Mondoweiss, December 31, 2009 This is the third installation in a seven-part series. See Mondoweiss for details. “It used to be that service wasn’t a question,” Tom Mehager, 32, says, explaining that he grew up in Gilo, a settlement just east of Jerusalem. “But then there was the moment.” It was a split-second decision in …
Mondoweiss, December 29, 2009 This is the second installation in a seven-part series. See Mondoweiss for details. Urban planner and activist Jesse Fox is less encouraged by some of the changes he sees in Israel’s cities. He points to the growing rifts in Jerusalem as a dark harbinger for the country’s future, “The Arabs are …
Mondoweiss, December 28, 2009 This is the first installation in a seven-part series. See the above link for details. It was the avocadoes that made Sivan question things. The moshav she grew up on had three varieties—Haas, Fuerte, and HaNatoush. “HaNatoush,” Fridman repeats. “The abandoned.” As a child, she didn’t understand why avocadoes would bear …
The National, December 26, 2009 Have a seat at a café in Tel Aviv, known as the “first Hebrew city,” and your waitress will welcome you with ahlan, a standard Arabic greeting. Place your order and she’ll say sababa—”cool” to Israelis; “urge for a lover” in literary Arabic. When your meal comes, you might enjoy …
The National, December 26, 2009 “Finish green!” a six-year-old Palestinian girl exclaims in English, dropping a pastel crayon onto the table and raising her open hands into the air. She reaches for blue and turns back to the paper before her. Volunteer Michael Cooper, 30, crouches next to her. Using his fingers, he teaches the …
The Jerusalem Post, December 25, 2009 Zara’s display of a Christmas tree sparked controversy and anger throughout Israel last week. Following complaints from the public, the Spain-based fashion chain changed their window decorations, removing symbols associated with the Christian holiday and, in some places, adding candlesticks to mark the local holiday. A post-chanukah stop at …
The National, December 19, 2009 Over two dozen Thai laborers have spent the last three weeks in the custody of Israeli authorities. But they are not under arrest. Following a complaint on their behalf from Kav LaOved, an Israeli NGO that advocates for foreign workers, immigration police freed the laborers from conditions that some critics …
The Jerusalem Post, December 18, 2009 Led by over one hundred NGOs, thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv on Friday to unite under the banner of human rights. The rally, organized by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and timed to coincide with International Human Rights Day, centered on the theme “en …
The Jerusalem Post, December 18, 2009 In the spirit of Jonathan Rosen’s The Talmud and the Internet, the Jewish Encounters Series marries subjects that readers might not expect to see between the covers of one book. “The series knits together different impulses,” Rosen, creator and editor, comments. A joint imprint of Nextbook and Schocken, Jewish …
The Jerusalem Post, December 18, 2009 Ordering coffee in Hebrew and taking in the view of the Old City from the Mishkenot’s restaurant, Jonathan Rosen appears comfortable in Israel. But his easy posture doesn’t reflect his emotions—Rosen, who is happy to call himself a Zionist, doesn’t feel entirely at ease. “I feel cut off by …