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(This blog post was originally drafted in response to the piece “Next year in occupied East Jerusalem!”, which appeared in the Jewish Journal (Los Angeles) in March 2010. The draft was on a USB memory stick that disappeared at the time and has just reappeared. While it’s no longer a timely response, I think it’s still an appropriate one. I’m posting it with only minor edits.)

A few reactions to this passionate summation of our historic attachment to Jerusalem, and the apparently unstoppable need to build in East Jerusalem at this particular juncture in history:

Yes, it would have been nice if we could have had it all, right now. We made do without having sovereignty over Jerusalem for almost 2,000 years, however. Maybe

we could do without it for a little longer; say, until the Messiah arrives?

Zionism defied the rabbinic ban on attempting to restore the Jewish people to its ancestral homeland. It did this for sound reasons and at a critical moment in history (if only more had realised just how critical!). That mission and objective has now been achieved. Do we really need to go on tempting fate, pushing the envelope, for the sake of territory that can be considered part of Jerusalem only by a huge stretch of the imagination? It may be appropriate to be passionate about the Old City and the Kotel; less so for the sake of some obscure Palestinian villages that happened to be swept up in the 1967-era greater Jerusalem metropolitan region that supplanted the human-scale city of Jerusalem.

Does this further the historic mission of a minimal Zionism; to provide a home for a homeless people? If not, then maybe it should be considered negotiable, Holy City or not.

I have a huge question mark around why – more than 40 years following the liberation of Jerusalem – we are still trying to digest chunks of the reunited city. That we bit off more than we could chew is apparent, and perhaps it’s time to acknowledge that, if we haven’t digested it by now, perhaps we never will. Right now Israel resembles nothing so much as a python trying to digest an entire sheep. Unfortunately the villagers have happened upon the bloated python and, armed with sticks and stones, are forcing it to regurgitate its prey.

Israel believed it could do a far better job of managing the holy sites than its Jordanian predecessor, but is this in fact the case? Just looking purely at the Jewish holy sites, the Temple Mount was put forever out of bounds by an act of national self-abasement within days of the 6-Day War, when Dayan handed over the keys for the entire Noble Enclosure (rather than just the individual mosques) to the Muslim Waqf. As a result, Jews can now visit the Temple Mount only as individual tourists, and the Waqf has been allowed to Islamicize the entire site, including any archaeological evidence from the 1st and 2nd/3rd Temple periods that may have survived. There is no way to turn back the clock on this one, barring a process that would ignite the entire Muslim world.

When it comes to the Kotel and other Jewish holy sites, Israel’s record is no better. Instead of being open to all Jews, irrespective of how they practice their Judaism, the Kotel and other sites have steadily been transformed into what are effectively Haredi synagogues (and very shabby ones at that). Only the customs and rituals of this most extreme form of Judaism are respected or even tolerated, while expressions of other forms of Judaism are disallowed, or routinely lead to harassment, violence and even arrest.

Quite frankly, I believe I would have better, more equitable access to the Jewish holy sites in Jerusalem under a (Gentile) internationalised city than I enjoy under Israel’s regime!

Although still a youngster, I recall that, in the immediate aftermath of the Six Day War, Israel’s demands for adjustments to the armistice lines on geo-political, defensive and other rational grounds were clearly articulated and met with a sympathetic hearing from the international community. (The adjustments mooted included the Latrun salient, anchoring Israel’s wasp waist along the hills of Gilboa, annexation of the Old City, etc.) That has all now been swept away. Under the influence of the Greater-Israelites, Israel’s maximal demands have been presented as her “red lines”, while at the same time these red lines are somehow negotiable. Instead of rational border adjustments for defensive purposes, such concessions will now have to be wasted on incorporating the “settlement blocs” into Israel proper, an exercise that will do nothing to strengthen Israel’s geopolitical situation or facilitate defensive borders. The logic of defensible borders has been replaced with so much pseudo-Halachic drivel around the imperative to retain all of Judea and Samaria.

Legitimate demands for strategic adjustments have been submerged beneath irrational considerations, and all of them are now likely to be swept aside and rejected out of hand as simple greed.

Once again, Israel has held out for everything, and may well (deservedly) end up with nothing.

For all our supposed attachment to Jerusalem, Israel has quite simply made an unholy mess of integrating the nominally reunited city, and succeeded in putting her claim to Jerusalem as a whole (not just East Jerusalem) up for grabs.

East Jerusalem: Liberated or Occupied? was originally posted on Maskil

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The requirement sounds like a simple one: synchronise my Outlook (2003) Calendar and Contacts (especially) with Gmail, Hotmail, or another secure, reliable Webmail or other service. As a lifelong corporate IT person, I still like using Outlook as my e-mail and PIM client (although I’m now 2 versions behind). I would, however, like to have my Contacts and other Outlook PIM stuff backed up and synchronised with a cloud service.

Surely it can’t be that difficult? Apparently it is, even if you’re prepared to pay for it. Here’s my experience testing out a number of options over the past couple of days. Let’s go through them, starting with the big guys.

Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook

My main e-mail account is a Gmail account, so synching with Gmail on the Web would have been first prize. Not only that, but Google already has a tool to do exactly that, Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook. You can download and install it freely, but it won’t work with a @gmail.com e-mail address, nor with Google Apps Standard Edition. It only works with the premium editions of G/A.

Here’s my request to Google to open up this app to the peasants as well:

Make Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook available for Google Apps Standard Edition AND native Gmail. This would be a “killer app” for Google Apps/Gmail, and cement Google’s role as IT infrastructure provider to the world!

I’ve posted it on the relevant Google site. Please sign in and vote for it here:

Product Ideas for Google Apps (administrators) – Google Product Ideas

Microsoft Office Outlook Hotmail Connector

Microsoft also has a product that should be capable of doing the job, the Microsoft Office Outlook Hotmail Connector. The problem? It does what it’s supposed to do, but not what we wanted it to do. What do I mean by that? If asked in that much detail, we (the users) would have said we wanted to synch our Windows Live/Hotmail account with our default Personal Folders (.pst) file in Outlook. Instead, the Connector creates a whole new Hotmail hierarchy of folders inside an .ost file and syncs these folders with Hotmail on the Web.

Rather than a mechanism to sync Outlook with the Web, we end up with a way to read and write to our Hotmail Web stuff from within Outlook. Not quite the same thing.

From the (quite extensive) testing that I did, it appears to make no difference whether the Hotmail account is set as the Default e-mail account or not; your existing folder structure is ignored (effectively orphaned) in favour of the new folders.

I would have been happy to do a once-off migration and use the new folder hierarchy the Connector creates, but applications such as my Nokia software assume it will find my stuff where God (OK, Microsoft) originally ordained it should be. It quite rightly wants none of that stinkin’ .ost stuff. I’m guessing that most other 3rd-party apps will have the same limitations.

I even thought of syncing within the same Outlook install i.e. keeping the two Contacts folders, etc., in sync, but I haven’t found a utility than can do that.

I’m guessing that there’s not much hope of persuading Microsoft to write a new version of the Connector that does what we want it to (based on the feedback I’ve seen out there, I’m far from being the only one). As far as they’re concerned, they’ve addressed the need.

Microsoft Office Outlook Hotmail Connector overview – Outlook – Microsoft Office Online

Soocial

This was the product I’d bookmarked to use after I got rid of Plaxo. There is still a free version, but it’s limited to 250 entries and 3 connectors. The unrestricted version is $30 (R225 per annum in my money). I registered for the free version, but the first 2 connectors I tried to set up (Outlook and Gmail) were filled with dire warnings about known bugs and Beta software. Let’s get this straight. You (Soocial) want me to pay you $30 per annum for the privilege of debugging your crappy beta software? I don’t think so. I guess they’ve based their business model on Plaxo’s, but Plaxo at least pretends to do more than just sync your address book for their ask of $60 per annum.

(Perhaps I’m being unrealistic, but I can register a Domain and get DNS, some Web hosting and a whole bunch of other free stuff thrown in for $10 per annum, so $30 seems a little excessive to me.)

Soocial Hassle-free contacts

UNYK

I didn’t get too deep into this one, although it appears to work for some. It didn’t inspire confidence in me, however, sending my password to me in clear text in an e-mail message. When importing and merging contacts, it seems as if one is always a single wrong mouse-click away from spamming family, friends and contacts in perpetuity. I tired of walking this tightrope very quickly and deleted my account (hopefully permanently).

UNYK Address book

For now, it looks as if I’ll still be backing up my contacts using good old-fashioned exporting to .csv and .pst files, and importing them to strategic locations around the Web.

And if anyone finds anything that really, really works to do this simple job, please let me know!

Synchronising Calendar and Contacts with Outlook was originally posted on Maskil

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I recently volunteered to become the Webmaster and all-round IT Guy for our local community police forum, the Norwood Community Police Forum (NCPF). (Officially, “The Norwood Community Police Forum (NCPF) is a community based organization that works in close harmony with community stakeholders. It creates a link between community and police and improves co-operation between both parties.”)

The NCPF’s two digital assets were:

• A Website. Technically a blog, as its platform is the WordPress content management system (CMS)
• A Facebook Group (note: Group, not (Fan) Page)

The Website didn’t present any real challenges, as I’ve been using self-hosted WordPress for a couple of years now. The limitations (irritations) I have found can probably be addressed by using a better Theme.

I hadn’t managed a Facebook Group before, but wasn’t expecting any issues, as I maintain two Facebook Pages. I had three short-term objectives for the Group:

1. Create a Facebook “Page Badge” linking to the Group from the NCPF Website
2. Automatically update the Group Wall each time there’s a new post on our blog
3. Alert the committee members each time there’s activity on our Group Wall or Discussions

Sound easy for a seasoned IT person? I thought so too!

To my surprise, however, I found that FB apparently doesn’t officially support Facebook Badges for Groups! After some diligent research (I Googled a whole bunch of search terms), I finally came across a useful little FB App called Page Badge (Beta). First problem solved!

The next shock came when I realised that FB Groups do not support FB Apps (certainly not in the same way as Pages do). That scuppered my intention to use NetworkedBlogs to update the Wall! The workaround of using Notes to import a Feed is also not available. More diligent research, and I laid my hands on RSS Graffiti. Second problem solved!

I held out no hope whatsoever of finding a solution to the third challenge, that of automatic alerts for new Wall/Discussion items; I’d run into that particular brick wall before. The block is there intentionally, put there in support of FB’s contradictory stance on Privacy controls.

Out of the blue, I received a note from Scott Beach, who’d seen one of the questions I’d posted and asked if I’d found a solution (Scott runs an outfit called Adaptive Web Design). He dived in, and after trying various approaches, it became apparent that a solution using Pipes was the only workable one.

Using Scott’s Facebook Group, Fan or Page RSS Pipe, plus the Facebook Discussion Board RSS Feed from Andre Levy, I should now be able to immediately alert the committee to activity on our Facebook Group (we crave feedback!). I haven’t put this Live yet.

The differences between Facebook Pages and Groups are too subtle for most of us, and there really doesn’t appear to be much logic behind why these two separate objects exist, what the differences are, and why they should be there.

(The table in this blog post does a nice job of laying out the differences, but they still look pretty arbitrary.)

The only meaningful difference between the two is that Pages are Public, while Groups are (ostensibly) Private. If that’s the case, then why not merge the two – combining the best features and functionality of each – and allow Page creators/admins to designate whether it’s a Private or a Public Page? So much simpler for administrators, developers, users and mere mortals. But then again, simplicity has never been a hallmark of Facebook!

Links/Reading/Resources:

• The Norwood Community Police Forum
• Facebook Norwood Community Police Forum
• Facebook Badges
• Page Badge (Beta) on Facebook
• NetworkedBlogs on Facebook
• RSS Graffiti on Facebook
• Facebook Scott Beach
• Adaptive Web Design, Internet Marketing, SEO, Web Development
• Pipes: Facebook Group, Fan or Page RSS
• Pipes: Facebook Discussion Board RSS Feed
• Facebook: Fan Page vs. Group

Facebook Groups and (Fan) Pages should be merged was originally posted on Maskil

Although, strictly speaking, there are many “tribes” in Israel (to use Bernard Avishai’s terminology), just as there are many streams or denominations within Judaism, in effect we can reduce this to only two Israels, and two Judaisms. Which Israel is yours, and which Judaism?

• One is welcoming, the other hostile.
• One seeks to include, the other to exclude.

• One seeks to integrate, the other to segregate.
• One smiles, the other spits.
• One is progressive, the other backward.
• One seeks diversity, the other uniformity.
• One learns from tradition, the other is its prisoner.
• One accepts all learning, the other rejects much of human knowledge.
• One is democratic, the other despotic.
• One relies on merit, the other on nepotism and proteksia.
• One embraces pride, the other arrogance.
• One seeks justice, the other has forgotten that quality.
• One defends itself, the other becomes what must be defended against.
• One shows courage, the other cowardice and bullying.
• One throws off the oppressor, the other becomes the oppressor.
• One sees peace as a necessity, the other as a luxury.
• One relates to the world, the other turns its back on the world.
• One seeks to repair the world, the other hurls excrement.
• One produces, the other consumes.
• One recognises the divine spark in all of humanity, the other draws a distinction between the Jewish and Gentile soul.
• One reflects the best that is in us, the other the worst.

Do you recognise your Israel, your Judaism here?

Which do you choose, which will you be a part of?

Which of these will be the face of Israel and Judaism in the 21st Century?

The way we answer these questions may well determine both whether Israel and Judaism will survive the century, and whether they deserve to survive; whether they will be an asset to us and to the rest of humankind, or a liability that will eventually blow away in the desert winds.

The two Israels and the two Judaisms was originally posted on Maskil

In my previous post, I talked about the (relatively) new organisation, Hiddush (Freedom Of Religion for Israel) and ways in which you can support it (both morally and in more tangible forms).

Nikki responded, and pointed out that Hiddush had just kicked off its first campaign, aimed at Israel’s Civil Union bill.  While the concept of civil unions should be welcomed in principle, this particular bill has been butchered to such an extent that it will benefit almost none of the estimated 350,000 Israelis it should be aimed at.  (In a comment on the JTA Website some months back, I opined that the bill will do little except create a new class of Mamzerim, officially forbidden to inter-marry with others in Israel.)

Although there are always questions regarding just how effective “armchair activism” (usually involving online petitions and letter-writing) such as this is, it is surely certainly better than inaction and silence.  In a democracy, where the voter is “polled” only once every 4 or 5 years, they are an essential tool in bringing issues to the attention of lawmakers and other arms of state.

The first such campaign that I’m aware of was the initiative to call for the State of Israel to officially recognize Rabbi Miri Gold.

These two campaigns have now been joined by the New Israel Fund’s campaign to “Say No to the Back of the Bus”, and another from Hiddush intended to “Tell Netanyahu you support religious freedom for Israel”.

If you live in a country (such as the US) where freedom of (or even from) religion, religious pluralism, and other democratic rights are taken somewhat for granted, you can help your Israeli brethren/cousins gain those same rights by adding your name to these petitions.

Activism for a just Israel was originally posted on Maskil

In a couple of posts back in March 2008, I mourned the demise of Shinui at a time when it was needed more then ever. I also suggested that the political scene could benefit greatly from the founding of a “single issue” NGO to address the Haredi threat to Israeli society.

What I referred to as the Haredi Golem appears to have gained even more ground in the interim. One of the few bright spots on the horizon, however, has been the launch of Hiddush (For Religious Freedom and Equality), whose vision is as follows:

Hiddush – For Religious Freedom and Equality – strives to fulfill the promise of freedom of religion and conscience, promised in Israel’s Declaration of Independence. Hiddush -Hebrew for innovation and renewal – works to raise public awareness of matters of religion and state in Israel, and rallies the support of both Israelis and world Jewry, to join together in promoting religious freedom and equality, so that Israel can achieve its full potential as a free and flourishing Jewish democracy.

Hiddush was founded and is chaired by Stanley P. Gold (President and Chief Executive Officer of Shamrock Holdings, Inc.). Rabbi Uri Regev is President and CEO of Hiddush, as well as its (less well known) educational and advocacy Israel-Diaspora partnership, “Freedom Of Religion for Israel”. Rabbi Regev is the immediate past president of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (a global umbrella organization of the Progressive, Reform, Liberal and Reconstructionist movements), as well as the founding chair, and later executive director and legal counsel of the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC). Shahar Ilan (senior journalist and commentator on Haredi issues) serves as vice president of research and information.

My sense is that the non-Orthodox streams of Judaism have now begun to realise that Israel has become the battleground in the struggle for religious parity and pluralism in the Jewish world. Israel needs to be freed from the burden of religious discrimination both for its own sake, and because these alternative visions of Judaism will steadily lose ground in the Diaspora unless their status in Israel is secure. I have no way of knowing, but I’m guessing that Rabbi Regev was freed up from his responsibilities at the WUPJ specifically to head up this initiative. To me, that gives some idea of the level of commitment the Conservative/Masorti and Progressive streams are making. (Let me stress, though, that Hiddush is not affiliated with any particular Jewish denomination).

Support Hiddush

Here’s a few ways you can show support for Hiddush and the ideal of Freedom Of Religion for Israel:

The Hiddush website:

Hiddush, for religious freedom and equality in Israel

The Hiddush Facebook (Fan) Page:

Facebook | Hiddush – for Religious Freedom & Equality

Hiddush on Twitter:

Hiddush (hiddush) on Twitter

Sign up for the Hiddush e-newsletter:

Sign on to the Hiddush Vision

The Hiddush website also includes a secure PayPal donation badge, for those who are able to support their activities financially:

Support Hiddush – Donate Now

Links/Reading/Resources:

• ‘Hiddush’ aims to break Israel’s Orthodox monopoly | Jewish News | Jerusalem Post
• Regev, Gold Promote Israeli Pluralism | Community | Jewish Journal
• Or Am I?: Hiddush, a New Way to Promote Religious Freedom and Diversity in Israel
• Op-Ed: Israel must break growing stranglehold of religion | JTA – Jewish & Israel News

Related posts:

• Exorcising the Haredi Golem
• Shinui Reloaded or a Separation Movement?

Hiddush – Freedom Of Religion for Israel was originally posted on Maskil

Remembrance Day – also known as Armistice Day, Poppy Day or Veterans Day in various countries – is observed throughout most of the Western World. It is not officially commemorated in Israel (although it is remembered by Jewish war veterans in accordance with their own their own countries’ customs throughout the Diaspora).

Yom Hazikaron, literally “Israeli Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism Remembrance Day” is Israel’s official Memorial Day. Yom Hazikaron is observed alongside Yom Ha’atzmaut, the national independence day of Israel. As its name implies, Yom Hazikaron specifically honours the memory of Israeli soldiers killed in the line of duty, as well as its civilian terror victims. (In an earlier post, I did propose that its scope be changed to also embrace the Jewish victims of radical Islamist terror worldwide.)

It is, of course, entirely appropriate that Israel honours its own war dead in this fashion, and at that particular time. Perhaps it’s time to ask, though, whether there’s room within the Israeli calendar and consciousness for a more general salute for those (both Jews and non-Jews) who served, fought and died to make our world (such as it is) the place it is today, with all its problems and potential.

I realise that Israel probably already has too many national and religious public holidays, so I’m not about to suggest another! My thought was that perhaps the most appropriate way to do this would be an official honour guard and wreath-laying at the most significant Allied (mainly Commonwealth) war graves in Israel, e.g. the Jerusalem War Cemetery. Those honoured should include:

• All who fought and died on the Allied side during both World Wars (but particularly in the fight against Hitler), and for freedom and democracy in subsequent conflicts
• Those who took part in the liberation of our homeland from the Ottoman Turks in WWI
• Jewish war veterans and war dead worldwide, from WWI through to the current day.

Perhaps more than anything else, this is a recognition that there is an underlying divide between those nations that commemorate Remembrance Day in some form, and those who don’t. Israel should stand firmly with those who do.

Postscript

The ever-vigilant Joel Katz pointed out that 9 May is already officially recognised as “Victory Day on Nazi Germany” in Israel, a “National remembrance day, business as usual”. 9 May was Stalin’s equivalent of V-E Day, and has little buy-in outside Soviet culture.  The fact that it is now celebrated in Israel appears to be a special concession to the +/- 1 million immigrants from the FSU who made Israel their home.  I envisaged the same kind of status for Remembrance Day;  perhaps in time the two remembrance days could be consolidated.

As an aside, Soviet Victory Day appears to be the only Israeli public holiday whose date in fixed in the Gregorian calendar, rather than the Hebrew calendar.

Links/Reading/Resources:

• Soviet Victory Day in Israel – Demotix.com
• Remembering the soldiers who built American Jewish life – Haaretz – Israel News

Related posts:

• Modest proposals for Yom HaShoah and Yom Hazikaron

Remembrance Day in Israel was originally posted on Maskil

Image via Wikipedia

In my previous blog post, I looked at the last days of Apartheid South Africa, and the eerie parallels between the attitudes of White South Africans at the time, and the apparent mindset of much of Israel today. In both cases, there was/is the widespread belief that (a) we can stand alone against the world, because of a whole range of strategic and other factors, and (b) we can hold out/carry on this way indefinitely, for generations or centuries to come in need.

Despite the bravado, South Africa was eventually forced into a negotiated settlement with the ANC. Similarly, I believe that unless Israel uses the current opportunity to grab the best deal she can, she will eventually be forced to accept something far less favourable than what can be had today. Writer Uzi Silber took issue with the concept of a negotiated settlement, due to the absence of a credible partner for peace on the Palestinian side. I have no argument with that; a Holocaust-denier turned “moderate” would not be my choice of negotiating partner either. If not negotiation, then what?

In broad brushstrokes, this is my analysis:

For now, Israel is still largely in charge of her own destiny, not Abbas or Obama. Israel can take the initiative to move the so-called peace process along, and the other players will follow.

Israel has a decade or so at the most before the world completely loses patience with the running sore that is the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and imposes a solution that is unlikely to be in Israel’s best interests.

In the next few years, therefore, (e.g. by end of Obama’s 1st and hopefully only term), Israel should negotiate OR IMPOSE a settlement that the real key players can live with, if not actually like (the US would be seen as a key player, Saudi Arabia not).

Essentially what I’m suggesting is that Israel begin unilaterally implementing the best possible deal she could expect at the negotiating table, then wait for the other parties to catch up.

What are the outlines of a solution that Israel should be demanding, negotiating, unilaterally imposing, or all of the above?

• No “peace at any price”, “land for peace” or “a price for peace”. Instead, “peace for peace”, and reasonable concessions where this is in Israel’s interests.
• Not disengagement, but rather disentanglement. Any withdrawals would be of a civilian, not a military nature. This is about reducing points of friction, getting out of one another’s faces.
• Set definitive borders between Israel and the remainder of Palestine. Only the major settlement blocs contiguous with Israel should be retained, and a contiguous Palestinian entity on the West Bank must be enabled.
• Borders should be based more on Israel’s strategic needs than the present locations of settlements, which are in many ways a strategic liability.
• The remaining settlements and outposts should then be formally abandoned by the Israeli government, and security and other services eventually withdrawn, once the inhabitants have been given the opportunity to relocate.
• The security barrier must be rerouted to conform to Israel’s new international frontier.
• Formal annexation of any retained territories once precise borders have been delimited.
• The boundaries of East Jerusalem should be reduced considerably, to exclude as many predominantly Arab neighbourhoods and villages as possible, while still retaining the Old City and the central urban core.
• The IDF would not be withdrawn from any area, and must retain complete freedom of movement within Israel’s security envelope (essentially, Western Palestine plus the Golan).
• No power vacuum must be permitted to emerge in the West Bank. Power should only be devolved to a stable West Bank authority, or an Egyptian or Jordanian or combined authority. (Remember when we used to think that the worst possible thing for Israel was Egypt poking her in the ribs from Gaza, or the Arab Legion looking down from the heights of Latrun? How times have changed!)
• The West Bank authority would remain demilitarised for the foreseeable future, with security services only being permitted to have small-arms/side-arms.
• Any form of extra-territorial land bridge between the West Bank and Gaza should be ruled out.
• While I am opposed to an exchange of territories, i.e. to compensate the PA for land lost to the Settlement Blocs, this may be unavoidable. (The right-wing fantasy of Israel shedding territories heavily populated by Israeli Arabs is just not on, unless we’re keen to rack up another violation of international law.)
• Return to an emphasis on rights-based instead of a concessions-based diplomacy for Israel.

Israel should not anticipate a diplomatic round of applause, pat on back, greater understanding from the world, or any other rewards flowing from this process, as she did following the Gaza withdrawal. This is just something that needs to be done, in Israel’s own interests.

(Speaking of Gaza, in this scenario, the withdrawal would have been of civilians only. Settlements contiguous with Israel’s border would have been retained and formally annexed. The IDF would have retained control of the Philadelphia Corridor and a much greater degree of freedom of movement. Last but not least, the IDF could have prevented Hamas from seizing power.)

With this process completed, I am confident that Israel will have neutralised at least some of its current existential threats, reinforced its place in the family of nations, and starved the current efforts to delegitimize her.  With the Palestinian threat now at least externalised, she can at last begin confronting her massive internal challenges.

Links/Reading/Resources:

• Defining our own borders – Israel Opinion, Ynetnews

Related posts:

• Defining Israel’s borders through BATNA
• Last days of Apartheid South Africa – Lessons for Israel

The Last Days of Greater Israel – A Response to Uzi Silber was originally posted on Maskil

Image via Wikipedia

What does this have to do with a blog on Israel and Jewish affairs? Having lived through the fall of Apartheid and the all-too brief honeymoon period that followed, I find a number of eerie parallels between attitudes and beliefs held by White South Africans at the time, and Israel’s growing isolation and withdrawal today. (What I am not doing, though, is to compare the Apartheid system of Separate Development with the situation in Israel. Such a comparison is inaccurate and unjust and gives ammunition to those who simply wish to demonise Israel.)

In January 1978 – along with tens of thousands of other school-leavers, graduates of our Christian National Education system – I began my National Service with the SA Defence Force. I was not politically mature (or even aware), and believed that we were doing our part to save Southern Africa from what had befallen the rest of Africa: domination by the militant Black nationalism and Communism that had led to the ruination of the continent; the Total Onslaught.

We believed that the struggle would continue for decades, perhaps even centuries to come. Our children and grandchildren would be called on do their duty to save “Volk en Vaderland” (we used those words) from the savagery of raw Africa. Little more than a decade later, Mandela had been released from prison, the CODESA talks had begun and democratic elections were on the horizon.

That bears repeating: little more than a decade later.

How was this possible? We firmly believed that with South Africa’s mineral and other natural resources, her control over the Cape sea route (the Suez Canal had been closed since 1967), her military might, etc., The West could simply not allow this prize, this bastion of civilisation, to fall to Communism. Voortrekker terminology about drawing the wagons into a defensive circle or Lager (the “Lager mentality”) was common on both sides of the argument. Vesting Suid Afrika (Fortress South Africa) would hold out until such time as The World (not us) was brought to its senses.

Behind the scenes, however, senior SADF figures were warning their political masters that the most they could do was give the politicians breathing room to make a deal. Boycotts, disinvestment and sanctions had begun to cut deep into the SA economy, as had black labour unrest and events such as the Soweto Riots of 1976 (fomented mainly by school-goers). The National Party eventually cut a deal with its chosen successor – the African National Congress (ANC) – and then retired to seaside homes, cattle farms and inflation-linked pensions. The New South Africa experienced its brief Rainbow Nation phase before the slow slide into the current phase of reverse discrimination, corruption, rampant crime and ineffectiveness. The heroism, the mental and physical scarring, and the loss of many of our finest sons had become somehow irrelevant.

Today, Israel (like White South Africa in the 80s) appears to be living under the illusion that she has all the time in the world. The illusion that with her economy, the IDF, support from the US and Diaspora communities, she has no need to set her borders, find- rather than just seek – peace, and come to an accommodation with the other inhabitants of Palestine. There are far too many dangerous illusions at work here. The illusion of brave little Israel, alone against the world. The illusion that we don’t need peace; that we can survive in a state of low-intensity conflict forever. The illusion that we only need one ally, and that we are free to thumb our noses at her views when they don’t suit us. The illusion that the only outpost of democracy in the region would never be abandoned. The illusion that we can’t be replaced as America’s most dependable ally in the region. The illusion that we contribute too much to the world to be cast aside. The illusion that we are right and the rest of the world is wrong. The illusion that we are protected by the lessons and guilt of the Holocaust. And, perhaps most dangerous of all, the illusion that the God of Israel would not allow her be destroyed again.

Israel has perhaps another decade to restore its status as a Rechtsstaat (domestically, internationally and in the territories) and integrate itself back into the family of nations. Another decade before the same forces that ended 40 years of National Party rule in South Africa also put an end to the 40-year illusion of Greater Israel, and the hopes and dreams of Little Israel along with it.

In the immortal words of Hollywood enforcers and crime-fighters, “we can do this the hard way or the easy way”. For now, the choice is still ours.

Last days of Apartheid South Africa – Lessons for Israel was originally posted on Maskil

Image via CrunchBase

Cloud Computing, Cloud Services, Web Services, Web 2.0. Each has its own definition, overlapping with the others to a greater or lesser extent. What it means to the man on the street (or on his or her laptop or mobile), though, is that we’re increasing trusting our valuable (to us, at least) information to a service somewhere out there on the Internet.

For some, this could mean just a webmail account with Gmail or Hotmail and profiles with Facebook and Flickr. For Web Workers (e.g. bloggers and freelancers) it could mean a whole lot more (accounting records, archives, contacts, work in progress, etc.).

Sometimes we get a none too gentle reminder about the risks of Cloud Computing.

To put things in very simplistic terms, the risks are two:

• Risk of inaccessibility. (You don’t have access to your data.)
• Risk of inappropriate accessibility. (The wrong people have access to your data.)

Either of these risks could be the result of human error or a hardware or software failure at the service provider. Data shops are usually pretty good at handling such outages, however. It’s far more likely that problems will result from your Web 2.0 service having a nasty brush with Economy 1.0.

I’m really generalising, but Web 2.0 start-ups have tended to rely on quickly gaining a critical mass of users or traffic, then figuring out how to monetise that base before venture capital funding runs out. When this bet doesn’t pan out, it could result in products being cut, or the venture folding completely.

Let’s look at half a dozen examples that I’m aware of, or that have impacted me directly in the recent past:

BlogBackupOnline

I used this “set and forget” service to back up my legacy Blogger blogs. After migrating to WordPress at the end of June, I thought I’d use the same tool as a “belt and braces” backup for Maskil. When I tried to access the site, however, it wouldn’t load. I haven’t seen any announcements or blog posts in this regard, but I assume that it’s history. The vendor (Techrigy Inc.) has been acquired by Alterian, but there’s not even a mention of BlogBackupOnline on the Techrigy site. One report indicates that the domain itself is up for sale!

FriendFeed

FriendFeed is (or was) an amazing product, with any number of uses. I was using it as my lifestream or digital stream. With its recent acquisition by Facebook, however, a huge question mark hangs over its future. It appears that the entire development team has already been moved across to Facebook. Perhaps this will have a happy ending;  FriendFeed’s fans don’t seem to think so.

Google Notebook

A really nifty way of saving your web clippings. While this amazing product still exists, no further development is being done on it. So, while its die-hard fans can still make use of it for now, the writing is on the wall. I’m guessing it will be taken down during the course of 2010.

Furl

A unique social bookmarking product that also cached a copy of the page whose link you saved. Invaluable for those sites where articles or posts are archived behind a registration or subscription mechanism over time. It was bought out by Diigo, who provided a mechanism to migrate to their service, but this was only for the links, not the page images. In my case, the migration resulted in the loss of many categories/labels, and possibly links as well.

Plaxo

I’ve had lots to say about this one. Essentially, Plaxo cannibalised their free service my moving the essential Plaxo Toolbar for Outlook to their premium offering. Without the Outlook connector, Plaxo has no value to me, and I’m not willing to pay USD60 a year for the premium version.

Storytlr

Quite possibly the best lifestreaming product out there. I started using it initially to back up and search my Twitter Tweets. I’d just begun to explore its potential as a lifestreaming platform when the axe fell.

So, here’s the scorecard. Not a pretty picture at all!

While there’s not much we can do to lessen our dependence on Cloud Computing (without losing the advantages as well) here’s a few things we can do to minimise or mitigate the risks:

• Do some basic due diligence before committing your data or workflow to a Cloud Service (although, looking at this list, it would probably not have made a difference).
• Find ways to backup your data, either from the Cloud Service to a local device or to another service (but see BlogBackupOnline above)
• Stay portable. Try not to become too reliant on any particular service. Give some thought as to how you would migrate your information or processes to another service or vendor in need.
• Look out for signals. Sign up for Google Alerts or something similar regarding the products you depend on, so you’re aware of impending changes that could affect the service.
• Bitch like hell if there’s talk of a service being cut. Maybe, just maybe, the vendors are not aware of how much users rely on their service (or how passionately they feel about it).

The Pitfalls of Cloud Computing was originally posted on Maskil

According to the concluding paragraph of an article entitled “Only aliyah can save Israel” by Uzi Silber:

So what then is the solution [to Israel’s demographic problem]? Barring unforeseen miracles, mass Jewish immigration to Israel by the hundreds of thousands remains the only viable way of ensuring that the Jewish state’s future does in-fact remain ours.

My first reaction was “in that case, why didn’t the immigration of as many as 1 million Jews from the FSU (mostly during the 90s) “save” Israel?” Why not indeed? My second reaction was “if we’re relying on immigration on that scale, then we’re in deep trouble!”

Unfortunately, though, formulas such as this have been repeated so often and so blindly that they have taken on the halo of truth. As a result, very little clear, hard thinking has been done to define whether Israel does indeed have a demographic

problem, the nature and extent of the problem, what can be done to address it, and whether those measures include mass immigration. Also, of course, whether mass Jewish immigration from anywhere in the world is a realistic option.

This clear, hard thinking needs to be a group exercise, but I can offer a few observations and suggestions.

Is this Zionism?

A call for “mass Jewish immigration to Israel by the hundreds of thousands” may sound like Zionism. Zionism, however, was intended to address the Jewish condition – Jewish powerlessness and minority status everywhere – by creating a Jewish commonwealth in Palestine. With that objective now largely achieved, the Zionist equation has seemingly been inverted, with Jews everywhere being called on to plug this particular leak with their bodies. I for one am uncomfortable with this inversion of Zionism; almost the antithesis of Zionism.

Sources of Aliya

I’ve detailed my views regarding Aliya in the 21st Century elsewhere (see Related posts: below). Simply put, though, the pools of potential immigrants have largely ceased to exist.

The Holocaust and 60 years of intensive Zionist efforts (as well as Israel’s conflict with its Arab neighbours) have basically drained all the pools of potential immigrants to Israel. Leaving aside what I refer to as personal fulfilment Aliya, I think it’s true to say that (barring unforeseen calamities) pretty much everyone who needs or wants to make Aliya has already done so. This might seem like a shocking notion, but it might be one we need to get used to.

Defining the problem

Defining the problem is not something I’m going to try to do here; it’s an essential part of the exercise I mentioned above. First, though, we need to understand that defining Israel’s Arab minority as “Israel’s demographic problem” will be deeply offensive to Israel’s Arabs, many Jews (both in Israel and elsewhere), and people who care about Israel as a democratic and just society, and as a place founded as a refuge from the Holocaust. (It’s also just possible that by defining a situation as a problem, we are in effect creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.)

Be that as it may, we need a clear grasp of Israel’s demographics before we can start bandying Aliya about as the solution. We need to understand the position both within the Green Line and in Western Palestine as a whole. We also need to recognise the implications of Israel’s formal but unrecognised annexation of East Jerusalem (without clearly defined boundaries) and the transplanting of over half a million Israeli Jews into East Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), without any formal annexation.

Lastly, we need to understand the perceptions on both sides and arrive at a view of how Israel’s Arabs define themselves. As a peaceful minority, such as the Jews were in Europe? As a demographic time bomb? As searching for justice and their rightful place in Israeli society, or the spearhead of Arab, Islamic or Palestinian irredentism? Are these perceptions and realities shifting, and if so in what direction?

Only once we’ve understood Israel’s demographics can we decide whether Israel has a problem or not; bearing in mind that the tipping point is not 50%. As we’ve seen with Israel’s other (far more insidious) demographic issue, at only 20% of the population, the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) minority have used their coalition partnership “bargaining chip” to subvert Israel’s democracy and fund their institutions, lifestyle and growth at the taxpayers’ expense, while imposing their worldview on the rest of society.

We also need a working definition of the Jewish State, even if this is just stating the obvious: a Jewish state cannot exist without a Jewish majority.

Solutions

The final step in our mooted brainstorming process is the search for practical measures to retain or increase Israel’s Jewish majority, without harming the rights, property and persons of its non-Jewish inhabitants, and without damaging Israel’s image and standing in the family of nations. Here are a few starter suggestions:

Define where Israel starts and ends, either through a negotiated settlement or through BATNA. Israel needs to set its borders, either bilaterally or unilaterally. This is essential to both understanding and addressing the situation, and the window to achieve it is closing rapidly. We can’t continue trying to carry water in a sieve.

Bring the settlers home. Settlement blocs contiguous with pre-1967 Israel should be formally incorporated into Israel, and the remainder abandoned. The Settlement Enterprise has dragged Israel into an unwinnable demographic war in the West Bank, while at the same time diverting population growth out of Israel proper. For Israel’s sake, it has to end.

Seal Israel’s borders. Almost as soon as Zionist settlement in Palestine began, it was accompanied by (and sometimes even outstripped by) immigration from the surrounding Arab countries. The trend has continued to this day, with the attempt to erase the Green Line only recently having been abandoned. Israel must have absolute control over her frontiers and over who and how people and goods enter and leave them. The Border Police and related services must be dramatically boosted in order to achieve this.

Don’t permit erosion of Israel’s sovereignty. (One of my hobby-horses.) Israel’s writ must extend to every inch of her territory (or security envelope, where these are not conterminous) and over every inhabitant of the country. So-called no-go areas simply cannot be permitted.

Stop subsidising the birth-rate in any way. Attempts to increase Israel’s birth-rate began in the first years of its existence and – in one form or another – have continued to this day. This is despite their having been a miserable failure; instead of changing the behaviour of Middle Israel, they rewarded the behaviour of those who would have had large families anyway – the Arab and ultra-Orthodox sectors. They have quite simply backfired, and should be scrapped immediately and replaced with a system that penalises large families reliant on welfare.

Stop treating sociological Jews as 2nd-class citizens. This applies mainly to the 350,000-odd Jews from the FSU who immigrated to Israel under the Law of Return, but fail the stringent tests of “Jewishness” set by Israel’s Haredi-dominated rabbinate. This sort of treatment will in no way encourage other “undocumented” or sociological Jews to make Aliya; just the opposite. Israel should instead provide a soft landing for these immigrants, including the option of recognised non-Orthodox conversions. (It’s ironic that the very people who whine about the lack of Aliya tend to support this hard-line attitude towards those caught between the Law of Return and a cold, pitiless rabbinate.)

Family reunification and mail-order brides. Israel currently permits immigration from countries with which she is formally in a state of war or armed conflict (including the Palestinian Territories). This is done in terms of family reunification and “mail-order brides” for Arab/Muslim citizens (some 50,000 between 2000 and 2005, according to one report). No country in a state of conflict can permit this organised insanity, even in the name of political correctness.

Define an immigration policy. Israel’s addiction to foreign labour needs to be tackled by means of a formal immigration policy. This policy should define the skills and sectors where guest workers are needed (e.g. frail care for the aged), and regulations and conditions for their stay. The periodic knee-jerk reactions to the presence of guest workers (followed by mass expulsions) contribute to the perception and substance of Israel as an unwelcoming destination. This in turn subtly influences decisions regarding Aliya.

Create an attractive society. Apart from a very small minority, appealing for Aliya on the basis of a demographic struggle is not likely to be an attractive proposition. Simply put, Israel needs to compete in an open immigration market. The surest way of becoming more competitive is a shift away from the semi-theocratic model of society and closer to the Western, democratic and secular model, including a clear separation between religion and state. Israel needs to stop believing and acting as if it has a “captive market” for its desired immigration demographic, and become competitive instead.

Strengthen or plunder the Diaspora?

More than 60 years after Israel’s miraculous creation, we need to start asking how long Israel’s insatiable appetite for Aliya will continue. Israel is already the home to a plurality of Jews in the world today. What percentage of the world’s Jewish population will eventually satisfy her need?

With the Diaspora in something of a disarray, perhaps it’s time to call a halt to the Aliya industry, focusing instead on Aliya by choice (personal, fulfilment Aliya) and the Aliya of need (e.g. where a threatened community needs to be evacuated).

Instead of plundering the Diaspora of its best and brightest, perhaps its time for Israel to put a lot more emphasis on strengthening Jewish life and communities wherever they exist, and strengthening the ties between Israel and the Diaspora.

If Israel, the World Zionist Organisation (WZO) and the Jewish Agency (JAFI) are not the right bodies to achieve this, perhaps they should move aside and make way for a democratic, representative global Jewish convention ready to meet the challenges of 21st Century Jewish life.

Links/Reading/Resources:

• Only aliyah can save Israel – The Jewish Chronicle
• 50,000 Palestinians Immigrated to Israel Since 2000 (Itim/Ha’aretz, 30Nov05)

Related posts:

• The real demographic threat to Israel – the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) sector
• Immigration to Israel from the FSU – a bungled Aliyah
• The Jewish Agency and aliya in the 21st century
• The easiest demographic problem we’ve ever had
• JAFI, NBN and North American Aliyah – When is enough enough?
• Secure and recognized borders for Israel through “best alternative to a negotiated agreement” (BATNA)

Only Aliya can save Israel. Oh really? was originally posted on Maskil

I think there needs to be a Palestinian state (or a Palestinian entity that’s something less than a state). Not because the Palestinians desire or deserve it; they don’t (there has never been a less deserving people). Rather, because Israel deserves it. What do I mean by this? Palestinian autonomy (or independence in all but military affairs) is probably Israel’s last chance to become something resembling a normal, respectable country, with normal (if somewhat constricted) borders, normal (if somewhat homicidal) neighbours, normal diplomatic and foreign relations and a normal (kind of) internal agenda and concerns.

I’m not suggesting (as most of Israel’s enemies and many of her friends do) that The Occupation is the greatest single obstacle to peace in the region. It’s not. What I am affirming, however, is that even if all other obstacles were to be removed, peace would still not be possible without real Palestinian autonomy. Even if and when Israel manages to make peace with all neighbouring Arab states, she will not have peace until the Palestinian Civil War (the real one) between Arab and Jew has ended. (If one needs evidence of this, Israel has peace treaties with both Egypt and Jordan, and has not fought a conventional war with another state since 1982. And yet, peace appears further away than ever.)

Ending the occupation of the West Bank does not mean the withdrawal of Israel’s military from the territories. While I’m not in favour of The Settlements (actually I think they’re a monkey on Israel’s back), there are sound defensive, geopolitical and strategic reasons why Israel needs to maintain a military presence in Judea and Samaria indefinitely; perhaps for generations. The mistake of a total withdrawal as per the Gaza model should not be repeated; the IDF needs complete freedom of movement within Israel’s security envelope.

(For their part, the settlements – and the refusal of successive Israeli governments to curb their expansion – gives the lie to the glib assertion that Israel is ready to evacuate the territories at the drop of a shtreimel in return for peace. Nobody is fooled by this any longer, except perhaps the blindest of Israel’s friends.)

Unfortunately, the pseudo-Halachic claptrap around the concept of the Land of Israel has clouded the issues and undermined Israel’s strategic and geopolitical case for adjusting her borders with rump Palestine (something that will be further complicated by the need to retain the Settlement Blocs contiguous with Israel) and maintaining a presence elsewhere, e.g. overlooking the Jordan valley along its entire length. Even in the era of apparent post-conventional warfare, defensible borders should still be seen as a requirement. In addition, as both the victim and the victor in the war in which the territories were captured, I see no moral reason why Israel should offer or be obliged to offer an exchange for any areas annexed.

I’m all in favour of “peace for peace” rather than “land for peace”, nor do I believe that there should be a “price for peace” that Israel needs to pay. In this case, however, the “land for peace” is inhabited. Unless we want to carry on with our unwinnable demographic war against Palestine, and end up with a Jewish majority nowhere in the world, we need to give up the land. We need to take our responsibilities as the Occupying Power seriously and hold the territories in trust for its inhabitants, until such time as they’re ready for the responsibility. Not for their sake, but for our own. For the sake of generations to come, and for the sake of the entire Jewish people, who are harmed the most by the phenomena of “The Occupation” and “The Settlements”.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Israel and the Arabs: Dangerous real estate (guardian.co.uk)
• West Bank Settlements Become Havens Of Israeli Surburbanites (huffingtonpost.com)

Israel Needs a Palestinian Entity was originally posted on Maskil

Image via Wikipedia

In June this year, I posted a user specification for what I termed The Ultimate Comment Tracking System or UCTS (a digital stream for the commentosphere). The idea was for a lightweight desktop application (backed up by a Cloud service) to compile, submit and track comments and ensure that they’re merged back into your digital stream.

In the meantime, I’ve been relying on a combination of copy & paste, PhraseExpress and LastPass to save me from having to retype my screen name, e-mail address, URI etc., each time I submit a comment. At the back-end (and despite its shortcomings),

I still rely mostly on coComment as the repository for my comments. (I use the coComment bookmarklet rather than the Firefox extension, due to its huge appetite for RAM.)

I’ve now come across the easyComment Firefox Extension, which does an excellent job of submitting your profile details (name, e-mail address and Home Page) each time you can’t resist chipping into a discussion. It also has a “Your Comment” field, which appears to be more useful for maintaining a standard signature for blog comments, rather than the actual comments.

Hat-tip to Harsh Agrawal on Shoutmeloud for featuring easyComment. It’s already saved me innumerable keystrokes. While it doesn’t meet all the requirements I outlined for The Ultimate Comment Tracking System, it’s a big step in the right direction.

On that subject, I’d like to suggest an enhancement to the way in which easyComment operates.  Submitting a comment should become a two step operation, as follows:

1. When you click on easyComment in the Status Bar, it should bring up the easyComment window, allowing you to edit your Name, E-mail address and Home Page (if necessary) and compose (or paste) your comment and signature into the Your Comment field.
2. Clicking on a (new) OK or Submit button should then submit your user details and comment to the Blog or Website.

You can download easyComment from the Mozilla Add-ons for Firefox site.

Maskil’s Comment Profiles

• Comments by Maskil BackType
• coComment – My coComment
• DISQUS Profile | Maskil
• IntenseDebate – Maskil
• TypePad – Maskil’s Profile

(Unlike the other 3rd-party comment systems, JS-Kit doesn’t appear to provide a comment stream or repository.)

• JS-Kit ECHO

Links/Reading/Resources:

• easyComment :: Add-ons for Firefox
• easyComment 1.2 Firefox Extension
• Easy comment: a firefox extension for blogger.
• LastPass Password Manager, Form Filler – The Last Password You’ll Have To Remember
• Autotext – Clipboard Utility – Snippets Organizer

Related posts:

• The Ultimate Comment Tracking System – a digital stream for the commentosphere

easyComment – Firefox Add-On for the Serial Commenter was originally posted on Maskil

I’m pleased to announce that Maskil just reached another auspicious milestone – the first anti-Semitic “hate-mail” comment – from someone calling himself Adam979 (in Hampshire?). The comment appeared on “Google Knol: The Next Big Thing for anti-Semitism 2.0?”, which I posted more than a year ago.

Below are the text and user details of the comment; I’ve deleted the comment itself from the blog post:

New comment on your post #399 “Google Knol: The Next Big Thing for anti-Semitism 2.0?”

Author : Adam979 (IP: 81.98.97.208 , cpc3-nfds8-0-0-cust463.lei3.cable.ntl.com)

E-mail :

URL :

Whois : http://ws.arin.net/cgi-bin/whois.pl?queryinput=81.98.97.208

Comment:

Wow what are you whining about now. Come on it’s distasteful how you guys cry and cry about the world being so tough. It’s pathetic considering that you yids have been at it for longer and become more adept at the very things you are bleating about a long time ago.

Stop your whining, or is that simply another endearing trait of your big nosed race.

You can see all comments on this post here:

http://blog.maskil.info/2008/08/google-knol-the-next-big-thing-for-anti-semitism-2-0/#comments

I could be wrong, but I don’t think I was whining. I was trying to be analytical, factual and reasoned (although I’ll be the first to admit that we do whine a bit. We even have Yiddish words like “kvetch” to describe it). I’m also reluctant to cry wolf when it comes to anti-Semitism. As I said in an earlier post:

I have to admit that – because I’m reluctant to see every bruising encounter between Gentile and Jew as anti-Semitism – I’ve never been a big fan of the ADL. If someone dislikes some or all the Jews he or she has personally encountered, that is not anti-Semitism. As soon as he or she forms or adopts and promotes theories to explain this dislike, and applies it to all the Jews who have ever lived, that’s anti-Semitism.

What I call “Social Anti-Semitism” – plain old-fashioned dislike of Jews you’ve met in person – is best ignored (as a people, nobody ever accused us of being “likeable” anyway). Once that spills over into hate speech, Holocaust denial, demonization of Israel and racial theories, then it’s a different matter.

This comment, I’m afraid, crossed the line into that murky territory and starts to generalise and build theories around why we (as a “race”) are supposedly the way we are.

So, to Adam979 and everyone who thinks and acts like him: Drop Dead.

Update

Apparently our “hero” Adam979 (who could be from Leicester rather than Hampshire) was searching on the term “will adsense allow my anti-israel blog?” Google gave him just one result; my blog post on Google Knol.

To answer your question, I’m sure they will, Adam.  Unless you believe Google is also run by the “big nosed race”. Which I’m sure is the explanation you’ll use if they turn you down for any reason.

Links/Reading/Resources:

• Lijit | Detail on searches for will adsense allow my anti-israel blog?
• Lijit | Search – will adsense allow my anti-israel blog?

Related posts:

• Is CAMERA trying to warp Wikipedia?
• Anti-Semitism 2.0: Just hit Enter
• Google Knol: The Next Big Thing for anti-Semitism 2.0?
• Will Britannica 2.0 Provide a Platform for Anti-Semitism 2.0?

Another Milestone for Maskil – My First Anti-Semitic Hate Comment was originally posted on Maskil

(Part 1 of “Intermarriage – Straight Talk or Just More of the Same?” appeared here.)

My belief is that most of us are not absorbing an Adult Judaism by the time we need it to sustain us. We start off with an age-appropriate version of Judaism filled with miracles and God’s intervention in history. Our Jewish upbringing is usually stalled at Bar/Bat-Mitzvah age, though, before our Childhood Judaism can be replaced by a more mature, robust version. In many cases, our Judaism of wide-eyed wonder is simply no match for the questions, doubts, challenges, education, philosophy and people we will encounter long before adulthood. For that, we need an Adult Judaism.

Adult Judaism

This is not another Jewish denomination (although I’m very much in favour of a multitude of denominations within Judaism (unity does not mean or need uniformity)), but rather an irreducible minimum in terms of both Jewish belief and understanding. I see it consisting of the following components.

• That we came into being as a people with a set of laws through an epic encounter with the Divine (however we care to understand that).
• That our acceptance of those laws obligates us to act in a certain way towards the rest of Creation (this is encapsulated in the story of the person who approached Hillel, saying “Convert me on the condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot.” Hillel converted him, saying: “That which is despicable to you, do not do to your fellow, this is the whole Torah, and the rest is commentary, now go and learn it.”)
• That this in turn results in a whole body of customs, rituals and practices, which differ somewhat from place to place and era to era. These rituals are not Judaism, although they often manifest some aspect of it.
• That the ethical requirements cannot be taught academically, but must be embodied practically in families and societies. This is ultimately the reason for Jewish peoplehood, and the reason why Judaism puts so much emphasis on doing.
• That the laws inherited from our encounter with the divine are now ours to modify, keep or discard, with all due care. (There is an obligation to abolish those that have become abhorrent to our developing sense of understanding.)

We need an exposure to that Adult Judaism at a much earlier stage; before we’ve begun to question the parting of the Red Sea. We need to make it clear that Judaism is not contingent on miracles. We need to teach basic theology, i.e. what it is we should believe, not just some Aleph-Bet, some history and traditions and our Torah portion.

This is very much a first pass at defining the bullet points for an Adult Judaism, one that can carry us through the personal, intellectual and moral challenges we inevitably encounter on the path to adulthood and throughout our lives. If we want to stem the tide of assimilation away from Judaism, we need to define and educate for an Adult Judaism that looks at least something like this.

For those well-versed in Jewish learning and texts this may look like primary school stuff. For those whose Jewish education ended at 12 or 13 (or even before it began) this may well be a revelation. It may also make the difference between staying or going, being anchored or drifting.

Only an Adult Judaism – in both definition and education – will allow us to juggle belief and reason without the danger of dropping or compromising either. Only an Adult Judaism will sustain us spiritually and allow us to assimilate the best of what the world has to offer, without forgetting who we are.

We need to understand clearly that it’s beyond the power of organised Judaism to stop intermarriage to any meaningful extent. Instead, what it needs to focus on is a Jewish upbringing that gives answers to the question why be/remain Jewish. It also needs to put emphasis on allowing people to remain firmly within the Jewish fold, irrespective of their choice of life partner.

Outreach

The second part of my two part answer to the challenges of assimilation and intermarriage is Outreach, which we should really be thinking of as Acceptance rather than Outreach.  This Acceptance needs to encompass not just the “usual suspects” (the intermarried), but all those who tend to drift or be edged towards the fringes of Jewish society.

We need to reframe the issue. Rather than saying “Intermarriage is the greatest threat to Jewish survival, etc.”, ad nauseum, we should be saying “integrating the intermarried into our communities is our greatest challenge, and our greatest need.”

Instead of just paying lip service to Outreach (or questioning whether there should be funding for Outreach at all), we need to dedicate a substantial portion of our budgets to it. It needs to be almost taken for granted as one of the major line items on the communal Jewish budget.

The kinds of attitudes and programs that should be included in a meaningful Outreach campaign have been addressed by organisations such as The Jewish Outreach Institute (JOI) and its Big Tent Judaism initiative, as well as InterfaithFamily.com, so I won’t attempt to duplicate that work here, just note that it needs to front and centre in our thinking, actions and budgets.

One final point: As noted by one of the better commenters on the article that inspired this post (Dottie Goldman), we also need to look at the cost of Jewish living. In our post-global economic crisis economy, we need to find ways to smooth out the cost of the big-ticket items, e.g. education and synagogue membership.

To sum up:

Intermarriage then is not a problem (or at least not THE problem). It is more an indicator of a far larger problem; the failure to address some fundamental questions:

• Why should it be important to remain Jewish?
• Why should it be important to marry within the faith? Why is doing otherwise considered damaging to the Jewish people?
• What are the options if you love and want to marry someone who’s not Jewish, but want to remain connected to Judaism, and want your offspring to be Jewish?

There are two parts to the answer:

• An Adult Judaism
• A complete, unambiguous welcome (acceptance) for those in inter-faith relationships, with suitable budgeting and programs to go along with it. Both attitudes and priorities need to be addressed.

You’ve heard my straight talk, now let’s hear yours.

Links/Reading/Resources:

• Time for Straight-Talk About Assimilation – Forward.com
• Time for Straight-Talk About Assimilation – eJewish Philanthropy: The Jewish Philanthropy Blog

Related posts:

• Time for Straight-Talk About Assimilation?
• Intermarriage – Straight Talk or Just More of the Same? (Part 1)

Intermarriage – Straight Talk or Just More of the Same? (Part 2) was originally posted on Maskil

With a challenging title like “Time for Straight-Talk about Assimilation”, I expected some real ground-breaking stuff from this article. Instead, it ended up being just more of the same; another sad “How ‘Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm?” lament about the disappearance of American Jewry in the face of assimilation and intermarriage.

Albert Einstein is purported to have said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. Another definition might be: asking the same question over and over again and expecting a different answer. Let’s see if we can ask some different questions and perhaps come up with some slightly different answers.

Are assimilation and intermarriage the fundamental issues confronting the Jewish people today?

No. Both are simply a fact of life in an open society. And if you perceive open societies to be a threat, then the solution is provided by the Ghettos and Shtetls of the Haredim and Hassidim, who by all accounts have a very low dropout rate. The reason why both assimilation and intermarriage (they are related but not identical) have come to be seen as threats is that mainstream Judaism fails to provide basic, relevant, satisfying and timely answers to the question “why be (or remain) Jewish?” It then largely fails to provide paths for those who choose or have a non-Jewish partner – but who wish to remain within the Jewish fold – to integrate him/her and their offspring into the Jewish community.

Should Judaism even have anything to say regarding your choice of a partner of spouse?

Probably not. Some will search for a life partner based on certain characteristics, one of which may be his/her Jewishness. Often life intervenes, though, and people end up falling in love with someone who is “not”. Does that need to be the end of their involvement with Judaism, even if the partner chooses not to convert? Our patriarchs and matriarchs were the original inter-married households. Surely modern Judaism in all its forms can be no less successful in finding ways to sanctify those relationships and integrate those families and households seamlessly into Jewish life?

There is a “common sense” or common understanding that almost everyone subscribes to: that anyone “marrying out” is lost to the Jewish people. Until that common sense is replaced by another, more positive one, we’ll be fighting a losing battle.

For close to 2,000 years, the coercive power of the Kehilla, a culture of endogamy and (probably) lack of opportunity have kept this trend within manageable proportions. Judaism could afford to sit Shiva for those few who defied convention.

All these factors have now disappeared (or at least diminished in impact), however. Instead of bemoaning the new realities, we need to come to terms with them and deal with them in a constructive manner.

If Judaism insists of standing in the path of attraction, love or companionship, it should expect to be trampled in the stampede.

Should we be surprised that many of the offspring of intermarried families don’t identify as Jewish?

Not at all. In fact, considering the shocking reception that they and their parents receive from most of organised Jewish life, it’s nothing less than a miracle that ANY of them choose a Jewish path. Likewise the non-Jewish parent, or anyone contemplating conversion to Judaism for any reason. I know there are many very praiseworthy exceptions to the rule, but generally speaking the Jewish community shows an indifferent, or even outright hostile face to those not born into it. Orthodoxy at least has the excuse that this is subject to Halacha. We have no such excuse; this is sociological.

(Don’t believe me? Carry out a mystery shopper test, either in real life or simply in your imagination: send a sample (preferably thick-skinned) intermarried family out to a random synagogue and to a random church. See which of the two gives your fragile little (potential) Jewish family the warmest, no-questions-asked welcome and acceptance. You already know the answer, don’t you? Based on that welcome, the Jewish partner would need some very powerful motivation for going with the synagogue option anyway. Until the pendulum has swung completely the other way, we have little chance of winning the assimilation contest.)

So, why be Jewish?

Not everyone needs a coherent, consistent answer to this question. We all know people – sometimes even quite observant people – who don’t think about this question and answer; they simply are. Others find their answer in the Holocaust, in Zionism and Israel, in secular Jewish culture, even in Jewish cuisine. Many others are still secure in the old ethnic Jewish paradigm. Our shrinking numbers, though, and shrinking affiliation tell us that that ethnic or social Jewishness is no longer enough or is no longer relevant for many.

We can argue about whether the Jewish people is a tribe, a collection of tribes, a nation, an ethnic group, a religio-nation or even a race. The fact is, though, that the entrance ticket to the Jewish people (albeit not necessarily the definition) is a religious one, i.e. Judaism. (Once you’re in, it’s a different matter.)

Is Judaism (the religion) the answer? If so what kind of Judaism can stem the tide?

We already know that ultra-Orthodoxy mostly “works”, at least insofar as holding onto its progeny is concerned. Most of us, though (me included) are simply not prepared to pay that price for the sake of continuity. (And it’s not just that I see open, democratic societies as attractive. I also see them as the best environment for the growth of Judaism; in many ways even an expression of the best within Judaism.) On the other hand, the theology of the non-Orthodox streams of Judaism largely “works”, allowing one to reconcile Judaism with science, reason and conscience; to reconcile what we believe with what we know. Why then are they the worst affected by assimilation?

Part 2 of this post (Adult Judaism) will be published later this week.

Links/Reading/Resources:

• Time for Straight-Talk About Assimilation – Forward.com
• Time for Straight-Talk About Assimilation – eJewish Philanthropy: The Jewish Philanthropy Blog

Related posts:

• Time for Straight-Talk About Assimilation?
• Intermarriage – Straight Talk or Just More of the Same? (Part 2)

Intermarriage – Straight Talk or Just More of the Same? (Part 1) was originally posted on Maskil

Image via Wikipedia

I posted the comment below in response to an article with this title (without the question mark) which appeared in the electronic pages of (The Jewish Daily) Forward and on the eJewish Philanthropy blog.

This is Part 1 of my response. I am currently working on (a somewhat longer) Part 2, and will publish it during the course of next week.

Before you ask, Joel Katz has already taken me to task for dragging Rabbi Meir Kahane into the fray, but I thought at the time he was important to my argument,

with his way of asking very fundamental, penetrating questions (even although his answers left a lot to be desired for most). The title of one of his books – “Why Be Jewish? – Intermarriage, Assimilation and Alienation” is also very much the question we need to ask and answer in order to address the issue of assimilation.

Straight Talk?

>> “The majority of intermarried families raise their children in a faith other than Judaism or in two faiths or no faith at all; not surprisingly, when they reach adulthood, most of those offspring do not identify as Jews.”

I’m not sure that I agree with the observation, but even if it’s correct, why do we find this surprising or remarkable? The reception that those entering into an inter-faith relationship receive from most of the organised Jewish community can best be described as cold or hostile. The reception that the offspring off such unions can expect to receive is even worse, especially if the “wrong” partner (i.e. the mother) is not Jewish. Is it any wonder that most Jews prefer not to put themselves, their partners or their (potential) offspring through such humiliation?

The welcome that a prospective convert can expect to receive (in this or other scenarios) is no better. Whereas other faiths, cultures and clubs tend to welcome prospective new member with open arms, only Judaism – apparently still locked in medieval suspicion of Gentiles – fails to do so.

(Progressive Judaism in the broader sense does a much better of job of welcoming and inclusion, but even these streams are Not There Yet. Those to the religious right of progressive Judaism are quite simply unspeakable.)

Lastly, most if not all of the programs and initiatives referred to fail to address the basic, fundamental question asked by Rabbi Meir Kahane decades ago: Why Be Jewish? While I largely disagree with the answers he gave, the question remains. Remaining Jewish because we’re a shrinking group is not an answer, nor is the Holocaust or Israel or history or culture or cuisine. In the long run, probably only a religious or spiritual answer will prevail, one that avoids the extreme poles of Haredi Judaism and just being an ethical monotheist, or a good person of no particular persuasion.

To use some metaphors from the marketing world, our well-funded Jewish organisations and their well-groomed officials need to stop blaming the customer – the ex or non-affiliated Jew – for the crisis within Judaism and the Jewish world, and instead look at the product and the way it’s marketed more closely. In commerce and industry, blaming the customer for your loss of market share or mind share is a quick path to unemployment or irrelevance. It’s not very different in the world of continuity and faith.

Links/Reading/Resources:

• Time for Straight-Talk About Assimilation Forward.com
• Time for Straight-Talk About Assimilation – eJewish Philanthropy: The Jewish Philanthropy Blog

Related posts:

• Intermarriage – Straight Talk or Just More of the Same? (Part 1)
• Intermarriage – Straight Talk or Just More of the Same? (Part 2)

Time for Straight-Talk About Assimilation? was originally posted on Maskil

Image via Wikipedia

The latest BBC Earth Report (entitled Down to Earth) gave a fascinating glimpse into local efforts to re-green the West African portion of the Sahel.  It described three of the techniques being used to achieve this (diguettes, so-called half-moons and zai).  From the transcript of the documentary:

The techniques used are simple but effective. One such practice is the “diguettes” – low dry stonewalls to retain water and stop rainfall runoff.

Ouedraogo Boureima: Working with stone lines is helpful because if the land is bare, the rain water runs off and carries away the good soil and seeds we’ve planted. By planting new trees, when they grow, it helps stabilise the soil.

Mathieu Ouedraogo: This is a traditional method we’ve adapted and it consists of measuring the levels. The technique of piling stones to make stone barriers has existed for millennia. But this adapted technique is primarily from Burkina Faso.

The farmers have refined the old technique by charting a level line across the face of the slope then placing the stones to make a barrier at an even height along the length of the field.

Once the fields have been stabilised by the “diguettes” the farmers use a different technique to protect the growth of their crop seedlings. They’ll make a “half moon.” It’s cut from the hard soil and filled with manure and vegetation, allowing water to be retained long enough to encourage new growth. It helps to protect the crops and soil from being blown away in the dry season. Again it’s a simple, effective technique, but in 50 degree heat only two “half moons” can be dug a day. “Zai” – another ancient technique Mathieu likes – is easier. Small holes are dug and filled with dung and seeds. The microorganisms within the dung create the best environment for the seeds in this harsh dry soil until the rains come.

These techniques – traditional, but updated for modern conditions and given a scientific underpinning – resemble in some ways the techniques adopted by the JNF in its efforts to green (or re-green?) the Negev Desert in Israel – limans and savannization.  (For those who are interested, please see the descriptions of these techniques below, drawn from different sources.)

While the KKL-JNF no doubt still has much to teach Africa regarding desert reclamation, perhaps some of these age-old African techniques can be modified and applied to the Negev, particularly if ways can be found to mechanise them, or at least make them somewhat less labour-intensive.  (Labour is far more plentiful in Africa, and much less of a social issue than in Israel, unless we can find ways to reignite enthusiasm for a Kibbutz Volunteer culture.)

The writing is on the wall for the settlements in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank).  The settlement impulse will need to be diverted back into Little Israel (mainly the Galilee and Negev), and the KKL-JNF will need all the resources it can muster (including intellectual and technical) in order for the Negev to support a far higher density of both biomass and human population.

Limans

Liman is a Greek word meaning “port”. But in Environmental preservation work, limans are group of trees planted at low lying points in various locations in the Negev. These small groves are surrounded by earthen embankments that create a kind of mini-watershed within them. Winter rainfall flows from the basin into the liman, providing all the water the trees need without further irrigation. Since Negev summers are rainless, the soil of the liman must be sufficiently deep to soak up the water needed to nourish the trees from one winter to the next. Nevertheless the trees selected for planting in the liman are suitable for arid land life.

Savannization

Israel has developed new afforestation practices for semi-arid and arid regions, the most famous of which is called savannization. This technique is based on harvesting of surface run-off through contour furrows [on?] hillsides afforested with trees. Savannization has proven to prevent desertification and increase productivity and biodiversity without external resource enrichment. It was demonstrated that savannization reduces flash floods and their consequent soil erosion, and increases the overall productivity of semiarid soils.

Links/Reading/Resources:

• TVE’s Earth Report: Down to Earth

I found the following documents and resources useful in understanding the approach of Israel and the KKL-JNF to combating desertification and greening arid zones (such as the Negev).

• Greening the Negev
• JNF Education
• Combating Desertification- The Israeli Experience
• DESERTIFICATION
• Newman Information Center for Desert Research and Development

Greening the Negev – Lessons from the Sahel was originally posted on Maskil

Image via Wikipedia

According to an item on the Haaretz Israeli news Website (Should IDF shoot terrorists holding soldier captive? ), we should expect to see a change in the official IDF rules of engagement regarding attempts to kidnap soldiers.

In future, IDF units and members will be required to resist any kidnap attempt by means of force, even if opening fire puts the kidnapped soldier at risk of injury or loss of life. On the ground, some Israeli units (especially those stationed near Gaza) have already introduced their own standard operating procedures to that effect.

I waited for the other shoe to drop, but thus far it hasn’t. What was missing here is a formal policy that, in the event of the successful kidnapping of an IDF member (and once his (or her – may it never occur) whereabouts have been established, a rescue mission should be undertaken (or at least considered). Such a rescue should be attempted as soon as possible, and even if it could lead to injury or death for the kidnapped soldier. (There is, of course, also the risk that the unit undertaking the rescue could suffer casualties.)

While we all place the highest possible value on the life of each soldier, the national interest, our history in the 20th Century and our duty to the kidnapped soldier demand that such a rescue attempt be made, and that it be one of the first options to be considered. A rescue mission – even an unsuccessful one – must surely be preferable to three years of living hell for the victim and his kin, and three years of national humiliation and anguish for the country.

There was a time when it would almost have been taken for granted that the kidnapping of an Israeli (whether a soldier or not) was likely to result in an Israeli commando raid (and perhaps a little corrective bombing for good measure). In a sense, Israel wrote the early playbook when it comes to dealing with Arab and Islamist terrorism. The West now appears to be working from that playbook (e.g. the rescue of journalist Stephen Farrell from Afghan terrorists), while Israel appears to have abandoned it in favour of public pleading and the release of hundreds of blood- drenched murderers for little more than body parts.

Each episode of this nature sets the stage for the next incident. Each time, the price becomes steeper, the humiliation greater and the likelihood of a repetition greater. It’s time for Israel to up the stakes and change the rules once again. It’s not just about the rescue of a particular hostage; it’s about setting the price for the next one.

Kidnapping of IDF Soldiers – Not Just Resistance, but Rescue was originally posted on Maskil

In a post a couple of weeks ago, I endorsed the conventional wisdom that serious or professional bloggers should favour WordPress, while those blogging as a hobby or sideline can safely continue using Blogger as their blogging platform.

In my own case – because of my lack of coding skills and Blogger’s limitations when it comes to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) – it would have been wiser for me to have started out on WordPress, an error I have now rectified (although I can’t help feeling that the 2 years I invested in Blogger have been wasted).

I drew up this matrix following an e-mail conversation with a fellow J-blogger (hope you enjoyed the convention!) who is also considering abandoning Blogger in favour of WordPress. I’m sharing it here as I think it might be of interest to others. Hopefully others will avoid my mistake in committing to a blogging platform that doesn’t align with their blogging needs and skills.

(WordPress refers throughout to self-hosted WordPress(.org) rather than the free WordPress(.com) platform.)

Related posts:

• Maskil Has a New Home on the Web
• It’s OK to Blog on Blogger

Blogger And WordPress – Feature Comparison For The Non-Technical Blogger was originally posted on Maskil

For the better part of a century, Zionism in its various forms managed to engage and embrace some of the finest minds and spirits amongst the Jewish people. It also enjoyed widespread support amongst non-Jews, mainly in the West.

Zionism – Mission Accomplished?

With the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the largest part of the mission of Zionism was accomplished. For decades thereafter, though, Zionism continued to play a role in encouraging immigration to Israel (Aliyah) and in building up the fledgling state, confronted by dangers and shortages on every front.

In many ways, however, Zionism had simply become a synonym or shorthand for “supporting Israel”. (I, for instance, think of myself as a “Lover of Zion” rather than a fully-fledged Zionist.)

Threats And Challenges To The Zionist Ideology

Especially since the Six-Day War, Zionism as an ideology has had to confront a variety of internal and external threats and challenges, including:

• The infamous UN GA resolution equating Zionism with Racism, which singled out only the Jewish people’s national liberation movement as racist!
• Likud’s election victory in the late 70s. Labour Zionist icons such as the Histadrut and the Kibbutzim fell out of favour, although Israel had nothing to replace them with apart from naked capitalism.
• Changed attitudes towards Zionism within Israel, even amongst those who remained staunchly patriotic.
• The liberation/occupation of areas such as Judea and Samaria. This began with so much promise (whether one envisaged the return of the territories or not). In subsequent decades, though, it has exhausted Israel’s moral capital in the eyes of the world (and in those of many long-suffering supporters), eroded the morals and morale of the IDF, severely degraded the rule of law throughout Israel and the territories and caused Israel to hugely and wastefully invest in infrastructure that will eventually fall outside her control. It has also dragged Israel into an unwinnable demographic war with the existing inhabitants of those territories. Enough said.

Some Suggestions For A New Zionist Agenda

Given all these negatives, it is fair to ask whether Zionism still has a mission in the 21st Century, and if so, what should form part of its agenda. Here’s my first attempt at defining a mission and vision for 21st Century Zionism; a consensus Zionism that might once again enjoy widespread support within both Israel and the Diaspora.

Resettling Little Israel

Settlement and population distribution inside the Green Line have been almost completely abandoned during the last 4 decades, in favour of the doomed Settlement Enterprise in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). Israel now needs to turn inward and take back its country, applying the wasted resources from YESHA to Israel proper instead.

Restoring The Rule Of Law

Israel is well on the road to becoming an outlaw state, both in its relationships with the rest of the world and internally. Zionism needs to demand from its adherents and from the state that they respect the rule of law, internationally and domestically. It also needs to call for a formal constitution to be put in place, and insist on absolute equality before the law.

Universality, Separation, Equality

Israeli society has been deformed and distorted by the various exemptions, subsidies, inequalities and other forms of “affirmative action” that have benefited mainly the anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) sector. Zionism must demand an immediate end to all such self-destructive inequalities in the name of party politics (or Torah). The playing fields must be levelled.

Social Justice

The abandonment of Israel’s early social and socialist ideals in favour of (semi) free-market capitalism has led to huge socio-economic gaps arising, almost invariably along ethnic, religious, gender and geographical lines. The work of Zionism cannot be considered complete until we have at least begun to address these and other glaring social justice issues.

The Environment

The Land of Israel suffered from almost 2,000 years of abandonment, neglect and exploitation. This was followed – in the 60 years since Israel’s birth – by the effects of her urban explosion, industrial revolution and large-scale pollution of natural resources. Zionism needs to have an item on its agenda that deals with making Israel physically a fit country to live in.

A New Work Ethic

Sadly, labour Zionism – the Zionism of the left that gave Israel almost everything it has of value – is effectively no more. Israel needs a new work ethic, one that – at the very minimum – does not recognise the right of the voluntarily indigent to draw on the state’s welfare infrastructure.

Strengthening Jewish Communities

Lastly, although it may not seem like something that should form part of a Zionist agenda, Zionism needs to commit to strengthen Jewish life wherever it exists. The rapacious demand for ever more Aliyah to meet Israel’s perceived needs must end. Instead, a smaller, tighter Israel that no longer engages in unwinnable demographic conflicts must support and engage with Jewish communities worldwide.

This is my own first pass at attempting to realign Zionism with the needs of Israel and the wider Jewish world. Has anything fallen through the cracks? I’d be interested to hear from readers what other broad headings they believe should be included in the platform of Zionism.

Or is there simply no longer a need for Zionism, Zionist ideology and Zionist organisations? Can we instead rely on pro-Israel movements and the Israeli political scene to provide the vision that Zionism once gave us?

Zionism – A Mission for the 21st Century was originally posted on Maskil

Cover of Forged in fury

Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds was released just in time for the 70th anniversary of the start of the 2nd World War on 1 September 2009.

Most of us will understand that this is pure fiction; that this is simply not how it was. Some, though, will believe that there must be some basis in fact here (the principle of “where there’s smoke there’s fire”). Some may even see it as a form of Jewish cinematic revenge fantasy regarding WW2. From that point of view, it could be considered a dangerous piece of escapist fiction, likely to be misused by those who want to blur the distinction between aggressors and victims.

(This is not to say that Jewish retribution or revenge did not take place at all. Michael Elkins’ searing Forged in Fury gives an insight into one clandestine unit that did exactly that.)

Having said all that, there would be no point in my suggesting you don’t watch Inglourious Basterds. What I would suggest, however, is that once you’ve indulged in the orgy of bloodletting, counterbalance it by making the effort to attend a screening of Broken Promise (or even the 2008 Daniel Craig movie Defiance). (Broken Promise is based on the true story of Jewish partisan Martin Friedman/Petrasek.) Better yet, arrange a screening of the movie at your synagogue or JCC. Introduce material from the Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation to gain a real understanding of Jewish resistance in Hitler’s Europe.

Jewish victimhood during WWII was both fact and (understandable) mindset. The Zionist leader Vladimir Jabotinsky attempted to “reframe” this mindset and give the Jewish people as a whole the status of a combatant or participant in the conflict, rather than just a powerless victim of it, e.g. through his books The Jewish War Front and The war and the Jew. Had his life not tragically ended in 1940, he may well have changed that perception.

Thus, while Jewish servicemen and women from many nations took part in the struggle against Hitler’s Europe as part of their countries’ armed forces (in numbers far exceeding their proportion of the population), the Allies did not permit a specifically Jewish contribution to the war effort. (Hitler, for his part, had no such misgivings and saw WWII to a large extent as a war of Aryan against Jew.)

While various conquered European nations were permitted governments in exile and armies or legions in exile, the Jews alone were denied this privilege. (The Jewish Brigade Group, when eventually established, was part of the British Army, and was formed too late to play its intended role in the conflict.)

It is one of the supreme ironies of history that the Jewish people’s hour of greatest weakness – during the Holocaust – was also its hour of greatest strength. While the genocide was taking place, there were almost certainly more Jewish servicemen and women in uniform than at any other time in our history (estimated at around 1.5 million).

Rewriting history

With the notable exception of statesmen such as Jabotinsky, the response of Jewish leadership to the conflict and the Holocaust can best be described as a failure of imagination. Even Ben-Gurion (with his call for the Yishuv to “fight the war as if there was no White Paper and fight the White Paper as if there was no war”) effectively narrowed and limited the range of possible responses to Hitler. With the benefit of (some) hindsight, it’s possible to say that this approach didn’t meet the need for a comprehensive (“big picture”) strategy to save the Jews of Europe, which should have included calls for the following:

• Establishment of a government in exile for the disenfranchised Jews of occupied Europe
• Establishment of a Jewish Legion along the lines of the Free French Forces and Free Polish Army (for Jewish refugees and others unable to serve in their own countries’ armed forces)
• A far greater effort to call attention to the genocide taking place in Europe
• Military and other action to prevent the mass murder wherever possible
• Action to rescue or facilitate the rescue of Jewish refugees from Europe
• Pressure on Allied governments to grant visas to Jewish refugees and otherwise provide destinations for those who managed to escape
• Repeated calls for retribution against those taking part in genocide
• Unrestricted immigration of Jews to Palestine (the intended Jewish National Home) for the duration of the conflict
• Establishment of a provisional Jewish State in at least part of Western Palestine well before the end of the conflict

What is shocking is not that none of these objectives was achieved, but rather that there was no widespread, consistent call for any of them to happen (neither on the part of Jewish leadership nor that of the Allies).

One of the unacknowledged “Big Lies” of WWII was that the way to save the Jews of Europe was to defeat Hitler. While they ultimately could not have been saved without Germany’s defeat, that defeat alone could not save them. By the time Hitler’s bunker had been overrun, it was too late for the vast majority of those caught in the jaws of history. In little more than 5 years, 2,000 years of Jewish existence and civilisation in Europe had simply ceased to exist.

Inglourious Basterds has nothing to say about that monumental evil and those few who tried to prevent it.

Fighting the 2nd World War All Over Again was originally posted on Maskil

Image via CrunchBase

While I’m very happy with my decision to (finally) migrate from Blogger/Blogspot to self-hosted WordPress (apart from losing two years worth of “Google Juice”), looking at Iain Dale’s Diary on Blogspot reminded me that it is OK (under certain circumstances) to blog seriously and/or professionally on Blogger.

To my mind, those circumstances include:

• Where you have created a niche for your blog, and are not reliant on Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and related techniques to drive traffic to the blog. Religion and State in Israel is probably an example of this category.
• Similarly, where you have an established brand, either on or offline. louisgray.com and GO2WEB20 Blog were two good examples of this that sprang to mind. I’m sure there are many others.
• If you can afford to have a smart looking custom theme designed for your blog. Iain Dale’s Diary probably falls into this category
• If you have the necessary skills (or have access to them, preferably in-house) to create or customise a Blogger template that doesn’t look like all the rest. The official Google blogs are good examples of this, e.g. the Official Google Webmaster Central Blog (although they are no doubt compelled to eat the corporate dogfood, i.e. Blogger).

In my case, it became increasingly apparent that I needed a lot of help in the SEO space, as well as a facelift for my blogs (for which I had neither the budget nor the technical or design skills). Hence, my new home here in the WordPress space.

For its part, Blogger (with or without the Blogspot hosting and domain name) is still free, reliable, supported by Google and continues to add new features (albeit far more slowly than many of us would have liked). It remains a blogging platform to be reckoned with, provided you’re not bumping your head on the limitations I’ve mentioned.

p.s. Happy 10th birthday, Blogger.

It’s OK to Blog on Blogger was originally posted on Maskil

In a sane world, we would not have to oppose the appointment of a self-avowed book-burner as Director-General of The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (lest we forget what the acronym UNESCO stands for).

We live in an age of inverted values, however, and at times we need good people everywhere to take a stand against something bad. In this case, something that could do immeasurable harm to one of the organisations that actually brings credit to the UN: UNESCO. I’m referring to Farouk Hosni having put himself forward as a candidate for appointment as Director-General of UNESCO. And in this case, “taking a stand” shouldn’t involve much more than joining a Facebook group or signing an online petition.

Who is Farouk Hosni, and why should we oppose his appointment as UNESCO DG? You can read all about his spotty record in the resources below. His threat to burn Israeli books – a statement that he only attempted to retract when it became a campaign issue – immediately disqualifies him from heading up an organisation founded to protect the world’s cultural treasures.

Here’s how the ADL puts it:

Who could imagine that someone who advocates burning books might lead the international organization that protects the heritage of global civilization? Yet that’s what could happen if Farouk Hosni, the man Egypt wants selected to head UNESCO, is chosen.

His outrageous statement, “I’d burn Israeli books myself if I found any in libraries in Egypt,” is one of many similar comments he has made over the years. UNESCO was created to uplift, ennoble and unite mankind. Clearly, a man who calls for one of the most shocking crimes against culture and civilization should never be its leader.

Does the world really need an avowed book-burner (and anti-Semite to boot) to fill a key role for which far better qualified candidates exist?

Have a look at the material referenced below, and add your voice to those opposing his candidacy via Facebook, Twitter or the ADL e-petition.

NB – This campaign is time sensitive, as the election will take place in Paris from Sept. 3rd to Sept. 22nd 2009.

Please let me know of other resources by means of comments below.

• Election of the UNESCO Director General
• Save UNESCO! Sauvons l’UNESCO!
• Why I worry about Farouk Hosny as Candidate for UNESCO Director General
• Facebook – Against Farouk Hosny as Head of UNESCO
• Causes on Facebook – Oppose Farouk Hosni
• Americans for UNESCO (AmUNESCO) on Twitter
• Jean Delaporte (SaveUNESCO) on Twitter (A committee to say NO to Farouk Hosni as UNESCO possible next DG)
• Oppose Farouk Hosni as UNESCO’s Director-General Now!

Oppose Farouk Hosni as UNESCO’s Director-General was originally posted on Maskil

In a brief post at this time last year, I mentioned the book SOUTH AFRICA’S 800, The Story of South African Volunteers in Israel’s War of Birth. I offered to provide contact details should anyone be interested in obtaining a copy. I did receive a number of enquiries regarding the book, so I am publishing the details below (albeit somewhat belatedly).

The information is taken from private family correspondence at the time, and I haven’t verified that the availability, price or contact details are still current.

The story of the 1948 Machal volunteers is one of the most glorious chapters in the history of both SA Jewry and Israel. A couple of books documenting much of the story are now back in print. The first (SOUTH AFRICA’S 800) has mention of Ronnie, Sylvia and Doreen. The second (The Volunteer) is the autobiography of someone who served with Ronnie throughout the war. (I understand he (David “Migdal” Teperson) is something of a legend in Israel.)

The full titles are as follows:

• “SOUTH AFRICA’S 800, The Story of South African Volunteers in Israel’s War of Birth”, and
• The Volunteer, by David “Migdal” Teperson (published by the author)

In South Africa, you can obtain them through:

RABBI MOSHE SILBERHAFT, P. O. BOX 51663 RAEDENE 2124 SOUTH AFRICA, Mobile: + 27 82 440 2621, Direct Fax: + 27 11 485 4325, Email: moshe@beyachad.co.za

The books are R300 apiece and you can either collect them from the Beyachad offices at 2 Elray Street, Raedene, or he can arrange to deliver them to you.

Overseas, you can get them from Israel through:

(Col. Res.) David (Migdal) Teperson, Machal Museum P.O box 9590 Kfar-Shmaryahu, 46910 Israel, Tel: +972 9 9582718 (Israel), Fax: +972 9 9560673 (Israel), E-mail: dave_tep@netvision.net.il

The cost is $70 apiece, including shipping.

Just a pity they’re not available through conventional booksellers or the Internet! (Unfortunately, due to the books having been privately published by Col. Teperson, they are not available through online retailers such as Amazon.com, nor will you find them on the shelves of a bookstore. This has impacted the availability, cost and distribution of the books.)

Sadly, I knew nothing of this piece of family history until fairly recently. Ronnie passed away when I was barely in my teens, and I only came to hear of their role in the War of Independence when Sylvia passed away in late 2004. They were all very modest about their roles, both in WW2 and in 1948.

I grew up drinking in the history of Israel’s many wars, and never knew until a couple of years ago that I had family who had taken part in these events!

Please let me know through the comments whether any of this information needs to be updated.

Related posts:

Last Post for South Africa’s Machal 800?

The South African Machal Volunteers was originally posted on Maskil