Monthly Archives: March 2013

Liberal Zionists in America Have Nothing Left to Say

Posted on March 20, 2013 by zjb

During the Second Intifada, liberal American Jews like me had nothing to say against the steps taken by Israel to secure its citizens from Palestinian suicide bomb attacks. Many of our friends further to the left did, and we got … Continue reading →

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Palestine Portraits (Baroque)

Posted on March 19, 2013 by zjb

I’m not sure what I think of these portraits by Spanish photographer Miguel Angel Sanchez. You can see more here. As I understand it from a very limited exposure, Palestine photography is usually dominated by landscape and direct natural light, … Continue reading →

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Jewish and Democratic (III) (The In/Coherence of Liberal Zionism) (Dead Dog?)

Posted on March 19, 2013 by zjb

Liberal Zionism a dead dog? Maybe, maybe not. In American, most Jews, I bet, are not religious and/or rightwing, not radical one-staters, not religious and now leftwing. They hew pretty much down a stressed out and shapeless middle. Obviously, the … Continue reading →

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Birds & Architecture (New York City Sparrows)

Posted on March 18, 2013 by zjb

I like how these sparrows lined up along the building on Morningside Drive, and the combination of organic and non-organic, animate and inanimate elements. There are a lot more of these combinations in New York than one would think.   … Continue reading →

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(Israel) Jewish or Democratic (II)

Posted on March 18, 2013 by zjb

The infinitesimal difference between a tension and a contradiction, or between contradictions and gross contradictions, is not insignificant. One you can live with, the other you can’t. About Israel, left-left critics see an foundational, essential contradiction between Jewishness and democracy, … Continue reading →

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Happy Belated St. Patrick’s Day in Egypt.

Posted on March 17, 2013 by zjb

I got this online at Al-Arabiyah English: Wanting to spark a buzz, Tourism Ireland has sealed a deal to bathe the world’s top tourist destinations in green to mark of Ireland’s national day. “The reason we do it is to … Continue reading →

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Which Comes First, Judaism or Democracy?

Posted on March 17, 2013 by zjb

So the about to be new government in Israel wants to settle things this way –first Jewishness and then democracy. In all my years, in Israel, thinking about Israel and Zionism, going back to the 1980s, I never heard of … Continue reading →

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American Judaism — Declaration of Independence — From Israel

Posted on March 16, 2013 by zjb

What’s wrong with liberal religion? American Liberal Judaism does not: –spit at 7 year old girls –enforce itself in the public sphere against the will of others –suck dry state coffers –beat up Arab passerby on the street –steal land … Continue reading →

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Israel Turkey Palestine Kurdistan

Posted on March 15, 2013 by zjb

Anyone interested in Israel and Palestine might want to look on as ethnic Turks and Kurds in Turkey seek to establish the constitutional identity of their “nation.” What does it mean to define national identity as “Turkish” when a large … Continue reading →

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New Pope Francis

Posted on March 14, 2013 by zjb

Why do I think the Vatican insiders are going to eat this guy alive? I’m sure it means nothing, but I like the new Pope’s face. Isn’t that how visual information works, though? Visual information is necessary, but insufficient. Politics … Continue reading →

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