A conversation of sorts, took place tonight between A.B. Yehoshua and Leon Wieseltier, at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington, D.C. Hearing him introduced as “A.B. Yehoshua” grated on my ears a bit. Even when reading his name in English, I always heard it in my head as “Aleph Bet Yehoshua.” I don’t [...]
Archive for the ‘America’ Category
A.B. Yehoshua – Thoughts
Posted in America, Israel, Language, Media, Middle East, Talks on April 20, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Aviv
Posted in America, Israel on April 18, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Spring has returned to the Atlantic seaboard. As usual, it has come too late for my taste. Weekends in April here mean something very different. Outdoor happy hours, beginning on Friday, merging seamlessly into sunny workless days. For yuppies in their mid-20s, an extension of college but without homework, really.
Weekends at home begin on Thursday [...]
Responding to ‘New’ Antisemitism
Posted in America, Israel, Jewish, Media on April 13, 2009 | 7 Comments »
It’s no secret that antisemitism around the world is on an upswing. While the entrenched antisemitism in the Muslim world is disturbing, it is no surprise, and appears to be going nowhere. Over the past few decades, however, it was believed by many that antisemitism in the West was on its way out. From the unbridled [...]
JCC Promoting Antisemitism
Posted in America, DC, Gaza, Media, Ridiculous on March 16, 2009 | 5 Comments »
Antisemitic plays in the guise of legitimate criticism of Israel are nothing new. In 2005, there was the British polemic about the “activist” Rachel Corrie. The most recent of these artistic expressions of racism, Seven Jewish Children, does not even make an honest attempt to mask its antisemitism.
Antisemitism will probably persist as long as the [...]
The Times. Again.
Posted in America, Israel, Media, Middle East, Politics on March 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The NY Times came out today with yet another backwards analysis of the Middle East and what needs to be done. How has the West and the the Obama administration (and the NY Times is a fairly accurate representative of the administration) not yet learned that more often than not that the blind pursuit of [...]
Martin HaMesaper
Posted in America, Gaza, Israel, Middle East, Politics on January 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Those of you who grew up in Israel, might remember a children’s TV show, Yosef HaMespaer, starring a bald, heavyset man who sat on lots of pillows, Alladin style, and told fairytales. I actually don’t remember much of the show itself, but reading Jeffrey Goldberg’s interview with Martin Indyk, I felt like I was reading [...]
How Many?
Posted in America, Elections, Politics on January 21, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Barack Obama is now the President of the United States. No news there. I have no interest in discussing any errors that were or were not made in the oath of office yesterday. I don’t think that is very interesting. What I do find interesting is that in the first few lines of his inaugural [...]
Operation Cast Lead – Jewish World
Posted in America, Gaza, Israel, Jewish, Media, Middle East, Politics on January 13, 2009 | 5 Comments »
Military and political aspects here, international opinion here, etymology of Cast Lead, and first, second, and third parts about the Arab World’s opinion, and the Israeli public’s reaction (at time of writing).
The reaction of the Jewish world in the diaspora to the events in Gaza has been, frankly, highly disappointing. Not extremely surprising, but disappointing [...]
The Value of Birthright?
Posted in America, Israel, Jewish on January 10, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I actually do think that Birthright has had a lot of positive consequences. While I am not aware of any studies on the topic, I do believe that the increase in North American aliyah is, at least somewhat, a result of Birthright. Many aspects of the program, however, remain unexamined. These include the value of [...]
Oy Gevalt, It’s Israel’s Fault
Posted in America, Israel, Politics on November 24, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Condoleezza Rice has apparently understood what has been clear well before her latest whirlwind tour of the Middle East. Namely, that an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal by the end of the year is not possible.
However, Rice does not focus on the real issues preventing peace. She has found yet another way to blame Israel, saying “it [...]
