Oppose Israel - Fight for Gay Rights!

The Dry Bones posting for today, October 29, 2010, strikes out at the moral inconsistency of groups advocating for gay rights, womens' rights, academic freedom.

Israel has a gay rights parade each year. When was one last held in Riyadh? When did a professor speak out against the mullahs in Iran and not go to jail? Can't argue with the cartoonist, can you? See the full posting at Here and There - the Dry Bones Blog.

Well, that's what I have to say.

Stephen M. Flatow

Israelis poison food at fair

Not really; I just wanted to get your attention. In fact, Haaretz, one of Israel's leading newspapers reports

The Israeli pavilion at the Sial food convention is sandwiched between those of Portugal and Britain. Some 20 Israeli companies have come to exhibit their wares as part of Sial 2010, The Global Food Marketplace convention in Paris.

Five Israeli companies won prizes for innovation at Sial, beating 1,500 other competitors. Tempo won for its flavored shandies; Sugat for its low sodium salt; Olia for its fig product line, as well as a mix of garlic and kumquat; Roy chocolate for its liqueurs in three flavors, and a praline package that opens up; and Sanlakol, which offered tomato sauces in individual plastic servings.

Hats off to the Israelis for getting their prizes! Israel is more than falafel.

Well, that's what I have to say.

Stephen M. Flatow

He's a very modern president - that would be Barack Obama

Talking about going "viral," a take on President Obama drawn from those witty Englishman, Gilbert & Sullivan.



Well, that's what I have to say.

Stephen M. Flatow

British director Mike Leigh says "no" to Israel

British director Mike Leigh has canceled a trip to Israel to protest government policies.  Good for you Mike, it shows that you are a true jack-ass.

As reported in the Jerusalem Post, British director Mike Leigh,

"who was scheduled to visit Israel from November 20-27 to teach a master class in Jerusalem as part of the Sam Spiegel Film & Television School’s “Great Masters” program, canceled due to political reasons.

"In a letter announcing his decision, Leigh, the director of such films as Secrets & Lies, Vera Drake and the upcoming Another Year, cited several of Israel’s policies, including the proposed loyalty oath, as the reason for his change of heart."

Members of the film industry have long been players in the political arena.  They've always endorsed policies when it suit them and protested them when it didn't. In America we saw that in the days of the Red scare when a Communist lurked behind the doors at every film studio.  We saw it when Hanoi Jane Fonda gave comfort to the enemy when America was at war with North Vietnam.

Now comes Mike Leigh, protesting the "loyalty oath?" Is he nuts or just a left winger so far to the left that he's off the chart? What is funny here is that the Israeli film industry is to the political left and it's one of their own sticking his pinky in its eye.

In protest, I will refuse to see his next movie if it makes it in distribution in this country.

This whole kerfuffle reminds me of the famous line muttered by Kevin Kline's Otto to John Cleese's Archie Leach, in a Fish Called Wanda, that fits Leigh very well,

"You pompous, stuck-up, snot-nosed, English, giant, twerp, scumbag, f**k-face, d**khead, asshole."

Stay in Britain Mr. Leigh, enjoy the rain.

Well, that's what I have to say.

Stephen M. Flatow

Israeli gets American science prize

Those pesky Israelis are at it again, getting more recognition for their scientific accomplishments. The report from the Jerusalem Post:

"Tel Aviv University physicist Prof. (emeritus) Yakir Aharonov will be one of only 10 scientists to receive the US National Medal of Science from President Barack Obama for his outstanding contributions to the field.

"The 78-year-old Aharonov, who holds US and Israeli citizenship, will receive the medal, which has been awarded since 1959 to 441 American scientists in the field of physics, biology, mathematics, engineering and behavioral sciences."

The story continues,

The official citation accompanying Aharonov’s medal states that he is being honored “for his contributions to the foundations of quantum physics and for drawing out unexpected implications of that field, ranging from the Aharonov-Bohm Effect to the theory of weak measurement.”

Perhaps there is a "I'm not anti-Semitic, just anti-Zionist" blogger who can tell me about "weak measurement" and why it's just another Zionist plot to (take your pick) a) take over the Middle East, b) maintain the occupation of the Palestinians, c) threaten the Iranians. OK, I'm being overly sarcastic, but how come I never see awards going to scientists from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan or Saudi Arabia?

Well, that's what I have to say.

Stephen M. Flatow

Those racist Israelis - NOT!

The Arab world is in an uproar that Israel is considering having new citizens take a loyalty oath recognizing that Israel is a "Jewish and democratic state." "Shame on them," the editor says sarcastically.

Mitchell Bard writes a book called Myths and Facts. Here's his latest posting that debunks the myths surrounding the situation. (Footnotes are shown below as well as a link to the actual posting.)

MYTH:
"Israel Instituted a Racist Loyalty Oath Requiring Immigrants to Pledge Allegiance to Israel as a 'Jewish and Democratic State'."

FACT:


The Israeli cabinet has proposed the adoption of an oath of allegiance for new immigrants. If adopted, people seeking to become naturalized citizens will have to pledge an oath of allegiance to the State of Israel as a "Jewish and democratic state" while also promising to "honor the laws of the state."401 No changes to existing laws have been implemented as yet and since the idea of requiring an oath with such language is controversial in Israel it is likely to be revised during the deliberative process in the Knesset. The new oath may not even be approved at all because the recognition of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state is already embedded in Israel's Declaration of Independence and its 1992 "Basic Law on Human Dignity and Liberty."402


Although the proposed law instructs immigrants to officially declare and recognize Israel as a Jewish state, it does not stipulate a requirement for actually being Jewish to receive citizenship. Israel has never put restrictions on what religion its citizens choose to follow and assures freedom of religion within Israel as a matter of law.403


Moreover, the oath will not affect current Israeli citizens or those who acquire Israeli citizenship through birth, thus allaying many fears within Israel's various Arab communities that their children would have to pledge allegiance to a "Jewish state."

Syrian President Assad as well as Arab members of Israel's parliament have suggested the oath is a "fascist act" and cements Israel as a "racist country."404 In truth, the expectation that immigrants swear an oath to their new homeland is not unusual; check, for example, the requirements of citizenship in the U.S. and other Western countries.

Consider also the preamble to the Palestinian Basic Law, as well as the Hamas Charter, which both assert that Palestine is part of the "Arab world" and that "Islam is its official religion."405 Standing in stark contrast to the broad ranging religious freedoms granted to all citizens in Israel, non-Muslims are not accorded equal rights in the Palestinian Authority or any other Muslim country in the Middle East.

From its inception Israel has been a Jewish state without compromising the rights and freedoms of its citizens, regardless of ethnicity or religion. The proposed oath will ensure that all those who voluntarily choose to move to Israel in the future will understand the essential connection between the Jewish people and the State of Israel. The oath has not yet been instituted into law and, in the end, the decision on whether it is necessary or desirable will be determined through the democratic processes of Israel's government.

401 Herb Keinon, "Loyalty Oath to 'Jewish State' Set to be Approved", Jerusalem Post, (October 6, 2010).
402 "Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty", The Knesset (1992). 403 2009 Report on International Religious Freedom, "Israel and the Occupied Territories", US Department of State (October 26, 2009)
404 Jerusalem Post Staff, "Zoabi: 'Israel has Reached the Height of Fascism", Jerusalem Post (October 7, 2010).
405 "2002 Basic Law", The Palestinian Basic Law (2002).


Read the post on-line to activate the links.

Sorry to disappoint the real racists with a misleading headline. Get over it.
Well, that's what I have to say.
Stephen M. Flatow

From Chile, wonderful news, but there's an untold story

The Chilean miners are out of their cavern and all seems to be moving in the right direction. The New York Times reports on the spirit of euphoria enveloping Chile. But was it a miracle that these men survived so long or is there something else in play?

Evidence from the joyful scene at the mine indicates that these men were changed over their imprisonment. They became vampires! What else could explain their good spirits, their fine appearance, and their ability to get through their ordeal in the dark

As we know, vampires can take many forms. They can disguise themselves as wolves, dogs, and bats! It was bat, a known cave dweller, that must have infected these men with the vampire virus!

How else can we explain their photophobia, the fear of light, so dangerous to a vampire, that these men had to wear dark, dark sunglasses to shade their eyes from the light when they emerged from the mine?

Woe to the hospital workers who come into contact with these vampires. A new evil has been spread to the world. Just watch what happens next in Chile and you will agree! Vampires are on the loose!

From Israel - construction destroys peace

Jews have just finished the holiday of Sukkot. It's of Biblical origin and Jews are commanded to dwell in a structure called a sukkah.

Here's a take on the issue of construction as an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians.



Enough said, and that's what I have to say.

Stephen M. Flatow

From Israel to the people of Gaza, let's learn how to fish

Not from Saudi Arabia, not from Jordan, Kuwait or the Emirates but only from Israel could come this story-- Israeli graduate students who want to teach the residents of Gaza how to fish. Not with a rod and reel mind you but with fish farming, a booming business in Israel.

Their motivation is not just economic because others believe that higher incomes for residents will result in less terrorism.

"A recent study funded by Israeli billionaire entrepreneur and industrialist Stef Wertheimer found that societies with a GDP over $6,600 per capita do not normally harbor terrorists. Five Israeli graduate students also believe that an entrepreneurial business can lead to a more peaceful world."

"To that end, they propose to launch an industrial park in the Gaza Strip. The park that they envision will house an on-land aquaculture or fish farming project, designed to provide a healthy protein supply for Palestinians living in Gaza, relieve economic stress in the Palestinian community, and connect the region to foreign business investment and trade."

Fish farming is big business in Israel, so why can't it become that in Gaza? Well, these students are going to find out if it's a pipe dream. It's up to the Palestinians now.

Read the full article from the Jerusalem Post: Teaching Gaza to fish.

What do you think?

A Statue of Liberty for Tel Aviv?

When you do a lot of traveling as I did in the late 1990s, you come to expect certain things. One of those is the ubiquitous presence of USA Today under your hotel room door.

One of that newspaper's daily features is a small box appearing on the front page that contains news, more accurately information, about a particular subject. One morning, while staying overnight in Boston after speaking for State of Israel Bonds, I was pleasantly surprised to find a box containing statistics about immigration to Israel. I clipped it from the paper and put it in my daily calendar. I began to refer to the statistics in all my speeches.

The statistic? The number of people who had emigrated to Israel since 1948, It listed the refugees kicked out of their homes in Arab countries following the 1948 and 1967 wars, folks who voluntarily moved from western countries, and the number of Russians who came to Israel when the former Soviet Union opened the way to mass migration. The number is in the several millions.

This is what the Dry Bones cartoon had to say about it in 1990.

It was a modern miracle, and no country has more willingly opened its doors to emigres, indeed sought them, than Israel. You can read the full story here, Russian Aliya (1990) - the Dry Bones Blog

So, maybe a Statue of Liberty belongs alongside the runways at Ben Gurion Airport.

Well, that's what I have to say.

Stephen M. Flatow

Connecticut and Vietnam

From The New York Sun, an editorial about Connecticut senate candidate Blumenthal: Connecticut and Vietnam.
What's intriguing to me is the Sun's recognition of, well, something I never thought of before, the politicians--long term liberals such as Blumenthal, who fought against American intervention in Vietnam but now find it necessary to talk about their "service" during that time.
Fortunately, politicians of all stripes have woken up to the fact that Vietnam vets, and now those coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan, are in need of much counseling and support.