It’s been a productive week. I got to within two chapters of having the book ready for copy-editing; I managed to prune some of the more aggressive garden denizens, so that one can walk down the path without risk of decapitation; and I’m back to learning one day a week at Matan.
But one thing I haven’t gotten done is this week’s Jewish blog carnival… Until now, that is! So, a bit late, but for all the right reasons, here’s this week’s Jewish-Israel blog carnival, aka Havel Havelim!
Antisemitism
Not that anyone was too surprised when Dubai censored the Israeli attribution of Israel’s swimmers… But I don’t think anyone expected FINA and NBC Sports to play along with the Qataris. Alas, the truth is sadder, as Debbie Schlussel writes in NBC FINA World Cup Swimming Broadcast Censors Out Israeli Flag to Appease Muslims, Flag Also Pulled @ Facility.
Israel
Municipal elections saw a record low turnout this time around, with some cities showing less than 40% of eligible voters bothering to go to polling stations. Why? “It’s a matter of priorities and of faith, the belief that their vote would really make a difference,” Batya writes in: Why The Terribly Low Turnout in Israeli Municipal Elections? posted at Shiloh Musings.
Also at Shiloh Musings, Batya writes about why Israel must not rely on the United States: The U.S. A. is “Leading” by Following “Snakes”.
Lately the issue of Evangelical support for Israel has been much in the news. Should Israel accept this help, or are there strings attached?
Jewish Israel, discusses the hidden costs of evangelical generosity and how Journalist Judy Lash Balint Cuts Through the Fluff on Evangelist Mike Evans. and Evangelicals Bring Texas A&M “Peace University” to Nazareth – Jewish Israel.
Meanwhile, Mosaic Magazine posted an interesting guest column by Robert W. Nicholson: Evangelicals and Israel – What American Jews Don’t Want to Know (but Need to). Nicholson, himself an evangelical, sees Christian support for Israel as a strategic alliance. But, he emphasizes, there are a number of different types of evangelicals, each with a different reason for supporting Israel.
Only in Israel
Just a few weeks ago, in my weekly Havruta we learned:
תנו רבנן: יורה – שמורה את הבריות להטיח גגותיהן, ולהכניס את פירותיהן, ולעשות כל צרכיהן. -מסכת תענית ו”א
“The first rains are called ‘Yoreh’ (v. teach, show) because they tell people to plaster their roofs and to gather in their fruits and to attend to all their needs.” Batya posted some photos of the first rains: RAIN!! Really! posted at me-ander.
And at Shiloh Musings, Batya wrote about some political realities of our region that can best be seen by living and commuting in Israel: Things Only a Trempistit, Israeli Hitchhiker, Would Know. “This is something I also understand from my conversations with Arabs I meet at work in Yafiz, Sha’ar Binyamin,” writes Batya. “The last thing most Arabs here really want is to be citizens of an Arab country. They prefer Israeli conditions, freedom and justice.”
Meanwhile, the Middle East Quarterly just ran an piece by Shaul Bartal discussing a little-known aspect of the Middle East reality, “The Palestinian Refugee Problem Resolved“. In this well-sourced article, Bartal notes that: “…during the 1950s and 1960s, the Palestinians, as part of the ‘Arab nation,’ were represented on the world stage and in international forums by the Arab states, which quietly but deliberately solved the Palestinian refugee issue in a de facto manner through a mutual population and asset exchange.”
Shavua Tov Y’all!
That concludes this edition of Havel Havelim, the Jewish Israel blog carnival, which floats around the internet. We organize it on our facebook page. Links can be sent via blog carnival. Submit your blog article to the next edition of jewish-israel blog carnival aka havel ha using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page. Don’t forget to log in before submitting an article!
