My comments:

These are my comments to Rabbi Brous' excellent article about the current situation in Gaza:

Dear Rabbi Brous,
"A Narrowing of Heart and Mind: The American Jewish Response to the Flotilla"

Finally a voice of reason.

As a liberal Jew, with strong emotional ties to Israel, while also being a "progressive", I have felt uneasy with both extremes: The left that hates Israel no matter what and the traditional "Conservative" (either Jewishly or politically or both), on the other side with a close to racist view towards Arabs and accepting every single step any and all Israeli government takes.
Finally, someone who realizes that one can have a strong commitment to Israel and still not buy everything coming from Jerusalem. Jews who buys everything from every Israeli government - whether Labor or Likkud - keep forgetting one of the strongest argument FOR Israel, namely that Israel is a Democracy and we have elections and, as a consequence, sometimes we have Administrations we like and sometimes we have those we cannot sympathize with, that's just par for the course.

Having said all that - I feel that it is very important to counter all the hate that has been displayed since the unfortunate flotilla raid.
Maybe the tragedy was avoidable, but the one-sidedness that has dominated media should not be left unchallenged. In Europe, where the Anti-Israel sentiments have been building the last 20 yrs, it is almost a lost cause. Here in the US, we need to make people understand that one can be progressive and defend the Jewish People's right to a homeland, at the same time.

It is truly a challenge and I am glad to see that you picked up that challenge!

B'Shalom.

Please read this article by Rabbi Sharon Brous

Please read this, short but very good message from one of the leading Rabbis in America today:
http://www.jewishjournal.com/flotilla_crisis/article/a_narrowing_of_heart_and_mind_the_american_jewish_response_to_the_flotilla_/

Election

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Election

It is time for election!
You have a duty to vote and this year it is more important than ever.

Look for updates on this page. Also, if you want to post your comments, please do so!

This country is a little backwards: I read that 39% (!!) of Americans "do not believe in evolution", as if this was a faith issue. This is horrendous. Only Turkey (a Muslim country) has a higher percentage of ignorant people! It is pretty remarkable and a shanda!

Election is over and hope is back

No, I am not that naive: I don’t think that everything is going to be just peachy, now that The Republicans and Rumsfeld are gone. Of course not. But there is reason to look at the results positively, after all: For the last 12 years the country has going backwards in a speedy fashion. The dark forces seemed to have gained insurmountable control. It was getting darker and darker. A woman's right to choose was threatened (and still is), BS was being taught in schools, NSA - more and more unsupervised - allowed to play like kids on a school yard. The line between the government and Christian Fundamentalists was blurred, new crusades on behalf of Karl rove and the dark establishment was being launched (under the guise of Sept 11), And so on.... This country was going in the wrong direction. That is an understatement. So, what's going to happen now? Is there really a difference between the Democrats and the Republicans? A difference that would make a difference? I think one has to look at the election results as if the American people was hitting the brakes on a vehicle that was sliding way too far to the right. They just said:
"ohhhh, that's far enough!"

Whether anything good is going to happen, we don't know, but at least it hopefully won't get worse. (Thursday, November 09, 2006)

More Lipstick on the Bush-Cheney Legacy

Scary and Funny at the same time

Scary and Funny at the same time.

Take 3.5 minutes to watch this!

Keep smiling!

Finally!

The reaction to the US election has been astonishing, in the US, in the world.
Seventy-eight (78)% of American Jewish voters chose Barack Obama. There are many reasons to be proud to be an American today. On so many levels, and from so many points of view, this is a historic day. Besides the obvious, there are also other reasons to be proud. Hope beat fear. Scare tactics did not work THIS time. Negative ads did not work THIS time. Sticking to the issues DID work this time. This is a day that will live in the memory of the American people and the people of the world as a true new beginning.
Posted by Richard Gavatin at 2:58 PM

Comment on the Obama victory by a friend

So as a Jew -- and an American -- what is my reaction to the election results in a 100 words or less? Pride...pride is my overwhelming emotion....pride in America for transcending - in this one election - the toxic myopias of RACE, SEX and AGE...and pride as a Jew knowing that this kind of "advanced thinking" emerges organically from the very first chapters of our foundational text - the Torah. As my 8 year old son noted: "Abba - your very emotional about a BLACK MAN moving in to a WHITE HOUSE". And of this sensitive observation I am most proud...Shehecheyanu VeKeyemanu VeHegeyanu LaZman Hazeh...Thank you God for enabling us to experience this auspicious moment!

Rabbi Carnie Shalom Rose - Senior Rabbi
Congregation Bnai Amoona

Interview

Please vew this short video


Posted by Richard Gavatin at 9:47 AM

The Difference

Coffee Table Politics

Coffee Table Politics -

What happens when a fly falls into a coffee cup?
The Italian-throws the cup and walks away in a fit of rage.
The Frenchman-takes out the fly, and drinks the coffee.
The Chinese - eats the fly and throws away the coffee.
The Russian - Drinks the coffee with the fly, since it was extra with no charge.

The Israeli - sells the coffee to the Frenchman, the fly to the Chinese, buys himself a new cup of coffee and uses the extra money to invent a device that prevents flies from falling into coffee.

The Palestinian - blames the Israeli for the fly falling in his coffee, protests the act of aggression to the UN, takes a loan from the European Union to buy a new cup of coffee, uses the money to purchase explosives and then blows up the coffee house where the Italian, the Frenchman, the Chinese, and the Russian are all trying to explain to the Israeli that he should give away his cup of coffee to the Palestinian