A few days ago a new Google Alert appeared in my incoming email box. As a Freemason who writes on subjects of Freemasonry in the Holy Land, I have ongoing monitoring alerts for whenever Freemasons are mentioned in the context of Israel, Palestine, and the Holyland.
To be clear I don’t get these very often, I found out Israelis in general are not that interested in Freemasonry. To give you an example, I attach a chart from Google Trends showing how many Israelis searched for Hummus vs. Freemasons over the last 5 years using Google.
You can see the numbers are in favor of Hummus, and BTW the situation is not much different in the UK and France. However, over the last 5 years, there have been a few times that the French have been more interested in Freemasonry than in Hummus. [1] [2] [3]
Therefore, I was very interested to see an alert that popped up Indicating that a local website mostly dedicated to the municipal issues of the southern town of Ashdod had begun publishing a series of “articles” about Freemasonry.
Ashdod is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's southern district, it lies on the Mediterranean coast 32 kilometers (20 miles) south of Tel Aviv and 20 km (12 mi) north of Ashkelon. Ashdod's port is the largest in Israel, handling 60% of the country's imported goods. Ashdod has a history spanning approximately 3,700 years since biblical times, it was one of the five principal cities of the Philistines.
Modern Ashdod was established in 1956 near ancient Ashdod on some sand hills, with a land area of approximately 60 square kilometers (23 sq mi). Alongside the port, the city hosts additional national infrastructure, making it an important industrial center. Dr. (MD) Yehiel Lasri has been the mayor of Ashdod since 2008.
Since its establishment, Ashdod has absorbed extensive Jewish immigration worldwide, resulting in one of Israel’s highest percentages of new and diverse immigrants, among them Moroccans, Karaites, and Georgians. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, Ashdod had a population of 226,827 in 2022.
Ashdod has one small masonic lodge in it named HaOgen (Anchor) No. 79, it was established in 1999 under the Grand Lodge of The State of Israel. It works in a very modest room/basement attached to a residential building with a modest wall sign easy to miss at the entrance. From its Facebook website, you can tell it takes pride in many charity works for the general community in Ashdod.[4, p. 128]
Ashdod Hayom (Ashdod Today) calls itself an “Online Newspaper” and claims to have been active since 2016 [5]. The “Newspaper” also claims to have received “recognition by the Israeli Government Press Office,” Its chief Editor and publisher is Tami Avrahami, and the only one mentioned by name in the About section. In a web interview published in another Ashdod web local newspaper, she describes herself as a mother of five and a former IDF city liaison officer (Ktzin Haeir). [6] She mainly writes on local Ashdod internal politics and affairs but also among her articles, you can find Anti Covid immune views. [7]
Tami Avrahami is signed on the series of 18, and still counting, conspiracy-promoting articles that started in5/5/2024 until 20/6/2024 involving Freemasons (but not only) [8] . In the following article, I trace and analyze these publications in an attempt to show how a conspiracy advocator works, then I will discuss motives. I am doing this in the hope that serious freemasons encountering questions about such publications will be more equipped to answer.
As I mentioned the first publication by Tami Avrahami was published May 15th , It had the sensational Heading: “Mystery: Did the Freemasons come to Ashdod?” [9] followed by the even less original sub-heading: “A mystery about which we are still investigating the information that reached the editorial board of `Ashdod Hayom` on the subject: whether the Freemasons also reached the city of Ashdod?”. Later in the article the “editorial board” describes an unusual finding, a statue with the symbols of Freemasons was spotted on the main street of Ashdod. The writer then goes on to explain the Masonic meaning of the Square, Compass, and VSL which she found after “A very short search in Wikipedia”. After which, she promises to elaborate in the upcoming articles and concludes by asking the public for help in spotting other statues in town bearing masonic symbols.
Let's start analyzing the way a conspiracy advocator works by analyzing the heading. “A mystery” suggests something to investigate, strange, and needs taking care of. In essence, there is nothing to investigate here. The Masonic Lodge in Ashdod was consecrated in 1999 hence the masons have been in town for over 24 years. A short search in the National Associations Register website will also reveal that they have been registered as an association since 2002. [10] .
Now let’s discuss the sensational sculpture that popped up on Ashdod's main street with the Freemason's markings. The statue called “Handashya” (Hebrew mispronunciation of Engineering) was unveiled in 2008 (8 years ago) you can see it on Google Maps here https://bit.ly/Ashdod01 .
Again, a short search on YouTube will also reveal 2 clips from the Unveiling ceremony, with the Mayor and Sculptor in attendance. The sculpture indeed displays A Compass but the Goniometer (Not the Square as the ignorant “reporter” writes) and other Drawing tools.
The monument near Ashdod’s Industrial area is a tribute to Arye Arklis, one of the City's first industrialists, who established his factory, one of the first in the city, nearby. In the clip, you can see testimonies of the sculptor (a close friend of Arklis) and the family attesting that the statue is a monument to engineering and education. The sculpture was donated to the city, NOT sold or bought, nor the Sculptor nor the person it was dedicated to were Freemasons.
Next, the writer of the article takes two tactics known by conspiracy advocators. First, she invites the readers to play “Where's Wally?” (“I spy with my little eye”) in searching for “sinister” masonic markings. Enlisting the prepared mind for the cause which is unknown yet. The second one is not revealing any “secret” but rather promises that it will come. Spoiler alert! 18 articles later and no secrets are revealed.
The second article from May 26th is again about another sculpture suspected in freemasonry (it was probably unveiled 1997) it is called (loosely translated) “Ashdod on the Rise”. Here the writer delves into local city politics; the current mayor (and former MP for the right Likud Party) Yechiel Lasri’s local party bears the same name as the sculpture. You can see it here► (https://bit.ly/4cx7nre). This time the writer accuses the sculpture of being a masonic pyramid with a serpent head. This theme of spotting “masonic sculptures” scattered in the city will return in upcoming articles, in neither of them there was no mention of trying to get the mayor’s comment or an attempt to contact the sculptor and get his view. In the paragraph above, the sculptor in the clip admits he has many sculptures across the city. Hence, they may include similar styles and themes. It is worthwhile to note that I tried to contact the city website about the sculpture and got no reply.
A new theme that appears in the 2nd article is one of conspiracy advocates' favorites: “New World Order” )NOW(. There is much to discuss on the subject which is also related to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, this use of “migrated” Nazi propaganda will return in the following articles. Here the writer is trying to link the Freemasons as propagators of the NOW. It also serves as a lead for the next Conspiracy Advocator tool.
The next theme common to conspiracy advocators that appears in the 2nd article and will come back in a few of the next ones, is the unification of conspiracies. The writer of the article manages to mention not less than 4 conspiracy theories suggesting they are related and all propagated by the Freemasons:
· Masonic subconscious messages
· New World Order (political)
· Unifying cryptocurrency
· Forcing LGBT agenda on the public
Stay tuned there are more later on.
The next article► [11] titled: “Testimonies from inside Freemasonry organization flow into the editorial staff of Ashdod Today” continues with this line. Whether a malicious conspiracy advocator or a mind-washed with conspiracy theories, the former seems to me more probable. In this piece of extraordinary journalism, the writer claims that there is another superior organization controlling the Freemasons; through them, it is controlling Ashdod, the State, and the World (In that order). Who is this “Deep Throat” from within Freemasonry? This is not disclosed. It is promised to be revealed again in the next items. The writer now complains about naming one of the squares in the city after the Freemasons. This is indeed true, you can see it here►, However this event was widely published in 2015, by no less than the Grand Lodge on their Facebook page showing pictures of Freemason's dignitaries in full regalia during the unveiling ceremony. [12] [13]
<---Freemason Naming a s Square in Ashdod (GL Facebook)
After that, the writer continues to reveal the existence of a masonic secret language, handshakes, signs, etc. Again no actual names or concrete information is offered to the reader.
In its next greatest masonic Exposé from May 28th the writer reveals to its readers that the town municipal hall is built according to masonic specifications and symbolism [14]. The smoking gun evidence is the existence of Jachin and Boaz at the entrance of Ashdod city hall. I admit that as a Freemason it took me a while to understand what she meant, judge for yourself. [15]
<--- Ashdod Municipality - Wikipedia
I will spare the reader the countless supposably masonic sculptures that the avid reporter located across the city of Ashdod where every triangle is a pyramid and every horizontal is a pillar. Of course, no comment is given from the town spokesmen or the sculptors.
One of the interesting and most defamatory articles published is dated June 2nd, in it, again, unknown politicians and influencers are accused of being under the influence of Freemasons and the superior obscure organization [16]. Of course no mentions of particular names. However, one other theme popular with conspiracy fans rises - Nazis.
The writer writes thus:
"The Nazi enemy of the Jews Eichmann arrived in Israel for his trial and even during his trial, he marks the pyramid with his hands, as you can see in the video below [17] , Is the use of a pyramid symbol in his hands accidental? Is it a coincidence that this Nazi enemy decides to sign it? To whom does he sign this sign?”
The writer's Ignorance is trice fold, for me as a Jew, seeing Jewish people use Nazi acts and gestures to support their claims is just appalling. Nazis actively persecuted the Freemasons and linked them with Jews. They were amongst the loudest claiming that Jews were propagating World Domination by using Freemasonry. Thus blaming Freemasons for being too Jewish, the writer here is accusing Freemasonry of being anti-Jewish. The other demonstration of ignorance is that Eichmann did not leisurely arrive in Israel, he was captured by the Mossad and brought to be trialed.
Nazis were indeed intrigued by the occult and some even pursued studying it but using Nazi’s fabricated propaganda in disguise is simply shameful and proof of the low depth a conspiracy putrescent mind can descend into.
I am not sure whether the next item is more funny or more horrific, in an article dated June 9th the writer finds another “proof” of her masonic conspiracy, she located a distinct masonic symbol adjacent to the mayor's office, the checkered pavement. Of all places of honor, you may ask, where did the mayor choose to place these masonic symbols, the answer is the public lavatories, see image►. I could look at it as a whimsical anecdote but not only the writer is deadly serious, but she goes on to bring up another sighting of the black and white pavement, she now uses an image from a Hamas clip showing Noa Argamani who was kidnapped brutally by Hamas on October 7th and asks: "Coincidentally or not, this is the abducted Noa Argamani while she was in captivity. There, too, at her feet, there is the chess-floor carpet (not exactly typical Arab design). What do we see here?". And I ask Is there no bottom for the moral descent of a conspiracy advocator?
Noa Argamani in Hamas Captivity with Allegedly Masonic carpet at her feet / credit Telegram social networks
The last issue I would like to point out here will demonstrate how being a Freemason is twice as controversial for Jews. History teaches us that Jews struggled to enter masonic lodges and their participation was not taken for granted. Judaism on its part was (some will say still is) alien to strangers. It is not an easy task to convert to Judaism.
One of the painful affairs of Jewish history is the issue of Jacob Frank (note the similar sound franc-maçonnerie) and his sect. Jacob Frank an 18th-century Polish Jewish religious leader, emerged as a prominent figure within Sabbateanism, a Jewish messianic movement. Frank claimed to be the reincarnation of Shabbatai Zevi, the 17th-century self-appointed messiah, his teachings and practices further stirred controversy amidst the Jewish world. Hasidic Judaism, an Eastern European Jewish movement that emerged in the 18th century, stands as a vibrant and distinctive branch of Orthodox Judaism.
It appears there is a growing Hasidic movement in Ashdod and some of the articles and attacks on Freemasons might be a backlash of that struggle for municipal power. In recent years some offshoots of the Hasidic movement were accused and persecuted in courts as being abusive cults. In an article dated June 20th the writer brings up the claim that Freemasons are in league with Nazis and there is a ban over them in the writings of Rabbi Nachman of Breslev or Nachman from Uman (1772 –1810), who was the founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement. It is not clear which of the offshoots of the Hasidic movement the writer is promoting but it is clear from the article that the current Mayor who is a religious Jew and other leaders of religious and parties are not on the side of the Hasidic movement. They are all blamed for being a member of the Freemason sect or cult and among other accusations no less than taking bribes. My comment on that, apart from not supplying any concrete proof or names, is that much of the writing mentioned is later cometary by Rabbi Nachman's successors and not his. Furthermore during the 1980’s there was a government investigation of the Israeli Knesset into dangerous cults the Grand Lodge of the State of Israel fully cooperated with this committee and was not implicated in any accusation of being a dangerous cult If at all.[18, p. 13]
We can go on and on how the writer of Ashdod Hayom continues the blunt lies and false allegations, half-truths, and conjecture. It appears the half-witted minds of people who are drawn to that kind of stuff are not interested in the truth. I am not completely sure if the writer indeed believes what she is writing or just manipulates gullible readers because she can and to what end apart from the obvious, more traffic to the website.
Let me end with this to show how ignorant the writer is, the main boulevard in Ashdod has been named B’eni B’rit Boulevard since 1958. B’eni B’rit is a Jewish pseudo-masonic organization, it was the organization president Philip Klutznick, who headed B'nai B'rith, founded the Ashdod Development Company in the 1950s, together with Oved Ben Ami, to build a plan for the establishment of a new city called Ashdod.[19]
Some notes as I close this article:
The malicious attacks on the Ashdod Lodge continue, I requested several official comments from some involved parties but got no official comments.
I think in general, local lodges are not able or are timid about confronting such matters. We all know how difficult it is to remove defamatory misinformation from social networks. Liable legal actions are time-consuming and can be costly.
I know some Grand-Lodges from time to time take action and react officially.
So is there nothing to do? No.
The first step is awareness.
The second step would be perhaps to create a national or maybe international voluntary cross disciplines body to lead this war - A Masonic Anti-Defamation League!
Brother Moshe Shanon
Bibliography
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