thinking jewish

OK, One More Post

In the continuing debate on the pages of Ha'aretz, Yossi Beilin (big peace camp man, former leader within the Labor party, Labor Zionist par exelance) writes about his own understanding of Zionism, and specifically how it relates to his dual identities: Israeli and Jewish.

What implications might his words have for the dual identities we carry on our backs every day?

While I'm gone, talk amongst yourselves.

There and Back Again

24 hours from now I'll be landing at Ben Gurion's magnificent new terminal, ready to re-enter the land that I left nearly one year ago.

As the journey nears, I'm filled with trepidation. I want it all to be the same. I want to feel at home, to feel the warmth, the joy and the sadness.

I want the Hebrew to sound normal, to let myself be enveloped by the sounds as if by water in a pool on a warm summer day.

I want to lead. To make others feel what I feel, and through their feeling, feel it more.

I want to sing, to walk, to swim, to eat, to dance, to read, to pray, to sleep.

I want it all.

Until May 28, this is David, for Life on the Far Side, signing off.

Geez

Though offering no conclusions or recommendations of his own, Brad Burston's Op-Ed in today's edition of Ha'aretz is incredibly striking. His deeply nuanced understanding of American Jews (those of us born of European immigrants and those of us born of Israeli immigrants separately) is amazing.

He offers an insightful examination of how, and why, we relate to Israel as our "homeland," and what implications that has for Israel and Israelis.

A must read, for sure.

All Done

R A _ _ _

Who knows three, I know three.

The Subletter Report

Overnight I went from one guy living in an obnoxiously large Manhattan one-bedroom, to one guy who rooms with a girl in an obnoxiously crowded Manhattan one-bedroom.

All in all, despite some initial speed bumps, we're off to a good start. She's clean, kind and relatively not annoying.

Casualties so far: One meat dish, subjected to vanilla yogurt.

Attention K-Mart Shoppers

My "Blognikim" column has been purged, and all of you supposed "bloggers" who only crowd the internet with words once in a blue moon no longer will retain your coveted spot.

Ouch.

Shoot Me Now

First I showed 14 children a boobie. Then I missed my step-sister's birthday. Then I questioned my sister's confidence. Then the front door on my building broke, locking everyone outside.

Then I bought the first season of Lost.

All is well anew.

Just 6 Dollars

The real mess about campaign finance reform is that, in the end, all of the proposed solutions won't actually do much good to solve the problem. That's why we seem to be in this mess every two years.

So what if we thought a little outside of the box for a second. Similar to the truly workable tax reform ideas, the only way to find real solutions sometimes involves doing away with the current system entirely.

So what if, so reform campaign financing, we just got rid of it. Yes, get rid of it.

Well, sort of. For only $6 of taxes per person per year, all campaign financing could be paid for by an equal-distributing agency. This would mean that every qualified candidate is given an equal, democratic chance at winning an election based solely on his/her qualifications, not the size of his/her pocket. This would mean no undue influence by the uber-wealthy, no money-wielding control by special interests - power in the hands of the people, by the people and for the people.

Compare the proposed $6 per person to the $200 per person we currently spend on pork barrel projects and you've got yourself a deal.

Check it out!

Map Quiz

According to MSNBC, nearly 6 in 10 Americans between the ages of 18-24 recently polled could not locate Iraq on a map, 1/3 could not find Louisiana and 48% did not correctly locate Mississippi.

I wonder how many could find Pumpedita...