I guess timing is everything. I was in a lousy mood, and then I read
this. I have not felt so frustrated by something I read in a long time. In fact, Schiff in his article repeats the same complaints I read over and over again. Here is
one from Tommy Friedman. The same thing: if only Sharon would stop the settlements, and put forward a peace plan, everything would be dandy. Yeah, right. If only Sharon was Rabin. Well, guess what, we already had Rabin, and look what happened. Anyway, I digress...
The most maddening thing about Schiff's article is that he has to blame someone for the desperate situation Israel finds itself right now, and guess who is to blame? See, the Palestinians cannot be blamed, because they are victims, and also because Arafat has turned them all from peace loving, Kumbaya-singing flower children, into suicidal maniacs. What can you expect from them? Sharon, on the other hand, is a war criminal, everyone knows that, don't they? Yes, he did wise up as he got older, and all that, but still, he only cares about the settlements and greater Israel, and...I digress again.
In the perception of many people, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is a strong leader who is the right person for war-time periods. However, what Israel really needs at the present strategic juncture is a statesman with a vision who will lead the country out of its complex conflict, and not a power-obsessed leader because of whom the national cart is sinking ever deeper into the mire. Israel needs a statesman who will be capable of exploiting new international circumstances to resolve the conflict before the entire Middle East is contaminated with nuclear and biological weapons.
A vision? How about being able to survive? Is Mitzna a man of vision for you? You want a way out? Everyone does, but there isn't one, and you know it, not until after the war in Iraq, and even then it is not going to be a picnic or a walk in the park. "...Because of whom the national cart is sinking..." Mr. Schiff, this is happening because your country is at war, in case you have not noticed, and it is at war not because of Sharon, in case you have forgotten. New international circumstances? What the hell is this guy talking about?
Here we have more of the same, plus the obligatory lip-service: "Arafat is also bad, but not as bad as Sharon", and: "Palestinians are suffering, too, but they are used to it":
During his nearly two years as the country's leader of the country, Sharon has not even neared the status of a statesman who looks beyond war. The result is that under his leadership, Israel is sliding down a steep slope. A similar development has occurred on the Palestinian side, under their leader, PA Chairman Yasser Arafat, but that is no consolation. The downtrodden Palestinians are farther from realizing their national aspirations, but Israel has regressed in almost every sphere, and there is not a glimmer of light on the horizon.
OK, what else is new?
The occupation of the territories and of the Palestinian people - from whom, it is true, the suicide murderers originate - has become more intense and uglier. The same tendency will prevail in the future.
Yep. It's the occupation now, and it was the occupation during Oslo, and in 1964, and in 1936(?), and 1929.
Even when the IDF and the Shin Bet security service achieve a tactical military success, Sharon is incapable of exploiting it for the next step, in the political realm. It is in this context where Sharon's lack of being a statesman-leader is most pronounced. The struggle with the Palestinians has become a war of revenge and prestige, in which the victories on the battlefield slowly dissolve into nothing. On the ground, the settlers are deepening their grip and adding new outposts with a variety of stratagems. Is there anyone who believes that this situation can be dragged out indefinitely?
He lost me here. Is he trying to say that every time we kill or catch a terrorist, we should dismantle a settlement?
The Palestinians are losing more in tactical terms and from the point of view of day-to-day suffering, but in the present state of affairs, Israel is not capable of arriving at a decisive battle against them. The reason is not military, but above all political. Israel is incapable of accumulating more victory points, because it does not have a political initiative beyond the occupation. Hints that Sharon has some sort of political plan to resolve the conflict have turned out to be no more than baubles. His political initiative has not gone beyond the mantra that he is ready for painful concessions (painful for whom?). The Americans, too, are trying in vain to find a political initiative by Sharon.
It looks like Mr. Schiff has missed Bush's June speech. In fact Sharon's tactics, if not strategy, are in full accord with Bush's approach, and that is: the Palestinians get nothing until they straighten out, and stop terrorism. They have not done so yet, as far as I know.
Schiff , like all Israelis, is very frustrated. But most Israelis, unlike Schiff, do not expect their PM to be a magician who is going to pull a rabbit of political "vision" (or, maybe a vision of a rabbit?) out of his sleeve. They vote for Sharon because they know that he is doing the only thing a leader (and any person) is expected to do: the best under the circumstances, the best he can. And they know that he can do, and is doing it better than anyone else. Not perfectly, maybe not even satisfactory, but better.
Israel's first astronaut was a hero back in 1981, too: The Jerusalem Post reports that Israel's first astronaut, mission payload specialist Col. Ilan Ramon, is a career fighter pilot who
bombed the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak in 1981.
IBA radio correspondent in Florida was discussing today yesterday's security measures around Ilan Ramon, and the 180(?) members of his entourage. (BTW, the total number of Ramon's guests was around 300). Ramon's family were staying in a hotel next to the one he was in. Their hotel had no visible security. Ramon's hotel, on the other hand, was full with police throughout the building. All cars entering the parking lot were searched extensively, including sniffing dogs. But people were not searched at all. It is now cold in Orlando, and people are wearing coats. A person could carry weapons or explosives under his coat, and return to his car that was searched earlier.
The Kennedy Space Center was closed to the general public, with F-16s flying overhead, ships and terrain vehicles patrolling the coast, etc. Journalists were admitted to the observation deck, along with families and VIPs. None of the big heavy equipment bags they usually carry with them were searched for items that may have been put in those bags without their knowledge.
And a more benign detail: Israeli VIPs, such as the head of Israel's space agency, were accompanied at all times by two policemen. If they were not, how many people would have been able to recognize them?
Anyway, everything went without incident, thank god. Ilan is up there, and, as someone correctly put it, every Israeli is now up there with him.
Should The Bimah Be In The Center Of The Synagogue? The synagogues in which I grew up had the "bimah" (altar) at the front of the synagogue, in front of the ark (where the Torah is kept). The classic style is to put the bimah in the center of the synagogue, which is the set up in my current shul, Olam Tikvah. Before this, I had only seen it this way in Europe.
Which is the correct positioning?
The Jewish Press looked at
rabbinical interpretations, finding almost all of them coming down in favor of the central location. The only deviation seems to have been granted for small synagogues, but even that raised a furor.
No offense to those more observant than myself... but tough cookies! I'm not going to base my attendence and/or membership in a synagogue on something so trivial and I would be surprised if many others do so either.
Tucoman province of Argentina says no to Jews: Jose Alperovich has the credentials to become the next governor of the province of Tucuman. He is a federal senator, a rising star in the ruling Peronist party and a protege of the current governor.
He is also Jewish. And that, a number of prominent voices here say, disqualifies him from becoming Tucuman's chief executive under Article 80 of the Tucuman Constitution, which says the governor must swear allegiance to “God, the Fatherland and the Christian saints.”
The province, which has 1.2 million inhabitants, is
divided over whether Article 80 should be abolished.
“I never thought, in the 21st century, we’d see something like this,” he said.
It has just occurred to me: people who talk about a Palestinian state in the Bank and Gaza usually argue that it is a way to separate the two people. I am all for separation. Problem is that anyone who looks on a map will see that this solution will not achieve a real separation. this is the major reason why such a state not only is not a viable solution, but a recipe for disaster.
Tal observes how the foreign media in Israel is baffled
by Sharon’s popularity with the Israeli public. But it’s not just the foreign media. Last Sunday on “60 Minutes”, in a segment about Labor’s PM candidate Amram Mitzna, one of Israel’s most prominent journalists, Tom Segev, was just as baffled. I guess the “intellectual elites” are the same everywhere.
Joe Lieberman launches bid for Democratic presidential nomination: Joe wants to be the first Jewish presidential candidate. His likelihood of being the first Jewish president-elect is slim to none. He is considered
moderate by the media, but lefty on most issues by the middle and right-wing. He is too wishy-washy and unreliable to garner respect and votes. As others on this blog discussed earlier, he is so flaky even his attachment to the war on terror is
up for grabs. Of course, his support of it will kill any grassroots swing towards him among the Democratic base.
According to the
JTA, he will also have to compete with the other Democratic candidates for "Jewish" money. And ADL president Abraham Foxman tells
Ha'aretz, "The Jewish community is less ready to accept a Jewish president than the non-Jewish population."
Kesher Talk discussed his candidacy last week:
Josh: "
A Lieberman candidacy",
Howard: "
More on the perils facing a Jewish President of the U.S",
and Rami: "
My 2 cents on Lieberman".
Thanks to Mike for this link - interesting. It is from JP, and it discusses transfer. The interesting part is some info on the population exchanges between Turkey and Greece, and between India and Pakistan. The disappointing part is this (the article is titled "Transfer: Not a Solution"):
Not a viable solution
In view of the conditions presently prevailing in the region, voluntary transfer by mutual consent is not a viable solution in the foreseeable future for several reasons:
1. The Arab states categorically oppose the idea of absorbing the refugees despite the wide spaces of their domain.
2. A considerable number of refugees insist on returning to their ancestral homes, be it in Jaffa, Haifa, Safed or Tiberias.
3. The term "transfer" has acquired a negative connotation and the international community will not support it.
4. It has absolutely no chance of UN support, unlike the Greek-Turkish project which was endorsed by the League of Nations.
5. A vast majority of Israelis reject the idea.
Disappointing, because I was hoping to see some real argument, beside "everyone opposes it". Still, there are points there that I did not specifically address last time I
wrote about it:
1. The Arabs expelled their Jewish populations in 1948. If they are not willing to complete the second half of that "population exchange", will they take those Jews back, and return their property?
2. See 1.
3. I agree that "population exchange" sounds much better. And, international support might be achieved, when the Jews themselves start supporting it.
4. See 3.
5. This is the real problem, and that is what I am trying to change.
6. A point of my own, that few seem to address: everyone seems to be comfortable with transferring Israelis from the Territories, as a necessary condition to a fair settlement of the conflict. Why is that?
Israelis, and Jews in general, need to become more open-minded and creative, when thinking about possible solutions. We have forgotten, that the early Zionists have met with at least as much resistance to the idea of a Jewish state, especially from their fellow Jews. They heard the same arguments that "this" and "that" will not agree. Well, guess what: some agreed, and some did not, and in the end common sense prevailed.
A favorite pastime for Gaza kids: target-shooting. Both the guns and the bullets are plastic (2NIS=about 2 quaters a shot). The target is Sharon (I assume made of paper).
Assad, Syria's president, was supposed to visit Teheran, but that visit was unexpectedly cancelled. He was also supposed to visit Saudi Arabia, but that one seems to be cancelled as well. London's Arabic "alQuds" says that Syria is upset with Iran's stance towards the war in Iraq, and that there are some in Damask that believe Washington and Teheran have made a secret deal on the issue. (IBA radio).
Getting Kosher in D.C.: Thanks to Jack Abramoff, prominent D.C. lobbyist, philanthropist, and Orthodox Jew, we now have two Kosher joints in the city limits.
His two new restaurants — the only kosher deli in Washington and the only kosher fine dining restaurant in town — opened last month, in what the
Forward describes as "another indication of a Jewish renaissance in the nation's capital. The deli, Stacks, has been packed since day one. Last week, diners had to wait 20 minutes for an early lunch table. The upscale restaurant, Archives, which has not been officially inaugurated, will try to elbow itself into the competitive arena of fancy power-restaurants in downtown Washington. Stacks has no competition. It is the only New York-style kosher deli in town, and seems to have little trouble attracting both Jews and non-Jewish pastrami and pickle fans."
Archives is the first upscale kosher restaurant in the District since L'Etoile lost its lease in the spring of 2001, when the hotel in which it was located went out of business. A scaled-down version of the restaurant, DCJCC Cafe, rents space at the District of Columbia Jewish Community Center.
I'm looking forward to trying both these places. I took my interns to the Cafe at the JCC some time ago (one of my interns kept kosher), and the meal was appallingly bad.
Jack Abramoff was a regular at L'Etoile. He missed the restaurant enough that he made it a mission to open his own. He sees both restaurants, which share a kitchen, turning into a hub of Jewish life downtown, with Archives becoming a center of Jewish political power. "Folks from Jewish organizations who need a Jewish restaurant for a power meeting — this is where they will come — and also Jews who are not keeping kosher but want to be with their people, in a Jewish setting," he said.
"The community doesn't have any nice [kosher] restaurants. It's probably the biggest Jewish community in the United States without a nice restaurant," Abramoff told the
Washington Jewish Week.
Libya, savior of human rights, is set to take over as chairman of the U.N. Human Rights Commission next week, further damaging the credibility of the international body from which the United States was ousted two years ago. The HRC's 53 member nations will begin their annual session on Monday by selecting a new chairman. The North African nation, which has one of the world's worst human rights records, is the only candidate for the post.
According to the
Washington Times, the U.S. fought hard to get back onto this committee. Why? When it is led by terrorist nations, what bloody good could it possibly do?
Judge Mishael Cheshin, chair of the Israeli elections commitee, says that the "propaganda law" is outdated and ineffective, and has to be abolished. He compared the politicians to chameleons, in that during pre-election period all they are concerned with are elections. "They even think elections when they kiss their children". Last week Cheshin cut off a TV and radio broadcast of Sharon's speech, in accordance with that same law. Cheshin says that he acted according to the law and would have done so again, and that he regrets the fact that he was not able to cut off the broadcast even earlier. (IBA radio).
A kosher search engine? Now presenting
Koogle and
Jewhoo, the Jewish search engines!
This is a new blog by Martin Kimel, and it promises to be interesting. Mr. Kimel has written for several major publications, including the WSJ and the WP. Also, there is a link to his father's site, dedicated to the Holocaust.
A new era begins on Monday: First of all, please welcome the latest addition to the Kesher Talk team of bloggers, William Leon. William is a research consultant in Washington, D.C. and is a somewhat reform, somewhat conservative Jew (as best as I can tell).
Second, I got a job! As a result of the new job, as of Monday morning, I can't talk about politics or things political on Kesher Talk anymore. So you'll see me doing less blogging overall (I'll have a lot less time), but when you do see me, I'll be focusing mostly on religious matters.
Finally, dear readers, don't let this stop you from checking out Kesher Talk. We have a new email subscription system (found in the margin to your left) to keep you updated on everything here, and there are now 8 of us contributing in one form or another. Not bad, eh?
Should Jews support affirmative action policies: In the 1978
Bakke case before the U.S. Supreme Court, three leading Jewish civil rights groups — the Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Congress and American Jewish Committee — all
filed amicus briefs in support of Allan Bakke, a rejected white applicant who successfully challenged the University of California at Davis medical school's practice of setting aside slots for minority applicants. Other major Jewish organizations that had been notably supportive of affirmative action policies declined to file briefs in the case.
With affirmative action again before the court of last resort, it appears likely that the American Jewish Committee, the National Council of Jewish Women, and the Reform movement
will all side with the University of Michigan law school and undergraduate affirmative action programs now being challenged before the Supreme Court.
The Anti-Defamation League's national director, Abraham Foxman, told the
Forward that his group would "most likely" file a brief in support of the white students challenging the University of Michigan's admissions policies. He said it was "in keeping with his organization's longstanding opposition to racial preferences." While universities have tried to reform their affirmative action policies, in part in response to the issues raised by Jewish groups, Foxman said they have ultimately not been successful in crafting acceptable admissions policies. "From our perspective the principal issue remains the principal issue: that it still uses race," he said. "Regardless of the purpose that one wants to achieve, race is unacceptable as a criterion to get there."
While I generally despise the ADL (see Reason's article on the
anti-defamation industry), I can almost believe Foxman on this. Meaning, I don't believe he is fully committed to the "self-interest" of American Jews, therefore, this may be their honest position. The "self-interest" position is obviously one of opposition to policies which inordinately harm Asians, whites, and Jews. Me, I share the purported ADL position. Affirmative action sucks. Most Jews probably disagree with me. Since most are liberal, they stick to their guns in favor of the policies. C'est la vie.
Big band: If you like this kind of music, grab yourself an MP3 player and download some of the best new sounds from my friend
Christian Josi. He sounds just like Frank Sinatra!
