Celebrating Ramadan in Umm al-Fahm
After nearly 70 years of statehood, most Jews don’t know the most basic information about the holiday that our neighbors celebrate. Is this the best we can do?
26
Jun
26
Jul
Blame Canada (for Anti-Zionism)
By Adina Rosenthal
Canadian bacon isn’t the only thing that’s unkosher. Earlier this month, the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism (CPCCA), released its report concluding that anti-Semitism is on the rise in Canada, especially on university campuses. Since its inception in March 2009, the CPCCA, composed of 22 Parliamentarians from all parties in the House of Commons, has conducted investigations and hearings with the purported purpose “of confronting and combating antisemitism in Canada today.” Based on its findings, the committee made several recommendations to its government, such as training Canadian police forces on how to better handle anti-Semitic incidents, sponsoring conferences at universities to combat anti-Semitic events and establishing a clear definition for anti-Semitism. According to Former Liberal MP Mario Silva, Chair of the CPCCA Inquiry Panel that published the report, “We are calling...
25
Feb
Accept Friend Request?
by Amanda Walgrove
It's Complicated between Israel and Egypt. After Israel Unfriended Turkey last year, she has only had one longstanding friend remaining in the Middle Eastern Network. Last month, many Egyptians responded that they would be attending what some have deemed the "Facebook Revolution" in an effort to overthrow Hosni Mubarak's regime. An event invite that was scheduled to begin on January 25, 2011 continued through February 11 as Israel watched, anxiously reloading her News Feed and fending off other friends’ frustrating requests to buy sheep on Farmville. Although Egypt's account was briefly Deactivated, the revolutionaries eventually hacked Mubarak's Page and gave his password to the Muslim Brotherhood. The world watched nervously as Egypt's Profile Picture changed from a stunning frame of Mubarak to a chaotically crowded scene pervading Tahrir Square. When Israel logged in...
15
Feb
The South Sudanese Are ‘The Jews of Our Time’
By Charles Jacobs
The stars in Wanyjok’s sky blazed so bright it seemed as though God himself had switched on the lights in the vast blackness. I hadn’t seen a sky like this since I was a boy in the New Jersey countryside. It helped me understand how men from time immemorial have sought patterns in the stars—signs from the Creator of what was to come. I felt that here, in southern Sudan, God was signaling a miracle.
I flew to Sudan on January 6 to witness the birth of a nation. Historically, the Arabs have dominated Sudan. In 1983 the Khartoum’s Islamists imposed Shariah throughout the country provoking southern rebellion. For decades, the north assaulted the African Christian/animist south. Over 2 million have been killed and tens of thousands enslaved.
To break the resistance, the regime sent...
03
Dec
Why The Wikileaks Are Not All Bad
By Symi Rom-Rymer
Much of the discussion over the Wikileaks dump has focused on the negative impact of the released cables. But there may be a silver lining. Within the diplomatic community it may come as no surprise that Arab leaders expressed great concern over Iran’s nuclear ambitions in private, but this is the first time that their true feelings have been publically revealed. Using aggressive, undiplomatic language, leaders such as Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan exhorted American diplomats (respectively) to “cut off the head of the snake” and informed them, in eerily familiar echoes, that "Ahmadinejad is Hitler."
While the release of the cables demonstrates Wikileaks’ founder Julian Assange’s lack of respect for or understanding of diplomatic reality, they nevertheless provide a unique opportunity for Western,...