Archive
It was almost two years ago now that I first saw Dida Pelled strumming her guitar as part of a jazz trio in a Jerusalem café. Her eyes squeezed shut as her fingers danced across the instrument. Her sound was understated but unapologetically passionate. Pelled has been playing guitar since she was 11 years old […]
Israelis and Israel’s supporters often think of the region as collectively against the Jewish State. Absolute reviling by the region’s Arabs constitutes the general Israeli mentality. Lebanon once had Christian allies – a fantasy of the past. Iraq once had the forsaken Kurds – too busy with their own affairs. But that way of looking […]
Analysis from the relatively objective Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star estimates Lebanon’s new cabinet is entirely made up of pro-Syrian politicians. Hizbullah has control over the coalition that leads the cabinet, and thus sway over the cabinet’s orientation. The new Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, is one of the richest men in Lebanon. But whether or […]
Lebanon finally has a government, though the months of sectarian politics that preceded it have not gone away. This government is going to have a very difficult time unifying Lebanon, and it will likely fail. There is an awkward balance. While Hizbullah (and its Shiite ally Amal) are the dominant played in the political coalition […]
Lebanon cannot form a cabinet. Since January, when Hizbullah withdrew its ministers from the cabinet and forced the cabinet to resign, Lebanon has not been able to put together a new government. It only has a “care-taker,” i.e. temporary government. The problem lies in sectarian divisions. Every political coalition in Lebanon by law has to […]
Jaclyn Skurie spent her spring break in Cuba with a group from the Northwestern University Hillel. The Jews she met there lead a hard but fulfilling life–living in dilapidated houses but praying in an ornate synagogue. Welcome to Havana.
So you thought those May 21 people were nuts? Turns out some Jews aren’t so far off. Josh Freed films an interesting encounter: And here’s Eli Valley on the Kafkaesque Knesset: Eli Valley — The Trial from Jewish Forward on Vimeo.
For awhile now I have been following in the news a group called the “intactivists” who are attempting to ban circumcision in San Francisco. The group claims that no one, but the owner of the penis has a right to cut it off. Man was born perfect, they argue, and no one has the right […]
A couple of days ago, in Putting a Crimp in the Hookah, the New York Times wrote about increasing concerns about the health risks that hookah smoking poses. Several states and college campuses have recently introduced or are considering new rules about hookahs and hookah bars. But the Jewish corner of the blogosphere’s friendly neighborhood […]
I think I missed this memo. After my morning tweets and status updates, I came across an article from the New York Times on my Twitter account about Holocaust survivors who are seeking insurance claims. Peaking my interest, I took a stab at learning what this was about. The article was about an 87-year-old, female […]