I never replied to the comments on an older thread from Bravo for liberated day school teacher: “Bacon’s delish” in January, but I intended to and it’s never too late to blog. Isaac congratulated me but brought up that “Judaism is my religious field for reasons that transcend choice.” I disagree. Perhaps the odds are [...]
Archive for February, 2008
Mezuzah-waving treehumpers
Mezuzah-waving treehumpers, n., 1. Jewish environmentalists 2. Affectionate term for Jewish hippies, a constituency comprised largely of Jews who have taken a Hazon bike ride, have taken or know someone who has taken the Adamah Jewish farm fellowship, have taken the Teva Learning Center seminar, have attended two or more retreats at the Isabella Freedman [...]
Feb 21st, 2008 Nomenclature 0 Comments
The big tent
“The big tent” n. 1. Inclusiveness in Jewish political diversity 2. Euphemism used by mainstream Jewish gatekeepers to describe a pluralistic approach which purportedly includes left-wing Jewish streams but all too frequently is a buzzword bandied about but poorly supported when the policy hits reality, such as when progressive Zionists want to bring alternate Israeli [...]
Feb 21st, 2008 Nomenclature 1 Comment
There is no “best for Israel” candidate, says Jewish Week editor-in-chief
A great summary of the ’08 presidential policies on the Middle East by Gary Rosenblatt, editor-in-chief of the NY Jewish Week, the largest Jewish paper in the country: Which brings us, at last, to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain. And while they each have their strengths and weaknesses on a range of domestic [...]
Feb 14th, 2008 General 0 Comments
The opposite of obligatory reading
My father showed me his library, which seemed to me infinite, and he told me to read whatever I wanted, but that if something bored me I should put it down immediately, that is, the opposite of obligatory reading. Reading has to be a happiness, and philosophy gives us happiness, and that is the contemplation [...]
Feb 11th, 2008 Quotations 1 Comment
From Breaking the Silence’s video blog: “It can’t be done differently”
The central message of Breaking the Silence is “it can’t be done differently.” A humane occupation is not possible in the experiences of these soldiers and if someone is committed to the settlement project, wherein a small number of Jews live amidst and must be protected from a greater number of Palestinians, then the result [...]
Feb 11th, 2008 General 0 Comments
On Pain and Blindness
Happiness doesn’t require anything more; it’s an end in itself. Unhappiness has to be transformed into something else; it has to be elevated to beauty. For an artist everything that happens to him has to be clay for his mold, and he must try to feel things this way, even if these gifts might be [...]
Feb 10th, 2008 Quotations 0 Comments
Watching Rambo with two Israeli veterans
After the conclusion of the Breaking the Silence opening event, we celebrated by catching a movie at the theater next door — by watching Rambo, of all films. Mind you, we’re all the same age: 25, 25 and 26. The joke was that after doing so much serious stuff earlier that day, we wanted to [...]
Feb 10th, 2008 General and War 0 Comments
SWKFJM looking for SWKFJF
I couldn’t resist. I had to post this. *KFJ = kung fu Jew
Feb 9th, 2008 Humor and Kung Fu 0 Comments
“PR” is not a Jewish value
It’s not a political value either. But too damn many of Israel’s erstwhile “defenders” have dragged ideology, ethics and self-identity into a stinking pit where “image” replaces morality. Not to mention the odious propping up of an image of Israel that is shallow and untrue. I’m not just talking about the StandWithUs, David Project, or [...]
Feb 8th, 2008 Israel, Musings and Politics 0 Comments