Current Events

     While I originally imagined I would update the blog each day as I taught the students I have (perhaps predictably) fallen a bit behind. One result of this is that I can never remember which current events I talked about on which day. So I currently have at least a dozen different articles open on my computer that I want to make sure and post. It's annoying. So here's a summary of the current events we've talked about over the last couple of weeks with their associated links. 

     In many cases the UN's behavior is somewhere between neutral and helpful to Israel (for example they have soldiers in southern Lebanon to help keep the peace). In other instances the UN is wildly anti-Israel. One prominent example is the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). The UNHRC uses every available opportunity (or invents its own opportunities) to denigrate Israel, such as this recent example. The only standing item on the UNHRC's agenda, is Israel. And while I'm happy to criticize Israel for a variety of different things, it's a wild exaggeration to treat Israel as the world's greatest violator of human rights. One of my personal favorite examples of the ridiculousness of the UNHRC is when Assad, current dictator of Syria who has, among other atrocities, gassed his own people, recently condemned Israel over our occupation of the Golan Heights. Seriously?

     For years AIPAC (America Israel Political Action Committee) has been THE Israel lobby in the US. They're apolitical, and have been very successful (in most cases) at drumming up support for Israel on both sides of the aisle. They're also very well-financed. Recently a new Jewish lobby, called J Street, was founded with express purpose of being Pro-Israel and Pro-Peace. In their opinion AIPAC has veered to the right, and they feel that creating two states is so important that they're willing to criticize the Israeli government (they certainly come off as telling Israel they know what's good for us better than we do, though I don't know if that's their intention), something AIPAC would never do. Other prominent Jews have criticized J Street for their hypocrisy, claiming that J Street vaunts the importance of the "big tent," meaning all Jewish organizations, regardless of politics, should have a voice in the Jewish community, but then don't allow any dissenting centrist and/or right wing positions at their own events. 

     Liberal Judaism is becoming more and more prominent in Israel. A recent poll suggests that 49% of the Israeli public would like the Rabbinate (the official Jewish religious body in Israel) to recognize Reform and Conservative Judaism (which is not currently recognized). On the one hand, this is clearly a big increase from 10-20 years ago. On the other hand, more than half the country still doesn't support the recognition of liberal Judaism. This means that there are many secular Jews (meaning non-observant) who don't support this recognition. Orthodox Judaism is viewed by many, even those who don't practice it, as the authentic Judaism. The joke in Israel is that "the beit knesset I don't go to is orthodox."

     Over the course of history Am Yisrael has arrived at a number of far flung locations. These small, often isolated communities sometimes develop distinct cultures and even languages. One such community, the Romaniotes, have been living in Greece for thousands of years. Unfortunately it seems like this fascinating community is nearing its end, mostly as a result of the Holocaust.  

     Many liberal Jews (such as myself) tend to be very frustrated with the ultra-Orthodox. They don't recognize me as Jewish (since my mother's mother isn't Jewish, though, ironically, my other three grandparents were). They rarely serve in the army. And they often forego work to spend their lives studying in Yeshiva, which means the state has to support them. But this article makes it clear that even Haredim (and Arabs) that want to work face significant discrimination when applying for jobs. I think that many of us could probably try harder not to be so negative about the ultra-Orthodox. 

     The kibbutz, an institution which played an enormous role in the foundation of the state and produced many of our leaders, has been on the decline for many years. The socialist economic model by which they live has proved ineffective and few kibbutz children have wanted to return and raise their own families in this environment. One affect of this failure of the traditional kibbutz has been privatization, meaning kibbutzes are no longer socialist. Recently, however, more and more Israelis have been seeking out the community that exists in kibbutz life, just without the socialism. 

     It's no secret that the peace talks orchestrated by Secretary of State John Kerry between Israel and the Palestinian Authority have been on rocky ground for quite some time. With the self-imposed deadline quickly approaching, all sides have been working to find a way to extend them. This is not to say that either side necessarily wants peace, but both sides are eager to avoid American blame and fearful of what might happen after the negotiations fail (as they likely will). Perhaps the framework of a deal has finally been worked out. Israel will release a number of prisoners (a compromise between the number originally offered by Israel and that demanded by the Palestinian Authority) to be chosen together, will limit settlement construction in certain areas (my guess is that means that settlements that are likely to remain in Israel, such as Ma'aleh Adumim, will be allowed to grow while settlements in the middle of the West Bank, like Qiryat Arbah, will not) and, as a sweetner, the US will release Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard. Pollard has been in jail for nearly 30 years for stealing American intelligence on Arab and Soviet states on Israel's behalf. Since then penalties for what he did have been significantly lessened (a spy from an allied country gets a maximum of 10 years unless they're stealing nuclear/military secrets). Under the terms by which he was convicted (a life sentence) he is eligible for parole after thirty years, which will be up next month. By releasing him a year early the US manages to keep the peace talks going and by securing his release I suspect Netanyahu (the Prime Minister) will gain significant political capital, perhaps some of which will be used to acquire support for a peace deal?