Sunday, 30 January 2011
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Resources for Tu B'Shvat
Image by maxnathans via FlickrOnly a couple of hours left and a lot of things to do.For those still looking for some inspiration, just a couple of links:
Preparing the Seder
Activities for children
Recipes for the mothers
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
The situation of the Jews in Tunisia
Tensed, worrisome and uncertain, according to Natan Sharansky, chair of the Executive, Jewish Agency for Israel.
The Infidel: what if...?
Today I am in the mood to write about movies I watched in the last couple of days. And for this one, I spent almost 2 hours looking for a best variant, without getting block every two seconds. When you really want to see something NOW, quality is not at all what you'll get. But, anyway, I didn't regret.
The Infidel is presenting a case I encountered a couple of times, but with people belonging to a different belief. A moderate/not exclusively observant Muslim, Mahmud Nasir, is discovering while ordering the papers of its dead mother that he was adopted from a Jewish family. Opposite the house of his mother lives an American Jew he just had a conflict with, without knowing he is Jewish but understandable for him after seeing the Menorah at his window. At the end, he will become his best supporter in the unsuccessful journey to meet his family. His father will die the meeting is taking place, in a Jewish retirement and elderly care, not being allowed to see him by a strict "shomrim".
The discovery of his Jewish identity - the story about the identity is not extremely clear, as it is not either why the parents got to give him for adoption, as long as they were still living in the neighborhood -, in his late forties, with a son about to marry the daughter of an extremist cleric in London, is troubling completely his family, social and personal life and relations. To testify in the front of the public eyes - who don't have any doubt about the beginning of his double life - he is still a good Muslim, he is taking crazy steps, surprising even the most vocal radicals. And some of the events are laughable: while attending a Islamic gathering, before going with his Jewish friend to a bar mitzvah (the attendance was prepared lengthily, by infusing him a bunch of stereotypes about how to stereotypically be, behave and talk) - the kippa under the Muslim headwear - the first headwear fell down and the kippa is shinning in the sun. Desperately, he lit the kippa and jump on it several times, an episode carefully registered on camera. After, he run to attend the bar mitzvah. The next day, after his image was aired over and over again, a spontaneous protest is organized in the front of his house, while hosting the "precious" presence of the cleric for setting up the last details of the wedding. Shortly after he answered the question about the "clean" Muslim genealogy, faced with the protests and about to be hold by the police, he shout "I am Jewish". And, the family disaster follow up: the cleric cancel any contact and the wedding is drop out, the angry family leave him. But...this is not the end: after some research on the Internet, he reached the conclusion that, in fact, the cleric is a former pop singer, disappeared mysteriously a couple of years ago, and who, in fact, was a former Scientologist.
This is a happy ending: a Pakistani-Indian style wedding, enjoyed by all.
Can't stop laughing and laughing and laughing.
Zemanta" style="border:none;float:right">The West Bank story
This short movie won the 2006 Academy Award for the Best Live Action Short Movie. The action is entertaining, lots of easy references to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (should I put a link here, with explanations what it is this play about, will not) and to the West Side Story in a sometimes Bollywood mood as embroiding the very contemporary story of the Palestinians and Israelis.
Kosher King versus Hummus (to be pronounced also Hamas) Hut, fighting their own side of the screen and, eventually, putting their houses on fire. The fire is spreading despite the Israeli ""Jews in construction" project, of building a separation wall between the two family business.
How are they connected, though, despite the deep rejection of each other's existence - hence the wall, to obstruct the view of their existence: L-O-V-E. Between an Israeli soldier belonging to the Kosher King and a Palestinian girl working at and belonging to the Hummus Hut. At the end of the short movie, they plan to go togther in Beverly Hills, apparently the only place where the members of the two communities can live unproblematically side by side.
Did I like something about this movie? This very crazy idea that love is the answer and not any kind of love, but an extreme one.
What I didn't? The plot is too simple to be true or likely to be believed, mostly when both love at the same crazy extent hummus and falafel.
Sunday, 16 January 2011
Friday, 14 January 2011
Youth manifesto in Gaza
The fact that young and secular people from Gaza are fed-up with their fate is a good start. The "f" word might resume a situation when the words could help too much in expressing the despair. Of course, they might introduce some "anti" remarks about Israel, because otherwise they will be accused of acting against their fellows (this is a lame excuse, anyway, as the future belongs to those who dare to go beyond the stereotypes). What annoys me is that they don't want to get involved into politics. This is exactly the point: go involved into politics, make your own parties, enter the elections and write down your wishes for a country with clean and functional institutions. This is the key for the future, not persisting in the "f-word" atttitude.
The Economist strikes back
and probably will do this many times from now, in this worldwide teasing campaign looking so confusing through its black-and-white lenses.
After this amazing example of purposed ignorance, we have modestly chronicled, it is a follow-up, under the brave signature of an anonymous contributor.
Shortly: 2011 could be the year of a destructive war in the Middle East, unless Obama administration will adopt a tough and "persistent" stance to determine Israel to change the policy on settlements. The "author" mention that Hizbullah is fuelled by Syria and Iran, Tehran having "an apparent desire to acquire nuclear weapons", but the danger is that Israel "will strike back"and the war will expand in Syria and probably Iran. Read Wikileaks to realize how "united" is the Middle East and how much all of them love Iran. It is any good recommendation for encouraging the countries from the Middle East to have democratic institutions and subsequently, to trust democratic values? A democratic state, with proper autonomous institutions will not accept on its territory a terrorist organization as Hizbullah. And I think that the international community would have to spend many sleepless nights thinking about all the possible means to encourage, support and strengthen democracy in the area. It is how a peace will prevail. But nothing by far in this article and the reader will find further another "common place": that Hamas don't recognize the state of Israel, but the "occupation" bears the responsibility. It is easier to find and target the "scape goat". And America looks "weak" when not impose a hard policy over the issue of settlements.
It is a sad irony in all those articles widespreading cheap ideas.
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Hesed Sefaradi
Interview with A.B.Yehoshua, in Sephardic Horizons, about his last novel Hesed Sefaradi (Spanish Kindness), books and Middle East.
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
What are we talking about?
This is the question who is haunting my quiet morning, when I wanted to finish reading some very peaceful books. This "what if?" I've heard and read so many times. For a historian, this is a wrong question, leading to wrong assumptions and constructions. For a journalist, is the first step to stop being a journalist, for entering the world of fiction. And, the remarks about the "working class religious Sephardim" are nothing but repeating old stereotypes from the beginnings of the democratic state of Israel.
The Economist is also worried about democracy in Israel and insist upon the singularity of Tel Aviv, as a cospomolite city, different of Jerusalem (why not mentioning Haifa?) and other parts of the country. But, capital cities are, from various reasons, different of the rest of the country: concentration of money, attractions, affordability, tourists etc.. If the official capital city will be Jerusalem, it will change. What I suspect, in fact, is that the authors of those articles don't have any contact with young Israeli normal people - from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, New York or Paris -, who are creating start-ups, who are living daily there, after going into the Army - or refusing to do so - and who don't have too much time for philosophy.
The comparisons with America - including in the sense of the warning, as the American Jews will not accept a dilution of democracy in Israel - are not always fitting the reality. The choice to know more than your own immediate neighborhood is very personal, but still you can live without it. Indeed, Judaism included also lots of distinctions and nuances that might be considered as prompting to various separations and isolation. But also, each Jewish community is having its own tradition and the diversity within Judaism is nothing but rich and if you have the occasion to know it directly and feel it, there are many aspects helping you to go beyond the complains about uni dimensional separatism. If some American Jews are thinking different, is the consequence of the pluralism of opinions, intrinsic to Judaism. This is why I am not worried about a "democratic failure" in Israel, but of the "thinking failure" of the fortune tellers from outside, who are taking the part - let's say Israel Beteinu - as the whole picture. Again, if the writers will have the curiosity to talk with people from the street - including the "working class" voters - they will realize - based on some historical information and lectures - that 2011 is a year when more than never before people are open to compromises and solutions. With the condition to have what to offer and with whom to negotiate.
I am sometimes afraid of the following "what if": in most part of the Arab media, talking and writing about Israel in normal terms - without using depreciative terms - is the key for being published. What if in the Western media talking and writing about Israel is acceptable only if they are expressed doubts about the democratic system - in an area when the term don't have any meaning at all - and critics about the settlements and complains about the isolation of the Palestinian population (hold hostage by Hamas, which is not too much present in the critical and harsh articles from the media, but maybe I didn't read too many articles lately). Hope this is the effect of the hope of an early spring.
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Bibi, where to?
Haaretz, who is often taking its wishes as realities, says he is over. If I am reading the translated transcript of the intervention from Channel 10 I would rather say that maybe he is having a hard time managing a coalition impossible from the very beginning, but he is not out of politics. For the next decade or so.
Indignez vous!
Of course you do when reading Hessel's unbalanced and unfiltered thoughts. Even Le Monde did, if you can imagine. As for me, I was a bit too when I've read this article in JPost, but because of some mispellings (including the name of the main character and the title of his work). But, of course, nothing compares with my despise for propaganda and manipulation.
Sunday, 2 January 2011
Inside the mind of a self hating mind
Image via WikipediaInside a Skinhead/The Believer, is the last movie I've watched in 2010, the curious, but not completely unique story of a self-hating Jew, based on the true story of Daniel Burros, member of the American Nazi Party. In comparison with the real story, the movie introduced a couple of smooth nuances: as, for example, the remords, the doubts about offending the holy symbols of Judaism (as for example, destroying the scrolls of Torah), the possibility of a coming back, the permanence of its Jewish roots that cannot be denied without deniying its own self. And also, some scattered remarks about the need to separate Zionism of Judaism.
Perhaps, it was a tentative image of a portrait of some tendencies within the American Jewry post-Shoah?
You can have many thoughts unless you don't read the bio of the real character, who was suffering of various mental instabilities and at least a double/and troubled/ personality. A psychiatric inquiry inside the mind of this Daniel Burros might be more useful and rich in trying to understand such cases, on a very scientific basis.
The Schakal
I avoided for a long time to see the movie about the terrorist Carlos. At any price, I didn't want to give any single cent for going into the theatre for such shame. I had the occasion to see it with some friends, the "short" 3-hour version - the longer is 5, but I thought it is already enough.
The image of the "guy": A rebel "Che Guevara" of terrorism, facing big bosses of crime in the Middle East, being joined by a bunch of "rebels without a cause" from all over the Cold War world. Without mercy with its enemies and impatiently changing women whose revolutionary role he cannot trust. A narcissist enjoying good food, drinks and to admire his body naked in the mirror of the expensive hotel rooms where he prepared his attacks. Traded by those who hosted him, for cheap "geostrategical reasons". It's the apology of his normality, the normality of nothing more than a paid killer. And this is why I disliked it, as much as I dislike the T-shirts with Che Guevara.
Movie review: Paradise now
Cover of Paradise NowAt the end of 2010 I watched a lot of movies and I would like to share a couple of thoughts about some of them. I like to watch a lot of movies about the Middle East, because I am a strong believer that arts in all their manifestations - visual, written word, music - are the best ambassadors and tools for changing mentalities. But, in the same time, there might be used as an instrument for increasing stereotypes. And I am delighted every time I discover pieces of arts well ahead their times, sharing ironically enough critical perspectives.
Take for example, the movie Paradise Now, about two childhood friends recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.
The film director, Abu-Assad was born in Nazareth, Israel in 1961 and emigrated to the Netherlands in 1980. After having studied technical engineering in Delft, he worked as an airplane engineer in the Netherlands for several years. He entered the world of cinema and television as a producer, creating Ayloul Film Productions in 1990. In 1998 he directed his first film, Het 14de kippetje (The Fourteenth Chick), from a script by writer Arnon Grunberg. Later films are the short Nazareth 2000 (2000) and Rana's Wedding (2002). In 2006 his film Paradise Now won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign language film, and it received an Oscar-nomination in the same category. In 2005 Paradise Now won the Golden Calf for best Dutch film. Abu-Assad is currently filming a movie entitled L.A. Cairo with DViant Films Inc.
The movie was made in “real time conditions” and was worldwide acclaimed (no wonder why).
Despite their doubts and possibilities for having their own new lives, the suicide attack will take place. Even the movie contains some ironies against the masterminds of such attacks - dressed in elegant suits and perfectly hair dressed (the normal question is: why they don't blow themselves up?) - there are a couple of references to a difficult situation faced on the other side of the fence, like the difficulty of going through checking points - but when you know that at any moment some people are ready ("chosen") for going to "Paradise", through the killing of innocent civilians (plenty of video tapes with "martyrs" displayed nonchalantly in shops) what you can do?, or the lack of a cinema in Nablus - the images of supermarkets displayed are of abundance. There are people talking about tyranny, but unable to see where resides the capital of tyranny and disrespect towards human nature, of any race or religion or cultural background.
A coherent discourse, rejecting without mercy this kind of behavior is the key of a veritable change. And the arts could play an important role in this. Trying to use tricky arguments of the kind - because "they", "we" don't have any choice - is the manifestation of the denial of being able to induce change.
About beginnings
For various reasons, I am not the biggest fan of the NYE celebrations. What I like is strictly related to the idea of celebrations, of starting something new, and this could happen every day, week or month. When you can have time to plan the future without looking back in anger, this is always an opportunity for positive beginning.
From my point of view, every day you start it is offering you plenty of potentialities for ending it up with new thoughts and new opportunities ahead: learning something new, knowing somebody new or simply making a better life for you and those who counts into your life. And this might be enough for being happy and making other people happier too. If you think that it is nobody with whom to share your happiness, maybe you didn't look too careful around you.
Wish my readers to be happy with themselves!
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