Category: Arab-Israeli Conflict

  • The One-State (final) Solution

    The One-State (final) Solution

    I wrote the below as a comment on a FB post, which I imagine will only get m more engagement from awful content like it, but I was somehow inspired and I’m pretty satisfied with what came out extemporaneously: ** The fact that this showed up in my Facebook feed is the strongest evidence yet…

  • Israel activity on and off campus

    This is an eventful time in Israel-related activity in San Diego and beyond, and I wanted to get some of my thoughts and resources in one place for my own and others’ edification. In no particular order, most people know that US President Barack Obama visited Israel this past week for the first time since…

  • No equivalence

    The loss of innocent lives is truly tragic, while not always avoidable during war. But the fact that Israeli media is discussing, and the IDF is investigating, the tragic deaths of the members of the al Dalou family, brings into sharp relief the stark cultural differences that are making peace in this region so hard…

  • Forty kilometers (25 miles) from the border

    To make it easier to imagine yourself in southern Israel over the last several days (not to mention the last 10 years or so), as Palestinian terrorists fire dozens of deadly rockets every day on civilian population centers, here’s a handy little map. If Gaza was Tijuana, this is the area of San Diego county…

  • Looking forward, looking back

    I delivered the d’var Torah this past Shabbat at Ohr Shalom. I had volunteered to do this months ago, but had completely forgotten about it, so when the rabbi emailed me on Thursday night to remind me, I emailed back with a “no problem” message that, thanks to the emotionless nature of the medium, completely…

  • A Day In Israel: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 – 13th of Tamuz, 5768

    0830 We got up and started getting ready for our day. This included a light breakfast for us and Hadarya. 0900 My friend, roommate, and rabbi Scott, called to tell me that Channel 10 News was covering the prisoner exchange in the north, in case I was interested. I was, of course, so I turned…

  • Movie review: You Don’t Mess With the Zohan

    Hilarious. Chock full of Adam Sandler’s typical bathroom jokes and 80s-centric humor, this movie (Flash heavy site) won’t disappoint his enormous day-to-day fan base. But the movie is also packed with tons of audience-specific gags that are only truly funny if you a) speak decent colloquial Hebrew, b) spent time in Israel in the 80s…

  • No words

  • It’s the Irony, Stupid: Hospitality and Spirituality in the Middle East, Then and Now

    When I started writing this (Sunday, July 15 or thereabouts) I didn’t know where it was going, so I didn’t post it. It took about a week for the realization to sink in that the thing that brought these two subjects into relief for me was the irony and sadness over the powerful positive connotations…

  • Two days in a row? Well, yeah.

    Scott Adams is at it again, making a lucid, cogent point about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Are all cartoonists this bright? If so, why aren’t THEY running the country?