I'm Entering Politics ... Sort Of

It's election season for Congregation Ahavat Shalom, better known in these parts (aka Teaneck) as TABC or the Apartment Shul. We're a community of young adults, recently marrieds, and people with a few kids here and there who live in a collective of three apartment complexes -- Terrace Circle, Walraven, and Westgate -- although there are a few stragglers outside these complexes. Tuvia and I live in Terrace Circle, and I actually think the bulk of the shul membership lives here, too.

So there's a president, treasurer, and all of those other fun positions, including Sisterhood Committee, and then there are four vice presidents -- one for each of the complexes and one to represent those who don't live within the complex system. And so, someone nominated me for the VP of Terrace Circle, and I was both shocked (in that Sally Field "you love me! you really love me!" kind of way) and stoked.

Most people have responded to my nomination with, "So now you're going to have to actually come to shul, right?" to which I respond, "Well, yes." You see, most people don't remember that I actually used to come to shul, every weekend, but then summer hit and I was in Israel for a month and then we were in Nebraska and then it was one million degrees outside and ... forgive me my sins!

My role, should I be awesome enough to land it, will be to make sure Terrace Circle shul members pay their dues (enforcer!), help connect the complex to the board (communicator!), organizing and erecting the complex sukkah (project manager!), and to help organize and make awesome the Purim chagigah and all other fun events like the BBQ (event planner! shmoozer!). I think I'm cut from the cloth to handle all of this, don't you?

And after the sukkah fell down practically on top of me last year, I'm ready to make a durable sukkah that will be able to sustain the wrath of HaShem! Oh, and I hope to make it more aesthetically pleasing than it was last year. A sukkah should be downright beautiful, people. Come on!

Also? I'd really like to use my position to streamline the inclusiveness of the Terrace Circle apartments. I feel like there are a lot of factions and cliques and people who come into the community who don't really get the welcome they should from the appropriate representatives of the various complexes, and I want to be that face -- the face of Terrace Circle! Yes, I might come banging down your door for dues, but I'll invite you to an awesome Terrace Circle event while I'm at it. I want people to feel comfortable bringing issues to the board about anyone, anywhere, anytime and to be able to trust in me that I'll handle things appropriately and confidentially, too.

Thus, my platform is simple:

Efficiency

Inclusion

Awesomeness

Coffee ... Lots of Coffee

Have questions? Want to know whether I'm ready for the position? Whether I can handle being a member of the boys club? Feel free to comment or email me. And I'm serious about the coffee. All are welcome to come and partake in the Keurig or enjoy a delicious Lazy Bean beverage, on me, to talk Terrace Circle and Ahavat Shalom shop!

KVETCH 2009!

So, I'm just as stoked as everyone else that in a mere TWO DAYS we'll have a brand new president, a man who I think will do some pretty amazing things for this country. I have hope (har har har) that he'll turn everything around, and if he doesn't? Well, feel free to do an "I told you so." Until then, you gotta give the guy a chance. So, in honor of the new man, the myth, the legend Barack Obama, Paste magazine has done up a cool little site where you can "Obamacon" yourself. You know the posters, the HOPE and CHANGE posters done in that red-white-blue pattern that are kind of cartoony but not really? Well, you, too, can share in the poster-ized glory of Obama. Check out my version below. I think it's pretty apt. Maybe I'll get it on a T-shirt ...

Who's Your Tzipi?

I wish I were more in the know about Israeli politics. The long and short of it is that I know Olmert is bad, Tzipi is good. A united coalition is necessary for Tzipi to reign after Olmert steps down (the masses cheer, I guess). But that's pretty much it. I admire the multi-party system that they rock, considering we have but two real major parties here and it just isn't enough. But the other thing I do know for sure is that this IsraelVintage.com T-shirt makes Tzipip look pretty freakin' badass.

I couldn't help myself.

This is a beautiful video: Israelis for Obama! Hat tip to Jewschool.com .

Brimming.

Michelle Obama said it a long time ago and got plenty of crap for it, but for the first time -- in a long time -- I am truly proud to be an American. The changing face of the United States impresses and sustains us. And I don't care what you say, it isn't about race. Yes, he's our first black presidential candidate ... but my G-d, the man is inspiring. He is truly, truly the resounding HOPE that we need to move above and out of the present regime. And to that I say, Amen.

And for the love of Pete, go watch his speech.

Israel and Palestine: A Roadmap to Nowhere

I'm frustrated. I'm frustrated with peace, the two-state "solution," and I'm frustrated with the effort. I'm frustrated that for nearly 60 years there has been nothing but talk talk talk. I'm frustrated that there will never be a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist. When I say that there will never be a solution, what I really mean is that the next great war, the next great instigation of demolition and destruction of the human soul and hope will arise in Israel, likely in Jerusalem.

The thing is, the talks that are going on today are not new. The people there at the talks know this. They're not naive or stupid. They know that the things they are saying have been repeated, rinsed, and repeated since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. Except, well, maybe for Bush. He seems to stay optimistic. Who wouldn't want to solve the great Middle East debacle before leaving office, especially with the striped past 6 years he's had?

[The text of the agreement to kick off the talks can be read here.]

The talks will always, always stall on one thing: Jerusalem.

Everyone has a claim on it, and you can't split the city up three ways -- to Christians, Muslims and Jews. It just doesn't work that way. And even if you could split it up (which has been talked about before, believe me), no one will go for it. That's the other big thing.

In the past, talks have often stalled because it's all or nothing.

I can't even enumerate how many options have been suggested in the 60 years since the creation of Israel. It's almost nauseating the give and take and give and take and desperation. In the 1960s there were a group of Palestinians willing to compromise, willing to seek peace and leave the "all or nothing" philosophy behind. But those people were killed, and it is believed those who died trying to create peace were killed by the very Palestinians they wanted to help. Their own people!

I almost find it hard to discuss the situation. When I worked at the Washington Post, two of my coworkers asked me what I was going to do with my future after leaving the Post. I responded that I was going to go to graduate school for Judaic studies. One asked me what I thought about the situation in Israel, and I explained that it's pretty helpless and gave her my reasons. The other suggested I make it my goal to build a better Israel for Israelis and Palestinians. I smiled, knowing the impossibility of such a thought. Not because I'm incapable, but because I try not to involve myself in the situation, neither in discussion nor in action.

My reasons were this: Jerusalem will not, and can not be divided, thus creating the world's greatest stalemate over the world's most contested area; religious fervor and war will be the end all to this discussion. Additionally, the problem that many in the 60s ran into was that Palestinians were more comfortable playing the victim than they were with peace. Everyone knows that it is easier to be in pain and be hurt than it is to seek the best, most socially responsible route to success. It's like being unhappy is easier than trying to be happy. It's not rocket science, it's just the way we are. I'm not saying Palestinians to blame, but they've raised generations of victims, and Israel -- not to mention the Arab states -- haven't done a thing to see that change. The Palestinians are comfortable being the world's largest refugee population. If you take that away from them, they're just another people. What's so special about that? And finally, the Arab world has turned its back on the Palestinians time and time again, leaving the Palestinians to exist as a refugee population, so how are they any better than Israel? In the beginning, several Arab states -- namely Jordan -- were interested in the issue with motive more than murder and genocide. Then, poof. Nobody wanted anything to do with the Palestinians. Once again, they could safely be the victim, wanting it all or nothing.

So I guess the biggest question is: What now?

I don't have an answer. No one does. You can create all the peace plans in the world. You can say "poor Israel" or "poor Palestinians." You can cut off every Arab country in the world that plans a suicide bomber in Israel in the name of Allah, and you can do the same to every militant Israeli group that seeks to rid his or her country of Palestinians. You can do whatever you want politically and socially, but it isn't going to fix the situation. I don't think there *is* a way to fix the situation. This doesn't mean don't try, it just means ... maybe time could be spent on something else.

What I do have an answer for, is the effects of the conflict. There's that old saying about prevention, how you should go for the source, don't treat the effects or however it goes. It's like the man who loses his leg in a horrible car wreck. Why focus on finding and mending the leg when you could focus instead on how his life will be changed and how to make him better as a result? I'm not saying don't fight for peace, but in reality you can't focus on fixing the problem, you have to focus on fixing the effect it has on society. You can create social organizations, you can educate people, you can give to the Red Cross, you can heal the wounded, feed the hungry. These things are NOT futile, they're necessary. They're doable.

I don't mean to be another pimple on the face of the conflict, but folks, being a realist does not mean giving up hope and being a pessimist. It just means that you understand the history of the situation and that you understand the cyclical nature of these talks, the ramifications, the stalemate, the inevitable devastation. And if it so happens that peace is reached, that a Palestinian state is created, that Israel or the Palestinians give up wanting Jerusalem on THEIR side of the state? Then I'm taking every Jew I know out for a big ole beer and some brisket. And hold me to that.

Until then, I will sit and wait for another Aziz Shehadeh to appear and fight for the two-state solution in a logical, caring manner for the Palestinian people. And maybe I'll reread Strangers in the House, and pray truly hard that peace be possible, not just this tug-of-war pot of frustration and destruction.

Sometimes I ask myself, was this *really* what Theodor Herzl wanted?

Random Jewish Stuff ...

So I've decided I just can't do the Solonica book right now. It's sort of schizophrenically written, and it's absolutely difficult to read right now. So while running out the door this morning I grabbed Yiddishe Mamas: The Truth About the Jewish Mother by Marnie Winston-Macauley, which Ian picked up for me at his last job. It's incredibly quirky and amusing. Here's to hoping I zip right through it. I'm trying to work up the strength to buy and read My Holocaust: A Novel by Tova Reich. From what I can tell, it isn't for the faint of heart or the easily offended. Essentially it's a book about marketing the Holocaust (by Jews!). She's written several other books that are considered pretty heavy, but I have yet to delve into her books or to take on her style of writing. That's for (not so far away) future times.

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Here at work, while the big man is gone, I've been taking the time to be leisurely ... and in the process have been examining the various podcasts iTunes has to offer. Additionally, I've perused the web for some, and came across Israel National Radio (sort of like NPR). I was listening to today's podcast and it was a conversation between the host and Shmuel Sackett about the upcoming Likud election (sort of like the primaries, I guess) for the prime minister of Israel. Shmuel was talking on behalf of Moshe Feiglin, the favored candidate (from what I can tell) among the Likud party. Something that caught my attention was that Shmuel was talking about how Moshe wants to build a stronger Jewish Israel, but that they don't want to become the "Jewish Taliban" by using religion ... rather the intent is to approach and work with all Jews, no matter the affiliation or practice. Interesting ... but probably just words! They're big move is to turn the State of the Jews into the Jewish State ... returning the state to its true Jewishness. They claim to not want to turn it into a "halakic state," but ...?

He also cited this week's parshah (Ma'sai) and talked about the initial, biblical promise of the boundaries of Israel. As it turns out, it's about four times larger than the current state. Then came the shocking statement ... he basically said that under Moshe, they want to settle Jews wherever they can in that original, biblical land area. Curious and a little ambitious, I think. Probably too ambitious.

Just some interesting thoughts anyhow. And I'm bored at work. So there we are.