Thoughts on being Jewish

Daily Telegraph correspondent Tim Butcher returned to Gaza for the first time since the war: I knew Gaza well before the attacks, so when Israel ended its ban on foreign journalists reaching Gaza on the day the ceasefire was announced, I was able to see for myself. One thing was clear. Gaza City 2009 is not Stalingrad 1944. There had been no carpet bombing of large areas, no firebombing of complete suburbs. Targets had been selected and then hit, often several times, but almost always with... Sign in to see full entry.

Darfur/Israel/Refugees Amos Oz, preeminent Israeli writer, wrote in his heartbreaking memoir, A Tale of Love and Darkness, "Heavy flooding did extensive damage to the transit camps (in the winter of 1951 and 1952) crowded with hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees who had fled - or were forced to flee - Arab lands leaving everything behind them and refugees from Hitler from Eastern Europe and the Balkans. There was risk of starvation and epidemic. The State of Israel was less than four years... Sign in to see full entry.

Metalrat, Shelly, you were correct in your comments on my last post. I began this blog to provide the Jewish perspective and to educate non-Jews about my religious practices, rituals and culture. Naturally, part of that is the State of Israel, but I see that it too inflammatory a topic for the time being and I will leave it be. Suffice it to say, there are terrors, horrors and inconsolable mothers and fathers, sons and daughters on both sides; let there be peace soon. I leave you with this song... Sign in to see full entry.

They are the smallest victims of terror; innocents who take no position, who know no hate. Iraqi, Afghan, Irish Catholic, Sudanese, Israeli, Palestinian - no matter where they are, their deaths are horrific, the worst of tragedies. A couple of days ago, a blogit member - Drohan - posted pictures of dead babies on this blog's comment section, which I immediately deleted. They were horrible, yes, and unfortunately, reminded me too much of the aftermath of terrorist attacks on Israelis. The... Sign in to see full entry.

I generally tend to shy away from politics, but these are disturbing times for those of my faith. Chants of “Kill the Jews” and “Back to the ovens,” recall escalating rhetoric straight from Nazi Germany. World media is feeding this frenzy as Israel is demonized for attempting to root out terror in its midst. Over the past few weeks, op-ed pieces in the New York Times have been decrying the “disproportionate” steps that Israel is taking to crush Hamas. Buried within one of these editorials,... Sign in to see full entry.