Tikkun Daily Blog Archive (https://www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/author/tikkun-admin/page/55/)
A major modern conundrum is how the Arab/Israel conflict remains unresolved and, seemingly, unresolvable. In his latest book, Embracing Israel/Palestine, Rabbi Lerner suggests that a change in consciousness is crucial. He examines how the mutual demonization and discounting of each sides’ legitimate needs drive the debate, and he points to new ways of thinking that can lead to a solution.
I may be an outlier as a blogger on this site for fully supporting the NATO military campaign to oust Qaddafi. I was gratified that French aircraft stopped his forces cold as they closed in on Benghazi less than two months into the revolution. They would undoubtedly have exacted a terrible toll in death and suffering if they had been allowed to prevail and exact their revenge on the rebel capital. NATO’s ability to help the rebels overthrow this dictator, without sending in an army on the ground, was a triumph for collective action in a humanitarian cause. It also may have inaugurated a new “Obama Doctrine,” which emphasizes some important principles: that the United States lends its military might in a collective effort (in this case, even taking a back seat to France, Britain and other allies) in a limited way, with the support of an international consensus, as expressed in this instance by the United Nations Security Council; the U.S. and its allies need to be aware of their limitations and cannot intervene everywhere.
The controversy surrounding the series about five American Muslim families offers insight into islamophobia in the U.S. It also doesn’t represent all Muslims any more than Jersey Shore does all Italian Americans.
An Israeli sociologist on why Richard Goldstone’s recent NYT op-ed betrays the judge’s commitment to justice and truth– and why “apartheid” doesn’t aptly describe the Israeli system of controlling Palestinians.
Well, that was fun. Powerful. And #Occupytastic. Last night, I was out on Sproul Plaza at UC-Berkeley, with over 10,000 people reclaiming the space for OccupyCal. I was there to receive the Mario Savio Young Activist Award, which had been scheduled for the same night across the plaza inside Pauley Ballroom.
I recently came across this musical tribute to the Occupy Movement by Makana, an artist from Hawaii. I hope you’ll feel similarly inspired as you watch this!
What now appeals to a niche market and has decreased in popularity over the last few generations, even with what used to be its core fans? If you guessed baseball and Judaism you win. And Judaism loses if it continues to mirror baseball’s path. A fast paced world no longer enjoys baseball’s slow and slower paced game, at least to the same extent it once did. And its players and fans, now largely devoid of African Americans,no longer mirror America’s demographics.
Ongoing updates from UC Berkeley about the higher education strike and day of action.
Sometimes even an atheist needs a community soup kitchen. This winter, I will probably need one, and so will many many of my fellow Americans. This winter, when the thin veil of November leaves has finally come down in Chicago, the sand is banked on the beaches against the lake shore wind and the dark comes early, I will be happy for a bowl of soup and a place to eat it where I feel welcome. Like so many this year, for me the recession is grinding down hard, and the things that held me together are beginning to fray, just a little and at the edges, but still, the possibility of coming unraveled hangs over all endeavors while the nights get colder. Like the people occupying parks the whole country over, I am running out of faith in governments and institutions to provide a little grace and shelter while we all wait out the economic troubles we’ve got to endure.
Ever since the beginning of the Arab Spring, and especially since the early days of the Occupy movement in the US, I have been following the wave of unrest that’s been sweeping the globe with great interest. I have visited the Oakland Occupation and participated in the general strike on Nov. 2nd. I have been writing about my amazement, my humility, and my concerns for some weeks. On the basis of all I have seen, heard, read, and felt, I continue to nurse some hope that this movement may be the beginning of transcending the legacy of separation and creating new social structures attentive to the needs of humans, other life forms, and the planet.