tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75572138985477953652023-11-16T13:49:12.584-05:00נפש שלי... בישראלI began this in January 2007 as a way to blog about my study abroad experience in Israel. It eventually evolved into a chronicle of my "Jewish journey" in where I can continue to blog about my travel experiences and begin to write about Jewish issues that affect me at the moment, in particular to gender, identity politics, and freedom of Jewish expression.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.comBlogger203125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-4548395420196225602011-06-21T11:29:00.002-04:002011-06-21T20:42:29.572-04:00Response from Yale<p>Dear Ms. Halpern,</p><p> </p><p>Just in case you did not receive the attached letter, it gives me great pleasure to forward to you this description of the Yale Program for the Study of Antisemitism (YPSA), which will be directed by Professor Maurice Samuels.</p><p> </p><p>With warm wishes,</p>Peter Salovey<br /><br />He attached a PDF file of a letter sent out to all who wrote to him regarding YIISA's future. I'm curious to see what develops. Since Yale called off YIISA, I thought, "man, now I don't want to apply to Yale for my PhD in history." And now? It's a bit complicated why Yale still isn't entirely feasible for me but for anyone else, I would still proceed with caution.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-18754177084672719592011-06-19T22:25:00.004-04:002011-06-20T11:26:11.920-04:00Dear Yale...Dear President Levin and Professor Salovey,<br /><br />I am writing to urge you to reopen the <a href="http://www.yale.edu/yiisa/workingpaper/">Yale Imitative for Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemiitism</a> and support the new structure and leadership. The study of this highly complex topic is extremely important to me and other researchers and scholars. You can only break down a topic like this through conversations and brain-storming sessions (the point of conferences and in-residence fellows). I don't believe that the study of antisemitism can be done alone and that's why a center like YIISA needs to exist (in addition to <a href="http://www.indiana.edu/%7Eiscaweb/">the one at Indiana University</a>). As a future doctoral student, I want to have a place where I can attend conferences and produce papers to discuss and unravel the meaning of antisemitism and how it manifests itself.<br /><br />I have done a book review relating to this topic. It contains a <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=9ig968mXZlwC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false">collection of essays</a> that examine both antisemitism and philosemitism and I must tell you, after I read it, I realized that I knew even less about antisemitism. I wanted a forum but I only had myself and my editor to produce the review and I had to trust my own judgment. With these essays proposing new perspectives on antisemitism through literature, film, and politics, I was (and am still) left with a huge ball of knots in my stomach. Why did (and does) it happen and how can scholars and ordinary people recognize antisemitism if it manifests itself in numerous ways?<br /><br />I admit that I do deal with the Holocaust as my major event specialty and naturally antisemitism is part of my research. There have been discussions as of late about the "new antisemitism" in Europe seeming to mirror what was happening nearly 75 years ago and researchers and scholars like myself only want to know <span style="font-style: italic;">how </span>did that occur so we can recognize the signs today and advise leaders to stop the quiet or outright hatred. Antisemitism can come in many forms, even in the 1930s Europe. German Jews faced racial form of antisemitism. Polish Jews consistently dealt with pogroms and violence because of their religion and comparatively economic successes. American Jews occasionally heard verbal abuse but confronted more restrictions such as university quotas and exclusive hotels and country clubs.<br /><br />These variations only raise a single question that I believe a center like YIISA has the ability to work through questions such as why such variations exist and how the victims combat them. Antisemitism seems to be like the game of whack-a-mole. They just pop up in various forms and it's hard to whack them all without understanding where they're coming from.<br /><br />History has shown to repeat itself and I would like to believe that, with research and engagement, we can break that cycle.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br />Sara Halpern<br />MA in Judaic Studies, University of MichiganSarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-25322002912348737082011-06-16T19:04:00.000-04:002011-06-16T08:46:50.978-04:00Life Without a CountryToday, I want to talk about this young generation and the ways we're perceiving the current "peace process." I came across this <a href="http://www.thedavidproject.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1087:excuse-me-rabbi-but-is-israel-kosher&catid=135:blog&Itemid=128">blog</a> post while searching for ideas for my job search. I was interested in this particular point - young American Jews cannot imagine a life without Israel. How does this view affect young generation's ability to admit that we <span style="font-style: italic;">need </span>Israel and fight for its legitimacy? (Then again, I <span style="font-style: italic;">have </span>been involved in academic discussions arguing that we "don't" need Israel...)<br /><br />I admit that my views on the conflict are no different from my like-minded American Jewish peers, or the Israelis. We all stand for Israel and want to defend its borders and feel that the Jewish state is significant to us. Some recent <a href="http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/06/01/3087966/new-poll-finds-strong-support-for-israel-among-american-jews">poll</a> said that most American Jews would view the loss of Israel as total "catastrophe." <span style="font-style: italic;">Tov, tov. But </span>what is the <a href="http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?id=221750">demographic</a> break down on on the 18-30 year olds who agree with this statement? I would like to bet a bit lower given the young generation's liberalism. Honestly, I am skeptical because if it is really true, then there wouldn't be a need for Birthright. Right? Birthright or any trip to Israel allows us to connect with the Land of Israel as a Jewish country (note that I am refraining from saying "homeland" here out of sensitivity to Jews who strongly believe that America is <span style="font-style: italic;">their home</span> and Israel for for the rest of the Diaspora to flock to.)<br /><br />The general media is screwing things up and making the problem of peace/border negotiations all the more complex than it needs to be and it doesn't do a good job of explaining <span style="font-style: italic;">why</span> and connect that with personal identity and security (not nationalism). Negotiating land swaps among the elders who witnessed the 1948 and 1967 wars is so emotionally difficult. History shows that it can take several generations for the hardline mindset to soften, become disconnected with victory/catastrophe, and make cessions more easily. We've only gone through 2 generations since 1948 and we are now raising a third generation. The question is, among many both sides, how do we reach out to both Jews and Palestinians so that the possibility of peace can truly happen?<br /><br />But it just cannot right now because Jews trying to "negotiate" with some party that wants to wipe Israel off the map. There will always be stories of "catastrophe" being passing down among Palestinians, just as we continue to tell about our own throughout centuries. They will never forget 1948 the way we don't about 72 A.D., 1492, 1943 and so on. How can one make peace with another who wants him dead anyway? It's a win-lose situation.<br /><br />This young generation of Jews and Palestinians grew up hearing their own versions of the 1948 and 1967 wars, which doesn't help to "soften" the diplomatic tone. It is interesting to point out that the <a href="http://www.thedavidproject.org/">David Project</a> and other pro "Jewish identity = Israel" organizations argue that young American Jews have grown up taking Israel for granted (as well as some young Israelis) that we just cannot imagine a world without Israel. The Palestinians grew up hearing of how their land had been seized by Zionists and how it was a catastrophic event. For my generation of Jews, Israel was always there. There's already security. For a generation of Palestinians, Israel was always there. But there's no security.<br /><br />My thinking is, if young American Jews are registering Palestinians' arguments and historic views of the 1948 war as legitimate for a statehood, why can't they, themselves, imagine a world without Israel? Are they truly "disconnected" with Israel?<br /><br />At least, I can imagine a world without Israel, personally. My fighting desire to protect Israel at all costs just comes from growing up without <span style="font-style: italic;">knowing </span>about Israel. Maybe I did <span style="font-style: italic;">hear </span>the name "Israel" but didn't connect it as a "country for Jews." Maybe I did hear of Israel as a country but just didn't connect it as a real Jewish state. In any case, I grew up without feeling that kind of security.<br /><br />So I want to ask young Jews next time I hang out with them, what is security? Does Israel play a role in feeling secure with your Jewish identity? Can you imagine your life without Israel?<br /><br />Hard questions, I know.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-83227860746095193792011-06-08T22:43:00.003-04:002011-06-08T23:04:35.332-04:00Let's go back to my last point....Yes, I slapped my face when I saw the breaking news on Weiner, a Jewish congressman from Queens and Brooklyn. He cheated on his wife, Huma Abedin, of 11 months. At least Abedin, who I believe, can stand on her own. She rode to her own success thanks to Hillary Clinton and only met Weiner in 2008 during Clinton's campaign for presidency. So I'm not too terribly worried about her as some other women who depend their entire lives on their husbands.<br /><br />Now, let's go back to that point that I made in my last blog post. Power can do harm to men's reputations and self-control. And the likelihood of powerful male leaders being Jewish are rather high. Jewish women cannot certainly make generalizations and give up finding a Jewish man in power who won't cheat. There are plenty of wonderful Jewish men who were raised by good <span style="font-style: italic;">mames</span> but the naughty ones just make the headlines.<br /><br />If their <span style="font-style: italic;">mames </span>can't get in their heads to be that "nice Jewish boy," then these men need to take a course on ethics. <br /><br />What's even more squeamish though is that the "other" women were Jewish as well.... Are Jewish communities doing enough to teach morality?<br /><br />I have to tell myself it's only the minority who do wrong things, not the majority but it's the public image that Jews should be conscious of.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-56695718058667446812011-06-01T10:32:00.003-04:002011-06-01T10:44:22.791-04:00Israel Trip 2010 Part 2<p><em>Yom hamesh’i</em></p> <p>7:45 AM</p> <p>Chaim and I are settled on the bus to Ashdod. He eats his favorite breakfast- a cinnamon roll. I am sipping on my favorite iced coffee from Aroma. We are looking forward to a good, but long, day ahead.</p> <p>9:15 AM</p> <p>It feels as if we are dropped off in middle of nowhere, although we are in front of a mall. Yet, we are unsure of where exactly we are supposed to meet Shira, our host. Chaim calls and she says to meet at the gas station. Okay….</p> <div id="attachment_160" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 235px"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dbonthego.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/125.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-160" title="125" src="http://dbonthego.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/125.jpg?w=225&h=300" alt="" height="300" width="225" /></a></div><p class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size:78%;">A Russian man works at his task of putting together plugs.</span></p></div> <p>9:40 AM</p> <p>Shira, Chaim, and I are greeted by an American, Rachel. She made <em>aliyah </em>(immigrated) to Israel in 1959. She is thrilled to be speaking English upon finding out that I know little Hebrew. She says that she is from Chicago. It is difficult to believe that she is an American. She takes us inside to see her operation that she is in charge of. She is showing us two different places that work on the same tasks- putting electrical plugs together. She keeps reminding us that this particular place “is not a factory.” She emphasizes that it’s a social place for the men, who are in their 70s and 80s. These tasks make them feel productive. They earn 300-400 shekels a month, minimum wage. They are all on government pensions already but these extra shekels help to make their lives a bit more comfortable. Their wives are at home. Standing with us, is a young, gorgeous, tall Russian woman who is serving as a translator as part of her national service (instead of serving in the Army). She looks like a model with beautiful face, make-up, and long hair.</p> <p>The men actually used to get paid more before the downturn. But the company decided that it was better to reduce their pay to minimum wage rather than to lay off workers. It’s a different business system here, for sure.</p> <div id="attachment_161" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://dbonthego.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/129.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-161" title="129" src="http://dbonthego.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/129.jpg?w=300&h=225" alt="" height="225" width="300" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size:78%;">Ethiopian women hard at work</span></p></div> <p>10:10 AM</p> <p>We are at another place, where the Ethiopian women are working. They are, like the men, hard at work. We notice a huge glass cabinet full if Ethiopian clay pieces. They are quite a sight to see. We are taken to the back where a lone woman is carefully preparing her clay for sculpting. She has many pieces behind her. Chaim and I each given a piece. I have a statute of a frog. He has a more interesting one- a shell with a man and woman wrapped around each other. It’s a marriage custom in Ethiopia that the shell’s status reflects the communication between the husband and wife. When the shell is open, they are in agreeable mood, open to discussion. When the shell is closed, it signifies that there is absolutely nothing to talk about. Everyone thinks it is a genius idea.</p> <div id="attachment_162" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 235px"><a href="http://dbonthego.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/135.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-162" title="135" src="http://dbonthego.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/135.jpg?w=225&h=300" alt="" height="300" width="225" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size:78%;">The communication tool for marriages</span></p></div> <p>10:45 AM</p> <p>Chaim and I are dropped off at the bus station/mall. We wonder what the heck we are supposed to do for the rest of the day. Chaim says, “Let’s just go to Tel Aviv.”</p> <p>11:40 AM</p> <p>Chaim looks at our bus tickets and says, “They are the same!” Both of our tickets say 8.10 shekels. I shrug, “So? It’s cheap.” He responds, “I <em>should </em>get 50% off! I paid 9 shekels to Ashdod!” A minute later, an older woman enters the bus and the driver charges her 4.10 shekels. Chaim grumbles and insists that he will tell the bus driver. I soothe him to wait until we got to Tel Aviv. And to let it go, really.</p> <p>12:45 PM</p> <p>Chaim is loudly arguing with three men, including the supervisor who is wearing a <em>kippah</em>, from the bus company over the ticket. I have to cover my mouth to hide my amusement to watch Chaim yell at them, to get it off his chest. As I listen to the argument, I pick up some of the Hebrew. The men insist that Chaim should have asked the bus driver for the discount when he got on the bus. Eventually the supervisor and Chaim calm down and the supervisor blesses Chaim a good, long life. I continue to speak to Chaim in Hebrew to prove that we, as Americans, <em>know </em>what the hell we are doing here. I encourage him, “<em>boyah, </em>Chaim, <em>boyah</em>” as we make our way towards the city buses.</p> <p>1:30 PM</p> <p>Chaim and I are relaxing outside Café Hillel on Rothschild Boulevard. The iced tea is a different story. The waiter brings Chaim hot water with mint leaves (<em>nana tee</em>) in a glass mug and another glass full of ice cubes. Chaim realizes what he is supposed to do. As he “makes” his own, he says, “You have to be very, very flexible here.” I nod in agreement. Israelis like that. That’s how they survive in this conflicted country. Chaim and I discuss Israel, our favorite topic.</p> <p>2:15 PM</p> <p>We are walking past Max Brenner’s, a chocolate shop/restaurant. Chaim insists that we go inside, “You cannot walk past Max Brenner’s without buying chocolate!”</p> <p>2:30 PM</p> <p>Chaim and I are standing on Allenby Street, waiting for a 4 or 5 bus to take us to the Ben-Yehuda intersection for a walk to the beach. I tell him to be patient, as there are a lot of buses that come. He notices the traffic, “They go fast here!” It isn’t certainly Jerusalem!</p> <p><a href="http://dbonthego.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/139.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-163" title="139" src="http://dbonthego.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/139.jpg?w=300&h=225" alt="Tel Aviv beach, slightly marred by previous weeks' storms" height="225" width="300" /></a></p> <p>3:15 PM</p> <p>Chaim and I are resting on a bench, looking over the calm water. I notice the deep grooves in the sand. Chaim says, “The beaches are a mess because of that huge rainstorm that we had two weeks ago.” It looks like as if anyone could sprain an ankle just walking across the sand to the water. We people-watch for a while.</p> <p><a href="http://dbonthego.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/141.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-164" title="141" src="http://dbonthego.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/141.jpg?w=225&h=300" alt="" height="300" width="225" /></a></p> <p>4 PM</p> <p><a href="http://dbonthego.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/163.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-167" title="163" src="http://dbonthego.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/163.jpg?w=300&h=225" alt="" height="225" width="300" /></a></p> <p>It gets chilly out so we are now walking to Dan Tel Aviv, a fancy hotel that Chaim used to stay at. I want a picture so I ask a couple. The woman takes a picture of us. She and her husband ask what languages we speak. Chaim and I reply, “<em>Ivrit</em>, English, <em>Deutsch</em>, and <em>Yiddish</em>….” They start talking in <em>Deutsch </em>to me and I respond that we are from America, New York… they do not understand immediately… then they turn to Chaim for Hebrew. Apparently, <em>Deutsch </em>is their mother tongue, which is why they wanted to speak <em>Deutsch </em>first. They claim that they are from America as well. Chaim and I are skeptical as they speak no English to us, even though it’s clear that Chaim and I are native English speakers and American-born.</p> <p>4:45 PM</p> <p>Chaim and I are watching the sun set over the Mediterranean Sea. Chaim is completely at peace. The waitress brings us our drinks- margarita and mojito. I look at my mojito. It does not look right. The liquid is brown. There are no limes. Chaim insist that I did order right, it was mojito. I swirl the straw to see what citrus fruit is in there. It is not green but… more yellow, or possibly orange. I ask, why is the water brown then? Chaim looks at the drink, “I think those are oranges…” I make a face and say, “Well, then I don’t want this drink. I did ask for a mojito but I won’t touch it if it has oranges!” Chaim clinks my glass with his margarita and begins to sip. I say, “Well, then I will just taste…” I taste the drink. It <em>is </em>mojito. Then it hits me. Instead of cane or white sugar, the bartender used brown sugar, and lemons, instead of limes. Then I sigh. I turn to Chaim and say, “Well, as you said earlier, you just gotta be flexible here in Israel. <em>Very </em>flexible.” I look at my drink and blink my eyes.</p> <div id="attachment_165" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 235px"><a href="http://dbonthego.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/153.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-165" title="153" src="http://dbonthego.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/153.jpg?w=225&h=300" alt="" height="300" width="225" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size:78%;">The mojito that wasn't.</span></p></div> <p> </p> <p>6:25 PM</p> <p>The cab driver gets out angrily and glares at me. I hand him a 50 shekel bill. He takes it and says it’s 50 shekels. I knew that he would get upset. I had already bargained with him for 40 shekels and he thought we were just going to the old port, not the road behind it to get to the theater. I already knew that we would get lost. And he was trying to rip us off as American tourists for that Chaim spoke English to me when the cab driver wanted to make a bargain.</p> <p>“It’s 50 shekels!”</p> <p>“I want my 10 shekels back.”</p> <p>“Back there, that’s 40 shekels. <em>Here it’s 50 shekels! This is further away!</em>”</p> <p>“FORTY SHEKELS! We already agreed on it!” Clearly, I showed him what Jerusalem cab drivers had taught me.</p> <p>He grumbles, takes out a 10 shekel and then slams it in my outstretched, open palm. He mutters angrily as he gets back in the car. He continues to yell after us for ripping him off. Chaim briefly explains to me what other cab drivers had told him that led us to here. I smile ruefully and told Chaim that I knew it would be more than 40 shekels and that we would get lost. Chaim says that he wasn’t going to get in middle of anything, with a smile on his face.</p>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-33426410737689193532011-05-31T21:57:00.002-04:002011-05-31T22:28:57.277-04:00Israel Trip Part 1<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><em>yom rishon</em></span></p> <p>5 AM:</p> <p>As I prepare to gather my paperwork at the baggage claim counter, I look over to the side to see at least one hundred bag unclaimed, sitting there sadly, like a junkyard. Then I turn all the way around and blink to see, not just one or two parties, but at least 50 people standing in the line. They had arrived from Prague, looking to find their suitcases as well.</p> <p>6 AM:</p> <p>Jerusalem begins to awake as the sun peeps from behind the horizon. There is always something about watching the sun rise, because you can see the rays but not the sun itself. It’s as if one was waiting for the most important person but it would take a while, just because <em>she/he </em>is the most important. I attempt to make out the architecture, the streets, and the signs to locate myself in the city as the shared cab (<em>shreut</em>) weaves its way through the city to drop off passengers.</p> <p>6:30 AM:</p> <p>A day and half later, I finally make to my grandfather’s apartment. “Chaim” greeted me with a big, expectant smile. He was already up, <em>davening </em>(praying). I hope that he is praying for my bag’s safe return.</p> <p>11 A.M.:</p> <p>I am at Super-Pharm, preparing to re-stock my toiletries that had been lost. There is one aisle lined with international skincare and cosmetic brands and I want to see if they had any familiar American brands. Clean & Clear in another aisle do not satisfy me and I wonder if there are more options. I ask the first woman if there are any Clean & Clear face cleaners. She leads me to the same shelves that I just looked at. She mentions that they’re all on sale. I smile and ask about Neutrogena. She takes me over to that international aisle. I thank her, <span style="font-style: italic;">todah rabah</span>. I look and see that many are 40% off so I take a few. I walk away. Then I am tapped by a second woman, with a cellphone in her hand, and she says that she wants to be sure that these bottles are discounted. So she uses her cellhphone program (You <em>know </em>you’re in Israel if you see an awesome piece of technology that you’ve never seen before). I thank her and walk away. I meander around the store to the other side and see L’Oreal. Just as I bend down to read the labels, I am suddenly approached by a third woman and a fourth woman. They eagerly point out how cheap (<span style="font-style: italic;">zol!!!)</span> the products are and they’re very, very good. At this point, I am quite bit bewildered by constant <del>attention</del> nagging. I blank out on my Hebrew for “go away” so I use my rude English and my hands to push them away from me. They seem slightly offended (everyone gets offended anyway in Israel). The bottle is too much, even with 40% discount. So I move to the line and purchase everything. The price screen is not working so I do not see what the total is. After receiving the receipt, I look at it and my eyes are about to pop out. 315 shekels?! That’s close to $90! I examine the receipt more closely to see what products racked up the cost. The two Neutrogena bottles are the culprits. I had thought the stickers read 19.99 shekels (which I thought it was a terrific deal) but the receipt says 79.99. I sigh in a huff and go back to the register. I give them the receipt and two bottles, while grabbing one Clean & Clear bottle for an exchange. I say that these bottles are too expensive and I had thought the stickers said 19.99, not 79.99. Manager is apparently right there and says to me that they are 40% off. I shake my head and respond <em>no</em>, I want to return them. He and the female cashier look at me with disbelief. They stammer and say how cheap they are. I grit my teeth and firmly tell them, “Not as cheap as in the United States!” They shut up and proceed with the t</p><p><em>yom shnee</em></p> <p>11 AM</p> <p>I am walking through the new Mamilla mall. I stop at the Gap and Ahava. The Gap literally has nothing for me. Ahava has a special sale on its hand cream, 2 for 140 shekels. Excellent… but I think I will try to get that at the airport, duty-free.</p> <p>12 PM</p> <p>I tread carefully down the alley in the Christian Quarter the Old City of Jerusalem. I dislike this because there are steps with small ramps for carts. It is easy to slip and fall if one does not know how to maneuver this. <br /></p> <p>12:15 PM</p> <p>I’m walking about in the Muslim Quarter, thinking about where to eat. I find a baklava shop and buy a few pieces. <em>Yum</em>. I keep an eye out for any bargains, on anything. Nothing is to be found. However I do find that Neutrogena face scrub for 45 shekels in a small pharmacy, compared to 80 shekels (at regular price) in Super Pharm. Only catch is that it’s cash-only.</p> <p>12:45 PM</p> <p>It is glorious outside. I have told a few people that I would be visiting the new wing in the Israel Museum today. If I would make that happen and make it to Chaim’s office for an appointment at 4:30, I should leave the Center by 2 PM. Maybe I’ll go. Maybe not… I just want to relax, after two days of insanity. The tracks are clearly laid out on Jaffa Road. I wonder when the trains are coming.</p> <p>2 PM</p> <p>I’m still chatting with my dad over Google Talk. I am sitting in Cafe Hillel, where the waitress remembers me from the previous day and brings me an English menu without me asking for it. Sitting in a cafe with a cup of cappuccino with a small bowl of two chocolate pieces just feels so European. It’s the beautiful thing about living in Israel. The food and leisure culture is distinctively European, but the technology, hype, and media are American. In the moment, I decide not to bother with the Israel Museum. I am too concerned about my bag and I am just too tired to soak in anything more than what is going on around me.</p> <p>3:45 PM</p> <p>I put on my spanking new black Converse sneakers. For the first time in 5 days, my feet can finally breathe after wearing those leather boots.</p> <p>4:30 PM</p> <p>Chaim greets me and frantically tells me that the Polish students are here already. “They came early!” We walk quickly to the office where the two Polish students are waiting patiently with kind smiles on their faces. They are very handsome and friendly-looking. We begin to talk eagerly about this <em>shtetl </em>project and they offer their help with connections in Poland. The keys, I think, are access to Polish-English translators and commitment from Poles in our desired region. Chaim appears positive about the whole project as the Poles have enlightened him with their current views of Jews in Poland. We want to make a trip to Poland within the next few years.</p> <p>8 PM</p> <p>The walk from Emek Refaim to Angel Bakery is beautiful. I relish in the fact that there are no snow on the ground. The dark streets between Emek Refaim and the intersection on King George is a bit dark but I had walked here often enough to know it is okay. I am at the bakery now, determining what small treats I would like. I ask for two chocolate rugalech. Then I see something that looks like it has poppyseeds but I forget my Hebrew for one. So I point to the treats with one finger and the woman says, “<em>ahat</em>?” Ahhhhh<em>….</em> yes<em>, “ahat, bevekesha</em>.” I am slowly relearning my Hebrew, just bits and pieces, each day. I count quietly on the way home. But I forget what’s 10.</p> <p>8:30 PM</p> <p>“Chaim, what’s <em>ivrit </em>for 10?”</p> <p>“<em>Ester.”</em></p> <p>“Oh, right.”</p> <p><em>yom shleeshee</em></p> <p>11:50 AM</p> <p>Chaim and I arrive at Ronit’s home. We are greeted by a Chinese maid. She is very young but dresses hip in her jeans, black framed glasses, a funky t-shirt, and sneakers. We say hello to Ronit, who is wearing all red. I take a whiff of an old lady’s scent. I suddenly wonder why I agreed to join this lunch but I keep quiet. Something could come out of this.</p> <p>12:10 PM</p> <p>The Chinese maid is excellent. She controls the walker with her foot while holding the door as Ronit makes her way down a ramp. She navigates the Jerusalem traffic very well. I think, “Wow, she really gets a lot of perks here!”</p> <p>2 PM</p> <p>As we watched the traffic ahead of us on our way back from lunch to Chaim’s office, Ronit says, “The Israelis drive the way they want to!” The Chinese maid says that Chinese drivers are worse.</p> <p>3 PM</p> <p>Chaim and I arrive at our dear friend’s <em>shiva</em>. I want to say hello and do a good mitzvah by being there and just seeing them.</p> <p>3;45 PM</p> <p>Friend says, “I’d much rather have a cup of coffee with you than this!”</p> <p>7:15 PM</p> <p>Chaim and I sit in the audience of a panel discussing <a href="http://jdcambassadorscircle.blogspot.com/2010/08/profile-of-jdc-hero.html">Joe Schwartz</a>‘s activities during the Holocaust. He was the director of the Joint Distribution Committee- Europe. My Hebrew slowly comes back, especially that the panelists are speaking clearly and not too quickly. Chaim whispers to me that one of the panelist is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yehuda_Bauer">Yehuda Bauer</a>. Oh. My. God. I want to meet him.</p> <p>10 PM</p> <p>Chaim and I get into a vigorous discussion about Jewish organizations’ role during the Holocaust.</p> <p><em>yom riviee</em></p> <p>10 AM</p> <p>I’m trying to figure out this washing machine. The dryer is very old too. I hope that my clothes will not get ruined.</p> <p>12:00 PM</p> <p>I am at the best, best, best bakery of all Jerusalem, Marizpan Bakery. It is located in the Mehane Yehuda Shuk. The bakery had re-organized itself a bit since the last time. Nonetheless, I choose my poison carefully, including three pieces of their notorious and tantalizing <a href="http://www.jerusalemite.net/modules/article_files/get_image.php?image=3051">chocolate rugalech</a>.</p> <p>12:15 PM</p> <p>Shuk is clean and humming. I make my through to see what’s changed. Not too much. It is a pleasant walk through. The produce is just beautiful, as usual. Strawberries are in season here in Israel, along with pomegranates and persimmons.</p> <p>12:45 PM</p> <p>I return from errands. Washing machine isn’t moving. Something’s wrong here. Then I push a button. It starts. <span style="font-style: italic;">Tov.</span><br /></p> <p>1:40 PM</p> <p>Washing machine is still going. It’s time to make it to the Israel Museum.</p> <p>2:15 PM</p> <p>I whip out my credit card, preparing to pay 48 shekels for the entrance fee. I do not pay much attention until I see the slip. 24 shekels. The woman is kind enough to give me a disability discount because she sees my cochlear implant. Amazing. For the first time in 25 years, I actually get a disability discount anywhere! I love Israel.</p> <p>2:30 PM – 4 PM</p> <p>I am wishing that a certain friend of mine and my mother are here with me to appreciate all this beautiful art and artifacts. I am completely in awe of the new archaeological wing. You cannot see anything like this anywhere else in the world. The artifacts are in pristine condition. Some of the highlights: an ancient bull’s horn, readable lithographs in Greek and Latin (including an edict for Jews to desert their religion, just before the Maccabees’ war), gorgeous mosaic floors lifted from the Old City of Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter and several synagogues in the Judean or Galilee regions, and interesting idol statutes from ancient Egypt. The narrative is excellent, balanced, and informative. It strives to tell the story of <em>The Land, </em>in a non-sectarian, non-political manner. It describes The Land as the crossroads of many cultures and one can see the influences. The narrative begins millions of years ago and ends just as Ottomans seized The Land away from the Crusaders. It is a long but worthwhile exhibit. I am a museum junkie so my stay in the exhibit is longer than most people would say… but I also appreciate so much of the art.</p> <p>4:30 PM</p> <p>I am completely at peace while walking home to the apartment, just as the sun begins to set. I also suddenly remember that it’s winter. Yesterday was the first day and I did not even notice. It’s difficult to see any signs of winter or Christmas here.</p> <p>8:30 PM</p> <p>Chaim and I are at Joy’s Restaurant on Emek Refaim to have dinner with friends of his who are visiting from the United States. I immediately like the woman although I can see that she is very strong and expects people to listen to her. I meet a cute guy and we are talking easily. We all share vegetable appetizers.</p> <p>9:50 PM</p> <p>Chaim and I are in the cab on our way home. I ask Chaim who exactly was that guy. Chaim replies that he’s a friend and is the husband of the woman next to the friend’s daughter. I complain, “He’s <em>married</em>?! Where are the nice, single Jewish guys?!” </p>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-59170652138899358812011-05-30T10:29:00.008-04:002011-05-30T21:26:19.730-04:00"What's Up with the Jews? " That's Negative Publicity That's What's Up..You could probably hear my groan when I came across Stanley Fish's <a href="http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/whats-up-with-the-jews/">op-ed piece</a> in New York Times. Again? Again? Can I ask, what's up with op-ed writers writing about Jews? As a blogger, Stanley Fish is interested in the increased public interest on the hidden label of "Jew," with negative connotation, on powerful people being arrested lately who happen to be Jewish and by antisemites' outbursts and actions (cough, Mel Gibson, cough). Fish defends the primary reason why Jews have been targeted by everyone- Jews are disproportionally wealthy and in leadership positions. Jews are just a bunch of well-educated folks, seeped in tradition and history. And those are the reasons why people envy, no, hate Jews, and these "bad Jews" are just being pawns in antisemitic rhetoric. Those Jews just aren't helping Jews' public image, in which the community has worked so long to improve. (The Holocaust may have dramatically reduced antisemitism but we're not at 0% yet.)<br /><br />Stanley Fish is only really pointing out the paradox in today's portrayal of Jews. Jews are do-gooders. Jews are also evil. That's pretty darn confusing, he reasons. He thinks Jews can be anything, good or bad. I interpret his question and response as something more like this:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What kind of reputation should a modern-day Jew have then? Better yet, how can Jews continue to combat antisemitism, even as an occasional Jewish leader embarrasses his worldwide family with acts of transgression?</span><br /><br />First of all, can I just say that DSK, Madoff, Spitzer, and other leaders (who happened to be Jewish) acted no different from other human beings? They're men. They have egos. It's no secret that when handed with power, there is a high potential for them to abuse it (insert in an image of <a href="http://www.frogdice.com/muckbeast/images/jafar.gif">Jafar in <span style="font-style: italic;">Aladdin </span>when he becomes an ominous genie</a>). Look at Tiger Woods. Like at all those NBA players. Richard Nixon. Yeah, even Hitler and his buddies. Dictators in the Middle East, Southasia Asia, and Latin America. No secret.<br /><br />So, why is there a need to nitpick 'em as Jews? Keep race and ethnicity out of the crimes that people commit. We're all human beings with impulses. We're all liable to err our ways once we harness power over other human beings. We're also fallible with our lips, how we have a natural tendency to single out other ethnic groups simply because they're foreigners and strangers to us. The media, bloggers, and racists aren't treating Jews as regular human beings with different set of values and religious practices. (And is it <span style="font-style: italic;">so </span>ironic the producers, editors, and other top people running the media are Jews? I'll get to this one)<br /><br />So back to the question. In other words, what can Jews do these days to combat their negative public image?<br /><br />Jews need to become example setters. Jews need to inspire others to realize that there is a point to have an education, to maintain strong ethnic/religious traditions, and hold values (quite much like American values, which shouldn't be so difficult for anti-semitic Americans to attain and maintain..) such as justice, equality, and liberty). Secular and religious alike, Jews just have those basics down and find a way to become successful. I've had non-Jewish friends awe over our qualities and traditions' meanings, especially Yom Kippur and Passover.<br /><br />One of the more important things that we need to teach ourselves and our children is to call out on those antisemitic undertones everywhere. Confront people who whisper those and say, "What's up with you and Jews?" (keep yourself out of the picture) Challenge them and ask if they know of any "good" Jews. I applaud Chuck Lorre for calling out on Charlie Sheen, who plays one of television's most loved characters.<br /><br />As a community, Jews should focus on the positives of our Jewish history. We should remember and examine Jews who truly have set examples for others, simply because they're decent human beings who could/can distinguish the right from the wrong. There are so many more Jews who have done wonderful things than those who committed crime. Take a look at the <a href="http://survey.nmajh.org/">top 18 Jewish figures that the public have voted</a> at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, and "<a href="http://jwa.org/historymakers">History Makers</a>" listed by Jewish Women's Archives in Boston. <span style="font-style: italic;">And <span style="font-style: italic;">let others know about them!</span></span> Personally, I admire Elena Kagan, Steven Spielberg, and Betty Friedan. And I know several Jewish men and women whom I deeply admire as well.<br /><br />But I'll look at the public shaming of "bad Jews", in particular by the Jewish community as a way to remind them that the whole Jewish diaspora took notice and disapproved their actions. Nice way to embarrass the family of over 12 million, guys. Now, do some good and salvage our image.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-86189755170057424582011-05-22T16:28:00.006-04:002011-05-22T23:10:39.230-04:00AIPAC, here we againObama's declaration of Israel accepting pre-1967 borders in his Middle East speech hardly surprised me. It's the US stance. But with the arrival of Bibi the next day, I could only surmise that Bibi will storm in the White House and give Obama a earful. Which he did.<br /><br />Yet, I was unsettled by Obama's speech on Thursday though. Nothing new but... the "mutually agreed land swaps" had me wondering. What did that mean?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://ironicsurrealism.blogivists.com/2011/05/22/transcript-obama-aipac-speech-may-22-2011/">Obama cleared up that issue at AIPAC</a>. Demographics have changed since 1967 and then I agreed with his point. Still, if you look at the demographic map of Israel (<a href="http://static.foreignpolicyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/israel-palestine_map.jpg">an example here, not great but gives you a picture</a>), how is this going to work? Being such a vulnerable state, Israel needs security buffer. A 2-hour drive between the West Bank and the Mediterranean is hardly defensible. Military invaders could choke and separate Israel into North and South. Furthermore, much of Israel's Jewish population tend to favor living in central Israel.<br /></div><br />Really, I think, the country is just too small to be divided in a way that can satisfy the need for both parties. Israelis (and Diaspora Jews) want to keep as much of the land they can that they won in 1967 and have a state of substantial size for defense. The Palestinians have a much higher birth rate than the Israelis and they need large enough of land to support its rapidly growing population.<br /><br />Aside from border issues, what is more important to me is the recognition of the state of Israel by Hamas, who wants to join with the PA in governing Palestine. Israel is already willing to make <span style="font-style: italic;">some </span>concessions but Hamas is taking the "my way or the highway" route. That just doesn't get anyone anywhere for the peace deal. Yes, it is a terrorist group and it will always hate Israel. But Israel isn't going to make its move on the chessboard without security assurance should Hamas agree to recognize the state of Israel and bombard it with rockets themselves. Israelis need to feel safe first, diplomatic- and military-wise.<br /><br />Obama and other foreign leaders need to pressure Hamas. Strangling Gaza hasn't been too effective in shutting down that government (but it has weaken it to the point where it saw the need to join forces with PA).<br /><br />I know this whole argument isn't much different from the past and, so here it goes again with more affirmative points. Should I be excited? Not quite. We're used to this cycle of starting and stopping. But I do expect Obama to be tougher than his predecessors to get this peace thing going. He got the healthcare reform passed and that was <span style="font-style: italic;">tough</span> for our free enterprise, democratic country.<br /><br />Earn your Nobel Peace Prize now, President Obama.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-12029824578390893782011-05-21T12:43:00.002-04:002011-05-21T12:48:45.860-04:00Latest Holocaust e-mail chain<span style="border-collapse:separate;font-family:Helvetica;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;font-size:medium"><div lang="EN-US"><div><div><blockquote style="border-top-style:none;border-right-style:none;border-bottom-style:none;border-width:initial;border-color:initial;border-left-style:solid;border-left-color:blue;border-left-width:1.5pt;padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in;padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:4pt;margin-left:3.75pt;margin-top:5pt;margin-bottom:5pt"><div><blockquote style="border-top-style:none;border-right-style:none;border-bottom-style:none;border-width:initial;border-color:initial;border-left-style:solid;border-left-color:blue;border-left-width:1.5pt;padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in;padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:4pt;margin-left:3.75pt;margin-top:5pt;margin-bottom:5pt"><table style="margin-left:21pt" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in;padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:0in" valign="top"><div><div><blockquote style="border-top-style:none;border-right-style:none;border-bottom-style:none;border-width:initial;border-color:initial;border-left-style:solid;border-left-color:blue;border-left-width:1.5pt;padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in;padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:4pt;margin-left:3.75pt;margin-top:5pt;margin-bottom:5pt"><div><blockquote style="border-top-style:none;border-right-style:none;border-bottom-style:none;border-width:initial;border-color:initial;border-left-style:solid;border-left-color:blue;border-left-width:1.5pt;padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in;padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:4pt;margin-left:3.75pt;margin-top:5pt;margin-bottom:5pt"><div><blockquote style="border-top-style:none;border-right-style:none;border-bottom-style:none;border-width:initial;border-color:initial;border-left-style:solid;border-left-color:blue;border-left-width:1.5pt;padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in;padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:4pt;margin-left:3.75pt;margin-top:5pt;margin-bottom:5pt"><div><div><table style="margin-left:31.5pt" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in;padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:0in" valign="top"><blockquote style="border-top-style:none;border-right-style:none;border-bottom-style:none;border-width:initial;border-color:initial;border-left-style:solid;border-left-color:rgb(16, 16, 255);border-left-width:1.5pt;padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in;padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:4pt;margin-left:3.75pt;margin-top:5pt;margin-bottom:5pt"> <div><div><div><div><div><div><blockquote style="border-top-style:none;border-right-style:none;border-bottom-style:none;border-width:initial;border-color:initial;border-left-style:solid;border-left-color:blue;border-left-width:1.5pt;padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in;padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:4pt;margin-left:3.75pt;margin-top:5pt;margin-bottom:5pt"> <div><div><div><div><div><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">I received this in the e-mail yesterday. There were two components - a story of a survivor who saved 2,500 children and a emotion-induced cartoon (well, you can't deny how cute cartoon children are!).<span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: fuchsia;"><a href="http://us.mc522.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=mberber35@Look" title="http://us.mc522.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=mberber35@Look" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size: 18pt; color: black;" lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></b></a></span></span></p><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif"><span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:fuchsia"><a href="http://us.mc522.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=mberber35@Look" title="http://us.mc522.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=mberber35@Look" style="color:blue;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size:18pt;color:black" lang="EN-GB">Look</span></b></a></span></span><b><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN-GB"> at this lady - Let us never forget!</span></b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black"> </span></p></div></div></div><div><table style="width:725px" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="width:721px;padding-top:1.5pt;padding-right:1.5pt;padding-bottom:1.5pt;padding-left:1.5pt" width="100%"><div><div><div><div><div><div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in;padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:0in" valign="top"><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in;padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:0in" valign="top"><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="width:540.75pt;padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in;padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:0in" valign="top" width="721"><div><table style="width: 723px; height: 4692px;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in;padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:0in" valign="top"><div><div style="margin-bottom:12pt"><div> </div></div></div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;text-align:center" align="center"><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN-GB">The world hasn't just become wicked...it' s always been wicked. The prize doesn't always go to the most deserving.</span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN-GB"><span> </span><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black"><img alt="cid:1.754315128@web57311.mail.re1.yahoo.com" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=9b83b8c8ff&view=att&th=13010291435a6533&attid=0.4&disp=emb&realattid=a0033236a17eff07_0.1.1&zw" border="0" height="396" width="300" /></span><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN-GB"><br /><br />Irena Sendler <span> </span><br /><br />There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. <span> </span><br /><br />During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. <span> </span><br /><br />She had an 'ulterior motive'. <span> </span><br /><br />She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews (being German). <span> </span><br /><br />Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids). <span> </span><br /><br />She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. <span> </span><br /><br />The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises. <span> </span><br /><br />During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. </span></p></div></div></div></div><div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;text-align:center" align="center"> <span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN-GB"><br /></span><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black"><img alt="http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://www.estatevaults.com/lm/_Irene_Sandler.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.estatevaults.com/lm/archives/2008/05/18/irena_sandler_r.html&usg=__BfoLz5__4i4wPsM1pZN3gi8XsLU=&h=288&w=200&sz=53&hl=en&start=0&tbnid=L8dG_IMRcpCZuM:&tbnh=166&tbnw=121&prev=/images?q=Irena+Sandler&um=1&hl=en&safe=off&sa=X&rls=com.microsoft:en-au:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7HPAB&biw=1216&bih=610&tbs=isch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=147&vpy=73&dur=2574&hovh=230&hovw=160&tx=79&ty=103&ei=fIpaTN3HF4eEvgPwoJTiAQ&" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=9b83b8c8ff&view=att&th=13010291435a6533&attid=0.2&disp=emb&realattid=a0033236a17eff07_0.1.2&zw" border="0" height="230" width="160" /></span></p> </div></div></div></div><div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;text-align:center" align="center"><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN-GB"><br />She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. <span> </span><br /><br />Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. </span></p> </div></div></div></div><div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;text-align:center" align="center"> </p></div></div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;text-align:center" align="center"> <span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black"><img alt="http://nathauribe.edublogs.org/files/2008/04/sendler1.jpg" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=9b83b8c8ff&view=att&th=13010291435a6533&attid=0.3&disp=emb&realattid=a0033236a17eff07_0.1.3&zw" border="0" height="180" width="141" /></span></p> <div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;text-align:center" align="center"><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN-GB">After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. <span> </span><br /><br />Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted. <span> </span><br /><br />Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize. <span> </span><br /><br />She was not selected. <span> </span><br />President Obama won one year before becoming President for his work as a community organizer for ACORN</span></p></div><div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;text-align:center" align="center"> <span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN-GB">and<span> </span><br />Al Gore won also --- for a slide show on Global Warming. <span> </span><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN-GB"><br /></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black"><img alt="cid:2.754315128@web57311.mail.re1.yahoo.com" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=9b83b8c8ff&view=att&th=13010291435a6533&attid=0.1&disp=emb&realattid=a0033236a17eff07_0.1.4&zw" border="0" height="400" width="600" /></span><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN-GB"><br /><b><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif">In MEMORIAM - 63 YEARS LATER</span></strong></b> <span> </span><br /><b><br />Please read the little cartoon carefully, it's powerful.</b> <span> </span><br /><b><br />Then read the comments at the end.</b> </span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN-GB"><span> </span><br /></span><b><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN-GB"><br />I'm doing my small part by forwarding this message.</span></b><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN-GB"> <span> </span><br /><b><br />I hope you'll consider doing the same..</b><br /></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN-GB"><br /></span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black"><img alt="cid:3.754315128@web57311.mail.re1.yahoo.com" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=9b83b8c8ff&view=att&th=13010291435a6533&attid=0.5&disp=emb&realattid=a0033236a17eff07_0.1.5&zw" border="0" height="1610" width="398" /></span></p> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;text-align:center" align="center"><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN-GB"><br />It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended. <span> </span><br /><br />This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and<span> </span><span>1,900</span>Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved and humiliated! <span> </span><br /><br />Now, more than ever, with Iran , and others, claiming the HOLOCAUST to be 'a myth'. <span> </span><br /><br />It's imperative to make sure the world never forgets, because there are others who would like to do it again. <span> </span><br /><br />This e-mail is intended to reach 40 million people worldwide! <span> </span><br /><br />Join us and be a link in the memorial chain and help us distribute it around the world.. <span> </span><br /><br />Please send this e-mail to people you know and ask them to continue the memorial chain.<br /><b><br />Please don't just delete it.</b> <span> </span><br /><b><br />It will only take you a minute to pass this along..</b> </span></p></div></div><div><div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif"> <span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN-GB"><br /></span><b><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;color:black" lang="EN-GB"><br />Thanks!</span></b></p></div></div></td> </tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div><div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif"> </p></div></div></div> </div><div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif"> </p></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-bottom:12pt"><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif"> </p></div></div><div><div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif"><br /></p></div></div></td></tr><tr><td style="width:721px;padding-top:1.5pt;padding-right:1.5pt;padding-bottom:1.5pt;padding-left:1.5pt" width="100%"> <table style="width:721px" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="width:721px;padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in;padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:0in" width="100%"><div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif"> </p></div></td><td style="padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in;padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:0in" valign="bottom"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif"> </p></div></div></div></div></blockquote></div></div></div></div></div></div></blockquote></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></blockquote></div></blockquote></div></blockquote></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:0.0001pt"> <br /></div></blockquote></div></blockquote></div></div></div></span>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-83499898913268923342011-05-11T13:16:00.007-04:002011-05-16T11:02:07.331-04:00Making more meaningful connectionsWe have a problem with the way Jewish communities are trying to bring Israel to its Jews. There is plenty of literature on American Jews distancing from Israel because of politics, <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/study-young-american-jews-ambivalent-toward-israel-1.152204">associations</a>, and identity conflicts. Do we have to be pro-Israel? Do we have to pick one side or the other in terms of how we want to make this peace deal? Explain again in 2011 terms, not 1948, why we need Israel? It's all about politics and American Jews are generally uncomfortably with "dual-loyalty" and confrontations that threaten their social status. There's no way to avoid any of this as long as Israel exists and Zionism remains a political philosophy. How do we mitigate this issue for Jews who are uncomfortable getting <span style="font-style: italic;">that </span>involved politically but <span style="font-style: italic;">want </span>to do something with or for Israel? The answer is: reorganize Birthright to serve the <span style="font-style: italic;">specific </span>interests and needs of students, not a "one-size-fits-all" experience as critics like to term it.<br /><br />Let's be honest. I wasn't crazy about hiking through a forest where we held onto each other for support to avoid slipping on wet rocks during my Birthright trip. Kayaking down Jordan river was fun and relaxing, but I was thirsty. Not for water. But thirsty for knowledge about the area's significance, not the water. I wanted to go back to Tzfat, where we had arrived from, and talk more about spirituality and mysticism. Or the Golan Heights and hear more in details about the battle for the land in 1967 and why we had to capture it from Syria.<br /><br />With each successive visit to Israel, I discover more and more of Israel's jewels beyond the nature. I was already thinking along the same lines as <span style="font-style: italic;">Haaretz's </span>reporter, Anshel Pfeffer, in his piece <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/birthright-israel-tours-are-insulting-young-jews-intelligence-1.358722">here</a>, when I started writing this entry. Basically, Birthright trips should offer much more than it does now. Israelis often refer them to <span style="font-style: italic;">Taglit</span>, which means "discovery." But what does <span style="font-style: italic;">Taglit </span>really mean in figurative sense these days? <span style="font-style: italic;">Taglit</span> came to me in 2007, not 2005, when I started exploring Jerusalem by foot and bus, through Mehane Yehuda shuk and various quarters in the Old City, and then to Tel Aviv along Allenby Street, if only briefly on my first visit. The more I experienced Israel firsthand such as figuring out the proper custom for those Egged buses when Shabbat was over and having iced drinks with Sudanese refugees, the more I felt connected to the <span style="font-style: italic;">country</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">at the moment</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> and, at the same time, the memories of my Birthright trip began to wane. </span></span>By the time I left Israel after 7 months, I had long forgotten the events of my Birthright trip, only with pictures and e-mails with one of the participants who I had befriended.<br /><br />I'm not suggesting that we let 18 year-olds with little street-smarts to wander out in Israel alone but rather take them to meet <span style="font-style: italic;">real </span>Israel, with <span style="font-style: italic;">real </span>issues. As Pfeffer wrote,<br /><p style="font-weight: bold;">Israel is a much more interesting and complex country than Birthright would have its alumni believe and if the majority of participants, who rarely bother open a newspaper and whose websurfing habits are confined to celebrity gossip, enjoy the trip, that’s fine, but once they get back to their countries of origin, some of them may act as pro-Israel activists on campus for a while, but the rest will be looking for the next thrill. </p><span style="font-weight: bold;"> The serious minority, those who in a few years from now will be the real opinion-makers and leaders, are either already involved and informed, and therefore Birthright was superfluous for them, but most of them are simply too intelligent to buy into this saccharine alternative to the real Israel. And they are the target audience.</span><br /><br />Right on target, Mr. Pfeffer, but should we focus on expanding the numbers of the "serious minority"? Beyond general community leadership (such as executive director of a Jewish Community Center or Federation), we could build leaders in other areas by connecting American Jews with their real interests and hobbies that exist in Israel. <br /><br />When Hebrew University's Rothberg International School e-mailed me announcing a <a href="http://overseas.huji.ac.il/dance">new dance program</a>, I was immediately excited. How wonderful would this be for students interested in dance and learning from Israeli and Russian dancers? It's an unique opportunity. If one could simply participate in <span style="font-style: italic;">something </span>in Israel, the connection, I think, would all be more meaningful because of cultivated relationships. What if a Birthright trip could be designed around dance, while following the curriculum of visiting the Old City, Masada, and the like? Would dance workshops in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and in a Bedouin camp make a more lasting difference?<br /><br />Everywhere I looked out the window on the Egged bus between cities, I saw opportunities for young Americans to connect with Israel, through like-minded peers. Right now, I'm thinking how I would love to visit and talk with people involved in ever-growing therapeutic riding programs.<br /><br />It's still lacking in all areas of Birthright. I perused Birthright NEXT's website to see what they had done since 2005. Comparatively much more. Back in 2005, there wasn't a lot and mostly based in large cities like New York and geared towards post-graduates, not rising sophomores. I had to find my own way in maintaining my connection to Israel, which I did through Colgate Jewish Union and study abroad. Now, I wonder if the increase in opportunities and programming has proven to be more effective. Probably, especially with the social media being all in the range in helping people find like-minded peers.<br /><br />I didn't see any programs that could reach specific audience. I've glanced through MASA but the descriptions are still vague. Volunteer in what? What are the options? Where could the kibbutz be? Are there any possibilities to work on healthcare or refugee issues?<br /><br />I could be suggesting a post-Zionist view here by doing away with kibbutzim but the most <span style="font-style: italic;">important </span>issue is simply keeping American Jews connected to Israel through whatever means to make that happen.<br /><br />I say, change the programming and organization of Birthright trips. Jewish communities need leaders who can serve in different areas, especially in the cultural realm. Give more options for students to discover how their passions translate in Israel. During my policy-focused <a href="http://www.germanycloseup.de/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Germany Close-Up: American Jews Meet Modern Germany</span></a> trip sponsored by American Jewish Committee, students who were interested in international relations or political science seemed to be much more engaged with the speakers and sincere in their attempts to understand German-Jewish/Israeli relations. Because of this trip's nature, I actually almost felt like my 5-day trip to Germany was more meaningful than my 10-day trip to Israel.<br /><br />No, seriously, we should promote Israel differently. Why? If we don't tell young people that there are intimate opportunities in Israel<span style="font-style: italic;"></span> that are so relevant to them, why should they care? And that's not good news if they don't. <br /><br />Without their involvement in Israeli culture as future participants of their respective Jewish communities, American Jewish communities will certainly be devoid of creativity, cultural exchanges,, and a politically neutral connection to Israel.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-40568681941138301082011-05-09T22:34:00.001-04:002011-05-09T22:34:23.523-04:00Let's get back to this.Sorry, Nefesh b'Israel, to have neglected you for so long. Are you accusing me of flirting with another blog? Guilty as charged. I've been running a separate, anonymous blog for my trip to Germany that had a different focus from this.<br /><br />But I promise that I will give some reflections of being Jewish in Germany and Israel over time.<br /><br />Right now, I'm on the job hunt again. Instead of San Francisco, I've put my eye on Washington, DC. Being in Germany made me realize how much I care about international/foreign issues, especially regarding Jewish politics and communities. I was asked by a recruiter today, "Why DC? Why not Chicago or New York or LA?" I said, "Because I like to talk politics and international issues. I like to be surrounded by all that stuff." It's just so intellectually exciting for me when I learn about new issues and more deeply about the old ones, listen to other perspectives, and read debating columnists and op-ed pieces. Mainly, I want to be part of the cultural, social, and political exchanges that goes in tandem with globalization. <br /><br />And Berlin was pretty darn big with so much politics, history, and culture. It's the size of New York City in terms of land (but half the population at 1.3 million versions 2.6 million). In a way, I got to live in New York City but for cheap. After living in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Berlin, DC, and San Francisco, and growing up near New York, DC is taking the prize. Given that I enjoyed living in Berlin, Jerusalem, and DC in the past, I've found that I really want to be in the heart of a country, where passions reach their heights. I can taste all the important debates and decisions are being conducted. I'm only a heartbeat away from those lawmakers, activists, and lobbyists who are trying to make changes. And I can jump in, like I can (maybe) counter-protest at the AIPAC since I'll be in the city during the conference, to drown out all anti-Israel/Zionist chants with pro-Israel ones.<br /><br />Well, I'm not driving on the Belt anyway so that's one less major complaint.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-35000323173013788682010-09-09T22:32:00.004-04:002010-09-09T23:09:26.791-04:00Betting on the Koran in the Rabbi's SermonToo bad that this hilarious e-mail I received a week or two ago didn't ask if the congregant wished to place bets on topics that the rabbi would discuss in his sermon. (The said e-mail was basically a satire of seating arrangement questionnaire, which included a question if you wanted to sit next to a doctor or be as far as possible from your in-laws.)<div><br /></div><div>Before I went in, I thought in my head, "Okay, I want to bet $20 that the Rabbi's going to bring up the recent peace talks, and maybe $50 if he talks about Koran book-burning... that's so recent, would the Rabbi have had enough time to think about how to discuss Islam in this context?"</div><div><br /></div><div>Turns out that I would've won the money.</div><div><br /></div><div>Since the announcement for Koran book-burning, I felt real chills. This was a deja-vu of the book-burning in Nazi Germany that took place in spring 1933. Certainly the intentions were different thing but it's still a hate crime. As an American, it is still so hard to believe that there are people in this country willing to defying the principles that this country was founded upon.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've been largely silent on the mosque-near-Ground-Zero issue because I am still so conflicted. My parents and brother are completely opposed to it. When we discussed this a few weeks ago, I tried to play Devil's Advocate but that failed. It could be the media but it is becoming scary to me, as a Jew, to see Muslims in America suffer from anti-Islam activities and speeches. I was so shocked to hear of a passenger who climbed in a taxi cab and had asked the driver if he was a Muslim, and the driver said his final word, "Yes." He was shot right then. Then I read about this little mosque in middle of nowhere between Rochester and Buffalo being bullied by the larger community (teenagers driving by and honking during prayer services, dog feces, etc). Although my parents are willing to acknowledge that we should, as Jews, be more sympathetic and tolerant towards Muslims because of our long history as victims, but 9/11 was just too personal for them (being New Yorkers and having worked in/near WTC).</div><div><br /></div><div>The media is quite sensational, especially as these days leading up to our 9th anniversary of 9/11. The savvy journalists remember to question in their articles, "Is this an act of ignorance or pure hatred for what the fundamentalists did on 9/11?" But for most part, the media frames the situation as this- the Muslims are scapegoats and the Americans are simply acting out their anger for what 9/11 terrorists have done to their country. </div><div><br /></div><div>So far me, I think, being a second-generation post-Holocaust, that I can support the idea of a Muslim community center near Ground Zero because I do believe it can serve as a purpose. As a social historian, I've found that discussions become more effective as memories become more tempered and there is a growing emotional distance between generations. Right now is, unfortunately, as much as we'd like to nip in the bud with the young children, not the right time. You have to look at the Holocaust in Germany and Eastern Europe. Politics certainly influenced censorship of the truth but among the people, discussions were very difficult and no one wanted to put up memorials. 50-60 years later, they are able to confront the Holocaust and teach the children about it and build these memorials. And you have these young Germans and Eastern Europeans willing to study Jewish history and learn Yiddish or Hebrew. From a historian's standpoint, you really need to give things time to heal. By placing a Muslim community center, the teachers and leaders can teach the next generation the importance of balancing religious ideology with modernity. By placing this place so close to Ground Zero, it serves as a constant reminder of why violence never has a solution and why there must be tolerance and respect.</div><div><br /></div><div>This will just have to be a deferred dream for Muslim-Americans to build a community center near Ground Zero. At the moment, they need to come out publicly and educate America about their religion and culture, and spread their friendship circles.</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-89245239052829522812010-08-26T23:03:00.001-04:002010-08-26T23:11:51.709-04:00Made the paperAnd... yes. The letter made the paper. <a href="http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/59049/letters-0827/">Subjected to edits</a>, of course.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-50172449308688280132010-08-22T21:34:00.002-04:002010-08-22T21:43:09.012-04:00Unemployment and the Jewish FutureI submitted a letter to the editor of J-Weekly (San Francisco) in respond to <a href="http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/58902/for-job-seekers-the-jewish-community-lacks-kindness/">this article written by an older Jewish professional complaining about the lack of kindness in the Jewish community towards unemployed Jewish professionals</a>.<br /><br />Needless to say, as an unemployed and inexperience Jewish professional (wanna-be), I was outraged.<br /><br />After negotiating with the editor, I've got my piece down to 200 words (okay 202 to be exact). And here it is.<br /><br /><p style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" class="MsoNormal">Sherri W. Morr’s op-ed piece, “For job seekers, the Jewish community lacks kindness,” fails to address the Jewish future and the need to recruit young people to work in Jewish communities to maintain our existence.<span> </span>Present Jewish leaders are already worried about how to engage young people with the community.<span> </span>They have set up engagement and volunteer programs for 20-somethings.<span> </span>But they are not hiring them as an additional incentive to be involved.<span> </span>I respect the fact that Morr is an experienced Jewish professional and communities are in financially trouble.<span> </span>I am without a job too but can work for less in exchange for experience.<span> </span>I have a master’s in Jewish Studies from the University of Michigan where I focused on American Jewish history and worked at its Hillel part-time as an administrative assistant.<span> </span>During my interviews, I gave hiring managers an opportunity to hire and train an empathetic young Jew who is actually interested in working in and caring about the community.<span> </span>What’s good without a future for the American Jewish community if leaders don’t start bringing in and training eager young people, the next generation of Jewish leaders, to advocate for the community in the United States and abroad?</p> <br />Let's hope that this version gets published for this coming Friday's paper.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-78971183101160806942010-06-28T13:50:00.004-04:002010-06-30T13:15:39.419-04:00The Wind Blows AgainOkay, it's official. I am a graduate. I am in the Real World. I am wading my way through the World of Social Media. It's a little scary because there is a LOT information out there. At the same time, it's incredibly fascinating to see what other people have found and written about. I am quite good with computers (If anything, I've earned my title of being the Computer Expert in my family back from my dad).<br /><br />Now, what to do about this blog? Do I give it up because the early parts of this blog contains a lot of personal information and identifiable photographs? Or do I set up a new one? Thing is that I want to focus on Jewish journeys and addressing Jewish issues and I want my readers to be able to see how I've progressed in my Jewish journey. While my Jewish journey started long before my study abroad experience in Israel, there is an evolution happening as the reader peruses through my entries. By tracing my Jewish journey, one can get a sense of how I think and see the world at the moment. The reader gets a better sense of how I find no end in absorbing information all around me when I am around Jews and my awareness has increased in a way that now I am giving a lot of things second thoughts that I would not have noticed before.<br /><br />Over the last few weeks, I am beginning to find out what kind of person I want to be and how I want to define my educational and mentoring role as a Jew. I am highly aware of the demographics that Steven Cohen and other demographers and sociologists published and surveys that they conducted on Generation Y. The methods that used to work back in early 2000s are now not quite working because of contradictory factors at play. On one hand, young people thrive on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media outlets where they can create "virtual" connections, expect others to know what they're up to, and join groups with thousands of unknown faces (In other words, actions that are earning them the label "Generation Me"). It's basically impersonal in a sense that things are being created by the computer rather than a human connection. For example, if I joined the cause for breast cancer and then receive a mass invitation to attend something, it's just... huh? I don't know anyone. At the same time, young people can create highly personalized profiles that reflect their true colors (Yes, a study was done and discovered that people on Facebook tend to keep their profile more real than MySpace).<br /><br />On the other hand, young people <span style="font-style: italic;">do </span>crave intimacy. The Internet has been a godsend for everyone in terms of staying in touch and meeting others like them but it has a negative effect. When one receives a mass invitation , who is going to care if he or she shows up or not? Even the posters in the hallways suddenly look.... unattractive. No difference from seeing a tweet on Twitter about a particular event. It's been tweeted to... what? 100 followers? Okay, so there's an assumption at play that if at least 50 other followers show up, then no one's going to notice. It's really one of the downsides of being part of this generation.<br /><br />So the marketing through social media needs to change for young people. As much we want to *cringe* at the thought of exacerbating narcissism by reaching out to individuals on on customized basis, it works to write a personalized e-mail or send a direct text to their cellphones. We have to indulge to their needs and desires.<br /><br />That said, this is how American Judaism has become. Like Facebook. We're aware that there are at least 5.1 million Jews in this country and the logic dictates that if one can just choose to be uninvolved, then nobody's going to notice. There's also the element of growing Orthodoxy with their large families that's, as some argue in Israel, preserving Jewish population. So who cares? We do have to kick and scream and pull those young people back into the community. We have to convince them that they do have the leadership skills and resources to led the next generation of American Jews. We also have to work with them to begin or revive their Jewish journey to find out who they are as Jews and how they want to define their future roles as American Jews, the providers of world Jewry?<br /><br />Therefore, I believe that I will do some revising on this blog and just keep it, instead of trying to run two similar blogs and cross-post them. Also, thinking about how I've changed my purpose of using the blog over the last few years, why not let this blog reflect my Jewish journey?<br /><br />And the title <span style="font-style: italic;">Nefesh b'Israel </span>will remain the same because my heart and soul is truly in Israel and that's a big part of my Jewish identity.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-8984976064707075412010-06-22T13:52:00.007-04:002010-06-27T09:11:50.040-04:00Children's rights out of the picture<a href="http://blogs.forward.com/sisterhood-blog/128885/">A fantastic blog post focusing on the Haredi commmunity's ignorance</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=178821">A terrific analysis by Ruth Eglash of Jerusalem Post (actually balanced for a right-wing paper)</a><br /><br />We talk about equal rights for women, blacks, minorities, people with disabilities, etc, etc. But it never occurred to me until the Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox people (The Slonim sect) brought this particular case to the Israeli Supreme Court. In sum, the Ashkenzai parents have pulled their daughters out of school because they did not want them "mixing" with others of non-European origin. And Sephardic parents complained that their daughters were being ethnically segregated. This school was financially supported by the State of Israel's Educational Ministry, thus a <span style="font-style: italic;">public </span>school that's supported by Israeli taxpayers. The way journalists had portrayed this incident in Emmanuel, particularly when they described how a Sephardic girl, just because she cannot pronounce "<span style="font-style: italic;">elohei</span>" in Ashkenazic dialect, could not attend the same school as other children despite the government mandate that schools must be open to all. (I would be horrified if this was the truth- right down to speech and dialect?!)<br /><br />Wow. Just wow. Take out Ashkenazi/Sephardic traditional differences for a minute. These are children that we're talking about. Every child has a right to education, access to knowledge. No matter what. So what if the child has to learn about the science of evolution when s/he has been taught the story of Creation at home. Generally and ultimately, reasonable parents let children decide for themselves how to make of the world around them. Giving children access to a variety of information is the key to critical thinking development. But if a parent is anything like one of those fathers who preferred to go to jail than to comply, then how would one expect his children to develop necessary skills to survive the world? The fathers' argument is simple as this: The world must be strictly confined to exactly what the Torah and Talmud says that every Jew must learn. Children must be raised pure and free of sins. They should not be exposed to the "evils" of secularism and western civilization.<br /><br />What really infuriates me about this issue is how some parents will purposely keep their children at home to "protect" them from outside sins and evils just so they don't "mix" with the other group. It's also not "Jewish" to separate children by their ethnicity through walls and dress code. What does it exactly teach children about other people? Judaism is an inclusive religion.<br /><br />Interestingly, it has just been agreed upon that the fathers are released from jail early based on agreement among leaders, including the rabbi of the Slonim community. For the last three days of school year, the school will be unified and the students will learn all about unity. The leaders made a case on the behalf of Ashkenazi parents that it was important to keep the haredi community unified and to keep this particular sect from breaking off. In response, as <span style="font-style: italic;">Jerusalem Post </span>reported, the community will set up its <span style="font-style: italic;">own </span>school with its <span style="font-style: italic;">own </span>funding. I'm miffed.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Jerusalem <span style="font-style: italic;">Post </span></span>also mentioned that demonstrators held a rally in Tel Aviv to support the High Court's rule against ethnic discrimination in Israeli schools (those paid for by Israeli taxpayers) and on Minister of Knesset vowed to introduce a bill banning ethnic discrimination in Israeli schools.<br /><br />But, where were the children in this deal? The agreement wasn't made on the children's behalf but rather on the adults'. No one said, "We are going to do these unity classes for the sake of children, not just because of the deal. Children need to learn to get along with each other... blah blah." Instead, the leaders will grumble through the last three days of school just to comply with the court order and then set up their own school over the summer. Is there a lesson to be learned from this whole ordeal? Apparently not from the way things are turning out.<br /><br />The Ashkenazi children clearly are going to miss out valuable development and skills lessons by attending ethnically segregated schools at their parents' request. They will grow up to be like <span style="font-style: italic;">their </span>parents who just don't seem to have conflict resolution skills or deeper understanding of other groups' customs. Otherwise it's completely racism. I hate to say this, but, haven't these parents learned <span style="font-style: italic;">anything </span>from Nazi Germany?Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-8150262942046422072010-06-16T00:27:00.005-04:002010-06-28T13:39:41.197-04:00Long Skirts Vs. BikinisI just finished reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Princess-Story-Behind-Saudi-Arabia/dp/0967673747/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276574782&sr=8-3">Jean Sasson's <span style="font-style: italic;">Princess: A True Story Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia</span>.</a> I was very stunned when I closed the book. I almost didn't even want to close the book because if I did, then it would be like as if I was ignoring Sultana's pleads and message to the world about women rights abuse in Saudi Arabia. It was truly unbelievable and I do implore you to read it.<br /><br />One of the things that interested me was Sultana's shopping trip to acquire her first veil and <span style="font-style: italic;">abayah </span>(the long, black overcoat). Saudi women begin covering themselves when they receive their first period. Sultana was so defiant that she refused to tell her father about it and everyone around her kept it a secret. After several months, she was talked into it and get it over with. So she went shopping with three friends, including her father's newest wife (who was just a year younger than Sultana at tender age of 16). She entered in the store as a "child" and left as a "woman."<br /><br />Sultana was amazed at her transformation. She thought wearing a veil and <span style="font-style: italic;">abaya </span>was oppressive to women. But when she put them on, she felt a sense of freedom. And a bit sexy because she would be teasing men with her shapeless outfit, leaving them to their imagination what her body might look like. She also felt protected as well. Soon, she came to accept these "oppressive" pieces as part of her life and abide by the Islamic laws. How she handled the veil and the veil's role in creating dynamics for the rest of the story were very interesting.<br /><br />It really made me draw parallels with Orthodoxy. I looked to my experience. In Orthodoxy, while women do not wear veil, they cover most of their legs and arms. Married women are supposed to wear wigs or cover their hair for that hair is quite lustful. Sexy clothes are <span style="font-style: italic;">not </span>encouraged so many were pretty plain clothes (which is why sometimes it sucks to shop in Jerusalem).<br /><br />I donned long skirts and 3/4 sleeved tops in respect to my Orthodox hosts and the Western Wall. Quite reluctantly, because I felt it was all oppressive. Why should I not be able to show off my beautiful legs? And I was so short already and the long skirts made me feel even shorter. I grumbled inside and slouched my shoulders.<br /><br />I soon began wearing my long skirts (and jeans!) on regular basis when I lived in Jerusalem because I was finding myself visiting the Old City quite often and walking through Orthodox neighborhoods by accident. At the same time, when I put on my shorter skirts, I felt something. Did I feel like a tourist for looking a bit out of place? That was my initial reaction. The flowing long skirts also felt more comfortable to wear in Israel's brutal summer heat. Maybe some comfort added the factor. I also became enamored by my roommate/friend Meredith's ability to find the most beautiful skirts (either in the US or Israel) and how she could pull off her modest outfits so gracefully (as a Mormon woman). I asked myself, was it possible to feel sexy and confident if I covered my legs? Meredith also had the most beautiful, long, red hair one could ever see and it was just enough to attract attention. I just sat there on Shabbat, in my long skirts, just wondering what to make of all this modesty.<br /><br />The following summer, I threw on my long skirts with pride. Since I was living in Haifa, I only packed for what I needed in Jerusalem and wore my modest clothes there. No jeans. No short skirts. I noticed the transformation in my behavior and appearance and how others responded. I held my head high and walked tall. I felt no shame for that I didn't feel anyone staring at me for dressing inappropriately. I felt freedom in going anywhere in Jerusalem that I wanted, including the Muslim Quarter in the Old City. I felt that as long I chose the most beautiful skirts, I was sure to gain a different kind of attention. The kind of attention focusing on my good taste, pretty face, and intelligence.<br /><br />I clearly felt a difference when I wandered about in Tel Aviv and Haifa in my shorts. Although I dressed like other young Israeli women, I felt a silent fear inside that I could be viewed in a different manner than in Jerusalem. I have, more than once, been offered smiles, free apples, and small talks by Israeli men (because I had terrific Israeli accent when speaking common phrases and numbers, no one suspected that I was an American).... because I was wearing my bikini trying to purchase a snack? I wanted to run back to the beach and lay my towel next to other women as to blend in. Still, was it because of the way I dressed? Or was it because of me as an American and American women having a notorious reputation among Israeli men? I had no idea so I focused on remaining quiet and speaking in Hebrew when possible. Or if I had to speak in English, I needed to demonstrate strong confidence and understanding of Israeli social norms.<br /><br />Is dressing conservatively that terrible? One Jewish mother, a 1970's child, recently wrote a <a href="http://blogs.forward.com/sisterhood-blog/128460/">blog entry</a> about her half-Muslim, half-Jewish daughter choosing to wear a <span style="font-style: italic;">hjiab </span>in favor of modesty and respecting <span style="font-style: italic;">Allah</span>. The question was- which was truly more sexually liberating and comfortable to wear, wearing modest clothes or a bikini? (Presumably that a woman can feel confident in both ways)<br /><br />Even now, it's still not an easy answer because we live in a world that is still full of gender inequality. It is up to the women to balance that scale and in their clothing choices regardless of our religious and cultural backgrounds.<br /><br />From what I can gather from <span style="font-style: italic;">Princess</span>, women need to and should reveal their beautiful faces to men if men ever want to feel that love and see these black clad figures as breathing, living human beings, not just sexual toys. I should be very grateful that I belong to a religion and culture that don't blow things out of proportion as much as Islam in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. Even if we want to complain about "female oppression" in Orthodox communities, we need to stop and think twice. But we can flap our tongues about Orthodox women's poor taste in clothes.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-67151899740797845362010-06-14T00:05:00.005-04:002010-06-14T02:03:50.438-04:00Reflections of Job Hunting in SFIn the last 5 weeks, I stayed in San Francisco with my grandparents in search for jobs. The month really flew and it was incredible in a sense how productive I was. I mean I was so productive that I actually was hard on myself for coming away from San Francisco without a job in hand. In a sense, I felt that I had failed even though deep down I knew that this was the reality- the job market sucks.<br /><br />In the beginning, Zev made use of his contacts to set up informational meetings with some of the top people in the Jewish community. So I got to sit in front of Very Important People, including a museum director, a highly influential former museum director, and an executive director at one of the JCCs. I also got to speak with more people on the telephone in order for them to put in a good word for me and find other people to speak with. I had an opportunity to visit Jewish Vocational Services (JVS) downtown to ask questions about interviewing and find out about how to search for a job. As it turned out, I was already pretty much ahead (I already have Idealist.org, JewishJobs.com, AAM.org, and Hillel.org job pages on my bookmark toolbar that I click on everyday for new job postings).<br /><br />As soon I started meeting people, I discovered a pattern. I am not going to say that they weren't too happy to have to give up some of their valuable time to meet with me only because Zev called them. Rather, I had to convince them that I was truly looking for a job with a very strong resume in my hand. Meeting with my thesis advisor clearly taught me to be prepared with thoughts and questions in order to make use of these people's valuable time so that they would be willing to help me out.<br /><br />Zev often says the following speech: "I am calling to ask for a special favor. I have a granddaughter who just graduated from the University of Michigan with her masters in Judaic Studies/Jewish Studies. She is looking to go on for a doctorate in Jewish history. Right now she is looking for a job, so I am wondering if you could possibly meet with her?" Then he'll usually hand me the phone to speak to a complete stranger. I was forced to think on my feet! And avoid talking about getting a PhD in history because, really, I do want to take time off to get some field experience, especially that I am very interested in American Jewish History.<br /><br />So... over the telephone, it usually meant I had to think up questions fast associated with THEIR organizations (Might it be JCC Association or something else) and create a sales pitch of my own. I am still refining it.<br /><br />But in meetings, it's a different story. I immediately set myself apart from Zev and demonstrated that I had a very different attitude towards American Jewish community. It helped a lot that I was a very lovely and charming person as well. I tried to protray myself as a successful idealist who just wanted to help the community or public learn all about contemporary Judaism.<br /><br />I often walked away with mixed emotions of hope, elation, and despair. Their positive impression of me gave me hope that there might be something for me down the road. I felt elated in making connections with these people who had terrific contacts in the Bay Area and elsewhere. Despair came to me when they told me that they didn't know of any job openings at the moment or near future.<br /><br />I did improve my game each time because I wanted to strive for better, to be the best person possible. Type A personalities like me just never stop. I can't relax. I can't sit around and do nothing. I just have to be productive... if I'm not on a beach somewhere!<br /><br />I have been working on my talks for why I want to work in a JCC or another Jewish organization. It was amazing to realize that in a way I didn't even need my degrees. I mean, what I learned in the classroom wouldn't necessarily translate to my job. All the skills and knowledge I attained for these jobs came from working in student organizations. No wonder why professors and college administrators admit that a lot of learning really takes places outside of the classroom. I could not have applied for any of these jobs had it not been for my decision to begin my Jewish journey, position on Colgate Jewish Union's executive board, times spent in Israel, and job at Michigan Hillel. I will have to re-strategize a bit for these new Hillel openings after realizing a few things while speaking with a regional director at Hillel Foundation.<br /><br />The other thing I am learning from this process is not to underestimate my capabilities as a leader. I must take pride in what I have accomplished even though I always thought I should have done better. But those where the tasks I was assigned to and completed.<br /><br />Lastly I want to say that I feel that my deafness or cochlear implant had no bearing on my ability to get a job or impress people. I was extremely surprised by how many people I was able to understand right away even though I have never heard their voices before. I used to have to meet people a few times in order to read their lips so that I could then understand their voices before going voice-only on the phone. I just think it's incredibly stunning because I <span style="font-style: italic;">still </span>remember the time when I refused to talk on the phone or believed that I could only talk to my family members. I was deluded into thinking that as a deaf I should only rely on the TTY/Relay Service in order to communicate with the Hearing World. Clearly, I have proved myself wrong. Clearly I should have no fear in applying for jobs that will demand phone usage in which I had avoided in the past. Only one employer asked me directly about my position as a "deaf Jewish woman." I let it go only because A) I don't mind talking about my deafness and B) She actually knew my family and therefore already knew that I was doing well.<br /><br />Onward to Week 8 of job-hunting.<br /><br />Job Hunt Goals:<br />-Apply to 3 more Hillels<br />-Polish cover letter for a Museum... pretty long shot position<br />-Continue waiting on results of two job interviews<br /><br />Productive Time Goals:<br />-Finish reading <span style="font-style: italic;">Princess: True Story of Life Behind a Veil in Saudi Arabia</span> by Jean Sasson (it's quite.. chilling!)<br />-Pick out materials for scrapbooking for photos from my trip with Mom back in 2007 when we went to Espana (how embarrassing how we still haven't done anything!)<br />-Start GRE prep- take a verbal exam and focus on prefixes and suffixes<br /><br />Didn't I already say that I'm not a fan of idle time?Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-57667684163626570172010-06-09T01:49:00.003-04:002010-06-28T13:41:07.525-04:00Israel in the Gardens 2010I went last year to enjoy some good Israeli food (namely burekas), music, and company. It was jam packed. I had to wait a good while for my burekas. I totally passed up the falafel stands because there were about 40 people waiting. I could barely find a spot on the grass to sit. I had to push my way through the shopping and strolling crowds. About 20,000 showed up.<br /><br />This year was a disappointment. Thanks to the recent flotilla incident, there were threats of more demonstrators showing up to protest. A friend made an approximate estimate that about 30-35% of the crowd failed to show up. It was clear that at least 5,000 people were missing. I was shocked. I thought if people would just muster their courage and march through those protestors, they would do their part by supporting Israel BY SHOWING UP.<br /><br />I still felt the same cheer in the air but... it just didn't come as strongly as it did before. Zev and I didn't wait too long for our food. We were able to move around easily, maybe too easily for a place that's supposed to be packed with Jews and their goys.<br /><br />At least my favorite contestant for the talent show won, after being a runner-up last year.<br /><br />Still, if I was an organizer of this event, I would have pushed a PR campaign through Facebook and Twitter in the few days before the actual event to remind people that by showing up and supporting the entertainment and vendors, they were standing by Israel and defying the protesters.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-85068689374378024952010-05-26T13:42:00.004-04:002010-05-27T01:23:23.775-04:00The 1st 2 Weeks of Job HuntingI had a plan. While I was in Rochester, I would apply for jobs online. While I was in the Bay Area, I'd do "hit the pavement" thing. So far so good.<br /><br />First, I applied nationwide through Hillel website for Jewish student engagement type of jobs. I realized that, while working as an administrative assistant at UM Hillel, I actually liked working with college students even though I was only a few years older than them. They were just so bright, energetic, and creative. They brought so much to the table that I wanted to help them sort out what they needed to do to accomplish their goals and become good leaders. After all, I was one of those kids one time too.<br /><br />I also found that I have been the "go-to" person when it comes to questions about Jewish identity. I did not know if it's because I was getting my MA in Judaic Studies or because of my research interests in American Jewish identity politics, or I just happened to be a good Jewish friend! So I do want to reach out to the unaffiliated and help them find their way back to the Tribe.<br /><br />Second, I applied for an admissions counselor job at my alma mater. Ever since I entered in the world of college admissions, I have been so fascinated by the process. It's not science because there are so many variables in deciding how to build a class and whom to accept and reject. But what draws me about this opportunity is working with students who are still figuring out who they are and what kind of school is truly the best for them. Then guide them how to write the best application possible. I also want to make sure that my alma mater continues to be a great place and has those amazing students who know how to be productive leaders. I maintain an active presence at one of the popular online forums regarding college admissions as there aren't too many users who have gone to my alma mater, and I love to help.<br /><br />And this was something that I've been wanting to do anyway. I mean, I'm free now in a way that I can finally accomplish some of the things I've been putting on hold for a while! But I am keeping an open mind and taking no chances by taking all of these applications seriously.<br /><br />You can also follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/saralinds">Twitter</a> too as I make my way through this messy job market.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-38716254740807787982010-04-14T20:44:00.004-04:002010-06-28T13:41:45.382-04:00Belated Passover thoughtsSomeone asked me at the first seder, "So do you have any family traditions?"<br /><br />I joked, "We have a tradition of being at someone else's house! We haven't had a seder in our own house since I was 12 years old."<br /><br />We do have haggadahs and a seder plate... but we don't have family nearby in Rochester for anyone to come. We do have family friends but many of them have families nearby. So we usually do it with our family friends who have families outside of Rochester. So it works out. Especially when the husband and my mother cook together. You can gain 2 pounds overnight.<br /><br />Anyhow, as I have experienced different seders each year, my awareness have heightened as I have come to notice certain manners, customs, and traditions that each seder had. This is the beauty of American Judaism. How do American Jews, living in a pluralistic and democratic society, interpret the meaning of Passover and the seder? My seminar a year ago touched upon this. Who are the guests? How long has that particular tradition been in effect? What food is served? How is the charoset prepared? How is the story told?<br /><br />As wonderful it would be "ha'shanah ba'ah b'Yerusalayim", I think it's truly an experience to be at an American Jewish seder. Israel is good for once but American Jewish seders are forever because it seems to me that there are no two same sederim. You just have to keep traveling and to learn something new each time about the host family. But, you know, I could be wrong about Israeli families too given that there are different levels of observance.<br /><br />This year, I went to a local Ann Arbor family's home with another UM student. There were 25 people! I really enjoyed myself as I experienced every minute of it- the traditions, the food, the singing, and so forth. They introduced one tradition that I must admit that I really liked: creating our own seder plate. The husband collected very random things from around the house and we had to blindly draw an item out of the bag. Then, throughout the seder, we could call it out and explain how this item was significant for the seder plate. For example, I got a stuffed cow with a straw hat. So I saved it for the very last part of the seder and said, "Now the seder is coming to a close and we're out of Egypt into the Land of Israel, this cow represents milk and honey." Everyone loved it. Such a fitting meaning. There was a wrench, a calculator, a little jug, etc. This tradition really encouraged us to reflect, laugh, and participate.<br /><br />The second night I went to my friend Sam's house. His mother had caught me writing on Sam's Facebook wall saying how much I wished he was in the US so I can come over to his family's seder and help eat the food! She invited me and arranged for a ride with other guests. The format was the same as last year, more or less. Just that Sam wasn't there to drink 4 full cups of grape juice! He's still in Israel but his absence didn't bother me as much as I really enjoyed all the company of others, including his little sister. I still get a kick out of their <a href="http://www.jewishfood-list.com/komedy/4quesdrseuss01.html">Dr. Seuss' 4 questions song</a>. That's their tradition that really stands out because of its silliness, creativity, and universality.<br /><br />I think it would be quite fun if I collected some of my favorite traditions and presented them at my first home seder some time down the road.<br /><br />The rest of the holiday went by so fast.... and I didn't each as much matzah as I thought. So I have an extra box for next year!Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-4633924005200019932010-04-14T20:13:00.003-04:002010-06-28T13:42:39.193-04:00Party Crashers on Israel's BirthdayI went to the Diag in search for falafels that American Israel Movement student group was going to be handing out. All gone. After 2 hours since they opened. All gone. All I got was tabouleh and hummus. Eh, okay. I'll take those. The students also passed around small pieces of chocolate cake with white frosting with a small piece of paper with a fun Israel fact. Mine said, "Homosexuals serve openly in the military." Yay, go Israel!<br /><br />As I turned around to walk away from the tent, a guy handed me a piece of paper, and I took it. I started reading it and it started with "Thank you for celebrating Israel's independence and..." it listed all the anti-Israel/pro-Palestinian facts such as 700,000 Palestinians being forced out of the territory in 1948 war. Oh <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">B.S.</span></span>! I tossed it away in disgust.<br /><br />I couldn't believe it. Oh <span style="font-style: italic;">dare </span>they. We do have the First Amendment going on here and they have the right to exercise their right to free of speech. Just as one side of my mind started protesting that they shouldn't have "crashed" the party like this, the other side considered another scenario. Now I forget what it was but whatever it was, I shut up.<br /><br />It's really incredible to observe greater level of antisemitism on university campuses like Michigan and Berkeley. Yes, there is a good number of Michigan students who are anti-Israel and have proposed for the University to divest in companies who have ties with Israel and support its endeavors. Fortunately the administration flat out said no way. It's just so scary to see some Muslim students take advantage of their leadership positions in the student assembly to make proposals of that sort. I also have seen a number of anti-Israel comments (sometimes antisemitiism as well) on New York Times. You don't see Jewish students looking to do anything about American companies that have ties with Israel's enemies.<br /><br />Sometimes whenever I see anti-Israel protests in Ann Arbor, I just want to take the posters and rip them apart and call the protesters idiots. Instead I just give them a glare, ignore them, and/or mutter what a bunch of idiots they are. Maybe next time, I should get my own posters and stand next to them or across the street and hold them up.<span style="font-style: italic;"></span> You know, crash <span style="font-style: italic;">their</span> party.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-44945681798251538192010-03-12T15:53:00.003-05:002010-06-28T13:43:21.860-04:00Shut Up Boycotters... You Do This, You're Left with Nothing!Clever post from anonymous in respond to UM-Dearborn's push for diverstment in Israeli activities.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Submitted by Texans for Israel (not verified) on March 12, 2010 - 2:59pm. </span> <div style="font-weight: bold;" class="content"> <!--paging_filter--><p>VIDEO: Before you boycott Israel<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saeky9I5T9c" title="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saeky9I5T9c">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saeky9I5T9c</a></p> <p>We at Texans for Israel would like to help interested students boycott Israel properly.</p> <p>First, you need to get rid of your laptop. The Intel chip that allows it to run was developed in Israel. If you are really bent on taking down the awful war machine that happens to have the most museums per capita in the world, you must power down immediately. If you happen to have a PC, make sure it does not run a Windows operating system, because the three most recent were developed by Microsoft Israel.</p> <p>If you are forced to use your computer, make sure you do not use AOL Instant Messenger, Gmail chat or any other instant-messaging system. The patents for these systems were developed in Israel, and we wouldn’t want to support that under any circumstances.</p> <p>Next to go should be your cell phone. The first cell phones were developed in Israel, and it would be a tragedy if we made this a boycott of convenience. If we are really committed to bringing down the nation that produces more scientific papers per capita than any other country, we can’t be brought down by our imperialistic cell phones.</p> <p>If you are concerned about the environment, boycotting Israel could be difficult. Many solar power plants use technology that was invented by Israelis, and many of them were even installed by these terrible people. On the upside, the increased fossil fuels you will use will support freedom fighters such as Hamas and al-Qaida who are dedicated to bringing down the evil country that has the most Ph.D.s per capita.</p> <p>If you are a farmer, particularly in dry areas of Texas, do not use drip irrigation on your fields. This method of irrigation that saves thousands of gallons of water per year was developed in Israel.</p> <p>If you go to a hospital, you are going to have to take many special precautions to ensure that you are not aiding Israel. If you have a gastrointestinal disease, make sure that the doctors do not use a “pill cam” to diagnose you, as these were developed in Israel. If you are going to be screened for breast cancer, make sure you request a method that uses plenty of radiation. The radiation-free scanning method was developed in Israel, and exposure to radiation is a small price to pay to take down the Jewish state.</p> <p>If you are involved in any human rights issues on campus, boycotting Israel will be very difficult. Israel has the best women’s rights record in the Middle East and is the only country in the region in which gay marriages are recognized. Also, Israel is the only country in the region that offers asylum to Darfur refugees.</p> <p>So there you have it. You are now armed with all the necessary information to destroy the country that has given us Bar Refaeli, Natalie Portman and voicemail. Good luck!</p> </div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-65441769818569247772010-02-14T17:21:00.003-05:002010-06-28T13:44:09.808-04:00German and YiddishIt's been an unbelievable semester so far. I can't decide if this tops my last semester at Colgate or not. As one professor pointed out, I'm experiencing different kind of stress so I'm actually very happy and upbeat many days.<br /><br />I'm finishing up my MA thesis on Shanghai Jews' post-war immigration and resettlement in San Francisco. It's going excellent, thank you very much.<br /><br />I'm focusing on languages. No. More. Seminars! It's been amazing in a way because I'm <span style="font-style: italic;">really </span>starting German in an intensive First Year German course, and I'm continuing my Yiddish readings. So it's been a blast comparing the two languages and "re-learning" Yiddish grammar in my German classes. My Yiddish teachers weren't all that terrific in their pedagogy to help me learn Yiddish grammar. So I was happy for a repeat course on Germanic grammar and boy, do these German teachers explain it so well! Even though it's been six weeks, I'm just so amazed how much better I can understand my Yiddish readings and improve my translation skills. I'm reading Sholem Asch, a very well-known writer who immigrated to America from the Pale, and he wrote Yiddish using German pronunciation. So I'll see <span style="font-style: italic;">aleph </span>and <span style="font-style: italic;">heh </span>in places where they wouldn't be in Standard Yiddish (developed after WWII). Now I read the sentences aloud and listen to myself sound the words out.... usually I can actually figure it out in German! And if my Yiddish dictionary doesn't have the word, even if I've re-written the word in standard Yiddish, I'll take the German pronunciation and transliterate it, and then look it up in German. Works nearly every time. <span style="font-style: italic;">Works every time</span>.<br /><br />I love my German course. It's fun and it's really nice to be in company of 3 other graduate students plus 9 undergraduates (mostly freshmen). The teachers are so different in their approaches to teaching us German. One is an American Jew who is super-involved with theater so she loves it when we act out dialogues. The other is a native Berliner so she's got that "hot" high German accent that I heard when I was in Berlin two years ago. She's more quiet but excellent at teaching grammar in a systematic manner, as well as teaching us idiomatic German and expressing ourselves. For example, you don't say "Was?!" (What?!) but "Wie bitte?!" ("Pardon?!"). Both of them just <span style="font-style: italic;">love </span>talking about <span style="font-style: italic;">Deutschland</span>. The former tends to do comparisons between German and American behavior. The latter, well, Berlin's her home.<br /><br />I'm just so surprised how quickly I can pick up German all around. I've actually used my German to do some more archival research for my thesis. Now I can read <span style="font-style: italic;">Aufbau</span>, a German-Jewish newspaper published in the US, to find out what happened with Shanghai Jews and what German Jews in the US knew.<br /><br />Today, the American Jew teacher and I had a big discussion after we laughed at keyboard differences and went over my questions regarding my quiz and paper. We talked about German today, how I, as a Jew, felt about German language, and exchanged impressions and works. She made me think about how different would my Literature of the Holocaust course be different had my professor included some plays. The instructor asked that maybe I should come to her theater class to talk about my impressions of Berlin. I told her that I had written a blog from when I was in Berlin.<br /><br />I just read through the entries just now. I must say... Wow. I still remember Berlin but, wow, there were a lot of things that I didn't remember! It was so amazing to see how I felt with certain things, people, and places. I went from "no way in hell I'm living in Germany" to "I want to live in Germany." I grew up a lot during that week. I didn't realize how much I felt at home in Germany in a way that it's scary that I can feel at home both in Germany and Israel. I mean, I had always thought Israel would be the only place that I could call home. But... Germany.... you just can't ignore what Jews contributed to German culture and history. It was as if Germany was "Israel" before the war where so many Jews could live in relative peace and without fear.<br /><br />And on the way home today, I realized how much "my" Shanghai Jews inspired me to learn German and <span style="font-style: italic;">want </span>to learn it in a good way. These were <span style="font-style: italic;">real </span>German Jews who loved their hometowns in Germany. They had a very vibrant German speaking culture and language in Shanghai that lasted until after the war. When you just sit there and listen to their German accents and talk about Shanghai, there's that strong sense of feeling connected simply because they shared a common language and culture that helped them to preserve through the war. Yes, some came to do little with German when they found out about the Nazis, but just listen to them speak and you just realize that German language experienced beautiful moments during World War II.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7557213898547795365.post-67701937317679336122009-11-16T22:48:00.004-05:002010-06-28T13:44:38.720-04:00Holocaust Literature and Harry PotterI'm not a Potterhead. I'm serious. I don't collect anything except for the books. I don't even own any of the DVDs. I love JK Rowling's writing- she is truly a gifted artist. Yes, I have read the "sequel" which I liked okay.<br /><br />Yet, as I'm sitting through my "Literature of the Holocaust" course, I am getting freaked out each week. The novels, as my professor warned, would get more difficult as we progress. Well, last week, we read Israeli novelist David Grossman's <span style="font-style: italic;">See Under: Love</span>. It's a beautiful story that should be read at least twice. It's a difficult book because of the writing structure (not just because it's translated from Hebrew). It's full of magic realism. In class, we began covering the usual themes of Holocaust literature. The more we discussed the themes of good vs. evil and language, the more I thought about Harry Potter.<br /><br />For example, there is a long chapter where Wasserman, the house Jew, and Nigel, the SS officer, discuss Wasserman's story-telling. Wasserman manages to convince Nigel that humanity exists in this world and what Nigel was doing out there to the laborers was just pure evil and thoughtless, and heartless. Nigel commits suicide because he couldn't believe what he was doing and accept the fact that humanity exists. Wasserman wins by telling the story of love between him and his wife, and his actual story characters. Love saves Wasserman's life, just as many other Jews', their faith in humanity.<br /><br />And of course, the Nazis lose.<br /><br />Seeing the power struggle between Wasserman and Nigel completely reminds me of the scene between Voldemort and Harry in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Goblet of Fire</span> where their wands clash. Harry triumphs because he saw the love in the characters whom Voldemort killed in this scene. Voldemort killed innocent people who believed in humanity and Harry decides to fight to preserve that. Also, people speculated for a long time why Harry survived. They believed that he was the Messiah, the Chosen One. But Dumbledore points out that Voldemort was defeated because of Harry's mother's love saved Harry and defeated Voldemort when he attempted the death curse on them. Harry goes on in the rest of series with this belief that his mother saved his life and uses humanity and love as a weapon to fight off Voldemort. Before <span style="font-style: italic;">Goblet of Fire</span>, Harry survived their duels through wit and talent.<br /><br />There's the issue of racism in Harry Potter as well.<br /><br />Voldemort represents Hitler. They believe in racial purity. They have specific categories. Any drop of non-pure blood is considered inferior. Both of them have a drop of non-pure blood but they don't make an issue of it at all (or rather, just makes them believe the importance of having pure blood in order to keep the rest of the world from becoming deformed and crazy like them). The terms are extremely offensive and marginalize the targets- mixed blood and inferior blood people (In Harry Potter, that means <span style="font-style: italic;">Mudbloods </span>and <span style="font-style: italic;">Muggles</span>, in Nazism, <span style="font-style: italic;">Jews </span>all around). In Harry Potter, the issue really is whether you have the blood <span style="font-style: italic;">and </span>inherited ability to perform magic. There are <span style="font-style: italic;">mudbloods </span>like Herimone who are exceptionally talented. There are <span style="font-style: italic;">squibs, </span>like Argus Filch the groundkeeper at Hogwarts, who are wizards but cannot perform magic to save their lives. For Nazis, you had to be Aryan without mental or physically disablities. For them, if you were not pure and perfect, you would be detested.<br /><br />Recruitment for evil deeds<br /><br />In Harry Potter, we have watched Darco Malfoy struggle in school. He's a decent student but feels like a failure compared to Harry Potter and Herimone Granger. As he moves up, especially after <span style="font-style: italic;">The Order of the Phoenix, </span>he becomes intrigued by the idea of joining Voldemort's world of Death Eaters. He also is under pressured, by self and his father, to be part of it because then he would be <span style="font-style: italic;">something, somebody. </span>Through this line of thinking, Draco begins to fantaizes about killing Harry Potter himself. Voldemort gives him the opportunity to do so but Draco fails because he still had some sense of humanity within himself.<br /><br />This parallels with the recruitment for Hitler Youth and the SS. The SS officers joined because they were just "ordinary" German citizens who didn't see a future for themselves. They wanted an opportunity to be part of something big that would change history.<br /><br />Death Eaters and SS officers will tell you, if on trial, that they were just "following orders".<br /><br />Yes, both groups have internal motives. They believed in purity. They <span style="font-style: italic;">hate </span>the fact that "impure" people are highly successful in the society. Death Eaters cannnot stand Harry Potter because he "loves" <span style="font-style: italic;">mudbloods</span> and is the sensation of the wizardry world. This is analogous to German Jews, especially the highly acclaimed scientists like Oppeheimer and Einstein.<br /><br />Language of silence.<br /><br />If it's one thing that I truly learned from this course and connected with this series is the use of language. In Harry Potter, there is a specific set of vocabulary that pertains to Voldemort's world. Nazis butchered German language, taking certain words and associating them with their own actions. Consequently, the population can't bring themselves to say certain words or make specific references. For example, I saw this connection in <span style="font-style: italic;">See Under: Love</span> when Momik (the protagonist) hears specifi vocabulary of "Over There" and "Nazi beast". "Nazi beast" represents anything (in my understanding) relevant to the Nazis, most likely the whole systematic killing machine developed in death camps. They never mention Hitler, Auschwitz or Europe, or anything. This is the same for when wizards avoid naming Voldemort by his name, but only "The One Who Must Not Be Named". They never mention the three "unforgivable curses". They want to forget the horrible times when Voldemort was in full power. People rejoice when they see or hear about Harry Potter and don't ever want to talk about the past with him. (That is the beauty of the series, forcing the readers and Harry Potter to keep going in order to understand his past.)<br /><br />Resistance.<br /><br />I liked "Dumbledore's Army" to the Jewish resistance fighters. I see a connection between the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Half-Blooded Prince</span> (one of the most amazing scenes in any of Harry Potter films). This was a somewhat failed attempt by Dumbledore's Army to kill as many Death Eaters as possible. It was heroic in a sense that they took a chance. When Harry, Herimone, and Ron drops out of school to "fight" Voldemort by finding all the Horcuxes and encounters danger in every corner, I am reminded of the Jewish partisan fighters in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. To be such a fighter, one had to be willing to face the worst.<br /><br />Rowling acknowledged that she made "death" the major theme of her books. We always knew that Voldemort wanted revenge on Harry Potter but it only becomes serious when Voldemort returns to full power after <span style="font-style: italic;">Goblet of Fire</span>. When he realizes that he didn't kill Harry just by taking his blood, he decides that in order to truly banish Harry from the world was to create a "final solution" - to kill him once for all, not to take him by alive and do something. It wasn't enough. The Nazis, once they figured out mass killings through <span style="font-style: italic;">Einsatzgruppen</span> and gassing, death became a prevelant theme of the Holocaust literature. Elie Wiesel's <span style="font-style: italic;">Night </span>smells of death. Once the Nazis and Voldemort figured out the "Final Solution", the rest of the story is centered around death.<br /><br />These just some... rambling thoughts that went through my head during class... truly, I haven't read the books in a good while... I'm sure I can do a deep analytical paper on this. But I don't think my English professor would go for it at all. If she actually says fine, this would be the best final paper that I can ever write in my whole academic career in a sense that I would absolutely enjoy this topic.<br /><br />Again, I will emphasize that I'm no Potterhead but simply that I recognize JK Rowling's incredible literary imagination that encompasses all themes of the Holocaust throughout her series.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03121598726989161034noreply@blogger.com0