Learning tolerance

This is about time: Yad Vashem is getting involved in education program for Arab children regarding Shoah.

The fight for symbols

Image via Wikipedia

A couple of personal observations regarding this controversy:Whose keffiyeh is this? This is another example of extreme ignorance, manipulation and despise for finding a common understanding and tolerance. Big words, isn't it?

- Even after the state of Israel was created, people who made Aliyah or Jewish people who didn't make aliyah were referring to the territory of the current state of Israel as: Palestine. And nobody ever was doubting that this is the state were Jews are living. This is an anecdotal aspect but good to have it in mind, mostly for those who didn't have the occasion to meet people from the generation surviving the war.

- Is Keffiyeh a national "Arab/Palestinian" symbol? Before being waved to various street meetings, when the flags of countries hosting those people are burned, this clothing element was having a strict practical use: covering the head - of human beings - against the hot sun. It was used by people living in this areas and nobody was disputing if it is Arab, Jewish or Korean or Laurence of Arabia. Abu Amar aka. Yassir Arafat relaunched this scarf as a national symbol. Nowadays, one of the main producer of this national symbols is China.

I deeply hope that the people from the Middle East can find real intellectual references for building their national and cultural identity than an outfit.

- I cannot but smile reading this idea of Pan-Arabic unity. I suppose nobody really takes it seriously, isn't it?.

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The forbidden street

I found this article very interesting from the point of view of the whole mental geography of the place. Often, when we are talking about Israel and the Middle East in general, we apply patterns of evaluation lacking the relevance of the direct life in this area. Starting with a completely different way of understanding justice, right, revenge and forgetfulness.

Coffee diplomacy

In the Middle East, coffee is part of the tradition. Various methods and bones and tastes. Another issue is the humus, but we will not write now about this. So, back to the coffee issue. One of the common places related to the area is concerning the tradition of the coffee houses, as social places, and matters of concern for the political power. But, here, again, we hope to have the occasion to focus more in another post.

And now, time to start my small story.

I was in Tel Aviv, chit-chating with a friend of mine about weather, sun and...suddenly, coffee. I was explaining my addicted love to coffee.

"How do you drink the coffee?", he asked me. And explained: two full spoons of coffee, and then I am pouring the boiled water. And? he continued. And, I am waiting a bit and I am ready to enjoy my huge mug for hours. And then, to make another one. "Do you put milk?", another question sprung. "No, I do not, never", I answered, "because I like to feel the real taste and to enjoy it. The milk could diminish it", I continued, very proud of my strong character. "So, no milk?", he answered again, as upon this answer it was relying the whole idea about me. "No, no milk", replied, a bit bored about this apparently going-nowhere q and a session.

"Hmm, you know, here, only the Arabs are drinking the coffee without milk", he added, ending the topic in a bit of surprise from my side.

In fact, as the story is pretty fresh, haven't time enough to test the truth of my friends remark. True or not, it is could offer a hint, about how coffee could became an identity marker.