Good morning,
I'm afraid I didn't follow your logical line of thought:
A. Does your humanist-liberal approach puts the individual at the center of the universe? Does it imply omitting the 'I'm your god' out of the 'Love the other as you' in the ten commandments?

B. What do you mean by 'Judaism is a cultural aspect added to democracy'? Judaism is a religion (a dat, to be exact), its structure is democratic but its values are not egocenteric or even antrophcenteric. That's something no Jew is allowed to change, not even if he wants to be liberal or modern.

Yesterday I came to the big conservative synagogue in Stockholm at around 17:30. The English-speaking security man has deeply interrogated both my Swedish friend and myself with personal questions, trying to authenticate the reasons for me popping up there. In the meanwhile, perfectly well dressed Jews were emerging out of the street, showing their red tickets as a proof they're allowed in. We were kindly explained there are only 900 seats in the synagogue, and thus we would have to wait for the Jews with reserved seats (tickets distributed for free in advance) to arrive before knowing if there will be a place for us. In addition, they are about to hold to consecutive sermons to let everyone pray.

To me it sounded annoying and strange. If the local conservative Jewish community expects their big lovely synagogue to be too small for yom kippur, why not hire a hall for one night? And if it's all the Israeli tourist who don't pay their annual fee which cause all this mess, why not ask the Israeli government to pay for the hall and the guards for one night?

But then I discovered the small Bnei-Akiva Jewish school, very well hidden inside a normal building somewhere in Stockholm. We praying in some small gym class, men and women separated by a half-transparent half-improvised paper barrier in the middle, like in the wailing wall. Not many Jews, no decorations, no excess pride like in the conservative synagogue attempting to mimic the surrounding churches. Like a good Jew I started condemning the other community for them, only to discover there are no two separate Jewish communities in Stockholm - Conservative and Orthodox Jews attach themselves to a single living community, free to switch synagogues and minyans according to fashion and taste. So now I'm about to take the underground to the synagogue, and if I won't like it, I'll just go on to the next.

I think it's the most observant yom kippur I ever had, washing my ass in the morning, using the computer now and drinking a sip by mistake late night yesterday being all my sins so far... It's just much easier when Jews don't run the place.

Then a decade from now... The Chief Rabbinate will hand over Isreal to the trustworthy hands of the Wakff on every new year... For two-three weeks the country will be run by the joint coalition of Muslim forces, them being satisfied for reuniting the Arab world for the hagim, we enjoying the benefits of taking a leave from running everything for a while.

'Salamat' airlines will unload thousands of Palestenian emmigrants at Gaza airport for their annual tour in Palestine in Joly September. The flights back will be packed by Israeli tourists trying to escape their moms' cuisine by 'holy tours' in the ruins of Bavel, Aram Naharayim and Hammat. For three weeks Damesek will be bombed by Humus eating Israelies and clean off rebelious Palestenian refugees.

A biking pilgrimage tour will be organized by the green party every sukot. The inofficial training will be going to the sea by bike every yom kippur to bake in the sun. Palestenian ma'chers will make a maka selling artik-kartiv on the beach and driving all these bikes back at night.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard troops will franticly patrol the temple mount, scaring off fanatic Jews and Palestenian contractors alike. After the construction works at Urvot Shlomo were halted it has been handed over to the UN international archeological collaboration, the most serious attempt ever to document a single archeological monument.

In the meantime, research groups in Rehovot and Teheran frantically work on the development of the next generation of missiles. Equipped with the latest word in fuel cell technology, these ballistic missiles are capable of delivering 6 tons of cargo into geoid orbit. Based on the Jericho 4 and the Sword of Alla, these missiles are aimed of establishing the divine city of peace high above Jerusalem, planned to be populated by high priests in another decade from then. Known as 'Al Kuds' in the Muslim world and 'Or Lagoyim' in Bnei-Brak, this station will broadcast universal words of wisdom to the world. Connected to 'Tolaat Yaakov' transmission station above Mecca, and the existing 'Muazzin' network above Kushta, Medina, Ryaddh and Alexandria, these speakers insure every Arab could tune in to his favourite independant radio station without any religious oppression by any local tyranny.

Excavations slowly continue in the Hetite ruins in Syria, the Bavelian in Iraq, the Persian in Iran and the Phoenician in Tunisia & Lebanon. Thus insuring that every nation in the world would have its own monumental 'ground zero' as a dreadful reminder for the result of fascist pride. The Americans have theirs in Manhatn, the English in Portsmouth, the Swedish in Stockholm (the 'Vasa' shipwreck), in Rome the old ruins, the Sphynx in Egypt, the lost Bodhas in Afghanistan, the bombed church in Hiroshima and Berlin, and last but not least - Herod's ruined grand construction work in the temple mount.

Then 50 years from now, who knows who will arrive on a white donkey to the premade terminal in 'Ir Shalem shel Ma'ala'

Shana Tova
(failed to find a free mp3 recorder that is willing to record more than 1 megabyte of the fascinating 3 hour recorded conversation with Rabih Abou Khalil, now I better catch the underground to the synagogue...)
Gmar Hatima Tova,
Lior
Stockholm
(back in a week)