Far From Zion

Fruit controversies

So the Chinese have forged Israeli fruit, sold it to Iran, where authorities discovered it and became briefly outraged that some of their own would do business with Israel. The situation has resolved itself, but it does suggest the absurdity of both the mistrust between Israel and Iran (Zionist fruit?) and the really weird inclination for forgery and fraud in the Chinese economy. On a more scary note, Iran has apparently arrested several people for preparing terrorist attacks around the June elections, and is accusing them, as usual, of being “Zionist Agents.” Iran does tend to accuse everyone of being Zionist agents, but still, a scary development, especially considering the other prisoners they are holding at Evin Prison.

Amnesty International says that prison holds hundreds of the thousands of political prisoners in Iran. In 2003, Zahra Kazemi, a Canadian-Iranian photojournalist, was beaten to death there.

In other “fruit” controversies, the 11th Annual Tel Aviv Gay Pride Parade is coming up, and two couples (one gay men, one lesbians) will get married at the parade, even though their union will have no legal standing. Though Right-wing foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman has “come out” in favor of civil unions because they serve his main constituency, Soviet immigrants, many of whom are not considered halachically Jewish and have trouble marrying thanks to the religious authorities choke hold on marriage in Israel (Israel does recognize same-sex marriages performed outside the country), his proposal doesn’t do much to help to help the gay community, as it wouldn’t really make marriage a civil affair, and the Orhtodox rabbinate would maintain control (though perhaps they’ll come around on the gay thing one day).