Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Shuls in Modi'in


I've started marking Batei Knesset in Modi'in in Google Maps.

If you want to help me out and add any other shuls, feel free.

I am adding links to the map from my list of weekday minyanim in Modi'in.

This is an on-going project as Baruch Hashem we have had several new batei knesset in Modi'in over the past year, and several more should be opening within the coming months.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Relationship between Support for Israel and Freedom

The UN recently had a vote on the Goldstone Report, condemning Israel for ‘Human Rights Violations”.

The vote was exceptionally critical of Israel (even by UN Standards). There were 4 different responses a member of the security council could have to the vote:

  • Yes
  • No
  • Abstain
  • Absent

I thought that it would be interesting to compare the way each country voted with its Human Rights and Freedom track record.

With a simple web search I managed to find a list of Countries Ranked by Economic Freedom as well as a report by Freedom House which rates the level of freedom in all counties in the World.

What was interesting, the more free that a county was rated, the more likely it was to support Israel in the UN vote. All the countries that voted supported Israel and voted against the resolution “NO” were rated “Free”, almost all received the highest rating (1) for both "Political Rights” and “Civil Liberties”.

By contrast, the countries that voted against Israel (Yes) averaged 3.8 in both Political Rights and Civil Liberties.

Looks like you don’t have to be a non-free society to be critical of Israel at the UN, but it sure seems to help.

Here are the details, feel free to draw your own conclusion.

The following countries votes YES (Supported the bill against Israel):

Country Economic Freedom Political Rights Civil Liberties Freedom Rating
Argentina 52.3 2 2 Free
Bahrain 74.8 5 5 Partly Free
Bangladesh 47.5 4 4 Partly Free
Bolivia 53.6 3 3 Partly Free
Brazil 56.7 2 2 Free
Chile 78.3 1 1 Free
China 53.2 7 6 Not Free
Cuba 27.9 7 7 Not Free
Djibouti 51.3 5 5 Partly Free
Egypt 58.0 6 5 Not Free
Ghana 58.1 1 2 Free
India 54.4 2 3 Free
Indonesia 53.4 2 3 Free
Jordan 65.4 5 4 Partly Free
Mauritius 74.3 1 2 Free
Nicaragua 59.8 3 3 Partly Free
Nigeria 55.1 4 4 Partly Free
Pakistan 57.0 6 5 Not Free
Philippines 56.8 3 3 Partly Free
Qatar 65.8 6 5 Not Free
Russian Federation 50.8 6 5 Not Free
Saudi Arabia 64.3 7 6 Not Free
Senegal 56.3 2 3 Free
South Africa 63.8 2 2 Free
Zambia 56.6 3 4 Partly Free
Average: 57.82 3.8 3.76  

The following countries were ABSENT:

Country Economic Freedom Political Rights Civil Liberties Freedom Rating
Angola 47.0 6 5 Not Free
France 63.3 1 1 Free
Kyrgyzstan 61.8 5 4 Partly Free
Madagascar 62.2 4 3 Partly Free
United Kingdom 79.0 1 1 Free
Average: 62.66 3.4 2.8  

The following countries ABSTAINED:

Country Economic Freedom Political Rights Civil Liberties Freedom Rating
Belgium 72.1 1 1 Free
Bosnia-Herzegovina 53.1 3 2 Partly Free
Burkina Faso 59.5 5 3 Partly Free
Cameroon 53.0 6 6 Not Free
Gabon 55.0 6 4 Partly Free
Japan 72.8 1 2 Free
Mexico 65.8 3 3 Free
Norway 70.2 1 1 Free
Republic of Korea 68.1 1 2 Free
Slovenia 62.9 1 1 Free
Uruguay 69.1 1 1 Free
Average: 63.78 2.6 2.3  

The following countries voted NO (Supported Israel):

Country Economic Freedom Political Rights Civil Liberties Freedom Rating
Hungary 66.8 1 1 Free
Italy 61.4 1 1 Free
Netherlands 77.0 1 1 Free
Slovakia 69.4 1 1 Free
Ukraine 48.8 3 2 Free
United States 80.7 1 1 Free
Average: 67.35 1.33 1.17