Israel survives Tuesday without egg rolls

No kidding. Super Tuesday, I posted a joke diary that started with:

   A Jewish man and a Chinese man were conversing. The Jewish man commented upon what a wise people the Chinese are.

   "Yes," replied the Chinese man, "Our culture is over 4,000 years old. But, you Jews are a very wise people, too."

   The Jewish man replied, "Yes, our culture is over 5,000 years old."

   The Chinese man was incredulous, "That's impossible, he replied. Where did your people eat for a thousand years?"

Turns out in Israel yesterday, you couldn't buy egg rolls. In two weeks, no sushi for you!

According to Reuters:

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's Asian restaurants went on a one-day spring roll strike Tuesday in protest over government plans to rid kitchens of foreign chefs, and said sushi and noodles would be the next items off the menu.

The restaurants are angry at government plans to purge Japanese, Chinese and Thai eateries of Asian cooks and replace them with Israelis as part of a broader program to cut the number of foreigners working in the Jewish state.

In two weeks, organizers are planning a day without sushi or noodles. They've also turned to the courts for relief.

Volosky said his organization had asked Israel's Supreme Court to force the government to rethink the decision, arguing it could force many out of business or make them inflate prices to cover the salaries needed to secure "expert" visas for chefs.

•  Tips for a former cook in a Chinese resteraunt.

  by Jacques on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 06:50:40 AM PDT

  •  Tipped from a former

    dishwasher in a Chinese restaurant.

    When the orders start coming in fast and the open flames get hot, please keep those sharp knifes pointed safely towards the floor and walls ;-)

    by lightfoot on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 07:13:45 AM PDT

•  What the what?

  The government is going to force decisions about who they can and can't hire on businesses?

  Isn't this the kind of thing the same right-wingers who support Israel should be calling a disgusting, left-wing, anti-freedom attack on liberty?

  If we can write off France and Scandinavia for their commie anti-business attitudes, why not Israel?

  by zbbrox on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 07:05:25 AM PDT

  •  you don't have to be a right-winger

    ...to support Israel.

    Nor do you have to be anti-Israel to be on the left.

    by s choir on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 07:38:46 AM PDT

    •  As Pat Buchanan...

      ....David Duke, and Ron Paul prove.

      by metal prophet on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 07:48:38 AM PDT

    •  And yet...

      ...I am talking about right-wingers who support Israel, not left-wingers who support Israel, as left-wingers rarely go apoplectic over government control of business and protectionism. Even less than they should, in fact.

      by zbbrox on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 08:12:31 AM PDT

      •  Maybe you should quit blaming Israel

        for your hangups with right/left and us/them views of the world.

        by unfounded on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 08:13:59 AM PDT

        •  Your screenname is very appropriate.

          It applies to the entirety of your assumptions about both my attitudes and my point.

          by zbbrox on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 08:16:55 AM PDT

          •  Which was, exactly?

            France does this stuff all the time and aside from a little deserved derision for it, you don't see people making a huge deal and blaming them for the faults of american conservatives.

            by unfounded on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 08:33:46 AM PDT

            •  This is it exactly.

              Where did I "blame" Israel for anything other than my disapproval with their policy in this case?

              What I did was point out the hypocrisy of certain members of the right-wing who seem to exalt Israel, yet support Israel, but decry France and Northern Europe as prime examples of heedless liberalism for government intervention in business.

              If there are members of the left-wing who both excuse this kind of behavior from Israel and demonize European socialism, they have an awful double-standard as well, but I somehow think they're less common.

              by zbbrox on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 08:48:18 AM PDT

              •  Well, I consider it minor league

                As far as we're concerned.  If it was my county, state, nation doing it I'd be up in arms.  But I can't be bothered to fight this one :)  And that goes for France as well.

                Just seems like with liberals sometimes (and I consider myself one on many issues), Israel's faults need a special spotlight because they're mad about Bush's middle east policy.  And you hear things like "take that, conservatives!".  Israel's a pretty liberal country -- too old-fashionedly liberal, economically, in my opinion, as this case shows.  

                The fact that they're under constant assault on most of their borders does cause them to have a very tough view on security.    You know what makes them different from the 'tough guy' conservatives here?  They actually are under threat -- they're not talking about countries halfway across the world, they're talking about 30 minutes drive from their house and nightly rocket attacks.  Much different from the all hat no cattle conservatives you see in the US.

                by unfounded on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 09:00:19 AM PDT

                •  Trust me...

                  ...while I disapprove of this action by Israel, this was actually meant more as a defense of European socialist states who are unfairly attacked by members of the right. As an attack, it's purely directed at those right-wingers who seem to support Israel purely because they view it as a useful tool for sticking it to the rest of the Middle East, not because they have any actual respect for Israel's politics and policies as an independent nation.

                  by zbbrox on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 09:14:23 AM PDT

•  New punch line for an old joke

  
       In chronological order, the punch line has evolved:

       For over a thousand years, Jews had

            (A)  to do their own laundry

            (B)  nothing to eat on Sunday evenings

            (C)  the highest SAT scores

  by garscosi on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 07:14:29 AM PDT

•  Interesting that even a hint of efforts to deport

  illegal aliens here in the U.S. are met with howls of resistance and condemnation - often by Jewish politicians - yet this racist action by the state of Israel is met with nary a peep of protest.

  Double standards.

  by cdhez on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 07:19:51 AM PDT

  •  Often by which jewish politicians?

    You bigot scumbag -- quit blaming jews for the fact that you discovered politics in the last 3 years and think Joe Lieberman's the worst thing going on in the senate

    Oh, and please point me to ANY jewish politician who campaigns prominently on an anti-immigrant platform.

    by unfounded on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 08:12:56 AM PDT

    •  Easy there, cowboy!

      What he said was, "efforts to deport illegal alians... are met with howls of resistance... by Jewish politicians." You got it backwards.

      by klizard on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 08:34:14 AM PDT

      •  My bad,

        Attempts to carry domestic partisan gripes over international boundaries set me off is all.  Rough personal day today as well.

        by unfounded on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 08:43:49 AM PDT

        •  Sorry to hear that. Hope it gets better. n/t

          by klizard on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 12:26:49 PM PDT

          •  thanks n/t

            by unfounded on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 01:01:04 PM PDT

•  Same thing in Arizona!

  They are doing a hiring freeze to check for citizenship papers. It's fucking nuts.

  by Salo on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 07:33:49 AM PDT

•  So, it's Chinese-Jewish jokes you want?

  Yeh, let’s all go to a friendly place where they welcome all the Asian workers they can get – Dubai.  OK, Kuwait.  OK, maybe Saudi Arabia.  Wait, that’s better?

  And because that wasn't marginally offensive to nearly enough nationalities:

      Goldstein and Silverman drop into the
      Golden Dragon for a nosh.  As they’re looking
      over the menu and mentally excluding
      everything extra spicy, Goldstein begins to
      explain how a wonton is actually just an
      emaciated knish developed by Chinese Jews
      during the terrible mid-nineteenth century
      Chinese potato famine.
  "What are you nuts?" says Silverman. There
  aren’t any Chinese Jews.
      "Of course there are Chinese Jews, " Goldman
      insists.
  "Bet you fifty bucks," says Silverman
      "You’re on," says Goldman, "let’s ask the
      waiter."
  The waiter, a gentleman of the Asian-persuasion, comes to take the order, and Silverman explains "We’ve got a bet going, have you got any Chinese Jews?"
      "No Chinese Jews," says the waiter.
  "Really" says Goldman "you don’t have Chinese Jews?"
      "No," insists the waiter.
  "I can’t believe you haven’t got any Chinese Jews," says Goldman incredulously.
      "No got Chinese Jews," says the waiter. "Got grape Jews, orange Jews, pineapple Jews, tomato Jews.... but no Chinese Jews."

           Buddy Hackett
           Eddie Fisher & Buddy Hackett at the
           Palace Theatre, 1967  
           (can’t believe I was there).

  What? A comedian? And he’s Jewish?   You shouldn’t feel obligated but would it hurt to visit "Rosh to Judgment: Ben Stein Explains Bush’s Rosh Hashanah Faux Pas" and other attempts at original alleged Hebraic satire of a political bent?
  Wait.  He’s Jewish?  And a pimp?

  by Roger Burke on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 08:17:36 AM PDT

  •  Silverman, on a round the world tour,

    lands in Hong Kong Friday afternoon. He checks into his hotel, then realizes that for the first time in longer than he can remember, he won't be at Temple to on Friday at sunset.

    A little depressed, he's walking around the incredibly crowded streets, when he hears the Jewish liturgy coming from a little basement window. Peeking in, he sees  little room, filled with Chinese Jews celebrating Shabbat. He finds his way in to the back of the room, and joins in. Okay, the accent is a little different, and the melodies are very different, but, still...

    After the service, he walks up to shake the Rabbi's hand. "Rabbi, it means so much to find you celebrating the Sabbath here..."

    "Really?" the rabbi says, "what's it to you?"

    "Rabbi, you don't understand. My name is Silverman. From New York. I'm Jewish!" says Silverman.

    "Huh." says the rabbi. "That's funny. You don't look Jewish."

    by Jacques on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 10:30:35 AM PDT

    •  P.S. Wantons are not little knishes. They're

      un-kosher kreplach.

      by Jacques on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 10:31:43 AM PDT