Middle East

The high crime of discussing peace with israelis

The Gaza Youth Committee’s concept of self-determination was short-circuited by Hamas, which rules Gaza with a tight grip. The decade-old committee has spent the last half of its existence virtually meeting with Israelis in small-scale video chats targeted to develop a new generation of leaders who seek to live in peace. Last week, Hamas pulled the plug when it arrested the committee’s leader and several others who participated in its latest video chat on Zoom, the popular teleconferencing platform, The New York Times reports. [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, Middle East

Idan Raichel’s concert voiced a universal plea 

There is a sense of solidarity when an internationally acclaimed artist shares a living room space with the community at large, and a heightened sense of togetherness when viewers from all over the world take a moment in time to experience a resonant musical event as a people.  Idan Raichel’s “In Your Living Room” Live Concert from his home in Tel Aviv, Israel, continued the new format of live concerts in situ in this time of quarantine.  [Omr Zalmanowitz]

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Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Coronavirus and coalition politics dominate Israeli news

They say it’s like a war, but it isn’t. Our wars are shorter, more dramatic, with something like an end coming after days or weeks. And those running them are more regimented and united. It’s possible to exaggerate, of course. Our wars have their civilian commentators, ranging across the board politically. But nothing like the variety we’re hearing from those talking about Coronavirus. [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]

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Ira Sharkansky, Middle East

In reply to 140 U.S. Jewish leaders

What if American Jews read on the front pages of The New York Times and the Washington Post that Israeli Jews would estrange themselves from American Jews, if the latter chose to vote for a president who was lukewarm on Israel, instead of one who was very pro-Israel? Americans would be piqued that Israelis expected them to vote as if Israel were at the top of their priority list! [Steve Kramer]

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Middle East, Steve Kramer, USA

Author probes ‘desert Islam’ versus its cosmopolitan form

The author was born into a Muslim family living in Canada, so therefore she grew up in a modern, pluralistic and capitalist society while being educated in the tradition of the Muslim religion. In the first part of her book she identifies herself as a lesbian, a journalist and a feminist with an inquirinig mind and openness to interaction with other cultures. She has studied the Koran and the various Muslim texts extensively, and has come to the conclusion that the way the religion is pursued in most Muslim countries today is in fact a travesty and a distortion of its original principles. [Book review by Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle East

Jewish-Muslim partnership flourishes in Morocco

By Nicolas Pantelick MARRAKECH, Moroccoa — Meandering through the dusty foothills of the Moroccan Atlas Mountains, I played an earnest game of speculation. I knew of my destination, its history and constitution, but had yet to see it or feel the restless potential it encapsulated. The gentle hum of the engine, propelling me past the

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International, Jewish History, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Yossef Ben-Meir

Lone soldier from San Diego on patrol near Gaza

  Other items in  today’s column include *Israel Philharmonic teams up in their homes for Pesach melodies *Coronavirus and animals *Passover doings * By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Sometimes in the morning, sometimes at night, Israel Defense Forces Corporal Sagie Shpigelman, 19,  of San Diego patrols Israel’s border with Gaza along with other

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Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Science, Medicine, & Education, The World We Share, Travel and Food, USA

Passover, the pandemic, and globalization

The impact of the pandemic has caused a revolution in how we relate to each other: our main conduit is now the Internet, not personal contact. This year, our Seder will be attended by 15 others on Zoom. It won’t be perfect, there will be glitches, but Michal and I won’t be sitting at the table alone. (Those of you who are alone can make good use of the many websites offering special songs, prayers and more.) The pandemic has brought other, all-encompassing changes. Probably most significant is the apparent demise of globalization, which has been so trendy over the last generation. Right now, most borders worldwide are extremely well guarded, with stringent regulations for non-citizens in effect. [Steve Kramer]

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International, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Steve Kramer, USA

When the Haredim met Humpty Dumpty

Although Haredim, also known as ultra-Orthodox, make up only 12 percent of Israel’s population, the Haredim account for 40 to 60 percent of the coronavirus patients at four major hospitals, hospital officials told Israeli news media. The true dimensions of the epidemic among the Haredim can only be estimated because testing is rare. All of this has occurred under Rabbi Litzman’s watch. And to make the situation even worse, he himself contracted the virus. All of this could have been avoided, had he committed to the same rules of social-distancing he was supposed to have recommended to his communities.[1] [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East