tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-309471032024-03-14T01:14:36.482+02:00Dualities | a jaymrosen blogJayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.comBlogger127125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-63240782047794354872011-07-26T21:50:00.001+03:002011-07-26T22:04:06.723+03:00'Black and Jewish:' What Happens When Peoplehood is Shelved'Black and Jewish:' What Happens When Peoplehood is Shelved<br />
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There have been many, many, many satire clips about Jewish life that have become hits, proliferated by Facebook accounts, websites and emails. Once was so offensive that it merited being posted about on <a href="http://dualities.blogspot.com/2010/11/am-i-only-under-50-american-jew-who.html">this blog</a> as well.<br />
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The latest has been gracing my News Feed for some weeks now, and I finally succumbed to watching it. What a mistake. Entitled 'Black and Jewish,' it chronicles two women rapping about their "mixed" identities in a clip that looks like MTV circa 1995, replete with scenes of gangbangers sitting in front of low-income housing spinning dreidels.<br />
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Rolling around in stereotypes from both communities (African-Americans as ghetto dwellers, Jews as talit-wearing Ashkenazim), this might be what its creators had in mind. Profiting off Jewish stereotypes is nothing new in the entertainment business (ever see 'The Nanny,' 'Seinfeld,' 'Mad About You,' and 'Curb Your Enthusiasm?'); furthermore, if this clip gives African-American Jews a sense of pride, then far be it from me to impede on such expressions. <br />
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But if not, why is this clip so popular and so widespread among "white" Jews? I personally believe "white" is a state of mind, something for immigrants to aspire to in the multicultural mess of early 20th century America as a means of obtaining success (I urge you to read "<a href="http://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0oG7lm8CC9O_1oAn.pXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE1NWd0MXZwBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDNARjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA01TWTAwOV8xNjI-/SIG=12kkmqb3m/EXP=1311726876/**http%3a//www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php%3fstoryId=124700316">A History of White People</a>" for more background on this topic). Certainly there's plenty to be said about the racist tinges in this clip, and it should be said, but it detracts from my main point that links this clip with those that have come before and those to surely be produced in the future.<br />
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Call me a 29-year old stick in the mud, but clips like this are the opiate for the masses that satiate the young enough to obfuscate our real needs as the under-50 set: greater and affordable access to meaningful Jewish experiences and literacy, representation in communal and institutional policy-making, an understanding of Jewish identity as one that includes AND transcends Western conceptions of race/culture/history/religion/nationality/language/etc, and working together because of our inherent diversity to tackle the day's greatest challenges.<br />
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THIS is where the discourse of Peoplehood is so important -- so instead of snickering in the audience like tweenagers, we're digesting the tough issues. We're openly acknowledging both the complexities of what it means to be a Jew in the singular and plural, and taking advantage of said complexity to come up with new solutions and strategies.<br />
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David Breakstone recently <a href="http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/peoplehood-vs-zionism/">wrote a response</a> to Misha Galperin's push for Peoplehood, alarmed that Israel is potentially left out of the discourse, thus questioning the legacy of Zionism. Notwithstanding the argument that Zionism never was a mainstream movement, nor is to this day (how many Jews live in the USA?), we can't discuss Israel without the basic conversations of 'Who/What is a Jew' and 'Why Being a Jew is Important,' both of which sorely need to take place. Perhaps that's something that we who grew up in movements/day schools/Israel can't see, but it's there.<br />
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Peoplehood is a nuanced pedagogy for an age where we need nuanced talking points. I'm all for having this kind of dialogue, whether in public or private, in Israel or Diaspora. Just don't dare try to engage me with the request to "Challah Back."Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-50372803864873070702011-07-09T22:11:00.001+03:002011-07-09T22:12:54.159+03:00The Week of Days: BookendsOK, so my last post was a bit audacious in that while I formulated seven different posts about the Week of Days, posting them in a timely fashion proved to be too much.<br />
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Instead, I focus on the first and last days of the Week, as they have different and meaningful lessons (and I want to start blogging forward, and fulfilling my previously posted promise will help). The week starts off with the most challenging day for me, Yom HaShoah veHaGevurah. As a day, it's actually very innovative, as it was instituted at a time in Israeli society where talking about the Shoah was a taboo .It's hard to imagine such a time, as the Holocaust has since then inundated every waking moment of Jewish life. As a child, I had nightmares of SS men storming our apartment building in Upper NW, which I later found out was a common occurrence among others my age.<br />
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There's a lot to say about this day, perhaps why it took so long to publish the first post, so I broke it down into categories of Jay's Issues with Yom HaShoah:<br />
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- Holocaust vs. Shoah: "Holocaust" comes from a Greek derivation meaning a sacrifice which went up in flames, while "Shoah" comes from the Hebrew meaning a catastrophe that suddenly came from out of nowhere. Both have their connotative drawbacks -- the former gives the impression of lambs being led to the slaughter, while the latter gives the impression that 1932 was its inception (and not 1919, or for that matter 1492 or 1099)<br />
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- Never Again: I love the irony of this phrase, as it originated with the black sheep of American Jewish mainstream and became the catchphrase of every youngster this time of year. Along with the next entry, it represents the dumbing down of Jewish identity, where education is supplanted by content-less experiential fluff (as I assume most "young Jews" are neither knowledgeable of its origins nor supportive of said organization and its actions). The latest "X-Men" film (which I so badly want to see) turn the phrase around, literally, making its contextual significance visible for all:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4VC8goX1XL8?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br />
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The other end of the Week of Days is Yom Ha`atzmau't (Independence Day), or more correctly, the consecutive 48 hours of Memorial & Independence Days. In trying to think how to relate to Independence Day this year, I kept thinking about Yom Kippur. For the twice-a-year observing Jew, the cathartic spirit of the day may be lost in the march to services and countdown to lox and bagels. There's a lot in common between the two days, in that they're both day-long periods for an entire nation to reflect on successes and setbacks, and how to move forward. Perhaps I was reading a few relevant bogs, or perhaps the collective unconscious caught up to me; either way, I was in shock to hear the Speaker of the Knesset's speech at the Lighting of the Torches ceremony (at the 20:00 mark, in Hebrew, on YouTube): <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/q5epx_rG08I?rel=0" width="425"></iframe><br />
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I love this ceremony, as it's one of the few moments every year that viscerally separates Diaspora and Israel through pomp and circumstance. But it was the President's speech that was the highlight this year, as he too was thinking about the connection between YK and YHa, as evidenced by his extensive paraphrasing of <span id="goog_840686509"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/">Kol Nidrei<span id="goog_840686510"></span></a>. Rather than talking only about achievements and accolades, he chose to speak of renewal and relevance in a way that gave me chills and made me proud to be living here. Putting into action, of course, is the next and bigger step; but, after all, it's a holiday.Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-67746626917484174982011-05-03T18:13:00.001+03:002011-05-03T18:14:45.668+03:00The Week of the Days: A count-up/down to Israel's Independence DayIt's a busy week in Israel. The Week of the Days has commenced and I'm back in the country after a short, two-continent jaunt.<br />
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The Week of the Days (my own name for this time of year) is a modern addition to the Jewish holiday cycle, which expectantly continues to provide controversy over its content and form. The Days in reference are Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), Yom Hazikaron (Israel's Memorial Day) and Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel's Independence Day). The Week was unofficially inaugurated in 1953, when Yom HaShoah came into existence and two years after Yom Hazikaron was enacted as the day before Yom Haatzmaut.<br />
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I hope to blog each day this week -- an ambitious feat I know, but equally ambitious is this Week, which seeks to encapsulate 140+ years of history and 4,000 years of emotions -- as each of these days redefines time, space, and interpersonal relations between Israeli/Diaspora Jew, Jew/non-Jew Israeli, Diaspora/Homeland and more.<br />
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Keep reading!Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-27482932722129786052011-03-17T01:09:00.003+02:002011-03-17T10:13:57.824+02:00Why Saint Patrick's Day is Good for the JewsWe're loud, assertive, neurotic corned-beef eating hyphenated-Americans. Stereotypes and interfaith relationships abound when discussing Irish Catholics and Jews, and to be sure this post could be comprised only of those common traits to attract a few stragglers to read this blog. And the growing Israeli fascination with Saint Patrick's Day, mainly the imbibing aspect of it, is also enough fill a few lines' worth; but the intermediate identity of this holiday – between its Catholic origins as a Saint Day and an excuse to drink green beer – as an institutionalized ethnic holiday in American culture is the source of inspiration for millions of immigrants and its connection with Jews.<br />
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Few other immigrant populations in the USA endured the same processes of alienation, assimilation and cultural rejuvenation than Jews and Irish Catholics. And few other diasporas created as deep and complicated multi-generational connections with their countries of origin than these two communities. <br />
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Catholics endured ongoing stigmatization, if not outright discrimination, for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries with the brunt of this xenophobia leveled against the Irish. They were quickly stereotyped by the existing Protestant population as backwards and barbaric, with their thick brogues, violent temper and allegiance to the Catholic Church. The first examples of “Black” being used in a derogatory fashion in the USA were not against African slaves, but rather against the Irish. The theories of race, in fashion at the time, denigrated the Irish as sub-human.<br />
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So too did the Jews of Eastern Europe face similar discrimination in their initial absorption into American society, at the hands of both the Protestant population as well as German Jews. The American immigration experience created cultural hybridism, with some traditions being eschewed for fear of their isolating effects; some being relegated to the home or place of worship; and others being invented by said population or by the larger society. Think of foods, music, aesthetics; American culture is a composite of its immigrant populations, ever changing and quickly absorbing new experiences. The Wasabi craze of a few years ago turned into the Sriracha frenzy of today. Anyone in a major metropolitan area has experienced first-hand these hybrid zones of cultural manufacturing, tongue-in-cheekly described in a <a href="http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/rise-of-the-ethnoburbs/?scp=1&sq=ethnoburbs&st=cse">recent post on the New York Times</a>.<br />
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There is no single holiday of the Jews in the American cannon like Saint Patrick’s Day, even with the childhood stories of baseball players refusing to play on Yom Kippur notwithstanding. But Jews, like other immigrant populations, contributed in other ways to American culture; furthermore, perhaps because of Jews’ inherent diversity of self-expression that there is no one, single day which celebrates Jews’ contribution to America like Saint Patrick’s Day has become. <br />
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The connection to one's homeland, while not exclusive no Irish Catholics nor Jews, has been championed by them in ways many other ethnic communities wich they could emulate. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenian_Brotherhood">The Fenian raids</a> against the British in Canada in the mid-19th century are a classic example of using diaspora relaities to further homeland ideals. the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NORAID">NORAID</a> scandal of the 1980's, which inculpated Irish-American elected officials, has parallels with AIPAC and accusations of American Jews spying on behalf of Israel. Ironically, this common connection wth one's homeland (called by Jacob Neusner "enlandisment) was not heralded by the IRA but by the Northern Irish Ulster -- ostensibly, as the former was dependent on money and arms from countries hostile to the UK and thus banded with the growing anti-establishment Left of the Cold War era, whose financer was the USSR and Palestinian opposition groups as the go-between (another example of logistics preceeding ideology comes from the Basque separatist group ETA, who <a href="http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/03/10/3086361/israeli-food-event-in-spain-cancelled-over-terror-threat">boycotted an Israeli food fair</a>).<br />
What was the point of this post's foray into American history, if not to justify my plans (or yours) for imbibing Guinness? To point out the commonalities of Jews with other communities that otherwise get used for more cynical reasons, like non-Jewish support for Israel without reciprocal support of other's homelands (hello, Armenia) or in the course of trying to publicly justify the otherwise personal nature of interfaith relationships, which can potentially help Jew and non-Jew alike in their self-identity development and relationship with their homeland. <br />
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<i><b>Éire go Brách from Jerusalem.</b></i>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-41683143862797590992011-02-26T21:21:00.000+02:002011-02-26T21:21:13.161+02:00Is There Room for Fantasy in Israel?Is there room for fantasy in Israel?<br />
(Attempting to make my way back into the blogosphere by finally publishing a month-old post)<br />
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I went to see ‘<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuwocgoWU7k">Black Swan</a>’ with two close friends, both of whom are native English-speakers. The film was like 'Carrie' and 'The Exorcist,' so naturally I was completely mesmerized. The cinematography gave it that realistic feeling found only in dreams, wherein we’re seeing our own actions, and can even manipulate ourselves physically, but are otherwise externally separated from our bodies.<br />
While the three of us agreed that the movie was brilliant, we couldn’t help but become distracted from quite a few in the audience snickering at times during an otherwise intense film. This was a late showing in Tel Aviv, filled with mainly 20- and 30-somethings. I started explaining this as a defense mechanism in relation to Israeli’s jaded nature, and I found my words fading and failing.<br />
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Why was I trying to justify this kind of behavior?<br />
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To leave the theater meant walking down two flights of stairs, whose walls were covered in an abstract red-and-grey series of geometrics that caused me to say “and now we’re descending into a club.” And sure enough we were, as the exit for the theater was the entrance for a recently-opened club in the basment of a dental college. Bodies pressed up against one another, drinks and cleavage spilling all over the place, music blaring and lights on the verge of inducing fits -- I was ready to leave. In my exhaustion-induced stupor, I saw the lights and wraparound bar as the instruments of self-delusion, to willingly numb ourselves from the realities of the Middle East outside.<br />
At first, I chastised myself for thinking so darkly, so being so jaded. And then I thought, how far is this from actual reality? After all, the movie theater led straight into the club. I personally become engrossed in any film I see, to the extent that my sensory awareness for some time afterwards is linked with the film – I think I’m living the film. <br />
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But are we meant, as Israelis, to quickly snap out of such alternative dimensions? Is there space for fantasy in Israel?<br />
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When I was younger, I used to create stories that stretched on and on, set off by the smallest of observances. Music is a great passion of mine, as it forces me as the listener to come up with the accompanying visual; but film is so wonderfully engrossing that I lament how much I miss it as soon as the credits roll. <br />
I furst noticed this lack of space for fantasy at least year's Jerusalem Film Fesitval, <a href="http://dualities.blogspot.com/2010/07/its-been-more-than-fortnight-since.html">blogged about here</a>, with the premiere screening of "Andante." The film, avant-garde and entirely in Hebrew, disturbed more than a few people as evidenced by their leaving the theater. Several months later, I find myself less and less able to concentrate on such fantasies, becoming easily distracted by ADHD-inducing mechanisms like the “Shuffle” function on the iPod or the “Recommended” section on YouTube, making me feel lazy for not making the concerted effort in my choices for art.<br />
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(I’d also like to think my buying into this mentality is is the reason why this blog hasn’t been updated for a while....)<br />
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Perhaps that’s why I hold out in living in Jerusalem while working in Tel Aviv. The latter is a city, but what it lacks in fantasy is made up for here. For example, a short piece I coined in the heat of last summer:<br />
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<blockquote>"I was once told that there are no ghosts in the Land of Israel, despite inevitable shivers one feels here. Despite the Witch of Endor and Biblical prohibitions that do not deny their existence, some are too weary to admit to strange shifts in the wind at night. <br />
Maybe not ghosts per se, but definitely supernatural events. The torpid quiet of a Shabbat night that for someone like myself, accustomed to an urban aural landscape, already presents itself as a chilling soundtrack. Or the imminent arrival of rain, as the sky turns asphalt to pave the way for clouds and thunder from the North, appropriately personified in ancient mythology as the storm god riding his chariot. The wind whips the trees’ branches into a frenzy, flagellating themselves and any miserable object not having found adequate shelter. Or the suffocating heat of the sharav, that wind-less heat from the East, whose breath is shortened momentarily by hiding in the air-conditioned indoors."</blockquote>Here's to more fantasy and inspiration, speedily in our days.Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-37286308643608909222010-11-01T07:15:00.003+02:002010-11-01T15:38:03.430+02:00Am I the Only Under-50 American Jew Who Didn't Like the AJWS video?Just like how the <a href="http://www.itgetsbetterproject.com/">'It Gets Better'</a> campaign is all about the featured celebrities and not about the still-harassed LGBT teen, the Judd Apatow-produced ad for AJWS is another example of taking a very worthy and important cause and deep-frying it in ego and smothering it with a side of self-congratulatory condescension.<br />
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<object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hQTtMXZs2LA?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hQTtMXZs2LA?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br />
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OK, before I continue on my curmudgeoned rant and in the interest of full disclosure, I did crack up at 4.25 from Brian Williams (I’m a laughing fool for gibberish) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph,_the_Insult_Comic_Dog">Triumph</a> (who sounded eerily like me at a wedding after a few gin & tonics)….only to vomit a bit in my mouth at the last part of 'goyim' cutting their teeth on one of 'our' languages. But it’s a Judd Apatow flick, which I suppose is meant to automatically trigger one’s gag reflex.<br />
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No less important than the argument that such multimedia campaigns satisfy primarily those who appear in them, this is another example of another Jewish organization trying to make itself relevant through online social media/network/blahblahblah to those youngsters among us apparently unable to comprehend the importance of the organizations’ daily mission. Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Tumblr – whatever it takes to get dem youngins’!<br />
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While it’s true that online social networks have the power to make connections between otherwise-distant peoples and resources, and not all online social media users are youngsters (as evidenced by the PS in AJWS’ own campaign to promote its video (*I might be turning 70, but I can tweet with the best of <b>‘em</b>. Follow me: @ruth_messinger, emphasis added) – I cannot help but feel that social media and the under-50 set are inextricably linked in the halls of Jewish organizations, perhaps as a way of keeping us involved enough to forget we’re still not letting you make communal policy decisions.<br />
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Cue the latest example: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=166358540044295">http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=166358540044295</a>. Now my relationship with Jewish conferences is like my relationship with advanced math classes in grade school: I love them but I hate them. I love the euphoria, the optimism, the unending buffets, the unending inspeak with no need for simultaneous translation. All of that is for naught, however, when us youngsters are relegated to the kiddy table like it's one big Passover Seder.<br />
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How long ago was it that conferences were held hostage by youth delegates, demanding at least 25 percent representation on communal organizations' boards? Long enough that those same delegates are now in charge and clearly forgetful from where they came. It's all too easy for organizations to lament youth apathy but all too hard for them to alloacte a perceptange of their lay & professional leadership positions to those under 35 years of age.<br />
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I, like many in my age bracket, am able to comprehend complexity and nuance without the words “boobs” and/or “poop” being used. And I’m able to hold conversations without the use of my two thumbs or 140 characters.<br />
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In other words, it’s the same patronization as usual -- only this time, we're able to see just how many have drunk the Manischewitz in our News Feed.Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-60682164566891589152010-09-28T21:30:00.001+02:002010-09-28T21:30:43.887+02:00Lessons Learned While Traveling Between Three ContinentsLessons Learned While Traveling Between Three Continents:<br />
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-Never pack multivitamins in their original container if their country of production uses a non-Latin alphabet -- not only will they be opened but will spill all over one's suitcase as a result of security agents' ability to open childproof lids and inability to close them.<br />
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-Combining a frequent flyer membership and the evil eye results in at least two seats to oneself on transatlantic flights, as well as the envy of all other passengers. Guard the seats carefully by getting up when everyone's passed out after the "meal."<br />
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-Speaking of which, always order "Vegetarian (Dairy-Free)." It's healthier, identifiable, and reduces looks from suspicious-looking passengers curious as to why one ordered the Kosher meal. Be prepared, however, to explain in the flight attendants' native language, whould they lose your request, why you cannot eat the Halal meal instead.<br />
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-Never order the Halal meal. Serving passengers half a raw jalape<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">ñ</span>o pepper is an airborne disaster waiting to happen that no accompanying packet of fennel seeds can prevent.<br />
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-Almost everything in Spain contains some part of a pig. Even the coffee.<br />
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-One of the greatest museums on The Mall in DC is the Hirshhorn. Not only are the installations spectacular, the museum as a whole has the highest level of tourist repellant.<br />
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-There is a connection between the names of Japanese restaurants in DC and their unintended meanings in Hebrew (examples include Sakana on P Street ("danger" in Hebrew) and <a href="http://eatkushi.tumblr.com/">this one</a> on K Street (the "n word" in Hebrew). Luckily the latter serves a great Negroni.<br />
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-The Starbucks by the 110th Street downtown stop on the Upper West Side serves out sartorial compliments to uncaffeinated customers, leaving them speechless and starting the day on a positive note.<br />
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-The best meals are home-cooked, be it butternut squash mac-and cheese in Midtown, 14 pounds of the best beef brisket ever made in Ohio, or roasted brussel sprouts back home.<br />
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-It's always good to go back to the States for quality time with friends and family. And television.Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-3284900609990400192010-08-23T13:11:00.000+03:002010-08-23T13:11:31.135+03:00I may keep kosher, but I’m in the mood for Frog KebabIn this quasi-semi-weekly news roundup: French tourists, begrudgingly agreeing with Tom Friedman, and getting ready for the next Stateside trip<br />
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~It’s late summer in Israel which means staying indoors with air-conditioning and away from the tourists. I don’t mean Birthright Israel participants, though there were a few close moments where I almost side-checked a few standing idly in the middle of the shuk; no, this time I’m referring to the typical late-summer tourist in Israel – the French Jew. I’m doing my best to be tolerant towards all types, especially being the month before the High Holy Days, but there’s only so much American patience I can muster before hordes of cordovan-skinned screaming parents with equally screaming kids who assume every and any store will haggle over a marked price. My all-time favorite is when, upon breaking their teeth over English, they point to one of their eyes to begin a declarative sentence with “I am looking for....”<br />
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This has nothing to do with the ethnic origins of the majority of the French tourists, nor of being French citizens or Francophones per se; but combining government-mandated vacations with the ongoing Diaspora-Israel conflict leads to a level of self-entitlement that even American Jews couldn’t muster out of embarrassment. <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/the-french-influx-1.309434">This article</a>, besides being written by a Tel Avivcentric writer who clearly hasn’t been witness to the onslaught of the Gallic hordes in Jerusalem, paints these tourists in an unflatteringly positive light. I’m all for Diaspora Jews drawing closer and more complicated ties with Israel and vice versa (a trait long lost on <a href="http://cgis.jpost.com/Blogs/rosner/entry/a_superficial_treatement_of_american">this guy</a>), but acting out the worst of Israeli stereotypes on a minute-by-minute basis in perforated Hebrew or English (or simply speaking in French loudly and slowly) doesn’t bode well for my growing taste for frog kebab.<br />
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~Because enough people haven't weighed in on the Muslim center to be built in lower mnahattan, here comes another voice: The problem with Ground Zero is neither this planned mosque, nor the strip clubs already in existence; it's the fact that nine years later, there is still a huge, gaping hole in the ground. There's been no post-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Suicide_bombing_in_the_Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict">pigua</a> type collective closure, when the sad music on the radio stops, the memorial plaques go up, and stores re-open because we don't surrender to terrorism -- instead we've filled the hole with two wars and a Patriot Act stil in existence. Till then, when the hole's filled with a new building and we're able to think in nuances again, we're gonna have to endure Americans' ongoing love-hate relationship with their own xenophobia & racism, as well as a gluttony of talking heads. Even Tom Friedman, in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/opinion/22friedman.html?_r=1&ref=opinion">his latest Op-Ed</a>, begrudgingly agrees with me to a point. <br />
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I'm back in the States starting Thursday for a four city tour, two weddings, and a long stopover in Madrid, with perhaps some writing in between it all.Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-33297256545454857132010-08-03T23:56:00.000+03:002010-08-03T23:56:55.669+03:00Launch of My Own News Reader RoundupI consume enough news, Op-Eds, style blogs and music to fill my own blog....oh wait, I do have a blog. In the course of job hunting and spilling over with things to say, I present you with the inaugural and semi-weekly roundup of news and homespun commentary. Sarcastic title TBD.<br />
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-<a href="http://www.jta.org/">JTA</a> reports that <a href="http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/08/02/2740309/is-one-state-solution-an-answer-to-greater-israel-dreams">increasing numbers of right-wing MK's are in favor of a one-state solution</a>. Seems to have the same problem of those who say "all of Israel's problems are a result of the Occupation" -- they're completely wrong. It still won't solve increasing racism and inter-ethnic discrimination; leaves Law of Return and democratic representation hanging way too high in the air; doesn't solve increasingly poorer distribution of natural resources (blackout in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rechavia">Rehavia</a>, anyone?); and continues to assume North American Jews will some day make Aliyah en masse to fill the demographic difference, despite the growing existential chasm between Diaspora and Israel. I'm not holding my breath to be back in Tulkarm.<br />
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-<a href="http://twitter.com/jewcymag">Jewcy Magazine</a> tweeted "<a href="http://www.jewcy.com/Jews-Krautrock">A Jew's Primer to Krautrock and Beyond</a>." Maybe it's the 140 characters or the highschool music "been there, heard that" snob in me, but this otherwise-thorough list comes off just as holier-than-thou as this blog post. Not to mention, chances are if you're reading Jewcy and subscribing to their Twitter feed, you probably know the relationship between the genre and David Bowie's "Low" album. If you really want to educate your supposedly xenophobic readership, create a primer for the Arab music they listen to while smoking hookas in East Village bars.<br />
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-It's hot outside, really hot outside, so naturally it's time to let off some steam by<a href="http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3929816,00.html"> trying to provoke an international war</a> (caution -- article is in Hebrew!). While the UN-mandated patrol had the gall not to justify the Lebanese Army's heat-induced first shots, and in the first 12 hours of the event no less, the latter hands-down wins the ongoing debate over the better version of the Mediterranean English hit "Do You Love Me?": <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVoug5oxpgE">The Bendaly Family circa 1978</a> or their neighbor, slightly visible from the coastline, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD59NMC7seI">Sarit Haddad</a>?<br />
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-If you haven't read this <a href="http://statementofprinciplesnya.blogspot.com/">Statement of Principles</a> yet, stop reading this noxious post and read it now. The first Op-Ed I wrote for my highschool newspaper was about the hypocrisy of Jewish students' intolerance towards homosexuals. 13 years later, a must-read breakthrough gets published, in English and Hebrew. I wish I really could back up such a connection, but clearly a lot of time and care went into this declaration and deserves to be praised. Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-9653065789696030032010-07-31T23:00:00.000+03:002010-07-31T23:00:32.095+03:00It’s been more than a fortnight since the World Cup final. The end of the month-long, Guinness-soaked Mundial can only be described time-wise by words like “fortnight,” as it runs so contrary to American culture. My watching cohort were non-American Anglos, so much so the sound of another Yank talking brought on levels of cognitive dissonance I seldom experienced outside switching passports in a European airport. Only a few moments of American interjection stick out – the US team’s Hollywood finish advancement in the group stage, the Germany-England game with an inebriated, 20-something Yank yelling in a fake English accent about the Holocaust, etc. – in a game seldom appreciated outside of expat circles.<br />
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If the World Cup runs contrary to American culture, the Jerusalem Film Festival runs contrary to Israeli culture. A week long event revolving around the city’s Cinematheque, the Festival brings in international actors, films yet to be released in Israel, and an onslaught of style so desperately needed. I managed to get to a total of eight films, largely due to a manageable work schedule and eating pasta to save up the money. What seemed like a challenge of seeing three films in a row in one day turned out to be a source of pleasure, like the first day of classes in a semester at college: three completely different experiences that lit up different parts of my brain. Some of the films were outstanding (the simultaneously funny and chilling "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGk2TojOd-4">Four Lions</a>" and the must-see "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gLq3E4pRuU">No One Knows About Persian Cats</a>"), some made people in the audience leave prematurely ("<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhXxRG9TxJw">Andante</a>," one of the first Israeli surrealist films), some fell short of their real potential ("<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AxtshXZddk">The Golden Pomegranate</a>," with the very odd English-only dialogue) and other were nothing short of the perfectly descriptive 'bleccch' ("<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKd7V7et0Xc">Life During Wartime</a>").<br />
Beyond the individual films, the Festival serves to burn a hole in the increasingly isolationist culture here. As with other aspects of Israeli society, American attitudes are pervasive here – fast-food, individualism, even clothing trends as of late – including the notion that "the rest of the World can go to Hell, we'll be just fine." It's a generalization, for sure, but has some bearing on how we absorb certain trands and eschew others; how entires sectors of society ignore others; and the growing, almost idelogically violent, divide between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-49770831031765414922010-06-07T22:39:00.000+03:002010-06-07T22:39:57.375+03:00A Week in the Gutter: Food Poisoning, Flotillas, and EurovisionThis was a trying week. Leave aside the events surrounding that now-overexposed contraption “flotilla” (I’ll come back to the topic), my sweet comfort snack of late poisoned me. To those English speakers who haven’t heard of a “comfort snack” before (believe me, there’s at least several), it’s one’s comfort food in the form of a snack or anything smaller than a meal (though easily consumed in a similar quantity). Mine of late has been Berman Bakery Cinnamon Rugelach, soft and pliable hand-sized pastries that look more like croissants and taste like serenity.<br />
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It’s a big deal when your comfort snack turns on you. There’s the obvious larger significance of betrayal from an otherwise source of solace; here, I’m too busy with thee genuflecting-inducing, gut-clutching, fever-inducing maleficence of that betrayal to ponder its larger existential dilemmas. To make a graphic story short, I’ve become a mini-expert on where to find the cheapest Gatorade in the city center (the price markup is astounding).<br />
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Back to the flotilla. As one Facebook friend put it so succinctly “I’m getting more updates on the Flotilla from my Facebook newsfeed.” People were posting Left and Right; I got invites to at least five different rallies and fifty different groups; I saw every IDF-released clip at least a dozen times; not to mention the innumerable puns on “flotilla” from a dish in a Mexican restaurant to requisite toilet humor.<br />
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I’ve been thinking about the f-word and how it relates to the annual Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in the shadow of the looming vessels. If you’ve never heard of it, much less seen it before, chances are you’re a full-blooded American. It’s the un-American contest, wherein camp and kitsch are held to such a high esteem no wonder this year was just awful. In the past, the winning songs became pop music standards; nowadays, they grace the pop charts on the Continent for a few weeks, if even that long. There were a few decent performances, but as usual politics determined the winner. <br />
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International relations have affected the scoring of contestants for some time now, in the form of point trading, or cultural affinities, or giving thanks for political/financial help. In this case, the award went to Germany, the newly minted financial savior of Europe and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRgp-7Q4alU">one lame ass song</a>. But the more interesting voting trend was how well Turkey did, coming in 2nd place with a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AphkqiX3NcQ">meh song</a>. Turkey has placed in the Top 10 in the past four years in no small part due to the huge populations of Turkish workers in Europe. No wonder that not only Germany won this year, but <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_in_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest">German voting</a> has given most of its votes to Turkey over the years. <br />
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Turkey has been <a href="http://www.tabletmag.com/news-and-politics/34973/bad-moon-rising/?utm_source=Tablet+Magazine+List&utm_campaign=1506cc8019-6_2_2010&utm_medium=email">playing the field</a> for some time now, trying to be a member of the EU and a friend of Iran. Its current PM is following less in the footsteps of Ataturk, the secular founder of Turkey, and more in those of Ottoman sultans of yore. Look at all the moves the PM has made since taking office -- anti-Semitic programs on TV, striking a deal between Iran and Brazil (home to one of the largest Arab populations outside of the region), the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and the call of a vocal minority to reinstitute the Caliphate (last seated in Istanbul) and the rhetoric over the f-word -- and you have the telltale signs of a scimitar-brandishing, besuited firebrand sitting upon his bureaucratic throne in Ankara. <br />
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Living in a former vilayet of the Empire, I can tell you few things have united Arab and Jew in the past 100 years more than plotting against the Sublime Porte. Watch your doner kababs, Turkey.Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-45597686927789802712010-05-22T23:44:00.000+03:002010-05-22T23:44:58.077+03:00Punk PreppiesThe last week or so was abuzz online with news that <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3891133,00.html">Elvis Costello cancelled</a> his performances in Israel for political reasons. His letter of explanation is still indecipherable to me; he seems trying to capture the “two Jews, three opinions” shtick in his writing style, thus supposedly playing to a sympathetic ear. Instead, he comes off as rambling and almost possessed by some other’s ideologies<br />
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Hard cheese, Mr. Costello. If this was a political protest meant to raise awareness, one could make just as much of a PR stunt by publicly rescinding an offer of an Israeli producer, in front of a bank of journalists or from a Twitter feed, before they invest thousands of dollars into your performance; <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3891292,00.html">instead, he screwed civilians and actual fans</a> who poured out actual money to show their appreciation as opposed to what I can only imagine to be email-sending, eMule downloading quasi-fans more riled by seeing the name Israel alongside a formerly publicity-making entertainer. Caesarea (the venue for his performances) is not Sun City, and punking out like this hardly makes one an activist.<br />
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Regardless, this country’s not big enough for two preppy dressers (AHEM), so it’s all as well Mr. Costello doesn’t show his face here. Next time he punks out like this, I hope the ticket-holders demand a refund from him in person.Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-32526982901914671392010-05-14T01:16:00.000+03:002010-05-14T01:16:25.210+03:00Lazy Bones14 May 2010<br />
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There's plenty to be said about my last trip to the States, not to mention the past two months since I last posted on this blog (two jobs and a thesis, US Customs in Northern Kentucky, being stalked by a pollster, etc.); but for the sake of brevity and some things which cannot be published, invite me for a drink or few and I promise to entertain. <br />
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Since I've tried starting to write this post, I've been thinking about how much in my life and in others' has to remain offline. Not that I'm confirming or denying a secret agent identity that so many assume I carry; but with companies and aggregate search engines collecting any bits of profile info that are out there, supposedly protected or not, the Luddite in me like that offline face-to-face communication still has a role in our day. A new computer program, wonderfully called <a href="http://joindiaspora.com/">diaspora</a>, might soon put an end to all this otherwise much needed self-censorship.<br />
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That being said, there's plenty more to come; My previously promised St. Patrick's Day essay has yet to be finished and I have a new essay topic on the linkage between the Spanish Inquisition and the 1970's British Punk scene; I'm going to start posting my DJ playlists in a tab ingeniously entitled "DJ Playlists" on the right-side of the screen, for those interested; and hopefully this belated post, along with the new multivitamins and extra cup of coffee per day will help shed my routine exhaustion for something more fitting for my age.Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-5764295641586958512010-02-25T23:51:00.000+02:002010-02-25T23:51:53.064+02:00Having quickly broken my promise to blog more, here's a quick recap since the last post:<br />
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-Fulfilled a long-standing dream of DJing. Two sets down, hopefully more to come. Surprise guests, crazy laser-laden dancers, couples making out in dimly-lit corners, undercover female Shin Bet agents flitring with me, lots of compliments...<br />
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-Started to work more regularly at my consulting gig, now hired part-time to open and maintain a website. Lots to say about this amazing project, stay tuned for the site's unveiling!<br />
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-The wettest winter in a decade gave way to the warmest winter in decades, leaving me salivating over all the snow dumped on the East Coast (my offer still stands to import some/all that remains over here). <br />
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-Updating my family tree online has led to new discoveries of distant relatives, including one I've known for several years. Geni.com rocks.<br />
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-Had an anxiety dream about flying to/from the States, which means it must be time for Passover! Back in the States late March-mid-April, including a flight from Israel to Hebron (Kentucky, that is).<br />
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Hoping to keep this blog updated more often, as Facebook and Twitter make my need for nuance intensify.<br />
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Future posts: New job, 3rd DJ set (hopefully), H&M opens in Israel, Why St. Patrick's Day is good for the JewsJayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-8096714670695168632009-12-01T00:47:00.000+02:002009-12-01T00:47:51.396+02:00It’s time for an Israeli Thanksgiving.<br />
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I was thinking of ranting about how Tzabarim/Sabras almost always assume Thanksgiving is a Christian holiday, but playing the embittered Anglo card is getting old. Perhaps this train of thought is induced by one too many forkfuls of turkey and cranberry sauce, or from the separation from family and family (dys)functionality during this time of year. Whatever the reason, I know I’m not the only Anglo nor Sabra who’d be interested in an Israeli version of Thanksgiving.<br />
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(While this post is meant to be written in Hebrew, and will be shortly translated, for the sake of blurring border I’m leaving it in English.)<br />
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As I see it, there are three central themes to Thanksgiving: family/communal gathering, giving thanks in a secular format, and celebrating post-immigration freedom. Each has an aspect in the current roster of Israeli holidays, yet they often appear alone or in pairs.<br />
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A family and/or communal gathering in Israel takes place more often than not, sometimes not even needing the pretext of a holiday to take place. A tiny country plus a weekly holiday (ie Shabbat) make meeting up with loved ones more than easy. While there’s plenty to envy having that kind of nearby familiar comfort (so says the Anglo-Saxon here), is there something lost by being physically so close? <br />
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Having a family/communal-based holiday of giving thanks to all we have, with optional references to a Divine Being, is not present in the Israeli roster of holidays. Shabbat, Pesach, Sukkot, even the High Holidays – these days are all about gratitude, but attempts at changing their natures so as to include Israelis of all backgrounds and beliefs are a long way coming. A very tenuous argument could be made for the Yom HaZikaron/Ha`Atzma’ut 48-hour bloc, but with so many other emotions running through that time period, any Thanksgiving-like reflection often takes place afterwards. Another contender is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigd">Sigd</a>, a holiday recently recognized by the government that was introduced by Ethiopian olim, which refers to the giving of the Torah and longing to return to Jerusalem. While it has religious overtones, and its Ethiopian particularism is often too exotic for many, it gets closer to what Thanksgiving means for many Americans – namely, post-immigration freedom.<br />
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Many Americans have been able to balance their ethnic and national pride without sublimating or elevating one over the other (think St. Patrick’s Day, Columbus Day, Cinco de Mayo, etc.), regardless of the content or expression of that pride. Thanksgiving has been claimed by all Americans as their holiday to retell their story of arrival. Recounting the journey one’s family took to get to the USA not only connects with the popular narrative of the Pilgrims seeking religious freedom, but strengthens one’s life in a country based on ideology like America.<br />
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The fact is that no American has to justify celebrating Thanksgiving to a Sabra, just as no Ethiopian has to justify Sigd or a Moroccan for Mimouna; these are hallmarks of our various identities that in an immigrant state like Israel have a place alongside and/or inherent within a burgeoning and single national culture.<br />
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Again, Yom Ha`Atzma’ut could play this role for all Israelis. I was watching TV at my friends after our annual Thanksgiving dinner in Tel Aviv, with an ad for a documentary about the Exodus 1947 refugee ship. I was too tired to think of it at the time, but this was the perfect parallel to what I am now trying to propose, namely focusing on the people that make up the State of Israel rather than the State as an entity unto itself. <br />
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I'll start thinking about a name for this holiday, as well as its specific observances, but in the meantime here is an approximation of what I'm talking about. It's a clip from Israel's answer to "West Side Story" -- it's old, blunt, and uses a word bordering on the in-PC/racist line, but it hearkens back to a time in Israeli and Jewish history when we were able to celebrate being Jews with Diaspora roots and Israelis simultaneously. The song's entitled "We're All Jews," and the lyrics are about that which unites Jews is stronger than what divides them. Simplistic and perhaps a bit too tribalistic for the Democracy Now fans out there. Warning: for those faint-heated among you, stop the clip at 3.50 lest you be subjected to a choregraphed version of this inter-immigrant lovefest.<br />
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<object height="364" width="445"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nvxgagJ_HvQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nvxgagJ_HvQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-80096122532309426942009-11-12T19:42:00.000+02:002009-11-12T19:42:02.680+02:0012 November 2009<br />
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This week was the annual General Assembly of the United Jewish Communities, now called Jewish Federations of North America. Amidst important and surprisingly relevant plenaries regarding the current financial crisis, Israel-Diaspora relations, and communal engagement came the speech everyone wanted to really hear: PM Netanyahu. Enough of the reports of delegates wanting to hear the new JFNA CEO or the last-minute cancelled President Obama – Bibi is always the crowd maker among North American Jews.<br />
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His speech was so incredibly directed at the heart (and purse) strings of the audience, the more provocative parts of his speech were seldom mentioned in the Israeli media. No, I’m not talking about peace negotiations or a two-state solution; we’re all falling asleep from those headlines.<br />
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Rather, it was two snippets I managed to catch on the streaming webcast on cspan.org. The first was in the framework of decreasing the global thirst for oil, offering Israel’s famous innovations in solar energy and desalinization. While generous of the PM to offer this to the far-flung and malnourished, I was wondering why he can’t offer it to his own constituents <a href="http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1257455213651&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull">back here in Israel</a>. True, Israel has the highest per capita use of home solar water heaters in the world, but this accounts for only 3% of the country’s total energy consumption. Recently, plans to build a massive array of solar panels were scuttled by landowners and private interests, despite being located deep in the Negev Desert; we just love our coal-burning power plants too much to give up precious arid desert.<br />
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The desalinization offer really got me boiling. There’s a oft-told story in public planning courses about how Israel passed on building multiple desalinization plants in the 1970’s because of the perceived costs – refusing to think long-terms brings us to the present day situation of the drought. You’ll almost never see the word “drought” or “famine” appear in English-language news about Israel, despite the dire predictions for this country’s water supply. Citrus groves have been intentionally decimated due to their large water intakes, apple and cherry orchards in the North are routinely uprooted to help falling water levels, and at one point we were supposed to be importing potable water from Turkey. <br />
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Just like I previously wrote about the Israeli industry of exporting outsourced customer service, which we never see here as consumers, the PM’s American-tailored speech proves that as long as we Israelis don’t care about customer service and accountability, the more we are tightening the straps on our own straightjackets.<br />
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The other snippet was the PM welcoming all Jews in the Diaspora, “of all denominations” as potential Israeli citizens with the right to religious belief. Amidst the billowing applause from the audience, over here in Israel we heard the proverbial sound of a turntable needle scratching a vinyl record in midplay. Last time I checked, non-Orthodox institutions did not receive any State funding, while millions of NIS pour into yeshivot and school systems run by the ultra-Orthodox political parties. Shas, the party with whom I mince my words the least currently runs the Interior Ministry which decides, among other things, who is a Jew and who is allowed to stay in this country. Nevermind the outrageous comments from some of this party’s members, who compare Reform Jews to all sorts of animals and co-conspirators with our worst detractors; and forget for the moment the current plans to expel the majority of foreign workers in the country, the majority of whom were issued work visas while Shas ran the Ministry; focus on the notion of Shas carrying out the myth of “Sfardi Tahor” on the entirety of Israel and World Jewry. <br />
“Sfardi tahor,” or “Pure Sephardi,” varies in examples but refers to a difference in those Spanish and Portuguese Jews who fled the Inquisition versushose who converted and secretly practiced their Jewish beliefs. Its historiography is very hard to discover, its usage widespread, and in the hands of The Worldwide Sephardic Association of Torah Keepers (Shas) a moral hypocrisy for the Jewish people. Jews who haven’t practiced Judaism in generations and live in South American and northeastern India are brought here with taxpayer money and made to wear an Ashkenazi or Sephardi kippa, but God Forbid American Reform or Conservative Jews move here en masse and demand space for a synagogue.<br />
Despite those who wallow in the Jews’ historic misery, and who mainly see an otherwise lachrymose Jewish history redeemed through the founding of the State, Jews aren’t defined by blood tests. Or at least, we shouldn’t define ourselves by them, thus negating the millions of Jews of color, Jews by choice, and Jews who have struggled to weigh modernity and tradition through a myriad of paths. <br />
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Probably by now you’ve deciphered how worked-up I got this week at the Jewish World, particularly with Israelis. Thankfully a bit of news from my hometown spread out the insanity. It seems a deer, one of the many which go into mating frenzy this time of year in Rock Creek Park, accidentally jumped into the lions’ den at the National Zoo. The gathering tourists wanted to deer the emerge from the lions’ den like some saintly victim in pre-Christian Rome; us filthy Jews (or at least me and <a href="http://jeffreygoldberg.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/11/nature_erupts_at_national_zoo.php">my philosophic doppelganger Jeffrey Goldberg</a>) wanted the tourists to shut up and let the lions have their Nature-apportioned meal in peace. Thankfully at least one Washingtonian is there to keep the turistas at bay.Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-75664983817145160622009-10-12T02:09:00.002+02:002009-10-12T02:12:15.537+02:0010 October 2009<br /><br />This was a long week. The Jewish holiday season is in many ways more exasperating than the American Christmas season, which should just about be starting. While the buildup to it lasts only a month, it’s comprised of four different holidays, one lasting a full week. Add to this potentially stress-filled time hordes upon hordes of tourists, newly arriving students, itinerant dwellers of luxury apartments and equally anxious Israelis and you got yourselves quite a scene. Even the eastern side of town is relieved by the season being over, as the echoing sound of fireworks has been especially louder in the past day. <br /><br />I ended up having to work extra hours this week, leaving myself prey to all manners of out-of-towners belligerently walking about town, some inebriated by alcohol, others by simply “being here.” While I remember and appreciate that kind of euphoria being in Jerusalem, which in many ways sustains me living in this town as opposed to Tel Aviv, some of these people walking around seem to have gone hypoxic from the altitude change, leaving their brains less oxygenated than normal.<br /><br />Just an illustration of what the autumn can bring to Jerusalem:<br /><br />A trio of black-clad 18-year old American yeshiva girls walk up Rivlin St., a pedestrian street in the city center, saturated with bars serving drunken expat teenagers and the occasional Israeli. One bumps into a yeshiva boy five times her size.<br /><br />Yeshiva Boy: Excuse me (to get her attention)<br />(Yeshiva Girl keeps walking, ignoring YB, stops in her tracks after the bumpand looks right at me)<br />YG: Oh my God, I love what you’re wearing! Are you gay?<br />Me: I don’t think that’s any of your business.<br />YG: But I really love your bowtie!<br />Me: Since when is there a connection between one’s sexuality and how one dresses? That’s a really offensive question. (Walks away)<br />YB (turns around, half-hearing the altercation): Did she bump into you too?<br />Me: She wishes.<br /><br />I’m not sure where that academic response came from, especially when she deserved something far more embarrassing in return. Maybe it’s because of the encounter’s proximity to the previous week’s Yom Kippur; maybe it was pitying this overly-sheltered kid whose left the clutches of Mommy and Daddy for the first time (anyone who equates neckwear with sexual identity deserves, at least, pity); or maybe it was because exhaustion seems to make me less witty (except for my last line in the above script). Frankly, I blame the girl’s parents for raising her to believe such a remark to a complete stranger (or anyone) would be acceptable. Regardless, the drink I was already off to get with a friend gained more saliency after this experience in absurdity. <br /><br />I’ve said before that I find it an odd phenomenon for many of these 18-year olds who come to Jerusalem for a year in yeshiva, as for many of them it’s their first time away from home for an extended period of time. To be plunked down into the already- complicated and challenging situation in Jerusalem makes having one’s first taste of freedom from American suburbia equally challenging. For example, the Middle East is a region where one shows off the actual or perceived wealth of his/her family through one’s clothing – at least this is my theory explaining all the sequined T-shirts, gold-plated jewelry designer labels. While Jerusalem is no exception to this theory, there are limits to the extent of one’s material displays. American teenagers follow these rules by wearing luxury branded clothes all the time (North Face black fleece jackets, Lacoste polo shirts, etc.) but diverge when they dig their heels into the limestone and bust out with their feelings of entitlement: talking loud on their rented cellphones; talking loud and slow to us Israelis to help our comprehension (I love it when they do this with me); asking rhetorical questions aloud, actually intending to be answered by anyone; arguing about the price of everything; bumping into people on the street without apologizing; and all those other actions one doesn’t think of in the suburbs nor when one is supposedly living for the year in Disneyworld. <br /><br />When I see or hear these roving bands of teenagers, I think about what kind of preparations their high schools and families back in the States give them before their flights. I also think about the larger picture, namely what does this say about Diaspora Jewish travel in Israel and relating to Israeli society while here. I’m all for creating a life for myself Here and There, and embracing some aspects of American culture while living here (if not using said aspects to make societal positive change at the same time); but what this annual influx of teenagers suggest is a parallel dimension to daily Israeli Jewish life (as opposed to those ultra-Orthodox who choose not to interact, or Arabs who are largely left out of this kind of interaction) that only entrenches Diasporans and Israelis in their views of each other. <br /><br />On a non-negative note, my iPod seems to sense my mood lately. Long hours at work make the walk home a bit of a challenge, the only source of relief on the way being music. For the last week, almost every day, the shuffle function in the iPod plays either “So What” or “‘Round Midnight” by Miles Davis. A present from my father before one of my flights back to Israel, the two tracks always seem to lift me up long enough to get me home by adding a touch of class to an otherwise long and usually classless day.Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-76292047808035368862009-10-08T23:39:00.003+02:002009-10-08T23:55:11.237+02:0008 October 2009<br /><br />This was a long, hot summer. School, job searching, little money, mosquitoes, thesis-writing, stress-induced stomach issues….little wonder I was rushing to get everything in order when the shared taxi came to collect me at 4am en route to the airport. Not done with the thesis, I needed the break badly. Arriving at the airport exactly three hours ahead of my flight, the scene in the check-in hall made it seem everyone else in the country was equally eager for a break. The place was so packed I had to wait 30 minutes before my flight’s check-in lane was listed. I breezed through security and check-in within 20 minutes, smugly smiled at the fools waiting in line at passport control while I swept through the biometric pass lane, and then spent the rest of the time doing what I do best in airports: convincing myself there are no deals to be had at duty-free after scoping out the merchandise for an hour; using my carry-on as a means of buffering those passenger equally interested in buying the last copy of the newspaper; wondering if anyone is traveling all the was to DC, who are the Americans, and why did he decide to wear THAT on a flight.<br /><br />A loud flight to Paris as befits the end of summer, with families who spent the last few weeks on the beaches of Tel Aviv and Ashdod arguing with anyone non-French now letting their kids even more loose. Four hours of some spoiled girl kicking the back of my seat later, I arrived in gloomy, grey and drizzly Paris. It was heaven. After endless days of blue skies and warmth, I was craving this sight with upmost intensity. Staring at the watercolored windows a smile formed by the occasional sigh, I cared little for the reactions of those sitting nearby. My flight was in the newer of the two parts of Terminal 2E, with better food, shops, and sitting areas. Once able to pry myself from the outside’s grayness, my airport games made their usual shift of focus from Americans to Israelis. Travelling on two passports at all times means a few moments in limbo, usually in Western Europe, when I quickly shuffle the American and Israeli passports among the frequent flyer cards and travel documents, placing the American one with neon security stickers from past EL-AL flights in front. The games change accordingly, from Spot the American to Spot the Israeli, sometimes changing the level of difficulty and sometimes making for an even easier version: Families make for an early dead giveaway, as do oversized clothes and decibel level of one’s speech; poseurs and other pretentious passers-by, like myself, create a sporting challenge.<br /><br />DC was great, only to be slightly eclipsed by a short trip to NYC. Having been away from the city for two years, the blurry first glimpse of the skyline from the Bolt Bus on the NJ Turnpike made me smile uncontrollably. Either the city is Babylon or a potential future home. Either way, it felt great to be back there (despite the gentrification that has turned everyone into a walking spokesman for American Apparel, and the bleachers in Times Square).<br /><br />Ohio, as always, reaffirms how important family becomes while living in such a family-based society. Even for such a short trip, it was calming to be around extended family dynamics.<br /><br />Paris was………mmmm, Paris. I got myself lost for several hours between flights, wandering around on hte perfect overcast day that make Parisians look even better and the surroundings all the more inviting. <br /><br />And then there was the flight back to Israel. Nothing about the flight was particularly eventful, just my landing reception at 12am. After exiting the jetway, one goes up an escalator to be greeted by a poster reading “welcome to Israel” and, on non-EL AL flights, two agents who pick out the shady-looking passengers. Of course one of them picked me.<br /><br />Agent (in Hebrew): Shalom, can I see some identification?<br />I hand him my Israeli passport.<br />Agent: Where are you coming from?<br />Me: Washington via Paris<br />Agent: Are you here for a visit?<br />Me: Nooooo, I live here.<br />Agent hands back passport and looks away.<br /><br />I zip through passport control as I have a biometric pass issued by the Interior Ministry – perhaps the only governmental agency in the entire country who doesn’t think I am either a terrorist or a drug smuggler, as the next scene shows.<br /><br />After getting my bags, I head for the exit which is after customs. A plainclothes officer stops me.<br /><br />Agent (in Hebrew): Shalom, can I see your passport?<br />I hand it to him, trying to remain calm.<br />Agent: We’re looking for drugs.<br />Me: Okayyyyyy….<br />Agent: Do you have any drugs (gives me a look as if to say “C’mon, you know you wanna admit you do.”)<br />No. No!<br />Agent: Not even a little?<br />Me: No (my face filled with indignation, his signal that I am indeed smuggling in several kilos of drugs which I’ve packed right on my clothes).<br />Agent: Put your bags in the X-Ray machine.<br />I do it, he’s already looking for other weary passengers. I leave, feeling smaller than ever before, like some ironic Mark of Cain hovers over my head the moment I'm back in Israel.<br /><br />Israel is a leader in hardware and software development, yet it takes several years for be introduced to the public. Israel has offices that seem to be opening nonstop, all offering positions in customer service representatives; yet customer service is such a low priority among Israeli companies and consumers alike that these already-outsourced jobs are outsourcing a need here. <br /><br />When each agent handed me back my passport, they never said "Thanks," "Sorry," "Have a nice night," Shabbat Shalom" (I landed on a Friday morning) or even "Happy New Year." For a country obssessed with its demographics, who gave out thousands of tax breaks to returning citizens last year and hwo constantly ruffles the feathers of Diaspora Jewry by subtly or bluntly calling for them to move to Israel, this kind of reception home is anything but heart-warming. <br /><br />That being said, it's great to be back.<br /><br />UPDATE: No sooner did I post this that I saw this article on hte Yahoo! homepage: <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091008/ap_on_re_us/us_stop_and_frisk">Police stop more than 1 million people on street</a>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-70429062830567916632009-09-26T21:35:00.001+03:002009-09-26T21:38:50.152+03:0026 September 2009<br /><br />Just got back from the States yesterday, jetlagged as usual from a great trip of seeing friends and family, spending Rosh Hashanah in Cincinnati with relatives (the only way I know how to ring in the New Year), quality TV watching, and a much-needed pilgrimage up to New York after a two-year hiatus. <br /> <br />Wishing you and your family a Happy New Year, and your forgiveness for any wrongdoings I may have commited aagainst you in the past year.<br /> <br />For myself -- after a year of not taking advantage of the time I have to finish my thesis; of not keeping in closer touch with family, friends and colleagues; for letting opportunities slip by; not updating my blog more often; and for being too hard on myself when times got tough -- I'm resolved to a new year of potentials, finishing school, finding meaningful and profitable employment, and celebrating more being here in Israel.<br /> <br />G'mar Hatima Tova<br />JayJayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-46028093457427438942009-07-24T18:39:00.005+03:002009-07-27T22:26:12.099+03:0024 July 2009<br /><br />Two seemingly opposite Jewish events have been in my thoughts lately: Tisha B’Av and weddings.<br /><br />The usual way these two are connected is through the breaking of a glass at the end of the ritual, preceded by the groom reciting “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem…” While inappropriately followed by applause from the audience, the symbolism here is a reminder that the world and we as a people are not complete as we await redemption, even on such a joyous day.<br /><br />In this case, a friend of mine is getting married in several months and are looking for a rabbi. She’s from a family with a converted mother, went through an Orthodox conversion herself, and is being denied the right to be married by several rabbis because her fiancee is a Cohen (Cohens are not supposed to marry converts).<br /><br />While I usually blog this time of year about how much I like Tisha B’Av, I wanted to link the day with something that’s always fascinated me: Cohens. The family name and its derivatives (Kahan, Kogan etc.) refer to those who descend from the Cohanim, the priests who tended to the daily sacrificial rite in the Temples. With their destruction (on Tisha B’Av), their priestly roles have been relegated to certain rituals and traditions. I can remember wondering what was going on when the rabbi would ask the congregation to lower their heads, at the risk of seeing what was happening on the bimah: Men, with their heads covered by their tallit, were reciting the Priestly Blessing while holding both of their hands like the famous hand sign of Mr. Spock. I always wondered if Mr. Spock was allowed to do that on national TV, why were we supposed to not look directly at the guys onstage?<br /><br />Maybe I have an inferiority complex, as I’m considered “just” a commoner Israelite, or maybe the problem is that I think in such terms. Why do we need more boundaries between us Jews when the purpose of Rabbinic Judaism and Hasidism – not to mention Reform and Conservative Judaism as well – is to tear down such boundaries? In the absence of the Temple, whose rebuilding would require a massive physical ritual purification of Jews – not just Cohanim – why should theses title persist to the level they do?<br /><br />Without disrespecting this and other Cohen- related rituals, it seems incredibly out of place in Rabbinic Judaism. The revolution that came with the founding of synagogues was that anyone who learned enough could be considered a community leader, potentially becoming a rabbi. The Pharisees, whose descendants are mainstream Jews, are the ones who outright rebelled against the Cohanim’s authority, claiming become too enmeshed in pomp & circumstance and less in the spiritual welfare of the people.<br /><br />The same seems to be happening to a friend of mine, a tragic and maddening story. God Forbid they should build a Jewish house and family together, countering the rates of intermarriage that these same rabbis will happily rail against; and God Forbid two people so clearly in love with each other should want to marry each other if it risks the groom losing his ancestral title. Since when are rabbis in the business of preventing two Jews from getting married?<br /><br />As always I’m inspired by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, who writes in his <a href="http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1248277874354&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull">weekly commentary </a>on the Torah portion that the longing for the Temple’s rebuilding is also (more so) about building ourselves as the light unto the nations we are charged to be by the prophet Isaiah. Jews haven't been in the business of listening to priests over prophets for a long time, why should we start now?<br /><br />With that, with talk of weddings and to end on a slightly more hopeful note, here's a beautiful video sent to me today which put me in a great mood. Shabbat Shalom.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4-94JhLEiN0&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4-94JhLEiN0&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />UPDATE: After thinking about it over Saturday, I decided to post the letter my friend wrote to explain her situation. It's best in her words, and I'm honored that she'd want it posted on my blog.<br /><br /><em>A seemingly simple question I posed recently to a friend getting married soon. “Who is performing the wedding?” I asked. “Oy, what a question,” she responded. <br />It all started more than 30 years ago, when my friend, we’ll call her B, well it all started when B’s parents, met, fell in love, from two different religio-cultural worlds. B’s father was Jewish; her mother was not. They decided, perhaps foolishly, that two religions and identities were invariably better than one, and that they would allow their children to determine their own identities.<br />Fast forward 15 years. Lo and behold, B did go on her own spiritual-cultural-identity quest as a teenager, embracing her Jewish heritage, upbringing (not to mention her Jewfro and Yiddish inclinations) and at the end of her journey, she embraced traditional Judaism, which eventually concluded in a dip at the mikveh and a certificate confirming her status as a Jewess. She was free to marry and flourish as a full-fledged Jew!<br />But alas, many years later, the foolish decision of her parents crept in to haunt B. She had been warned by rabbis that despite her piece of paper signed by the Orthodox Beit Din guaranteeing her status as a Jew, there were still restrictions: mostly, she could not marry a Cohen, and if she did, he would lose his status as such within the community.<br />But a Cohen is who she fell in love with. And though B warned her Cohen love interest of this potential gliche, he assured her, “it’s not a problem for me or my family! Is that even a rule anymore?”<br />Indeed it is still a rule, a black-and-white, unbending rule according to many. Shortly before B and Cohen became engaged, they started looking for a rabbi who would agree to bless their union. B started with the rabbi who had overseen her conversion process. His response, “I am sure the person you have chosen [as your future spouse] is a very worthy one; good luck.” Next, Cohen reached out to his family rabbi: “My hands are tied; there is nothing I can do.” And so proceeded conversations with another 30 “progressive” Orthodox rabbis, if such a thing really exists.<br />So what happens now?<br />Perhaps the most tragic occurrence to result from this situation is that two passionate, committed, educated Jews have now been turned away from the Jewish community in which they had hoped to raise a family one day. They now question in what kind of Jewish community they belong, and where their children will belong.<br />I know some of you reading this may think, well, according to Halacha (Jewish law), this is a forbidden marriage, so it is the right thing for these rabbis to refuse to marry the two.<br />In B and Cohen’s journey to find a rabbi, they met with many Torah-versed men, learning a great deal about this issue. In fact, one rabbi pointed out that according to some commentaries, B is considered “m’zera yisrael,” or, “of Jewish blood.” The next rabbi they spoke with helped to further this line of thinking, discovering a Tshuva by Rabbi Uziel, the First Chief Sephardi Rabbi of Israel, which stated that the marriage between a Cohen and a giyoret who is m’zera yisrael is indeed permitted since the real problem with a Cohen marrying a giyoret is that a Cohen must marry a woman of Jewish blood. B and Cohen presented this Tshuva to a few rabbis who all commented, “Well, that is interesting! Sorry, still nothing I can do.”<br />If this line of thinking still holds no appeal or credibility for you, I will leave you with a few thoughts to consider. The intermarriage rate in the United State nears 50%, and according to Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, 47% of all identifying Jewish students on North American college campuses have only one parent who is Jewish. So while B and Cohen find themselves without a solution for their upcoming nuptials, and now begin a new Jewish journey together as displaced Jews, I doubt that B and Cohen will be the last young Jewish couple to grapple with this issue. And if the American Modern Orthodox community fails to grapple with the reality of the American Jewish community’s makeup, they will not be the last young couple to find themselves without a Jewish home, at a time when numbers increasingly dwindle.</em>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-81641880908220947962009-07-22T17:52:00.003+03:002009-07-22T21:57:46.357+03:0022 July 2009<br /><br />I went to see the new Harry Potter film last night in Tel <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Aviv</span>. True, the humidity there was so awful that the moment one gets off the bus from Jerusalem all the moisture in one’s skin ends up soaking one’s clothes, but I had to see it. Despite admittedly not having read the books, the movies have progressively addicted me to the series – so much so I invariably watch one of the movies each week.<br /><br />I tend to become engrossed in film criticism and finding symbolism between the frames, but I think the Harry Potter series has something invaluable to teach. The whole series is about a group of humans who are considered different from the rest of humanity. They lead different lives, though otherwise act and look just the same. They invariably fight among one another over who more rightly carries the mantle of tradition and authority, not to mention who truly is part of the community. At the heart of this <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">intra</span>-communal struggle is one wizard who’s left feeling even more isolated from his <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">surroundings</span> because of his disconnected family and people's assumptions about him. Yet in spite of this, he knows he has to carry on his family’s tradition and that of his school’s, ultimately bringing the redemption from the evil lurking all around his loved ones.<br /><br />The idea of Self vs/ Other, fights over authority and tradition, deciding who is included and who isn't....the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">movies</span> are so Jewish that the Hebrew subtitles from the Tel <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Aviv</span> screening were superfluous.<br /><br />An <a href="http://www.jewishjournal.com/hollywoodjew/item/harry_potter_and_the_half-blood_jews_20090715/">article published in the LA Jewish Journal</a>, and carried by <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">Haaretz</span>.com, completely missed this angle and instead focused primarily on the Jewish identity of several actors in the film. While the article starts off talking about the films' <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">dichotomy</span> between full-bloods and half-bloods, that it <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">proceeds</span> to talk about the Jewish "heritage" of the actors makes this <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Jewish</span> geography article out of touch with Jewish heritage itself. The themes prevalent in the series, when connected with <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Jewish</span> identity, have the potential of connecting otherwise disconnected Jews to discussing their identity; instead, it's about who's "out" with their Jewishness, thus more connected with the antagonists' obsession than with the positive messages of the protagonist. As soon as the thesis is done, I'll start reading the books.Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-13601430900448708132009-07-11T23:07:00.003+03:002009-07-11T23:27:59.506+03:00<p class="MsoNormal">11 July 2009</p><p class="MsoNormal">After the incentive of having an out-of-town friend free on a Saturday afternoon, we wandered over to one of the sites of the weekly riots. Ever since Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat decided to emerge from his cloister since being elected in November, his agenda has been primarily occupied by the opening of a parking lot in the center of the city to ease congestion caused by tourists and out-of-towners looking for parking. That this parking lot was to be the municipal lot under City Hall and to be open on Shabbat caused several of the ultra-Orthodox factions to protest. After enough threats, political and physical in nature, caused the mayor to close the lot, a solution was found by having the Supreme Court to issue an injunction to open a private parking lot close to the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Old</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">City</st1:placetype></st1:place>. The protests continue, quickly becoming riots.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">As we got closer to the lot, under the shadow of the Jaffa Gate and the <st1:placetype st="on">Tower</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">David</st1:placename>, the din of the protestors was already echoing through the valleys surrounding the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Old</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">City</st1:placetype></st1:place>. The scene was more comical than incendiary: Crowds of ultra-Orthodox men in their Shabbat garb, bedecked in crème satin robes and topped in sable shtreimels, ebbing and flowing with each pushback from what few policemen were there. Shouts of “SHAAAAAABBESSSSSS!!” bounced from the protestors on the street to their kin cowardly perched above, cheering them on but reluctant to join the spectacle. As they congregated near the parking lot entrance spectators were to be found all over, from tourists busily snapping away with their cameras along with photojournalists; Arab kids, laughing away at the scene while sipping from soda can and performing daredevil feats on their bikes; and Shabbat-observant families trying to reconcile their otherwise-peaceful afternoon walk with the noise of repressed ultra-Orthodox youth whose bottled-up energy manifests itself into shouts of “Nazis!” at police. Their tactic was to lie down in front of passing cars, causing the police to hurriedly drag the protestor to the sidewalk. This would go on for some time, with an occasional escalation like someone standing in front of a bus filled with tourists while another would climb under the bus to disrupt it. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p>It was more sad than anything else, especially after I fixated my then-hypnotized stares at one particular protestor. Fully bedecked in the finest of heat-absorbing garb, the sandy side-locked boy was slowly keeling over from shouting for hours on end. He was more in a trance than I was, yet determined to vent his frustration to whoever would hear it while being surrounded by his community. Here is a boy, who may very well be good at his studies in Yeshiva, but nonetheless due to familiar and communal pressure will remain in Yeshiva and collects welfare checks from the State, instead of making a living from him and his family. His only source of teenage-fueled energy goes into protest like this, lest they be spent in less wholesome way. Once Shabbat ends, the hordes go back to their beighborhoods and light garbage cans on fire, causing extensive damage and whose cleaning is paid for by the municipality (i.e. non-ultra Orthodox taxpayers, as ultra-Orthodox who study in yeshiva get their municipal taxes paid off in full). </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The results of David Ben-Grion's decision at the advent of the State, when he allowed the then-miniscule ultra-Orthodox community to receive welfare and continue studying, ends at the parking lot adjacent to the Old City walls. An impasse for the State, now beholden to their political parties to keep coalition governments stable, and an impasse for Judaism, as these same protestors have a monopoly on the Rabbinate (and thus control over which resturants receive a certificate confirming they're kosher; whose overseas conversion is acceptable; and who gets to marry whom and when). </p><p class="MsoNormal">There's nothing wrong with being ultra-Orthodox, nor is there anything wrong with being ultra-Orthodox and working at the same time (West 47th Street in Manhattan, for example); but this form of ultra-Orthodoxy, and halachic Judaism as well, leaves little over which to celebrate, much less emulate. It's only too ironic that we've just entered the Three Weeks, a period of religious mourning which culminates with the commemoration of the destruction of the First and Second Temples (traditionally destroyed due to senseless hatred among Jews) on that most existential of Jewish days, Tisha B'Av. Albeit a jumbled-up view of Jewish history, my mind invariably has created an image of these protestors knocking down the walls of the Old City, only steps away from City Hall, much like the Babylonians and Romans of long ago. A truly sad occasion for a Jew to have such thoughts of fellow Jews. </p>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-38639883811280509942009-06-16T00:16:00.002+03:002009-06-16T00:27:51.227+03:00<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Ab7EeEvBJKE/Sja8MuLg4MI/AAAAAAAAAEU/1j4oi7vb-Dg/s1600-h/6a00d8341c630a53ef01156fba48ed970c.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347668534289817794" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Ab7EeEvBJKE/Sja8MuLg4MI/AAAAAAAAAEU/1j4oi7vb-Dg/s320/6a00d8341c630a53ef01156fba48ed970c.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>15 June 2009<br /><br />I usually try to find fault with Thomas Friedman op-eds, more than often not skipping over them entirely in favor of the New York Time Style section. The Middle East has been a life-long interest, and while it’s commendable for someone to try and translate what’s going on here for the masses who otherwise don’t care or have the time to learn, I often find his analyses too simplistic and too rosy-eyed (not that there’s anything wrong with being an optimist in the MidEast – hell, how else can one get through the day here?). This past weekend, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/opinion/14friedman.html?em">his column on the recent elections in Lebanon and Iran </a>made me for once resist moving the cursor away and read it. He wrote about the elections that took place in Lebanon and Iran in the past week, highlighting the transparency civilians brought to the whole process – from YouTube clips of political ads to <a href="http://www.sharek961.org/">Twitter alerts </a>on alleged voter fraud – as well as the sprit of change that President Obama has brought to the region.<br /><br />For the past two weeks I’ve been glued to every Lebanese <a href="http://www.naharnet.com/">news outlet</a> and <a href="http://lebelections.blogspot.com/">blog</a> following the elections, not just because the country is the subject of my thesis. It’s a country that has fascinated me for several years, many have tried to argue that an Israel-Lebanon alliance would have the most logical regional partnership, and its multilayer trifle political system makes the sectarian politics of Israel look like store bought pound cake (I’ve been watching a lot of cooking shows on YouTube).<br /><br />In short: there are 128 members of parliament, divided evenly between “Muslims” and “Christians” (before 1990, there were 99 members in a 5:6 ratio). The Muslim camp includes Sunni, Shiite, Druze, and Alawite. The Christian includes Maronite, Greek Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Armenian Catholic, Armenian Apostolic, Protestant, and “Other Christians.” Each sect gets a set amount of seats in the Parliament and a set number of members from Lebanon’s electoral districts. However, just because one a member of a certain sect does not mean one will always have the same political ideology as another member, leading to various political parties on top of the sectarian demands (not to mention family and clan obligations, regional affiliations, and the hovering presence of Iran, Syria and the West).<br /><br />In this election, the parties and sects were split between two camps called “March 8” and “March 14” (one of whose clever ads, above, was featured in bilboards across the country and on various internet sites). After PM Hariri was assassinated in 2005, the country was divided over Syria’s role in the attack: Those who participated in the March 8 rally were (roughly speaking) pro-Syria while those in the March 14 rally were anti-Syria and pro-West. The latter rally, with over a million participants, largely led to Syria’s military withdrawal from Lebanon.<br /><a href="http://www.elections.gov.lb/">March 14 won the Lebanese elections</a>, attributable to at least five different reasons all of which would take several more posts to explain; but saying “they won” is like saying Kadima won the 2009 Israeli Knesset elections. Technically they did, but what matters more is the coalition building that needs to take place to form a stable government. Just as Kadima was unable to form one, March 14 might have to implode in order to form a stable coalition, will most likely have to form a coalition with Hizbullah and possibly continue the policies backed by the other Arab nations that have ironically given more power to Hizbullah. Not much has changed, despite Friedman’s optimism.<br /><br />Yes, I did follow the Twitter updates on the elections and they allowed someone like me, only several hours’ away, to feel in the midst of it all. But the underlying question, like with all uses of Web 2.0 technology, is “What’s next?” Does the constantly updated-nature of this technology lead to action (including, but not limited to voting in elections) or is it providing a sought-after online soapbox for those more comfortable ranting from their homes? Here’s to embracing subtlety when ruminating over trends in the Middle East.<br /><br />I watched PM Netanyahu’s speech on Sunday night via Channel 10’s website, which was also running a Facebook groupchat alongside the video box. There were few noteworthy comments, but I also kept asking “What’s next?” to those users who took the time to watch and respond simultaneously –assuming they were all in their 20’s and 30’s, are they going to relegate politics as their usual pastime or take an active stand in our government?</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-88186679228903374332009-06-03T23:51:00.000+03:002009-06-04T00:02:50.978+03:0003 June 2009<br /><br />So much happens on a day-by-day basis, not just because news from two hours ago is already history in this part of the world, rather because my mind constantly makes multi-chapter stories out of the seemingly smallest of occurrences. Not even obsessive status updates on websites like <a href="http://twitter.com/jaymrosen">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=818841&ref=profile">Facebook</a> can seem to keep up, giving more credence to the fact that time seems to be accelerating.<br /><br />A month ago, I was on my way back from the latest trip to the States. Since then I’ve been sick with what most likely was the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_swine_flu_outbreak">H1NI/swine/Mexico flu </a>(obtained after a day-long layover in Madrid), received money back from the National Insurance Institute, written sizeable chunks for my thesis, and laid the foundations for a much-needed tan.<br /><br />That all being said, and for holding down two jobs and in school, my life feels anything but busy; almost like it’s been in hiatus for the past few years. Not that I haven’t been living, but it’s not quite the same when disposable income and time are personally lacking in the land of one’s dreams. Even my once-hyperactive imagination has been slowing down, satiated by an endless YouTube stream of cooking shows and African-American sitcoms from the 1990’s.<br /><br />I’m back, more focused than ever on being done with school and finding a job, which will hopefully mean more regular updates on this blog (even if they sometimes lack the pithiness I’d like to bring).Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30947103.post-28655688848119558342009-03-20T00:36:00.004+02:002009-03-20T16:58:32.621+02:0020 March 2009<br /><p>I've discovered a new illness affecting many people I know, and probably untold more. After going through senioritis in high school and college, I've moved onto Chulitis. Chulitis (CHOO-lie-tis, "ch" as in the Scottish loch (the usual point of reference for this sound)) is an affliction ("-itis") which magnifies one's existing problems with Israelis and intensifies one's longings for Diaspora ("Chul-," a Hebrew abbreviation for 'outside the country'). Usually occurs within several weeks of a planned trip to Diaspora. For me, nomal symptoms include increased listening to country music, introduction of southern drawl in speech, and complaining more than usual (e.g., "Ugh, does he have to be talking so loud on a cellphone while wearing lime green Crocs and a bright red sarape?!").</p><p>Purim has come and gone, leaving behind a trail of broken beer, bottles, unexploded firecrackers, and one too many cowboy hats. In its immediate wake come the Kosher for Passover makeover in every supermarket. Mine is packed with all the usual culprits and some new ones: Packaged "cakes" and "cookies" that absorb every last drop of saliva in one's mouth; bottles of plam oil so saturated the fat globules are visibly suspended in solution; gefilte fish making their annual pilgrimage out of the dusty corner; sweet chili sauce and soup almonds; and so many other products made kosher only for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitniyot">Kitniyot eaters</a> that the inevitable "Why can't I eat anything here?!" gets shouted in a Long Island accent at least every half-hour. </p>At least twice a day, I pass the Prime Minister's Residence and whatever protest of the day that has set up shop alongside the security gate. The current one has been for the release of Gilad Shalit, now approaching his 1,000th day in HAMAS captivity. The entire scene is bizarre, especially after his family moved into the protest tent. Amidst banner calling for his release, buses of supporters pull up to an otherwise heavily-guarded area with business suit-and-M16-clad guards on patrol. Across the street is a counter-protest tent of the families of terror victims, plastered with placards calling fo no terrorists to be release in exchange for Gilad, understandably empty. Having someone like Gilad's father, often in the media, become the local celebrity is creepy. The discomfort that comes from watching people recognize him on the street and getting stuck behind him on the sidewalk is anything but comparable to what he's suffering, but at least has the capacity to humble the rest of us and remember the freedom we have.<br /><br />That's it for now, have to finish some schoolwork before even thinking about packing for my trip to the States in a week. Campus is redolent of orange blossoms, jasmine, eucalyptus, and energy drinks guzzled down by students who star in their own fashion ads everytime they move and the hordes of Christian pilgrims are going to start rumbling in the streets with the twice-a-year holiday crowd who never fail to constantly speak slowly and loudly in English to anyone who remotely looks local.Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545488049437677178noreply@blogger.com0