Israel is at war again Zeek at Jewcy.com, July 20, 2009 Israel is at war again. This time, the frontline is deep within the country’s borders—South Tel Aviv. Home to African refugees, foreign workers, and economically disadvantaged Israelis, South Tel Aviv was once a picture of pluralism and coexistence. Indian, Nepali, Chinese, and Filipino workers …
Clothes like days The Jerusalem Post, July 17, 2009 “It’s a kind of a dance,” says Michal Bassad. The designer is perched on a table next to her sewing machine. Her studio, which also serves as her store, has only a few racks of clothing, reflective of her artistic approach to fashion. Though the space …
The bigger picture The Jerusalem Post, July 10, 2009 At night, cries of dissent like “Allahu akbar!” and “Death to the dictator!” rise from the rooftops of Tehran. The protesters’ calls are punctuated by shattering glass as Basiji smash car windows in retribution on the streets below. But the people persist, turning their voices to …
Body and Jewish souls: review of Melvin Konner’s The Jewish Body The Jerusalem Post, July 10, 2009 Who knew that Dr. Ruth, the grandmotherly sex expert, was a Haganah fighter in Israel’s War of Independence? How often the Nazis’ considered the “final solution” a public health program? And when we think of the nose …
Another crack Zeek at Jewcy.com, June 29, 2009 I was walking down Carlebach Street when the wailing air raid siren announced the biggest civil drill in Israel’s history. Though I’d timed a morning interview around it, (who wants to pause for two minutes of alarm?), I was otherwise unprepared. Unsure of what to do with …
No honeymoon in Tehran: review of Azadeh Moaveni’s Honeymoon in Tehran The Jerusalem Post, June 26, 2009 If the turmoil surrounding Iran’s recent presidential elections offers a glance at the inner psyche of Iranians, Honeymoon in Tehran offers a penetrating stare. Though the deceptively light title suggests that readers are getting a romance (and they …
Waiting for Taha: review of Adina Hoffman’s My Happiness Bears no Relation to Happiness: a poet’s life in the Palestinian Century The Jerusalem Post, June 5, 2009 The story begins with an unlikely friendship between a Jewish American woman who has come to call Jerusalem home and a Palestinian poet, old enough to be …
Tel Avivians have a headache Zeek at Jewcy.com, June 2, 2009 On a recent Friday night, Tel Aviv ran out of the Israeli equivalent of Tylenol. A killer migraine throbbing away, I went to not one, not two, but six grocery stores in search of relief. “What’s going on in this city?” a clerk asked …
Identity and crisis: review of Rhoda Ann Kanaaneh’s Surrounded: Palestinian soldiers in the Israeli military The Jerusalem Post, May 15, 2009 An Israeli Arab friend of mine, Saleh, is married to an American woman. He is conflicted: Though part of him would prefer to raise his children here among his family, he chooses to raise …
Humans, not headlines Common Ground News Service, May 14, 2009 Daily News Egypt, May 18, 2009 Kuwait Times, May 20, 2008 The news is in: Israel’s press status has now been downgraded to “partly free” by Freedom House, the organisation dedicated to promoting democracy and civil liberties around the world. It is a disheartening …