Category: politika
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Not normal (part 2)
It’s day 3. When it comes to processing, sometimes it takes a while. I think the closer to home it is, the slower it goes. To put it another way: maybe it’s a bit too twisted that I’m reading the insanity playing out in Iraq in an effort to not read the no-news from back…
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Not normal.
It’s sadly a familiar feeling. Refreshing the news every hour and every hour thinking, ‘fuck.’
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#tomorrow13: The missing demographic; the outsiders left further out
From the first couple hours I spent at the Israeli Presidential Conference on Wednesday, throughout the end of my attendance today, I had a nagging thought I couldn’t shake. Someone was missing. I had the same thought last year, when it was awkwardly clear there were barely any women speaking (though the ones who did…
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#tomorrow13: Guessing at tomorrow – health, terrorism, climate, economy, politics, and of course, Yair Lapid
By far the most engaging panel of the day: Will Tomorrow Be Better? Some great sound bytes in here, and not just because the panel was moderated by Channel One’s Oren Nahari and joined by former newsman Yair Lapid. Note: Some of these excerpts are transcription, some shortened for readability. Israel’s economy: Finance Minister Yair Lapid When…
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#tomorrow13: Bill Clinton on Israel, peace, and how to change Us vs Them
Another year, President Shimon Peres turns 90, and we join together for the fifth Israeli Presidential Conference. I know there’s quite a bit of criticism and controversy when it comes to the event. It comes from a good place but there are also good questions to ask about who isn’t present and what isn’t said. But…
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The outsiders inside
Last week, I was driving through the machsom, or checkpoint, between Beitar Illit and Tzur Hadassah. When I say ‘driving through,’ I mean that literally: I slowed for the speed bumps, waved at the soldiers on duty, and sped up to get home. But not before noticing the driver in front of me, who had…
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On Jews, Jerusalem, Women and Walls
Note: Reflections based on my rare February and March 2013 trips to the Kotel. Based on today’s news, I figured today’s as good as any to post. I’ve been to the Kotel, the Western Wall, way too many times in the past year. Previously, I had a comfortable average of maybe once every two or…
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Yes, I let my kids watch TV.
This is how a recovering poli sci major does parenting. Then the following exchange made me feel dirty: “Who is that man?” “The president of the United States.” “Oh.” “Moshe Rabeinu was the manhig (leader) of Bnei Yisrael, right?” “Right.” “So President Obama is the manhig of America and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu is the…
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Knesset swears in, we watch, we laugh (and we cry)
Figured I’d stream the Knesset swearing-in ceremony while getting actual work done. Someone in this country has to, right? Anyway, during the part of the gathering where the members nominate and vote for the Knesset Speaker, I found a striking resemblance to a certain type of gathering I’ve been a part of many times now… watching…
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I see what you did there, Anwar Sadat…
Oh, you know, just minding my own Zionist business at the IDF museum in מתחם התחנה in Tel Aviv (gorgeous area, go sometime), when in a room about Israel’s generals I notice a photograph symbolizing hope, future, and cold peace… Ho hum, just having a grand time with my ex-arch enemy. What’s that? The pattern…
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“It’s a wonderful country.” Did you vote in Israel today?
On this beautiful Israel election day, in our eretz nehederet, let’s take a moment to appreciate the fact that we get to choose who screws us over. It’s actually amazing. Did you feel it today? Did you feel the country, divided, coming together? Did you feel we were united, at the very least, in feeling…