But Maryl overlooks the main reason the Israeli story got prominence: a government minister is vowing to enforce a law that compels strict Sabbatarianism. Laws like that in America are mostly a thing of the past.

(By the way, I hated the Gawker item and didn’t think much of the Reuters headline either.)

The story quoted above is about religious Jews objecting to less religious Jews for breaking their own religious laws. (And Israeli law, if I’m not mistaken.)

The closest you could come to that story would be finding profiles of religious Christians refusing to allow their children to buy the Potter books or see the movies. But I haven’t seen those stories in newspapers yet, and I don’t think I will. Nor will you find many of Muslims objecting to Harry Potter. You have to dig deeply on Google News to find any at all—except for the brouhaha about Israel’s religious Jews getting upset that Jewish bookstores are opening on Shabbat especially for the Potter book.

The phrase “doth protest too much” comes to mind. I think that if they were honest with themselves, they would admit that they feel they should be doing the same thing.

So I suppose book burnings are going to be next…oh wait. Sorry. I have yet to hear of Jewish groups in this country going to that extreme.

John M: Why is belief in “witchcraft” – which is mentioned in the Bible – irrational if I believe in G-d, Heaven, Angels, and Satan? Or are you saying all religion is irrational? And how do you know they are the same people who take an absolutist view of Genesis are the same ones who forbid their kids to read Potter? Or that the segment is rather small? (Argumentem ad populem…)

As a devout Christian, I respect Meryl’s faith, and I fail to see how your remarks are any different than the anti-Semetic ones of others?

Robert

This is indeed a tempest in a teapot.

(Don’t worry no spoilers)

This book was art directed by David Saylor. The art for both the jacket and the interior was created using pastels on toned printmaking paper. The text was set in 12-point Adobe Garamond, a typeface based on the sixteenth-century type designs of Claude Garamond, redrawn by Robert Slimbach in 1989. The book was typeset by Brad Walrod and was printed and bound by Quebecor World Fairfield in Fairfield, Pennsylvania. The Managing Editor was Karyn Browne; the Continuity Editor was Cheryl Klein; and the Manufacturing Director was Angela Biola.