Yes, and it’s called prayer. And its power does not depend on faith in God or sacred texts, but on the passionate commitment of the person who prays. As Kierkegaard cautions: “Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays.” Prayers may be voiced in anguish or wrapped in silence, mumbled dutifully or constructed with care, put to melody or tears. They can be wordless, as Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel said that when he marched for justice with Martin Luther King “my feet were praying.”
When it comes to how Israel responds to attacks, message received: fight first, think later. But a look into alternative Israeli media sources revealed a reality even more troubling than Israel’s possible retaliations against its neighbors. In moments like these, in which a nation’s drone strikes, mortars, and missiles are juxtaposed with thoughts, words, and actions of an individual, I must take a deep look at my own choices, and I must ask myself: What am I doing?
The media today are filled with stories revealing that ‘Grand Bargain’ Talks Will Likely Target Medicare, Social Security & Programs For The Poor. Paul Krugman’s article in the NY Times this past Friday pleaded with the President, “Don’t Make A Deal,” but Obama and Congressional Dems will make such a deal unless we can get justice- and generosity-oriented people (across traditional party lines) in every state and every congressional district to let their elected representatives know that the outcome of the election was meant to be a mandate for protecting the poor and vulnerable, not sacrificing them on the false altar of Republican ideology about the deficit!
Due to a breakdown in budget negotiations within the governing Likud-led coalition, Israel is now scheduled to hold elections on January 22, 2013. What a perfect opportunity for liberal Zionists in America who support U.S. President Barack Obama to pull a “Bibi,” that is to say, to be actively engaged — dare I say meddlesome — in the upcoming Israeli elections in order to help oust current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu from power. For those unfamiliar, during a critical period of the U.S. presidential campaign, Bibi went public with his disagreements with Obama over the Iranian nuclear issue, leaked a story about being snubbed by Obama after requesting a meeting, and lavishly courted republican presidential candidate and former colleague Mitt Romney during his trip to Israel earlier this year. These tactics were intended to bind Obama to Israeli red lines for military action against Iran by exploiting his vulnerability to attacks from the right during the campaign season. But they were also a not-so-subtle endorsement of Romney.
Armistice Day Peace. Let us not forget the start
of Veteran’s Day. Cool November days,
Eleven Eleven is
a time to think peace. Let us not allow
our love for warriors to
become love of war. Veterans have seen
humanity at its worst.
For many hours every day for more than two of the last three weeks, I was in a hospital setting, supporting my beloved sister’s recovery from a major surgery. I have a lot of very personal experiences – of sorrow, helplessness, and moments of grace – that are now part of who I will forever be. This piece is about what I learned from all of this about why so many of us hate being in hospitals and what it would take to create hospitals that are truly designed to support healing. Despite everything that I am about to say, I am confident that all of us who were with my sister during this time would rate the care we received as excellent. We were in a hospital ranked in the top 5% in the US.
I do not believe that American Jews have to accept the direction that Zionism has taken, just as I don’t believe that we have to accept the idea that Jewish history is only interesting in terms of its marginalization, oppression, and trauma. But I also do not believe that we should simply throw up our hands and allow Israel’s turn toward the Right define what a Jewish democratic state looks like. So despite the despair, I choose to throw myself heart-first into reclaiming Zionism in the hopes of transforming Israel into a tolerant, progressive society.
When I awoke on the morning after the election, I was not completely overjoyed. Instead, I felt battered and exhausted. This was partly because the candidate I supported in a local race lost to a homophobic good ole boy. But it was also because as happy and relieved as I am about the reelection of President Obama, we on the Left simply cannot rest on our laurels. We have elected a center-left president, when what we really need is a left-wing president.
When Binyamin Netanyahu began meddling in the U.S. election on Mitt Romney’s behalf, he began an unprecedented and brazen gambit that, this morning, has disastrously backfired. And Israelis know it. With Netanyahu’s own election only months away (set for January 22), pundits this morning in Israel recognize the clear damage Netanyahu has done to himself by disrespecting President Obama and betting on the wrong man. Larry Derfner of +972 Magazine thinks last night may soon lead to Netanyahu’s demise:
If there is one loser in the U.S. election outside the U.S., it is Benjamin Netanyahu – and all of Israel knows it. No one is fooled by his denials that he backed Romney and opposed Obama as demonstratively as he possibly could.