Shvayg Shosh

I love that people in Israel care about lone soldiers. Before I met my husband, he was in the Marine corps for almost eight years. One of his biggest complaints was that men with families always got precedent over him. Holiday coming up? He had to work because it was important for the men with families to be with their families. They received more time off because they weren't alone. However, in Israel lone soldier doesn't mean they have to be singled out for being single. Instead, informally they have the opportunity to see their faraway families or connect with Israeli families. Now, the lone solider program has become official. They have opened a center where lone soldiers can connect with each other. Jpost article They have more than a center. They also have an online social network where they can connect to one another. The online community allows them to ask each other questions like " how long can I go home to visit my family for?"

My  My professor posted an article on my class forum: Weaker Nakba bill approved as government legislation . The article talks about legislation fining Arab-Israel groups who commemorate Nakba . He then posed the question: Does the State of Israel have the right to deny its Arab citizen's desire to commemorate the establishment of the State as a catastrophe?   In the article, one of the Arab-Israeli groups stated, "Acknowledging the fact that the establishment of the State of Israel was accompanied by a human tragedy does not challenge Israel's fundamental right to exist," the NGO argued. However, I think that's just plain wrong. At its very core, Nakba commemorates the day of catastrophe. For them, it's really analogous to tisha b'av. The Orthodox Jews mourn the destruction of the Temple and pray for the building of a new Temple just as Arabs mourn the creation of the state of Israel and pray for its eventual destruction.  Nakba isn't simply acknowle...

I came across a post from the Obama meeting. I think it gives a wider perspective then I can ever offer: http://rabbicreditor.blogspot.com/

Anyone else see anything wrong with these models on this website for Israeli army shirts?

HAARTEZ posted an article today on Obama's Monday meeting with Jewish leaders. Obama to Jewish Leaders What are we supposed to take from this meeting? It seems a lot of the same blah blah blah… "Stop building settlements, but don't worry I totally believe you should be a secure state." Then he says, "he wants to help Israel overcome its demographic problem by reaching an agreement on a two-state solution, but that in order to do so, Israel would need "to engage in serious self-reflection." What is this serious self-reflection? I think Mr. Obama needs some serious self-reflection. Although I understand why he doesn't want Israel to build more settlements…why is he really meeting with Jewish leaders? Does Israel really care if he has a good relationship with American Jews? Wouldn't Israel rather have the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Israel on the same page? While certain unnamable sources believe he's out to de...

Hmmm, I wonder about the story behind this article. Do you think he's hiding in Israel because he was planning an attack? Or was he hiding in Israel because it's the last place anyone would look? Either way, this sounds like the start of a thrilling novel.

My professor brought this article to our attention in our forum. In Perspective: It's a new world, Bibi By DANIEL GORDIS http://http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=1&cid=1246443703081&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Gordis basically argues that Israel, like Sholem Aleichem's famous character Tevye, needs to learn that this is a new world, and it has to find a way to stay true to herself while rolling with the punches of the international community. Here's the thing Gordis misses with his Tevye analogy, although he caves to the traditional norms of his eldest Tsaytl marrying a tailor instead of a scholar (and by the way, he wanted her to marry a scholar, but he had her set to marry a rich butcher which was just as out of norm as marrying a tailor) and his second oldest Hodl from following a Jewish socialist to Siberia. All of Tevye's love, patience, and openness to new modern ideas do not prepare him for his daughter Chava. Like her two older sisters,...

I was writing my paper on Truman and the creation of the State of Israel, and I found myself revisiting two speeches by Obama. I thought I'd share with you the introduction and the conclusion to my paper. The middle of my paper gives an analysis of the role Truman played in the creation of the state of Israel. I'd like to revisit Truman in more depth in the near future. According to the research for my paper, Truman was much more interested in gaining Jewish votes than actually supporting the creation of the State of Israel. I found great similarity between President Truman and President Obama. In June, President Obama’s speech in Cairo sought extend a hand to the Muslim world and remind the world of the American stance on Israel. “I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition....