It beggars the imagination that an Israeli government minister can derail an agreement affecting the entire Mediterranean basin, because of the terminology to be used for the West Bank.
I would also prefer that the territories be referred to as “administered”, “disputed” or “liberated” territories, or as Judea and Samaria. Ain’t gonna happen! To hijack the entire process because of the use of the term “Occupied Territories” is absolutely shocking, and Landau should be censured or fired, after being forced to apologise to the body.
Let’s go back to basics: The territories have not been annexed by Israel. They have, however, been occupied (justifiably) by the IDF. Hence, Occupied Territories. Why make an issue about it? From a legal standpoint, Israel itself regards the territories as occupied (although it fails miserably in administering them as such).
Israel needs to get serious about the Union for the Mediterranean! Either commit whole-heartedly to the effort, or leave and let those who find common ground get on with it. Remember that this was supposed to be one of the way stations on the road to eventual EU and NATO membership!
14 May 2010
Chalk this up as another cost of the occupation.
Google Sidewiki entry by Russell
Are there no Google Help Centers specifically for Google Buzz and Google Profile?
in reference to:"Google Help Centers"
- Google Help Centers - Google Help (view on Google Sidewiki)
Google Sidewiki entry by Russell
Are there no Google Help Forums dedicated to Google Buzz and Google Profile?
in reference to:"Google Help Forum"
- Google Help Forums - Google Help (view on Google Sidewiki)
12 April 2010
Google Sidewiki entry by Russell
Nice clip, but pity about the rapid-fire flashing from one scene to the next, which forced me to look away most of the time. What is this, the JNF’s version of subliminal advertising?!
in reference to: YouTube - JNF Video Contest- What Israel Means to Me Today (view on Google Sidewiki)11 March 2010
Author?
For some reason, the author of this article is not named. Based on the highlighted paragraph, I’m guessing it was the distinguished Walter Clay Lowdermilk, one of the unsung heroes of the Jewish people’s restoration of and to the Promised Land.
in reference to:"A central feature of the plan derives from a survey that I conducted in 1938 and 1939 for the U. S. Department of Agriculture and from the proposal, growing out of that survey, of a Jordan Valley Authority to achieve the fullest development of the surface and underground waters of the valley for the entire original Mandate under the League of Nations, including what is now the Kingdom of Jordan as well as Israel."
- 50 Years Ago: The Reclamation of a Man-Made Desert: Scientific American (view on Google Sidewiki)
Eco Jews
Great idea, but why hasn’t it been updated since 2008!?
in reference to: Eco Jews | JTA - Jewish & Israel News (view on Google Sidewiki)08 March 2010
No peaceful uses for the atom
The issue of energy has been on the agenda since the artificial oil crisis of 1973. What has Israel done in the 37-odd years since then to reduce its dependence on energy imports? My objection to any such proposal is that there is apparently still no way to operate a nuclear power plant in an entirely safe manner, while disposal of nuclear waste is still hugely problematic. It’s ironic that the same forces which have prevented the development of alternative energy sources and energy conservation are now advocating nuclear power as a “green” option.
Remember the motto: There are no peaceful uses for the atom.
"A nuclear option to produce electricity, with its attendant hazards, could nevertheless present Israel with the best option for generating non-emissions-producing electricity in significant quantities."
- Landau to announce plans for first Israeli nuke power plant (view on Google Sidewiki)
05 March 2010
Rule #1 of Jewish demographics
Rule #1 of Jewish demographics is that there are always more Jews than anyone estimated or anticipated. Because of their history, Jews have an understandable reluctance to be counted or surveyed. This has been immeasurably complicated by the fluid definitions of Jewishness emerging since Jews became emancipated.
in reference to:"“Two-and-a-half million,” the KGB head replies. “But if we let them leave, there will be 6 million.”"
- Fishing for Jews in Russia’s muddy waters | JTA - Jewish & Israel News (view on Google Sidewiki)
04 March 2010
Google Sidewiki entry by Russell
For me, the obvious question is why the eruv needs to consist of “a network of poles and strings”? Why not simply paint the boundary lines on the pavement (with the assistance of the local council, of course)? Oh, that’s right, I forgot, Moses himself set out the manner in which an eruv must be delimited. He didn’t write it down, of course, but a handful of later sages managed to interpret what he didn’t say...
in reference to:"The eruv, which usually consists of a network of poles and strings, defines an area within which religious Jews are allowed to carry items outside their homes on Shabbat. From the standpoint of Jewish law, it essentially makes this area "private" rather than "public.""
- Rift has roots in eruv dispute - Haaretz - Israel News (view on Google Sidewiki)
03 March 2010
Within a single generation
You said “Israel would be among the world's richest nations if Arabs and ultra-orthodox Jews could be brought into the economy, Israel's top treasury official said on Wednesday.”
Yes, they need to be brought into the economy, and the way to do this is to shake them out of their little taxpayer-subsidised cocoon. Level the playing fields by simply using the principle of absolute equality; do away with subsidising their private school education system, their reliance on social welfare, their virtual exemption from national service/conscription. Most importantly, make coalition deals that privilege the Haredi sector at the expense of the general public against the law. We can bring them into the economy within a single generation, simply by doing away with their special treatment on all fronts.
"Israel would be among the world's richest nations if Arabs and ultra-orthodox Jews could be brought into the economy, Israel's top treasury official said on Wednesday."
- Treasury chief: Boosting Arab and Haredi employment would make Israel rich - Haaretz - Israel News (view on Google Sidewiki)
15 February 2010
Google Sidewiki entry by Russell
Shouldn't we refer to "Leonardo's Codex Atlanticus" rather than "Da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus"? When it comes to his paintings and other art works, we refer to a Leonardo, not a Da Vinci!
in reference to: Da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus makes international debut in Jerusalem - Jerusalem.com (view on Google Sidewiki)25 January 2010
Google Sidewiki entry by Russell
Well put, Rabbi Yoffie. "What we need, rather, is to be respectful of each other’s choices and customs." Unfortunately, what this means in real life is that the alternative streams of Judaism show respect for one another and for Orthodoxy/ultra-Orthodoxy, while Orthodoxy continues to disrespect and delegitimize progressive Judaism. So much for mutual respect...
in reference to:"And since there is not a single, universally accepted religious standard that governs Jewish religious life, we should make no attempt to impose one at the Kotel. What we need, rather, is to be respectful of each other’s choices and customs."
- At the Wall, which side is the right one?: The Kotel belongs to the entire Jewish people | j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California (view on Google Sidewiki)
24 January 2010
Google Sidewiki entry by Russell
So let me get this straight: all we have to do to retard Global Warming is to turn the planet into a desert? Oh, wait, we're doing that already!
in reference to:"By looking at the other side of the equation, the two researchers discovered that desertification was not necessarily all bad - in fact, it may have retarded global warming by as much as 20%. The desert reflects sunlight and releases infrared radiation, which has a cooling effect. And in a world in which desertification is continuing at a rate of about six million hectares a year, that news might have a significant effect on how we estimate the rates and magnitude of climate change."
- Desertification may have retarded global warming | Science and Environment | Jerusalem Post (view on Google Sidewiki)
14 January 2010
School uniforms for Israel?
There is more to be said in favour of school uniforms than against, provided that uniforms are "uniform" across the entire school system. When each school insists on its own distinctive uniform, it immediately becomes an expensive proposition, with exclusive retailers, inflated prices, etc. The only difference permitted between schools should be a unique badge.
School uniforms help to create a school spirit and to take the emphasis off socio-economic differences between classmates. A simple, widely used uniform can also reduce the financial pressure on parents of schoolgoers and can be a time-saver.
Israel should definitely strongly consider the reintroduction of school uniforms, including optional "multi-form" items such as standardised wind breakers, track suits, etc.
19 November 2009
Is-Rail
I've always thought that Israel Railways should be branded Is-Rail (or IsRail, etc.). You know, like Eurail (EuroRailways)? :-)
in reference to: Israel Railways Home Page (view on Google Sidewiki)18 November 2009
Geddes Plan?
I assume this is a reference to the 1925 master plan for Tel-Aviv, drawn up by biologist and town planner Patrick Geddes (not Gaddis!).
in reference to:"Goldman's proposal would institutionalize a phenomenon that was defined in the 1920s by the Gaddis plan and tends to happen spontaneously."
- Surroundings / A lot of possibilities - Haaretz - Israel News (view on Google Sidewiki)
16 November 2009
Deny others what you take for granted
#1, @judith. Yours must be the most ignorant, obnoxious and hypocritical responses on this issue I have ever read. You live in NY and enjoy all the benefits of an open society, where there is a clear separation between religion and state, where religious coercion is all but impossible. You are quite content, however, for your brethren in Israel to live in a society where there is in effect no freedom of (or freedom from) religion. You obviously do not understand (still less deserve) the precious freedoms that previous generations of Americans fought for. Don’t deny others the rights and freedoms you take so for granted. The “Jewish country” (as you put it) does not need to be less just or free than any other; it should be more so. And, by the way, not everyone is fortunate enough to simply up stakes and leave a country because they disagree with some of its policies, nor should they be obliged to do (certainly not for the sake of being able to marry their partner).
in reference to:"1. They can leave if they don`t like it <a href="/hasen/objects/pages/ResponseDetails.jhtml?resNo=5447750&itemno=1128149&cont=2">They can leave if they don`t like it </a> 01:41 | judith 15/11/09"
- State may pay Israelis forced by religious restrictions to wed abroad - Haaretz - Israel News (view on Google Sidewiki)
15 November 2009
Post Diigo to Blogger (weekly)
Remembering the soldiers who built American Jewish life (Haaretz Israel News)
"During World War II, more than a half-million Jews served in the American military. Almost every Jewish family had a brother, son, husband, uncle or cousin in uniform. Entering the armed forces, often as teenagers, these Jewish servicemen sometimes left home with little more than a nominal sense of what it meant to be Jewish. Their experiences in the armed forces taught them not only how to handle a weapon and to fight, but also how to be American Jews.
Many non-Jewish soldiers and sailors met their first Jew in the military. Stereotypes abounded. Some Jewish soldiers reported being asked about their "horns" by their fellow servicemen."U.S. State Department: Israel is not a tolerant society (Haaretz Israel News)
- Despite boasting religious freedom and protection of all holy sites, Israel falls short in tolerance toward minorities, equal treatment of ethnic groups, openness toward various streams within society, and respect for holy and other sites.
The settlers camp remains pure (Haaretz Israel News)
- The State of Israel will not live or die over such an assassin, or a dozen more like him. The country is engaged in a national struggle with the settler state. If there is a strategic threat to Israel's continued survival, it sits on the hills of Hebron and Samaria. If there is one force that can bring down the continuation of the peace process, it is continued building in the settlements. If the U.S. ultimately chooses to cut Israel off, it will be because of the settlements.
Across the Green Line are two states, Palestinian and Jewish, which do not see eye to eye with the State of Israel. While the Palestinian state has a chance of reaching peace with Israel, the settler state sees Israel as a strategic threat and its leadership as a gang of ditherers, a state threatening to undermine the power of the settler state. In their eyes Israel is the real exile, dancing to the tune of a corrupt overlord.
The roles have reversed. No longer are settlers seeking to settle the hearts of Israelis; they are putting forth an unequivocal demand that Israelis inhabit the settlers' hearts - or else.
When there was a leader here (Haaretz Israel News)
The task of our generation is to complete the job of establishing the state that David Ben-Gurion began at 4 P.M. on a Friday. Yitzhak Rabin advanced the process at Oslo, and Sharon almost completed it. The three of them understood that Israel within the borders of the British Mandate had to be partitioned, if possible with the consent of the Palestinians and if not then with the consent of the world.
And when we carry out the partition, will there still be Qassam rockets? It is reasonable to assume that there will be - and from Lebanon as well, from where Katyushas are fired from time to time. But Israel will be saved as a Jewish and democratic state for generations to come and the Israeli army will deal with the rockets from our recognized borders. The world will no longer be dealing with the Palestinian issue and we will be freed to deal with education and with personal security and with saving the Negev and the Galilee, and to address the problems of the towns in the periphery and with establishing an exemplary society.Who is a Jew? Court Ruling in Britain Raises Question
In an explosive decision, the court concluded that basing school admissions on a classic test of Judaism — whether one’s mother is Jewish — was by definition discriminatory. Whether the rationale was “benign or malignant, theological or supremacist,” the court wrote, “makes it no less and no more unlawful.”
The case rested on whether the school’s test of Jewishness was based on religion, which would be legal, or on race or ethnicity, which would not. The court ruled that it was an ethnic test because it concerned the status of M’s mother rather than whether M considered himself Jewish and practiced Judaism.
“The requirement that if a pupil is to qualify for admission his mother must be Jewish, whether by descent or conversion, is a test of ethnicity which contravenes the Race Relations Act,” the court said. It added that while it was fair that Jewish schools should give preference to Jewish children, the admissions criteria must depend not on family ties, but “on faith, however defined.”Who are Diaspora Jews to tell us Israelis who is Jewish? (Haviv Rettig Gur)
American Orthodox rabbis, the Interior Ministry feels, can’t be trusted to decide who is in and who is out of the Jewish people.
It is the feeling of a handful of ignorant bureaucrats – ignorant of Judaism and Jewish identity, and ignorant of Israeli law – that decides the day.
Why? Because the Diaspora is silent and respectful. Instead of demanding respect for their support and love, the Diaspora assumes Israelis are either their betters or their “ethnic” cousins. Either way, you can’t demand too much.
So Ilana falls through the cracks.The New Jewish Convert (November/December 2009)
Back in the days of Ruth, Judaism’s most famous early convert, it wasn’t difficult to become a Jew. Despite being born a Moabite—a tribe with which the Torah forbade marriage—she became the great-grandmother of King David. Judaism then not only embraced converts but sought them: The Israelites grew from about 150,000 in 586 BCE to eight million in the first century CE largely by absorbing men willing to be circumcised and women marrying Jewish men.
Indeed, becoming a Jew was so popular that the word proselytize comes from the Greek word proselytos, which means to convert to Judaism. Non-Jews converted in Egypt, Syria and Rome, establishing Jewish communities. According to the historian Josephus, people followed Jewish customs in every known nation, including all Barbarian and Greek cities. In the land of Israel, he notes, conversion was not always a matter of choice: Under the Hasmonean kings, particularly Johann Hyrcanus (134-104 BCE), the Idumeans were forced to be circumcised and live like Judeans or leave the country.End Hereditary Religion (About)
For centuries organized religions built their followers by imposing their dogma and superstition on non-consenting children too helplessly naive and powerless to reject what they are commanded to believe. Much of what is so maladaptive and destructive about organized religion will be discarded if religious institutions have to create their theology to pass the scrutiny and questioning of mature minds that value free inquiry and demand sensible answers to their questions. If several generations can be raised free of hereditary religion, totally new and reformed religions will have an opportunity to form. As things stand now, humanity is stuck in the iron age.
Shulamit Aloni - Shas 'racial purity' policy toward migrant kids is a disgrace (Haaretz Israel News)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fallen in love with the Judaism of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and other holy men around him, and despises the principles embodied in the founding document of the state - the "declaration of independence" that ensures the country will be developed "for the benefit of all its residents," that there will be "complete equality of rights for all citizens regardless of origin, race, religion or gender," as well as "freedom of religion and conscience." It seems our premier is convinced that democracy means elections when they need to be held and the existence of competing parties. As everyone knows, this is what they have in Iran, too.
Mofaz in the footsteps of Sharon (Haaretz Israel News)
Ariel Sharon was not an ideologue, but he left a legacy behind him: the division of the Land of Israel. Sharon did not believe in peace. He realized how deep the dispute really is, he did not trust the Arabs, and he remembered 1948. But as time went by, Sharon also lost faith in the occupation. Very belatedly, he realized that the status quo endangers the very existence of the Jewish state. Thus, he began looking for a third way when he was in his in his 70s. A way that would grant the Palestinians a state and grant Israel defensible borders without necessarily bringing the conflict to an end.
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