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 [...]
Archive for the ‘Palestine’ Category
Settlements Increase While the Door Closes
Posted in Israel, Palestine, Peace, Politics, Politics/Middle East on August 28, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Your Safety is Continually in My Thoughts…
Posted in Children's Rights, Coexistence, Israel, Palestine, Tisha B'Av, War on August 22, 2008 | No Comments »
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, [...]
Go Peace Team!
Posted in Coexistence, Israel, Palestine, Peace on August 18, 2008 | No Comments »
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 [...]
Comfort in the Wake of Trauma
Posted in Global Activism, Israel, Palestine, Spirituality, Tisha B'Av, War on August 15, 2008 | 1 Comment »
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 [...]
Death of a Palestinian Poet
Posted in Art, Current Events, Israel, Palestine, Politics on August 10, 2008 | 4 Comments »
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 [...]
Brit Tzedek Advocacy on Film!
Posted in Elections 2008, Israel, Palestine, Peace, Politics, Politics/Middle East on July 3, 2008 | No Comments »
Check out the GREAT video documentary of last week’s Brit Tzedek v’Shalom Advocacy effort on Capitol Hill. A highlight: an eloquent analysis of the need for American leadership toward a two-state solution by 14 year old JRC member Kelsey Waxman.
Sulha Peace Project
Posted in Coexistence, Israel, Nonviolence, Orgs You Should Support, Palestine, Peace, Religion on July 3, 2008 | 1 Comment »
If you’ve read this blog for any length of time then you know I like to spotlight important and courageous coexistence efforts in Israel/Palestine. Here’s another I recommend adding to your list of orgs to support: the Sulha Peace Project.
Founded by an Israeli, Gabriel Meyer, and a Palestinian, Elias Jabbour, Sulha sponsors a variety of [...]
Brit Tzedek Hits the Hill
Posted in Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Peace, Politics, Syria on June 25, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Just returned from DC and an invigorating few days with Brit Tzedek v’Shalom’s Advocacy Days on Capitol Hill. Anyone who supports a Pro-Israel, Pro-Peace policy should take heart in knowing that more than 150 activists from all over the country devoted themselves to in-depth briefings and advocacy training before fanning across the Hill to [...]
The Buckling of Spertus
Posted in American Judaism, Art, Israel, Palestine, Politics/Middle East, Zionism on June 22, 2008 | 12 Comments »
Sad news for the Jewish community of Chicago, for Jews everywhere…
“Imaginary Coordinates,” an exhibit at the Spertus Museum has closed down due to pressure from the Jewish United Fund of Greater Chicago. “Coordinates” explored historical maps of Israel/Palestine not simply as navigational devices but as tools that can “manipulate an outcome” and serve as “products [...]
Nation Building and Dispossession
Posted in Human Rights, Israel, Palestine, Religion, Religion/Politics, Torah Commentary, War, Zionism on August 1, 2008 | 4 Comments »
But if you do not dispossess the inhabitants of the land, those whom you allow to remain shall be stings in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harrass you in the land in which you live; so that I will do to you what I planned to do to them. (Numbers [...]
Read Full Post »