Life in France has become untenable for Jews. For details see Vanity Fair August 15, 2015.
Does it matter? That depends on how you see such matters. In 2013, there were about 14 millions Jews world wide. Six million were in Israel and 5.4 million were in the U.S. Only about a half a million were in France. That's not much more than the the roughly 400 thousand in Canada and the roughly 300 thousand in the U.K.
Yet anyone with a grasp of French history should perhaps show some concern. Open up Wikipedia. Glance over the names of the great French Jewish artists, French Jewish scientists, French Jewish political leaders, French Jewish musicians, French Jewish industrialists. Jews have contributed, and contributed greatly, to French culture. That will soon end. If Jews in France must fear for their safety, then of course it's time for them to move on. Some few Jews may harbor the delusion that they will be able to continue in France as they have in the past. A considerable number of German Jews felt that way in the late 1930's.
It does trouble me to see the France we once knew, losing their culture; losing all that made France French. But, of course, I can't worry more about France and its future than the French themselves.
Au revoir.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Hatikvah: Time for Revised Lyrics
Hatikvah is a great song. For use in a synagogue or on occasions where Jews may be gathered absolutely no change is called for. However, as a national anthem to be sung by Israeli Muslims, Christians, Druze, and many other Israeli citizens it is a problem.
Here are a few lines of the Hatikvah:
As long as the Jewish spirit is yearning deep in the heart,
With eyes turned toward the East, looking towards Zion.
Then our hope -- the 2000-year old hope -- will not be lost
To be a free people in our land
The land of Zion and Jerusalem
To repeat: This works great in a synagogue where it should be kept as is. However, for a nation were roughly 20% is not Jewish we have a problem.
We want all Israelis to identify with Israel -- even non-Jews. That's what a national anthem is all about. But how do you do this with those people who are not Jewish? Do we expect them to identify with the "Jewish spirit?" "Eyes turned toward the East" -- Does this include Ethiopians, or is it restricted to European Jewry? And what does "Zion" mean to a non-Jew.
A line that should work perfectly is ". . . our land, the land of (Israel) and Jerusalem." Of course, non-Jews would have a somewhat different understanding of this line. Sure, their land is Israel and its capitol is Jerusalem. But, of course, for them the words would mean something a bit different than what it means for Jews.
Let's keep Israel Jewish, but let's also have the 20% that's not Jewish feel they've got a stake in this their home country. Why not have one Hatikvah melody, but two sets of lyrics; one, for the synagogue and one for general public usage?
Here are a few lines of the Hatikvah:
As long as the Jewish spirit is yearning deep in the heart,
With eyes turned toward the East, looking towards Zion.
Then our hope -- the 2000-year old hope -- will not be lost
To be a free people in our land
The land of Zion and Jerusalem
To repeat: This works great in a synagogue where it should be kept as is. However, for a nation were roughly 20% is not Jewish we have a problem.
We want all Israelis to identify with Israel -- even non-Jews. That's what a national anthem is all about. But how do you do this with those people who are not Jewish? Do we expect them to identify with the "Jewish spirit?" "Eyes turned toward the East" -- Does this include Ethiopians, or is it restricted to European Jewry? And what does "Zion" mean to a non-Jew.
A line that should work perfectly is ". . . our land, the land of (Israel) and Jerusalem." Of course, non-Jews would have a somewhat different understanding of this line. Sure, their land is Israel and its capitol is Jerusalem. But, of course, for them the words would mean something a bit different than what it means for Jews.
Let's keep Israel Jewish, but let's also have the 20% that's not Jewish feel they've got a stake in this their home country. Why not have one Hatikvah melody, but two sets of lyrics; one, for the synagogue and one for general public usage?
Israel: The Country Muslims and Leftists Love to Hate
I heard a Pakistani lawyer, who happened to visit Israel from England for a professional conference, mention how astounded he was by what he saw. What I found surprising is how what astounded him would be common place to Israelis and to us who know a bit about Israel.
The astounding revelation came to the Pakistani at a bus stop in Jerusalem. There, standing waiting for a bus, was a Muslim woman whose faith was evident from her head covering, an Orthodox man with tzitzis, beard and payyes, IDF service people, one a woman and one a man, and a youth with green hair and a nose ring. Anyone of these people might have occasioned a lingering glance on my part, but that they should all be standing waiting for a bus would have seemed not extraordinary at all.
It suddenly came to the Pakistani that Israel is remarkably diverse. Druze, Muslims, Jews, Bahais, and people of a variety of other faiths and ethnicities live in Israel in relative harmony. We who know Israel may take this for granted. But, for many who are devoted to disparaging Israel and, indeed, in maligning Israel it is not.
He then went to the West Bank to see how the Palestinians faired there. What he saw was a diversity of architecture. There was a bank in Ramallah located in a remarkably modern and handsome building. There were lovely apartment buildings housing the West Bank's 1%. But, in traveling around, he also came upon refugee camps. Some were actually rather nice little villagers. Some did look miserable. However, they seemed nowhere as miserable as the refugee camps he had seen in Pakistan -- camps left over from the separation of Pakistan from India.
Aware of all the money poured into the PLO by agencies of the UN and various Arab countries, the Pakistani wondered where it had all gone. True Arafat had skimmed off handsome sums which he deposited in Swiss banks, a policy followed by Abbas, but surely some money must have been left for the Palestinian people.
The astounding revelation came to the Pakistani at a bus stop in Jerusalem. There, standing waiting for a bus, was a Muslim woman whose faith was evident from her head covering, an Orthodox man with tzitzis, beard and payyes, IDF service people, one a woman and one a man, and a youth with green hair and a nose ring. Anyone of these people might have occasioned a lingering glance on my part, but that they should all be standing waiting for a bus would have seemed not extraordinary at all.
It suddenly came to the Pakistani that Israel is remarkably diverse. Druze, Muslims, Jews, Bahais, and people of a variety of other faiths and ethnicities live in Israel in relative harmony. We who know Israel may take this for granted. But, for many who are devoted to disparaging Israel and, indeed, in maligning Israel it is not.
He then went to the West Bank to see how the Palestinians faired there. What he saw was a diversity of architecture. There was a bank in Ramallah located in a remarkably modern and handsome building. There were lovely apartment buildings housing the West Bank's 1%. But, in traveling around, he also came upon refugee camps. Some were actually rather nice little villagers. Some did look miserable. However, they seemed nowhere as miserable as the refugee camps he had seen in Pakistan -- camps left over from the separation of Pakistan from India.
Aware of all the money poured into the PLO by agencies of the UN and various Arab countries, the Pakistani wondered where it had all gone. True Arafat had skimmed off handsome sums which he deposited in Swiss banks, a policy followed by Abbas, but surely some money must have been left for the Palestinian people.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
The Donald
Donald Trump, like him or hate him, is a phenomenon. Independently wealthy, he relies on no supporters and conducts his campaign for the American presidency as he sees fit. One more thing; he clearly understands the media, having been a successful producer of highly popular TV shows. It's his understanding of what interests Americans that has made him such a force. Whether it's a force for good or not is yet to be decided.
The Donald has gotten himself, on what I consider to be the wrong side, involved in two major issues. Immigration and John McCain's heroism. Describing illegal immigrants as murderers and rapists was wrong. True, among the illegal population you will find murderers and rapists. But, the same can be said of almost any population. People familiar with Latino immigrants, legal or otherwise, know that they are among the kindest, nicest, most hardworking people one will ever encounter.
But, America does face a problem with unchecked, massive, illegal immigration. And, the Donald has focused attention on this problem as has no other candidate. He's largely escaped his come-uppance for his wild remarks in two ways; first, the murder of a young lady on vacation in San Francisco by an illegal immigrant who also happened to be a felon who had been deported from the U.S. five times and who happened to be living in the amnesty city of San Francisco.
And, second, The Donald shifted over to his contention that he was the legal immigrants best friend by producing a great number of jobs. This is what America needed -- jobs. And, he was the jobs man.
This past weekend saw Donald's ship almost upended and perhaps sunk by the an even more serious gaffe; namely, challenging the heroism of John McCain. That was not only dumb, it was wrong.
Donald's reason for saying what he did -- to the extent I can read the Donald's mind -- is not that he didn't appreciate McCain's remarkable bravery in time of war, or that he failed to respect McCain's service to his country but rather that he was now facing McCain in an entirely different context.
The McCain that now faced Donald Trump was a back-alley, political thug who had amassed enormous political power through his years in the Senate, but had never properly channeled that power. McCain was someone who had undermined his own political candidacy for the presidency by choosing someone as inexperienced as Sarah Palin as his running mate. (Palin, to remind those who may have forgotten, had achieved some considerable accomplishments in her years as Alaska's governor, but clearly was unprepared for the national stage.)
Now, McCain was going after the Donald and referred to the people who attended a Trump rally as "crazies." The Donald didn't like that and lashed out at McCain. Unfortunately, the Donald was either unaware of, or had forgotten, certain basics in American politics; namely, you don't attack God, country, mom and apple pie. He was apparently unaware that McCain had achieved a standing somewhere between God and apple pie. To say this is not to disparage or impugn McCain's heroism. It's simply to set forth a reality that seems to have escaped the Donald.
We'll now see whether Trump's ship sinks. The political types are waiting for the latest poll results. It's like the perils of Pauline. It's grand theater. It's operatic. Will the Donald pull it off by shifting attention to the sorry state of the healthcare for veterans and the dysfunctional Veteran's Administration. To be continued. . . . . . .
The Donald has gotten himself, on what I consider to be the wrong side, involved in two major issues. Immigration and John McCain's heroism. Describing illegal immigrants as murderers and rapists was wrong. True, among the illegal population you will find murderers and rapists. But, the same can be said of almost any population. People familiar with Latino immigrants, legal or otherwise, know that they are among the kindest, nicest, most hardworking people one will ever encounter.
But, America does face a problem with unchecked, massive, illegal immigration. And, the Donald has focused attention on this problem as has no other candidate. He's largely escaped his come-uppance for his wild remarks in two ways; first, the murder of a young lady on vacation in San Francisco by an illegal immigrant who also happened to be a felon who had been deported from the U.S. five times and who happened to be living in the amnesty city of San Francisco.
And, second, The Donald shifted over to his contention that he was the legal immigrants best friend by producing a great number of jobs. This is what America needed -- jobs. And, he was the jobs man.
This past weekend saw Donald's ship almost upended and perhaps sunk by the an even more serious gaffe; namely, challenging the heroism of John McCain. That was not only dumb, it was wrong.
Donald's reason for saying what he did -- to the extent I can read the Donald's mind -- is not that he didn't appreciate McCain's remarkable bravery in time of war, or that he failed to respect McCain's service to his country but rather that he was now facing McCain in an entirely different context.
The McCain that now faced Donald Trump was a back-alley, political thug who had amassed enormous political power through his years in the Senate, but had never properly channeled that power. McCain was someone who had undermined his own political candidacy for the presidency by choosing someone as inexperienced as Sarah Palin as his running mate. (Palin, to remind those who may have forgotten, had achieved some considerable accomplishments in her years as Alaska's governor, but clearly was unprepared for the national stage.)
Now, McCain was going after the Donald and referred to the people who attended a Trump rally as "crazies." The Donald didn't like that and lashed out at McCain. Unfortunately, the Donald was either unaware of, or had forgotten, certain basics in American politics; namely, you don't attack God, country, mom and apple pie. He was apparently unaware that McCain had achieved a standing somewhere between God and apple pie. To say this is not to disparage or impugn McCain's heroism. It's simply to set forth a reality that seems to have escaped the Donald.
We'll now see whether Trump's ship sinks. The political types are waiting for the latest poll results. It's like the perils of Pauline. It's grand theater. It's operatic. Will the Donald pull it off by shifting attention to the sorry state of the healthcare for veterans and the dysfunctional Veteran's Administration. To be continued. . . . . . .
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)