One Quick Blog About Israel

I know this is supposed to be a travel blog now, but I can't resist talking about Israeli politics a little bit.

Here are two really interesting articles about Arab Israelis protesting against anti-Arab politics in the Knesset (specifically Avigdor Lieberman, leader of Yisrael Beitenu). The first is here on Ynet and the other is a video from the Guardian.

It is disturbing for me when I see people who hold racist policies in high regard in Israeli politics (or any politics for that matter). Lieberman has shamelessly said on many occasions that he wants to forcefully transfer all Arabs outside of Israel. He is also trying to get all Arab political parties banned from running in the upcoming elections on accounts that they are racist. This is pure Kahanism at its best, and that scares me. It's that type of anger that fuels violence and close-mindedness.

If Baruch Goldstein were still alive, he would vote for Yisrael Beitenu, and wherever Baruch Goldstein's politics lie, I stay far far away. How about instead of ousting an entire ethnicity from your country, warmongering in the process, why don't you actually address the issues and figure out how to improve your current situation? How about working with Israeli Arabs instead of ostracizing them? Seeing how much media attention Lieberman's been getting, I'm a bit nervous about the upcoming Israeli elections.

But I am excited to see how the Holocaust Survivors & Grown Up Green Leaf Party does. Yeah, that's right, its the name of a coalition formed by two parties that could not be any more different from each other. If they get even one seat, I will be the happiest man alive. Their platform is so random that I first thought it was a joke. Why don't all parties start combining in order to get more seats? How about the Communist party and the National Religious party? Or Shas and the environmentalist Party?


UPDATE: I spoke too soon... click here.

After Win, Obama Supporters Find They Have No Other Reason to Live

Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

Fear of B.B.

B.B. ready to give a knockout to negotiations

I just read in the JTA today that Benjamin Netanyahu made a statement that if he were to be elected in Israel's upcoming election, he would "halt" negotiations with the Palestinians.
Personally, I was scared enough of B.B. already with his hawkish views and his not so great legacy as prime minister, but now I have proof that electing him will result in more of the same: warmongering, close-mindedness, and occupation.

When Tzipi Livni failed to build a coalition two weeks ago, Netanyahu was ahead in the polls, and I was worried that he had a good chance of taking office. Now it seems that the Livni is actually pushing ahead, although the race is still tight.

If we can see change actuallized in Washington, hopefully we can see it in Jerusalem as well.

CHANGE for next 4 years! Or 8 years! Or infinity!

WOOOOO! We did it! We won!
Any by a landslide. Not only did Obama win a large majority of the national vote, he won 78% of the Jewish vote, and 95% of the black vote! (Watch this great video of Cornel West's personal take on Obama's win)

And on another totally awesome level, today Obama announced that he is choosing Rahm Emanuel to be Chief of Staff. How cool is that?
He was senior adviser to Bill Clinton, he has a lot of experience in congress, he is very focused on having peace and stability in Israel and Palestine, holds a liberal arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College, he served in the IDF, he belongs to an Orthodox synagogue in Chicago, he was a gifted ballet dancer in his youth, his father was in the Irgun, and his brother is a talent agent in LA and inspiration for Jeremy Piven's character on Entourage.
Also, he's fucking crazy and I love it.
Some examples: He once mailed a rotting fish to a former coworker after the two "parted ways"; at the celebratory dinner after Clinton won the '96 election, he threatened all of Bill's enemies with a steak knife; when Clinton was dealing with the Lewinsky affair, Rahm apparently dropped an f-bomb on Tony Blair; ending a phone call to a candidate, he's quoted saying, "Don’t fuck it up or I’ll fuck you. I’ll kill you. All right, I love you. Bye."
Sounds like Ari Gold to me.
And he justifies it as well: “In my house, when you say ‘fuck you,’ it’s a sign of endearment.” “You guys are enamored by my language. That’s not all that I do.” He's also a proven Congressional leader and powerful political strategist.

This next term is gonna be sweet.

I Love You J-Street

Of all of the J-Street endorsed candidates, my favorite is Rabbi Dr. Dennis Shulman. He's running for congress in New Jersey's 5th district (the northern border) and he's up against a tough conservative. He's an amazing fellow: blind since childhood, Reform rabbi, clinical psychologist, graduate of Brandeis, and originally from Worcester, MA (represent!). Could he get any cooler?
He also has amazing views on Israel as well as Iran that are about tough diplomacy and peace resolutions.
J-Street just did a fabulous interview with him and it got me really pumped up. Here it is:





Now he would be the right person to SCHLEP down to Florida and convince all the bubbes and zaydies to vote for the shvartze

Obamamannerisms

Today Michelle Obama came and spoke at the University of Wisconsin so I was able to skip class and hear her speak.
She's a fabulous speaker, maybe even better than Barack himself (he says "um" a lot) and she really rallied me up. She loves to talk about how Barack is someone we can relate to, he understands the issues we face because he at one point has had to face them himself. They both come from a working middleclass background and they are living the American dream. That's not really something McCain or his wife (especially) can say. This is exemplified in every aspect of her speech, but I even noticed it in my favorite part of her oratory skills: That her grammar could use a little work.
I think that it's wonderful that she makes some grammatical mistakes (something only my father and I would pick up on, because we're anal like that) because it says a lot about her image. By speaking like a normal American with less-than-perfect English, she is showing us that she is a normal person like anyone else, taking care of her children and paying back her student loans, and that was indeed a talking point in her speech.
Americans are obsessed with having a perfect leader. Why is it that every time something minuscule shows up in a politician's past, it gets exploited by the media? We forget that leaders are people too who make mistakes and feel guilty about them. I remember when people were freaking out that Barack did cocaine. Would it really change your vote if you found out that your nominee experimented in college a little bit? Apparently for some people yes.
Actually, Obama defended it well on 60 Minutes when this whole balagan started. He didn't deny it, he just exclaimed, “It’s not something that I’m proud of, but that’s part of the journey that I’ve taken. I like to think that by letting people know the mistakes I’ve made that maybe young people behind me are looking and saying ‘You know what? This is a guy who made mistakes and he was able to write his life and get on track.’ And that’s I think an important message.”
So Michelle (whether conscious or unconscious of it) has the same message in her speech mannerisms. By choosing not to have a speech coach who encourages flawless grammar, she is in effect saying, "I am a human just as much as everyone else in this country. I am proud of who I am and I will not create a false image of myself."

I also just wanted to post this picture of Barack because he looks badass: