speaks for itself.
Continue reading...
Sunday, 24 May 2009
Sunday, 19 April 2009
Go west? Settlers who want out of the West Bank
This came out in the Jerusalem Post magazine recently. And who says the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is so intractable... (Words and pictures by yours truly.)
Go west?
3 April 2009
The Nesimi family of Ma'aleh Ephraim, on the border of the Jordan Valley and the Samarian Hills, should be celebrating the arrival of a new child but, instead, the atmosphere in their modest house is one of melancholy. "It's like we're living in a cage," says the grandmother, Shuli, bringing a tray laden with tea, biscuits and dates for the only guests the household has received for some time. The two-month-old baby boy makes the third generation of the family living in their home, and the second to be born and raised there.
Shuli's youngest son is in the army and the eldest lives 40 km. away in Jerusalem. His car sits in their driveway after it was stoned by Arabs nearby. "They don't come here much anymore," says Shuli, who stopped traveling since she finished working as a guide for the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. "Nobody comes to visit us, everyone is scared to come here." Her husband, Yonatan, shares her grim mood. "We're dead people, like the living dead," he says.
The family hopes the new arrival will be the last to grow up in their community. "I would like to raise my children here, with the help of God, but the problem is that the reality just doesn't allow it," explains the new mother, Revital, who believes that 80 percent of her neighbors would move if given the choice. "We want to leave, we just don't have the ability to do so."
Fear of terror attacks and deteriorating economic circumstances are the main triggers driving the Nesimis out of the place they have called home for over two decades. Originally from Ashdod, in 1986 the Nesimis swapped the sand of the Mediterranean beach for that of the desert. And it's not hard to see why. "Look what a beautiful view we have here!" beams their son-in-law Izzy, stretching his arm toward the breathtaking landscape surrounding the house. Taking in the scenery from the balcony, it's hard to disagree. Located on the outermost street of the settlement, their house is separated from the lunar topography of the desert only by the multicolored plastic slides in the adjacent children's playground, the last outpost before the metal fence surrounding the community. No more than a few meters from the Nesimis' doorstep, the desert sands begin, stretching all the way to Jordan.
Like thousands of other Israelis, the Nesimis were lured to the West Bank by the promise of a high quality of life, the chance to own the type of home they couldn't dream of in the crowded center of the country and the opportunity to become latter-day pioneers. Ma'aleh Ephraim sits on the edge of the eastern Samarian slopes, where the green hills abruptly transform into the golden sand of Mount Sartaba, a literal realization of the Zionist ideal of "making the desert bloom."
"The conditions were very good for us and for the children, too, so we came here. The atmosphere was warm, it was great for the children and the schools were on another level," Yonatan remembers fondly. But now the family, and many others like them, is itching to leave their home after their dream turned sour. Click here for full article.
Continue reading...
Go west?
3 April 2009
The Nesimi family of Ma'aleh Ephraim, on the border of the Jordan Valley and the Samarian Hills, should be celebrating the arrival of a new child but, instead, the atmosphere in their modest house is one of melancholy. "It's like we're living in a cage," says the grandmother, Shuli, bringing a tray laden with tea, biscuits and dates for the only guests the household has received for some time. The two-month-old baby boy makes the third generation of the family living in their home, and the second to be born and raised there.
Shuli's youngest son is in the army and the eldest lives 40 km. away in Jerusalem. His car sits in their driveway after it was stoned by Arabs nearby. "They don't come here much anymore," says Shuli, who stopped traveling since she finished working as a guide for the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. "Nobody comes to visit us, everyone is scared to come here." Her husband, Yonatan, shares her grim mood. "We're dead people, like the living dead," he says.
The family hopes the new arrival will be the last to grow up in their community. "I would like to raise my children here, with the help of God, but the problem is that the reality just doesn't allow it," explains the new mother, Revital, who believes that 80 percent of her neighbors would move if given the choice. "We want to leave, we just don't have the ability to do so."
Fear of terror attacks and deteriorating economic circumstances are the main triggers driving the Nesimis out of the place they have called home for over two decades. Originally from Ashdod, in 1986 the Nesimis swapped the sand of the Mediterranean beach for that of the desert. And it's not hard to see why. "Look what a beautiful view we have here!" beams their son-in-law Izzy, stretching his arm toward the breathtaking landscape surrounding the house. Taking in the scenery from the balcony, it's hard to disagree. Located on the outermost street of the settlement, their house is separated from the lunar topography of the desert only by the multicolored plastic slides in the adjacent children's playground, the last outpost before the metal fence surrounding the community. No more than a few meters from the Nesimis' doorstep, the desert sands begin, stretching all the way to Jordan.
Like thousands of other Israelis, the Nesimis were lured to the West Bank by the promise of a high quality of life, the chance to own the type of home they couldn't dream of in the crowded center of the country and the opportunity to become latter-day pioneers. Ma'aleh Ephraim sits on the edge of the eastern Samarian slopes, where the green hills abruptly transform into the golden sand of Mount Sartaba, a literal realization of the Zionist ideal of "making the desert bloom."
"The conditions were very good for us and for the children, too, so we came here. The atmosphere was warm, it was great for the children and the schools were on another level," Yonatan remembers fondly. But now the family, and many others like them, is itching to leave their home after their dream turned sour. Click here for full article.
Continue reading...
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Museum of Tolerance finally on its way to Jerusalem
Check my latest in the Jerusalem Post below. On the paper's website, even the most vaguely left-of-centre articles receive dozens of talkback comments echoing well-worn right-wing clichés. But not so for this one. Whatever you think about the Museum of Tolerance's impact on Jewish-Arab relations, there's one thing people agree on: the architecture sucks.
Mamilla in pictures:
Mamilla in pictures:
Yesterday
Today
Tomorrow...?
A not-so-tolerant wait More about the museum from the Israel-Palestine Center for Research and Information and the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Mamilla. Where is that exactly? Is it somewhere by the luxury shopping mall, the ghost town of empty apartments owned by North American Jews, near the Muslim cemetery, or perhaps somewhere in between?
In fact, it's all of the above.
Geographically, Mamilla runs westward from the Old City's Jaffa Gate, through to Independence Park and Rehov Hillel in the "new city." But the formerly mixed Jewish-Arab business district represents a microcosm of many of the changes that Jerusalem has undergone in the last century. Photographs from the 19th century display a radically different landscape: The Herodian-era Mamilla Pool half filled with water, surrounded by gravestones on the bare ground stretching to the Old City. The view of the ancient city walls, just 10 minutes away by foot, has long been obscured by roads, shops and offices, including the United States Consulate on the opposite side of Rehov Agron. The moss-encrusted stones of the dilapidated tombs, most of which are crumbling from erosion by the elements or neglect, mark the spot where the district ends and Mamilla's newest, not to mention most controversial, arrival begins: the Center for Human Dignity - Museum of Tolerance.
After a decade of searching for a site, let alone three years of being held up at the High Court of Justice following objections by Jewish and Muslim activists, construction has finally got under way on the $250 million project. The Museum of Tolerance has already hit the headlines due to the bitter controversy surrounding it, stirring anger for being built on part of the Muslim cemetery; but much less is known about the content of the museum or its potential impact on the economy and aesthetics of this historic Jerusalem district.
Now that the green light has finally been given, the initiators of the museum - the US-based Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) - hope that the project will be a component of the much-lauded rejuvenation of downtown Jerusalem. Local businesses, however, are less optimistic and are more concerned that yet another building site on their doorstep will add to the disruption caused by the light rail project and the global economic downturn. One thing that remains certain is that, despite having lost the legal battle, opponents of the controversial building still remain determined to fight it to the bitter end.
The Museum of Tolerance represents one of the biggest physical transformations that central Jerusalem has experienced in recent years, second only to the beleaguered light rail. Designed by Frank Gehry, the renowned architect behind the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Jerusalem museum will consist of an inorganic assembly of abstract blue and silver discs and rectangular structures, towering over the 19th-century architecture of the adjacent Nahalat Shiva quarter.
Read the full article here.
Sunday, 11 January 2009
The Gaza War? It’s all just a hoax...
So, it didn’t come as a huge surprise that the email (below) that I and thousands of other UK Jews received yesterday, apparently from the Board of Deputies of British Jews notifying the cancellation of today’s pro-Israel rally in London, was – after all – just a hoax. Of course, the rally went ahead as scheduled where top BoD, Henry Grunwald, told it like it is:
Oh well, maybe next time.
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Board of Deputies
Sent: Friday, 9 January, 2009 19:01:13
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Board of Deputies of British Jews Cancels Sunday's Solidarity Rally
The Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council, in consultation with a coalition of prominent organisations in the Anglo-Jewish community, have decided to cancel the planned Israel Solidarity Rally, due to occur on Sunday 11th of January.
This decision has been taken after intense discussions within the community, due to a feeling that such a demonstration would not be in accordance with the Board's wish to bring the conflict to an immediate conclusion. It was thought that the demonstration might be perceived as the community taking one side in the tragic war in Gaza and Israel, and might be seen as supporting Israel's military campaign.
The Board calls for an immediate ceasefire, immediate negotiations between Israel and Hamas, and for lifting the economic blockade of Gaza, in order to allow the Gazan and Israeli people to live together in peace. There is no military solution, only a political one.
The Jewish community does not wish to be seen as a participant in the conflict, and in taking this stand we hope to be a part of the solution. The Board stands in solidarity with the besieged and injured people of Gaza, as well as the victims of terrorism in Israel, and we oppose all violence as contrary to the tenets of the Jewish religion. We would like to reach out to the British Muslim community, as well as those of no religion who have demonstrated against Israel's military campaign-we share your anguish at the destruction and loss of life caused, and hope that our action in calling off our demonstration will be a small step towards peace.
Board of Deputies of British Jews and The Jewish Leadership Council
"The atmosphere on the streets of London has been very unpleasant in the last two days, we felt it important to reclaim the public space and make our voices heard. Why have we turned up in such large numbers? We are here because we believe in peace, because we believe in life, and because we want peace in life. We want the people of Israel to have peace, and the people of Gaza to have peace."I guess the text message that arrived on my mobile this afternoon from Khaled Meshal stating, “Hamas declares a complete and unilateral ceasefire, wishes to advance negotiations towards a two-state solution and, as a gesture of goodwill to our neighbours, will shoot our remaining rockets into the Mediterranean instead of at Israeli towns,“ was also less than bona fide.
Oh well, maybe next time.
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Board of Deputies
Sent: Friday, 9 January, 2009 19:01:13
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Board of Deputies of British Jews Cancels Sunday's Solidarity Rally
The Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council, in consultation with a coalition of prominent organisations in the Anglo-Jewish community, have decided to cancel the planned Israel Solidarity Rally, due to occur on Sunday 11th of January.
This decision has been taken after intense discussions within the community, due to a feeling that such a demonstration would not be in accordance with the Board's wish to bring the conflict to an immediate conclusion. It was thought that the demonstration might be perceived as the community taking one side in the tragic war in Gaza and Israel, and might be seen as supporting Israel's military campaign.
The Board calls for an immediate ceasefire, immediate negotiations between Israel and Hamas, and for lifting the economic blockade of Gaza, in order to allow the Gazan and Israeli people to live together in peace. There is no military solution, only a political one.
The Jewish community does not wish to be seen as a participant in the conflict, and in taking this stand we hope to be a part of the solution. The Board stands in solidarity with the besieged and injured people of Gaza, as well as the victims of terrorism in Israel, and we oppose all violence as contrary to the tenets of the Jewish religion. We would like to reach out to the British Muslim community, as well as those of no religion who have demonstrated against Israel's military campaign-we share your anguish at the destruction and loss of life caused, and hope that our action in calling off our demonstration will be a small step towards peace.
Board of Deputies of British Jews and The Jewish Leadership Council
Tuesday, 6 January 2009
Breaking news from Gaza...
Big shouts to FalseDichotomies for this report from the frontline...
In a carefully worded statement released on the eighth day of Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s security cabinet confirmed that it would be “running down” the offensive, in a move widely-expected after high-level diplomatic calls for a ceasefire on Friday. Addressing a news conference in Tel Aviv, a shaken-looking Ehud Barak – Israel’s defence minister – later explained the decision, singling out Annie Lennox’s call for a hiatus in the bombing as “the final nail in the coffin”.
“Whilst we are not keen to be seen to kowtow to demands from the outside world, there are occasions when we have to acknowledge where the protests are emanating from, and the impact of their words on future negotiations”, he said. “Annie Lennox has, for a long time now, been a major behind-the-scenes player in the Middle East peace process, and is fast becoming a significant actor in political circles”, he continued. “For her to break cover and go public with her petition was not something we [the government] felt we could ignore, hence our decision to bring an end to Cast Lead”.Read the dramatic conclusion here. Continue reading...
Scenes of jubilation in Gaza greeted the Israeli announcement, with Hamas immediately declaring Lennox a “living shaheed”, urging all the group’s supporters to purchase as much of Lennox’s back catalogue as possible, in order to demonstrate their commitment to the cause. “And not just the early stuff, either”, boomed Hamas musical attaché Mahmoud Al-Suwani from a hastily-assembled stage in a crowded Gaza square. “Her solo albums also deserve to be recognised by the united Palestinian people. Particularly ‘Medusa’, which – despite being comprised of cover songs – still ranks up there with anything the Eurythmics released beforehand”.
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
Jerusalem. Where voter apathy reigns no more...
Quality over quantity is something I've always believed in - but I might have to eat my words on 11 November. I should be relishing the first opportunity cast my ballot in the MiddleEastsonlydemocracy, but a little more choice among candidates running for mayor of Jerusalem wouldn't go amiss...
First up, a haredi Santa Claus (with experience)...
A benevolent Russian oligarch and part-time illegal weapons smuggler (allegedly)...
And currently in the lead, a right-wing extremist dressed in a moderate-secular clothing...
...but wait, too many Jerusalemites have forgotten that there is a fourth candidate (Green Leaf party) hoping to lead our eternalundividedholycapitalcity to a brighter future:
Continue reading...
First up, a haredi Santa Claus (with experience)...
A benevolent Russian oligarch and part-time illegal weapons smuggler (allegedly)...
And currently in the lead, a right-wing extremist dressed in a moderate-secular clothing...
...but wait, too many Jerusalemites have forgotten that there is a fourth candidate (Green Leaf party) hoping to lead our eternalundividedholycapitalcity to a brighter future:Continue reading...
Monday, 28 July 2008
Nose rings, black hats and avocadoes
The latest arrival at Jerusalem's colourful Mahane Yehuda Market is not receiving the warmest welcome: Aroma, one of Israel's biggest coffee chains. Despite the cries of the corporation 'McDonaldising" the shuk, I wonder how many people will buy Aroma's overpriced cappuccinos in favour the other delights on offer.
In any case, Yoram Amir, artist and former market committee chair, sums up the shuk nicely:
:: Ha'aretz, Latte vs. local color.
:: J Post: Urban Scrawl. Continue reading...
In any case, Yoram Amir, artist and former market committee chair, sums up the shuk nicely:
"The market is like a kind of museum. It is the only place where a person with a tattoo and a nose ring can stand beside a religious man in a black hat and the two will get yelled at by an avocado seller."
:: Ha'aretz, Latte vs. local color.:: J Post: Urban Scrawl. Continue reading...
Sunday, 13 July 2008
Superstitious Hamas-supporting Trotskyists vs. educated liberal Israelis
Having just returned to Israel from an otherwise enjoyable two weeks in England, I was forced to recall the tedious and seemingly never-ending skirmishes among the far-left taking place at various British Trade Unions to attempt to boycott my countrymen.
It's no secret that the Trotskyist "Socialist Workers Party" are one of the key instigators of the recent thinly-veiled anti-Israel boycott motion passed at the University and College Union. Anyway, here's a classic quote from John Molyneux in the SWP quarterly journal International Socialism that lays bare up their bizarre rationale: (thanks to Engage for originally posting this.)
This is what Hamas believes.
This is what David Grossman believes. David Grossman is an educated liberal atheist Israeli who supports Zionism.
:: Engage Continue reading...
It's no secret that the Trotskyist "Socialist Workers Party" are one of the key instigators of the recent thinly-veiled anti-Israel boycott motion passed at the University and College Union. Anyway, here's a classic quote from John Molyneux in the SWP quarterly journal International Socialism that lays bare up their bizarre rationale: (thanks to Engage for originally posting this.)
"To put the matter as starkly as possible: from the standpoint of Marxism and international socialism an illiterate, conservative, superstitious Muslim Palestinian peasant who supports Hamas is more progressive than an educated liberal atheist Israeli who supports Zionism (even critically)."
This is what Hamas believes.
This is what David Grossman believes. David Grossman is an educated liberal atheist Israeli who supports Zionism.
:: Engage Continue reading...
Sunday, 4 May 2008
Genetically Modified Hype
(Originally posted on greenprophet.com)
A headline in the Israeli press last week went a little like this: “Scientists, activists debate if genetically modified foods are panacea or plague.”
A headline in the Israeli press last week went a little like this: “Scientists, activists debate if genetically modified foods are panacea or plague.”
Sounds great, but where exactly is the ‘debate’? The article in question reads more like a press release for the GM lobby: ”Distribution of new, genetically engineered crops can help solve world hunger, but the question is where they are used,” said Hebrew University professor Ayal Kimhi. However, absent from the 551-word article is the voice of GM-sceptics. In fact, according to the trusted scientists, it is those who dare to question the merits of a risky and untested technology who are standing in the way of ‘progress’: “The debate on genetically engineered crops could delay progress in addressing the global shortage of staple foods,” claimed Professor Gad Galili of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot.
Please, let’s have a real debate about biotech in Israel. That means not simply accepting highly contentious claims from those with a commercial interest in promoting their own products as the truth. Millions of shekels are pouring into scientific institutions to fund the research. Couldn’t the cash be better spent elsewhere? Modern organic farming produces high quality food with good yield which, in many less-developed countries, far exceeds those of industrially-produced crops (minus the dependence on expensive and polluting chemical sprays and fertilisers).
Just weeks before the lecture by Profs Kimhi and Galili, the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) was launched, a multidisciplinary report produced with input of over 400 scientists. Its director, Professor Robert Watson, noted that the industrialisation of farming since the Second World War has failed to produce the food needed by the world. In his own words: “Are transgenics [GM crops] the simple answer to hunger and poverty? I would argue, no.”
My native UK is one of the only countries in the world to have held a public debate on the merits of GM crops. It’s also one of the only countries the GM industry has targeted that isn’t growing GM crops commercially. It’s also the only country in the world where supermarkets have banned GM ingredients from their own brand products due to customer pressure. Just coincidence?
Continue reading...Sunday, 27 January 2008
Annapolis: End of the outposts?
From the Palestine-Israel Journal blog...
Whilst the Jerusalem Municipality was busy lining the city’s streets with American flags to welcome U.S. President George Bush, left-wing Israeli activists headed to the West Bank to raise their own flags outside Migron, the unauthorised settlement ‘outpost’ five kilometers southwest of Ramallah. The protest itself was nothing exceptional. The gathering of one hundred or so Peace Now, Meretz and assorted activists demonstrated against the same issue they have been campaigning against over the last three decades. The action generated media airtime, but for the Jewish settlers in Migron and elsewhere in the West Bank, as well as their Palestinian neighbours, it’s business as usual. Months after the Annapolis peace summit, Migron and the 100 or so other illegal outposts are still standing, not to mention hundreds of new homes planned for the existing settlements of Har Homa and Ma’ale Adumim.
Migron, established in early 2002 on a hilltop owned by the Palestinian villages Ein Yabrud and Burka, is the largest of the ‘outposts’ with around 40 families in over 50 caravans and 2 permanent structures. Terming settlements like Migron – established without government permission – ‘illegal’ is problematic even though this is their formal status in Israeli law. Doing so grants legitimacy to the ‘authorised’ Jewish settlements in the West Bank whose status violates international law. “What is the point of distinguishing between a discussion of outposts and a discussion of the entire settlement enterprise?” wrote Dror Etkes of Peace Now’s settlement watch unit[...]
But the outposts are more than just a game of semantics. When the decision comes to draw a border with the Palestinians, Israeli settlements will be dismantled, and the outposts will be the first to go. “The problem is not the caravans in Migron, it’s beautiful houses over there,” said a Meretz activist pointing at the shiny red-roofed settlement of Kochav Yakov on the adjacent hilltop. “First Migron will be evacuated, then the other settlements will follow.” Full article.
More photos of Migron and the surroundings here.
Continue reading...
Whilst the Jerusalem Municipality was busy lining the city’s streets with American flags to welcome U.S. President George Bush, left-wing Israeli activists headed to the West Bank to raise their own flags outside Migron, the unauthorised settlement ‘outpost’ five kilometers southwest of Ramallah. The protest itself was nothing exceptional. The gathering of one hundred or so Peace Now, Meretz and assorted activists demonstrated against the same issue they have been campaigning against over the last three decades. The action generated media airtime, but for the Jewish settlers in Migron and elsewhere in the West Bank, as well as their Palestinian neighbours, it’s business as usual. Months after the Annapolis peace summit, Migron and the 100 or so other illegal outposts are still standing, not to mention hundreds of new homes planned for the existing settlements of Har Homa and Ma’ale Adumim.
Migron, established in early 2002 on a hilltop owned by the Palestinian villages Ein Yabrud and Burka, is the largest of the ‘outposts’ with around 40 families in over 50 caravans and 2 permanent structures. Terming settlements like Migron – established without government permission – ‘illegal’ is problematic even though this is their formal status in Israeli law. Doing so grants legitimacy to the ‘authorised’ Jewish settlements in the West Bank whose status violates international law. “What is the point of distinguishing between a discussion of outposts and a discussion of the entire settlement enterprise?” wrote Dror Etkes of Peace Now’s settlement watch unit[...]
But the outposts are more than just a game of semantics. When the decision comes to draw a border with the Palestinians, Israeli settlements will be dismantled, and the outposts will be the first to go. “The problem is not the caravans in Migron, it’s beautiful houses over there,” said a Meretz activist pointing at the shiny red-roofed settlement of Kochav Yakov on the adjacent hilltop. “First Migron will be evacuated, then the other settlements will follow.” Full article.
More photos of Migron and the surroundings here.
Continue reading...
Monday, 21 January 2008
JAN 21 - Why is this night different? Thoughts on Tu B'Shvat
The following essay comes from Richard H. Schwartz, President of Jewish Vegetarians of North America on the eve of Tu B'Shvat.
Why is this night different? Thoughts on Tu B'Shvat
One of the highlights of the Passover seder is the recitation of the four questions which consider how the night of Passover differs from all the other nights of the year. Similar questions are appropriate for Tu B'Shvat, which starts on Monday evening, January 21, this year, because of the many ways that this holiday differs from Passover and all other days of the year.
While four cups of red wine (or grape juice) are drunk at the Passover seder, the four cups drunk at the Tu B'shavat seder vary in color from white to pink to ruby to red. While Passover is a holiday of springtime, Tu B'Shvat considers the changing seasons from winter to autumn, as symbolized by the changing colors of the wine or grape juice, to remind us of God's promise of renewal and rebirth. While Passover commemorates the redemption of the Israelites, Tu B'Shvat considers the redemption of humanity, as the kabbalists of Safed who inaugurated the Tu B'Shvat seder regarded the eating of the many fruits with appropriate blessings and kavannah (intentions) on Tu B'Shvat as a tikkun (repair) for the original sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
While other Jewish holidays honor or commemorate events and people, Tu B'Shvat honors trees, fruits, and other aspects of nature. While people generally eat whatever fruits are in season, on Tu B'Shvat people try to eat fruits from Israel, especially fruits mentioned in the Torah.
While people generally take the environment for granted, on Tu B'Shvat there is an emphasis on the proper stewardship of the environment. While people do not generally think about trees in the winter, there is much interest in trees on Tu B'Shvat, although the spring is still months away.
While people generally think of Israel as the land of the Bible, as the Jewish people's ancestral home, and as the modern Jewish homeland, on Tu B'Shvat people think of Israel in terms of its orchards, vineyards, and olive groves. While people generally think of fruit as something to be purchased at a supermarket or produce store, on Tu B'Shvat people think of fruit as tokens of God's kindness. While people generally try to approach God through prayer, meditation, and study, on Tu B'Shvat people try to reach God by eating fruit, reciting blessings with the proper feelings, and by considering the wonders of God's creation.
While many people eat all kinds of food including meat and dairy products during most Jewish holidays and on most other days, the Tu B'Shvat Seder in which fruits and nuts are eaten, along with the singing of songs and the recitation of Biblical verses related to trees and fruits, is the only sacred meal where only vegetarian, actually vegan, foods are eaten as part of the ritual.
While people generally look on the onset of a new year as a time to assess how they have been doing and to consider their hopes for the new year, Tu B'Shvat is the New Year for Trees, when the fate of trees is decided. While most Jewish holidays have a fixed focus, Tu B'Shvat has changed over the years from a holiday that initially marked the division of the year for tithing purposes to one in which successively the eating of fruits, then the planting of trees in Israel, and most recently responses to modern environmental crises have became major parts of the holiday.
Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach once quipped that the most important Jewish holidays are the ones that are least celebrated. While there has been increasing interest in Tu B'Shvat recently, this holiday that is so rich in symbolism and important messages for today is still not considered to any great extent by most Jews. Let us hope that this will soon change and that an increased emphasis on Tu B'Shvat and its important lessons will help revitalize Judaism and help shift our precious, but imperilled, planet to a sustainable path.
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus, College of Staten Island
Author of Judaism and Vegetarianism, Judaism and Global Survival, and Mathematics and Global Survival, www.JewishVeg.com/schwartz
President of Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) and Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians (SERV)
Continue reading...
Why is this night different? Thoughts on Tu B'Shvat
One of the highlights of the Passover seder is the recitation of the four questions which consider how the night of Passover differs from all the other nights of the year. Similar questions are appropriate for Tu B'Shvat, which starts on Monday evening, January 21, this year, because of the many ways that this holiday differs from Passover and all other days of the year.
While four cups of red wine (or grape juice) are drunk at the Passover seder, the four cups drunk at the Tu B'shavat seder vary in color from white to pink to ruby to red. While Passover is a holiday of springtime, Tu B'Shvat considers the changing seasons from winter to autumn, as symbolized by the changing colors of the wine or grape juice, to remind us of God's promise of renewal and rebirth. While Passover commemorates the redemption of the Israelites, Tu B'Shvat considers the redemption of humanity, as the kabbalists of Safed who inaugurated the Tu B'Shvat seder regarded the eating of the many fruits with appropriate blessings and kavannah (intentions) on Tu B'Shvat as a tikkun (repair) for the original sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
While other Jewish holidays honor or commemorate events and people, Tu B'Shvat honors trees, fruits, and other aspects of nature. While people generally eat whatever fruits are in season, on Tu B'Shvat people try to eat fruits from Israel, especially fruits mentioned in the Torah.
While people generally take the environment for granted, on Tu B'Shvat there is an emphasis on the proper stewardship of the environment. While people do not generally think about trees in the winter, there is much interest in trees on Tu B'Shvat, although the spring is still months away.
While people generally think of Israel as the land of the Bible, as the Jewish people's ancestral home, and as the modern Jewish homeland, on Tu B'Shvat people think of Israel in terms of its orchards, vineyards, and olive groves. While people generally think of fruit as something to be purchased at a supermarket or produce store, on Tu B'Shvat people think of fruit as tokens of God's kindness. While people generally try to approach God through prayer, meditation, and study, on Tu B'Shvat people try to reach God by eating fruit, reciting blessings with the proper feelings, and by considering the wonders of God's creation.
While many people eat all kinds of food including meat and dairy products during most Jewish holidays and on most other days, the Tu B'Shvat Seder in which fruits and nuts are eaten, along with the singing of songs and the recitation of Biblical verses related to trees and fruits, is the only sacred meal where only vegetarian, actually vegan, foods are eaten as part of the ritual.
While people generally look on the onset of a new year as a time to assess how they have been doing and to consider their hopes for the new year, Tu B'Shvat is the New Year for Trees, when the fate of trees is decided. While most Jewish holidays have a fixed focus, Tu B'Shvat has changed over the years from a holiday that initially marked the division of the year for tithing purposes to one in which successively the eating of fruits, then the planting of trees in Israel, and most recently responses to modern environmental crises have became major parts of the holiday.
Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach once quipped that the most important Jewish holidays are the ones that are least celebrated. While there has been increasing interest in Tu B'Shvat recently, this holiday that is so rich in symbolism and important messages for today is still not considered to any great extent by most Jews. Let us hope that this will soon change and that an increased emphasis on Tu B'Shvat and its important lessons will help revitalize Judaism and help shift our precious, but imperilled, planet to a sustainable path.
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus, College of Staten Island
Author of Judaism and Vegetarianism, Judaism and Global Survival, and Mathematics and Global Survival, www.JewishVeg.com/schwartz
President of Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) and Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians (SERV)
Continue reading...
Sunday, 6 January 2008
East Jerusalem: Political construction?
Published in the Jerusalem Post, 4 January 2008.
Not long after the No. 14 bus leaves the tree-lined Rehov Emek Refaim, it begins to climb the hill paving the way to Har Homa, the controversial neighborhood south of Jerusalem. As the bus weaves its way around the concentric rings that encircle the community, one's eyes become fixed on the hundreds of shiny apartments cut from Jerusalem stone towering into the sky, and it becomes clear that this place, one kilometer over the Green Line on the southernmost tip of municipal Jerusalem, is here to stay. The mid-afternoon quiet enveloping the streets gives the illusion that the town is deserted, but the silence is soon shattered by the echoes of construction work on new south-facing apartments overlooking the Palestinian towns of Beit Sahur, Umm Tuba and Bethlehem, not to mention the commotion outside the school gates as excited children race to meet their parents.
But despite the suburban mediocrity of daily life here, Har Homa, also known as Homat Shmuel, has found itself in the eye of a political storm over the past month when contracts to build an additional 307 new homes were announced the same week that Israeli and Palestinian politicians met to begin final-status talks following November's Annapolis peace summit. The tenders drew fire from the international community as well as the Palestinian Authority, which called on the United States to lean on Israel to halt the construction.
Full article here. Continue reading...
Not long after the No. 14 bus leaves the tree-lined Rehov Emek Refaim, it begins to climb the hill paving the way to Har Homa, the controversial neighborhood south of Jerusalem. As the bus weaves its way around the concentric rings that encircle the community, one's eyes become fixed on the hundreds of shiny apartments cut from Jerusalem stone towering into the sky, and it becomes clear that this place, one kilometer over the Green Line on the southernmost tip of municipal Jerusalem, is here to stay. The mid-afternoon quiet enveloping the streets gives the illusion that the town is deserted, but the silence is soon shattered by the echoes of construction work on new south-facing apartments overlooking the Palestinian towns of Beit Sahur, Umm Tuba and Bethlehem, not to mention the commotion outside the school gates as excited children race to meet their parents.
But despite the suburban mediocrity of daily life here, Har Homa, also known as Homat Shmuel, has found itself in the eye of a political storm over the past month when contracts to build an additional 307 new homes were announced the same week that Israeli and Palestinian politicians met to begin final-status talks following November's Annapolis peace summit. The tenders drew fire from the international community as well as the Palestinian Authority, which called on the United States to lean on Israel to halt the construction.
Full article here. Continue reading...
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