I had to laugh just now, perusing The Jerusalem Post’s Passover Real Estate supplement (passed down to me, JC-style, by my mother).
On page 10 of the magazine, Jerusalem and environs real estate agent Shelly Levine lists a 51-cottage project in Sheinfeld, Bet Shemesh (see Spitters and splitters: what have the charedim ever done for us?) as one of her “five best picks” in and around the capital, giving more than a little credence to my contention – in Be a wise buyer, not a foreign freier: a guide to the world of Israeli real estate – that agents “will sell their own mothers to do a deal.”
But the opinion of Levine, President of “savvy agency” Tivuch Shelly, is seemingly held in high regard. “Not a day passes,” she informs readers, “when real estate buyers or investors don’t ask me, ‘What’s THE best place to buy now in Jerusalem?’”
Bet Shemesh, December 2011: THE best place to buy now, Shelly?
And you will never guess who we discover, a mere 22 pages later, to be conducting “Exclusive sales” of the Bet Shemesh cottages . . . yes, it’s our Shelly!
In describing Sheinfeld as “the internationally acclaimed pace-setting community . . . with full spiritual facilities,” Levine must have had in mind “one-of-a-kind” scenes and neighbours – a mere stone’s throw/spitting distance away from her project – like these, these and these.
Even if you still believe, however, that in Bet Shemesh you will find “top quality of life in a value-driven environment,” I suggest that, when sitting down to talk money, you make the vendor watch one of the following reports: in Hebrew or English.
[In the Rosh Hashanah 5773 edition of Real Estate: Grad deals in Sderot! Only a few homes remaining.]
It would be very easy to stop this. Jump them, separate them into small groups of not more than 5 people and BREAK their GLASSES. Hit them in their pockets which are already pretty empty apart from the handouts from a state they don`t RECOGNIZE. If they call the perpetrators to court, set up a massive class-action suit against them for disturbing the peace. At the end of the proceedings, give them the choice of being shipped out to Teheran or New-York.
As for Shelly, 2 options. Check out her real-estate licence in case of her being incompetent OR if she is committing fraud, as she is not presenting the facts as they should be.
“BREAK their GLASSES”? Hmm . . . no one could say melchett mike readers aren’t original!
As for the fraud bit, I will have to apply the JP supplement disclaimer – “The content of the advertisements is the sole responsibility of the advertisers” – to my commenters . . . though it would be difficult to argue that it is not, at the very least, somewhat of a misrepresentation!
PS Can’t get that “Shiksa” beat outta my head.
Thanks for the links to the youtube videos – they made me cry. My 10-yo son came home from his English state primary school today telling me about what they were learning in RE lessons – have just shown him these clips and thankfully reinforced his atheist beliefs. And he’s the son of a Hendon girl who went to Nth Hendon Adass in her youth.
Thanks, ex-Hendon, though I am not sure that the Bet Shemesh charedim (or any charedim for that matter) are any more of an argument for atheism than George Galloway is for denying the Palestinians a state. Anyway, if you ask me (and you didn’t!), I’d encourage your lad to be an agnostic . . . it’s a far safer, and less extreme, bet!
Talking of North Hendon Adass, you are not by any chance the “wife”, are you?
Ex-Hasmo,
You can take the girl out of North Hendon but you can’t take North Hendon out of the girl.
Like – I daresay – your G-d fearing parents before you, you are trying to dictate to your children what to believe.
I call that irreligious coercion.