Rabbis sentence dog to stoning

[Setzer]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13819764

Jerusalem rabbis 'condemn dog to death by stoning'

A Jewish rabbinical court condemned to death by stoning a stray dog it feared was the reincarnation of a lawyer who insulted its judges, reports say.
The dog entered the Jerusalem financial court several weeks ago and would not leave, reports Israeli website Ynet.
It reminded a judge of a curse passed on a now deceased secular lawyer about 20 years ago, when judges bid his spirit to enter the body of a dog.
The animal is said to have escaped before the sentence was carried out.
One of the judges at the court in the city's ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighbourhood had reportedly asked local children to carry out the sentence.
An animal welfare organisation filed a complaint with the police against a court official, who denied reports that judges had ordered the dog's stoning, according to Ynet.
But a court manager told Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot the stoning had been ordered as "as an appropriate way to 'get back at' the spirit which entered the poor dog", according to Ynet.
Dogs are considered impure animals in traditional Judaism.

Odd, if this had happened in any of the other Middle Eastern nations, would anyone be surprised?

[Sarevok]

B-b-b-but Israel is a democratic nation that is totally unlike it's neighbors !

Seriously though I am surprised. Is this something that could have occurred in early days of Israel ? Or they slowly starting to emulate their neighboring countries in a subconscious manner ?

[Stark]

Let me get the chain of events here.

An Israeli court told a lawyer's spirit to enter a dog?

The lawyer dies.

Later on, a stray dog wanders into a courthouse, and 'wouldn't leave'

To get revenge on the spirit that entered the dog because they told it to, they got kids to kill the dog.

The dog ran off.

Is this sort of thing normal?

[Skgoa]

B-b-b-but Israel is a democratic nation that is totally unlike it's neighbors !

Seriously though I am surprised. Is this something that could have occurred in early days of Israel ? Or they slowly starting to emulate their neighboring countries in a subconscious manner ?

Or are they backward fundamentalist fucktards, as the last 60 years seem to imply? Lets not forget that this is the only current "democracy" that opresses part of it's people for being the wrong race/religion.

[Sarevok]

Yeah. Israel at times seems like a lite version of Iran.

[aieeegrunt]

It's Iran with better PR.

[evilsoup]

It's Iran with better PR.

Iran forces a third of it's population into disease-ridden poverty-stricken ghettos, routinely brutalises and attempts to ethnically cleanse them? Since when?

[eyl]

Let me get the chain of events here.

An Israeli court told a lawyer's spirit to enter a dog?

The lawyer dies.

Later on, a stray dog wanders into a courthouse, and 'wouldn't leave'

To get revenge on the spirit that entered the dog because they told it to, they got kids to kill the dog.

The dog ran off.

Is this sort of thing normal?

Not really, no.

Seriously though I am surprised. Is this something that could have occurred in early days of Israel ? Or they slowly starting to emulate their neighboring countries in a subconscious manner ?

Some of the more ultra-Orthodox rabbis get up to some really weird rulings from time to time*; I think it's just that the news gets around more these days.

**Note that whether this affair happened or not*, it was not a court verdict but rather an instruction by certain rabbis
*I'm not covinced it's more than a rumour at this point.

[SpaceMarine93]

Next thing you know a Bible Belt US state decides to legalize stoning of women for abortion. Come to think of it, those three sects of Abrahamic religions are not so different.

[Sea Skimmer]

Somehow I doubt the dog ‘escaping’ was an unaided event. Assuming any of this is even true, which I kind of doubt. How does a random dog get into a courtroom and not just get seized by the guards?

[Zaune]

Somehow I doubt the dog ‘escaping’ was an unaided event. Assuming any of this is even true, which I kind of doubt. How does a random dog get into a courtroom and not just get seized by the guards?

Someone on staff heard about the curse they put on the lawyer and decided to play a practical joke, maybe?

[cosmicalstorm]

It does sound like the kind of news that will be retracted quietly in a few days.

[Thanas]

Yeah. And why is this in SLAM anyay?

[evilsoup]

Next thing you know a Bible Belt US state decides to legalize stoning of women for abortion. Come to think of it, those three sects of Abrahamic religions are not so different.

What a stunningly insightful comment.

Somehow I doubt the dog ‘escaping’ was an unaided event. Assuming any of this is even true, which I kind of doubt. How does a random dog get into a courtroom and not just get seized by the guards?

It's not a law court, just a rabbinical court, so (I think, I could be wrong) only deals with religious issues, maybe civil issues like divorce. It might not have guards, or they might be bored volunteers.

[Simon_Jester]

Next thing you know a Bible Belt US state decides to legalize stoning of women for abortion

Now what I'd like to see from you is a five paragraph essay detailing all the reasons why that is probably not true.

[eyl]

Next thing you know a Bible Belt US state decides to legalize stoning of women for abortion. Come to think of it, those three sects of Abrahamic religions are not so different.

What a stunningly insightful comment.

Somehow I doubt the dog ‘escaping’ was an unaided event. Assuming any of this is even true, which I kind of doubt. How does a random dog get into a courtroom and not just get seized by the guards?

It's not a law court, just a rabbinical court, so (I think, I could be wrong) only deals with religious issues, maybe civil issues like divorce. It might not have guards, or they might be bored volunteers.

Possible, though most Israeli public buildings have guards these days, at least on the main door.

[evilsoup]

Maybe they were high, maybe they weren't looking for dogs and it was below their field of vision. They could have been playing cards and not noticed. The point is, there's really not any reason to doubt this story.

[eyl]

Maybe they were high, maybe they weren't looking for dogs and it was below their field of vision. They could have been playing cards and not noticed. The point is, there's really not any reason to doubt this story.

I doubt it. Getting high would be pretty noticable and these guard posts usually aren't conducive to playing cards (if you even have a partner), certainly not obtrusively.

Bear in mind that these posts are usually nothing more elaborate than a small table near the door (if that, sometimes the guard just has a chair, or occasionally not even that), with/without a metal detector - I don't see how a dog could have gotten in unnoticed (especially since the door would likely be closed).

Themain reason I have doubts about this story is that the rabbi in question denied it. Usually, they aren't bashful about admitting these things (and as far as the argument that he might be lying to avoid looking foolish in the eyes of outsiders, they usually don't care what outsiders think).

[evilsoup]

Ah, okay then, I didn't notice that the Rabbi denied it (reading comprehension fail ho!).

[Pelranius]

I thought Jews (especially the Orthodox and ultra Orthodox) don't believe in reincarnation?

[ArmorPierce]

Well it looks like they don't believe it was reincarnation per-say rather than his spirit taking the body of a dog who was already living.

[montypython]

Well it looks like they don't believe it was reincarnation per-say rather than his spirit taking the body of a dog who was already living.

So this is some sort of possession/revenge sort of thing?

[ArmorPierce]

It would seem so from this comment:

the stoning had been ordered as "as an appropriate way to 'get back at' the spirit which entered the poor dog", according to Ynet.

[Vendetta]

I don't see how a dog could have gotten in unnoticed (especially since the door would likely be closed).

The guard going for a piss break with the door ajar? Being distracted by someone talking to him or asking him a question? Human attention is not infallible, and it would probably only take a few seconds for a dog to wander past and out of sight of a door guard.

[blahface]

This reminds me of the police that arrested a goat in Nigeria.