Some highlights of our final day of the Meretz/Brit Tzedek V’Shalom Israel Symposium
In the morning we visited and spoke with some members of Alon Shvut, a West Bank settlement in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem. Afterwards we were given a tour of the Arab villages and new Jewish settlements/outposts in the region by Hagit Ofran [...]
Archive for the ‘Israel Symposium 2008’ Category
Adding the Goat
Posted in Coexistence, Human Rights, Israel, Israel Symposium 2008, Palestine, Peace, Politics/Middle East on January 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
An Afternoon in Ramallah
Posted in Coexistence, Israel, Israel Symposium 2008, Palestine, Peace, Politics/Middle East, Religion on January 18, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Today was devoted to meetings with various leaders of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. Our group met first with Hanan Ashrawi, the well-known Palestinian leader, negotiator and academic – and currently a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council. (That’s her above, on the right, together with me and fellow trip member Susie Coliver).
Ashrawi greeted us [...]
Where Peace and Politics Collide
Posted in Coexistence, Israel, Israel Symposium 2008, Palestine, Peace, Politics/Middle East, Terrorism on January 16, 2008 | 5 Comments »
Today we spent the entire day at the Knesset, and an incredible day it was. We met with a number of prominent MKs, including opposition leader Bibi Netanyahu and ended up having a nearly one hour meeting with Prime Minister Olmert himself.
As it turned out, this was a politically eventful and important day in [...]
Machsom Watch at Rachel’s Passage
Posted in Coexistence, Human Rights, Israel, Israel Symposium 2008, Palestine, Peace, Politics/Middle East, Terrorism on January 15, 2008 | 4 Comments »
Amazing presentations today – we heard about the latest prospects for peace from Gadi Baltiansky, the Director General of “Education for Peace, Ltd” (the Israeli NGO that actively promotes the Geneva Initiative); during lunch we heard an unflinching and incisive presentation from prominent Ha’aretz columnist Akiva Eldar (his book about the settlers’ movement “Lords of [...]
Life in Limbo Land
Posted in Coexistence, Human Rights, Israel, Israel Symposium 2008, Palestine, Peace, Politics/Middle East, Terrorism on January 14, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Our first stop today was Givat Haviva, the venerable school founded by the Kibbutz Artzi movement. GH is located in the north of Israel, in the middle of Wadi Ara (or the so-called “Little Triangle”) – one of the most densely populated Arab sections in the country. The school is a pioneering institution in the [...]
Borderlines and Ghost Towns
Posted in Coexistence, Human Rights, Israel, Israel Symposium 2008, Palestine, Peace, Politics/Middle East on January 13, 2008 | 6 Comments »
Our first full day of our Meretz-Brit Tzedek Symposium – and it’s been a full day. The morning was spent with a tour of significant areas of East Jerusalem by Danny Seidman, a prominent human rights lawyer who is one of Israel’s foremost experts on the legal ramifications of Jerusalem’s East-West divide. He is also [...]
The Tragedy of a Hardened Heart
Posted in Coexistence, Current Events, Israel, Israel Symposium 2008, Judaism, Palestine, Peace, Politics, Politics/Middle East, Religion, Torah Commentary on January 11, 2008 | 2 Comments »
From this week’s Torah Portion, Parashat Bo:
But God hardened Pharoah’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go (Exodus 10:10)
For many, this teaches a disturbing lesson about the nature of tyranny: Pharaoh’s evil seems to largely result from divine manipulation – he appears more as God’s puppet or plaything than a genuine [...]
Wading Through the Waters
Posted in Coexistence, Israel, Israel Symposium 2008, Palestine, Peace, Politics/Middle East, Torah Commentary on January 20, 2008 | 1 Comment »
From this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Beshallach:
And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon dry ground, and the waters formed a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. (Exodus 14:22)
I’ve always been struck by the dramatic, almost fearful description of the parting of the waters. It’s [...]
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