False Dichotomies

This week, an unlikely savior of the Israeli left emerged. The man with the unfortunate literary surname, Moshe Feiglin, Likud’s far-right agent provocateur, did remarkably well in the Likud primaries. Israel has a system of pure proportional representation; the parties hold primaries to determine which candidate will be first in line for a seat in the Knesset. Faiglin represents the extreme-right of Israeli politics. He opposes conceding an inch of land, supports transferring the Palestinian-Arab population from the Land of Israel, and wants the Knesset and Supreme Court replaced by a rebuilt Third Temple. In short, he represents Judeo-Fascism. Read more

An email I received; it provides a nice follow on from Israeli Apathy (1), where I referred to the immense popularity of Big Brother. Yossi Bulbil is one of the most popular members of the Big Brother house. Gilad Shalit should need no introduction.  

Shalom Friends,

Maybe some of you will read this and think that I’ve got a distorted mind, and why am I comparing between the two, but sometimes it seems to me that Yossi Bublil receives more daily publicity, love and public interest than the 848 days of Gilad.

I look at this and I say – we are talking about two people – one a big brother, the other a little brother – and everything is in disarray. One has been sealed off in Gaza for 848 days, and the other has been sealed off with difficulty for 70 days in a villa. Read more

I’m going to occasionally translate interesting articles that I come across in the Israeli press. The following piece was published in today’s Yediot Ahranot.

THE BATTLE OVER THE ELEVATOR

Secular tenants demand: We doing want a Shabbat Elevator in our building

“Don’t make us stop on ever floor.” This is what one couple living in a high-rise building in Givat Shmuel are demanding. The demand is included in a complaint against their religious neighbours, who every Shabbat and festival turn the building’s two lifts into “Shabbat elevators”. Read more

It’s emails like this that make this blogging ish worthwhile.

Dear Alex,
 
Shalom!
 
I wanted to express my personal (and my people’s) thanks to you for valiantly highlighting our cause by your articles in the Guardian. Much appreciated.
 
We’re also grateful that you have taken a principled stand, despite the recent attacks in Mumbai.
 
The people in Kashmir are horrified by the targeting of Jews by lunatic killers. These killers were Pakistani and had nothing to do with Kashmir. Nothing could be more against Kashmir’s cultural ethos and its tradition of co-existence than the heinous actions in Mumbai.
 
Jews are and always have been welcome in Kashmir. In fact, in 1991 when Jews were taken hostage by Pakistani militants, it was a Kashmiri group – JKLF which stands for secular independent Kashmir – that rescued them.
 
The simple, decent folk of Kashmir have nothing but feelings of brotherhood and hospitality for the Jewish people. You are always welcome here.
 
Kind Regards

“If you don’t like it when Jews complain about being singled out, the slaughter in Mumbai should give you food for thought. In an attack that was in all other respects indiscriminate, two of the terrorists were specifically sent to the one building in the city where there were sure to be Jews. If terrorists intended to deliver a message that Jews can be attacked with impunity even in places where barely any of them live, it was received loud and clear.” Read on at Comment is Free.

He stood in the growing shadow of his college room and slapped more gouache onto the canvas. Impasto. To lay paint on thickly. Joshua liked to repeat unusual words to himself and rehearse their meanings, noticing the moments in his life they became relevant. Now he wondered if he hadn’t overdone it. He wondered if all this paint wasn’t some attempt to offset the emotion of the last few days. Chloe would call soon. The invitation to meet up for drinks still stood, even after all that had taken place. Joshua felt a draught in the room but didn’t do anything to stop it or wrap up warmer. Nor did he turn on the light. Read more

During my gap-year in Israel, I took part in a seminar led by an Israeli-Arab at Givat Haviva. After his speech, in which he outlined the discrimination Arabs face in Israeli society, he invited us to ask questions. “Do you think there will ever be an Arab Prime Minister?” asked one girl, to which the rest of us responded with peels of laughter. It was as if she had asked a Catholic priest if the Pope will ever star in a porn-film. Read more