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Archive for the ‘Palestine’ Category

Let’s hope Obama won’t be a friend of Israel, writes Gideon Levy in a recent Ha’aretz editorial. Now before you get your knickers in a knot, read on:
When we say that someone is a “friend of Israel” we mean a friend of the occupation, a believer in Israel’s self-armament, a fan of its language of [...]

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Hoping against hope that a McCain administration would take the lead in the Mideast peace process?  Don’t even bother. At a weekend retreat hosted by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, two McCain advisers indicated that a McCain presidency would have more pressing foreign policy matters to attend to.  According to a recent JTA [...]

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The first exhibit of Arab-Israeli art to appear in Israel has just opened at the L.A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art in Jerusalem. Entitled “Correspondence,” it features the art of 13 Arab-Israeli artists who explore the cultural tensions inherent experienced by Palestinian citizens of Israel.
According to the Mayer’s description of the exhibit:
“Correspondence” attempts to reveal [...]

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Today was Rosh Hodesh (the beginning of the month) of Elul: the month of soul introspection that precedes the Jewish New Year. Apropos of the season, I thought I’d share this remarkable new year’s greeting: a clip of the Palestinian partners of the Geneva Initiative wishing their Jewish friends a Shanah [...]

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Abie Nathan has died and the Jewish world has lost a truly original voice for peace.  He was and will remain one of my big, big heroes. Boy do we need him more than ever.
How do I even begin? Born in Persia; grew up in India; volunteers as a fighter pilot during Israel’s 1948 War [...]

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At a Jerusalem press conference in with Condoleeza Rice and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni yesterday, the very first questioner cut right to the chase:
The organization Peace Now reported today that Israeli settlement activity has nearly doubled in the past year, Foreign Minister Livni, how do you reconcile that with your stated goal of trying [...]

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Last week I noted that we are currently in the midst of reading the seven Haftarot of Consolation that follow the Jewish communal mourning of the Tisha B’Av festival. Our prophetic portion this week comes from Isaiah 49:14-51:3 - a prophetic address that begins with these powerful words of comfort:
Can a mother forget her babe, [...]

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Go Peace Team!

More great coexistence news from the sports world: according to a report in Ha’aretz, a “Peace Team ” made up of Israelis and Palestinians are slated to play in the upcoming Australian Football League International Cup. The effort was organized and funded by the Peres Center for Peace and the East Jerusalem-based Al-Quds Association for [...]

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This evening begins Shabbat Nachamu (”The Shabbat of Consolation”), the Sabbath immediately following the festival of Tisha B’Av. Last week we highlighted our collective experience of pain and loss; beginning this week we begin the road to recovery through the consoling themes of the Haftarah portions chanted during the next several Shabbat services. These reminders [...]

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Just read of the death of the prominent Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish in Houston following heart surgery. An incalculable loss for the Palestinian people and the world.
Speaking as an American Jew, Darwish’s poetry gave me an invaluable entry point into the Palestinian cultural soul. I do believe that in addition to his importance as [...]

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