means they lose their family, money or life, that would be fine as they would receive their reward in heaven.

We see in Iraq where Christians are given the choice of conversion,  impoverishing taxation, leaving or dying. Some choice! We saw it in Kosovo, where lifelong friends who were Muslim and Christian were killing each other as soon as Tito died. (By the way, it was the Christians, the Serbs, who were blamed by our government.)

The US will could be no different. Should Americans not stand shoulder to shoulder against Islam we could see the following scenario develop:

 Within the next ten years, Muslim numbers will grow to the necessary tipping point (6-10% of the population), allowing their leaders to start demanding special privileges.  Then over the next 15 years, their demands will become more outrageous followed by a period where the US becomes the "Muslim Nation" President Obama declared it was several years ago.  They may never reach the point where 50% of the population practices Islam, however, they will tax non believers and Shariah law will trump our civil law.

Yes, we know that this is a very negative view of the future, however, as one of our friends says "Tom, you see the worst in every situation" and that probably is true. However, if one does not look at the worst situation, how can we prepare for it.  Had our planners thought about the use of planes as weapons of mass destruction, maybe 9/11 could have been avoided. Had the military considered that an attack on Pearl Harbor was possible, could we have avoided that tragedy? Thinking the worst is a preparation for preventing it. 

We see many bad things occurring around the world and most, if not all,  Muslims are the perpetrators.  Whether it is Boko Haram kidnapping school girls, ISIS in Iraq or Hamas in Gaza, Islam is the common denominator. 

Muslims cannot be trusted and they are coming here to conquer us to establish their world wide Caliphate.  We and our leaders need to understand that. Unfortunately, the current Administration doesn't and are only encouraging (either blissfully ignorantly or purposely) their inroads around the world. 

We best be prepared for them as they are coming and they are coming here.  Are you ready to fight or to become a dimmi?

Conservative Tom