Israel

The Praying Habit: Jewish Week!
I think I chose to attempt Jewish prayer my last week of this project because I subconsciously hoped it would be the most spiritually rewarding. I should have known better. I’ve found that anticipating or hoping for spiritual fireworks leads to the exact opposite: boredom and sometimes even frustration. So why did I have these…

On Not Leaving Kashmir
The boatman barely flicked his wrist, yet we moved forward in a terrifically straight line. How was he doing it?

Israeli Settlers as Kitsch
Join Buddha-killer Kiera Feldman for a video screening at Brooklyn’s Union Docs on Sunday, January 27th at 7:30pm. It’s a two-part affair: Part I: Kiera presents a curated selection of Youtube ephemera produced by homegrown settlers—suburbanite American Jews who have moved to the Israeli settlements. See her accompanying story in VICE magazine, “Living the American Dream…

The GOP attack on Dems Jerusalem platform isn’t about the Jews…
It’s about Christians. In case you missed it, the Democratic Party dropped its longstanding insistence that Jerusalem is and will be the capital of Israel, despite the fact that most of the world doesn’t recognize it as such. Why not? Oh, the fear of setting off a never-ending, apocalyptic war. But for some of us,…

Israel’s Cottage Cheese Uprising
You’ve heard all about the Arab protests, and maybe even about the Spanish and Greek ones. But have you heard about the Israeli one? Like the Egyptian protests, the Israeli one began in reaction to a spike in food prices. Six weeks ago, in reaction to a planned cottage-cheese price hike by the dairy cartel…

Elie Wiesel to Speak at Anti-Semitic Event
Activist Rachel Tabachnik writes: Tomorrow night (Sunday, Oct. 25) Elie Wiesel will be the keynote speaker at John Hagee’s Cornerstone Church for Christians United For Israel’s Night to Honor Israel. This is a devastating development which is difficult to comprehend. Wiesel has spent his life combatting racism and fighting for human rights. Bruce Wilson and…

Travel in the Holy Land a No Go
According to the US State Department’s travel warning for Israel, West Bank and Gaza travelers to the Holy Land can be greet not with signs of peace but further travel restrictions. In June 2009, the Israeli government began selectively limiting certain travelers to either the occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza, or to…