From Blogger to Wordpress

It has been almost a year now, after I started blogging on January 15, 2010. During this time I have managed to meet my own expectations to a certain level, and hopefully my readers. For those of you who know me well, I tend to argue and complain about numerous issues. I have been complaining, mainly to myself, about how dull Blogger is. I've tried dear Google, but I have failed. Well, I think it was you who failed to provide me with proper advanced tools to meet my blogging experience. I won't go too much into details but the bottom line is: I have decided to move my blog from Blogger to Wordpress. The address is going to be similar and instead of http://twenty2nine.blogspot.com I will start posting on http://twenty2nine.wordpress.com my previous blog posts are already imported into my new url and I am still working on the design so, bear with me. Feel free to add this new address to your RSS reader or register for e-mail subscription.

I hope my new virtual home will continue to have a simplistic design and sophisticated posts. This is also a great chance to thank you for reading, discussing, sharing, commenting and correcting my spelling. I hope you find my little world exciting as much as I do.

Happy Holidays everyone and Merry Christmas.

Moral Crisis in Israel

I’ve been sick at home for the past week. During this time, I’ve had a large dose of politics, news and sports. I’ve got the chance to read ‘If I Forget Thee’ by Anat Talshir, but I will leave that for a future post. Endless frustrating feeling from the fire outbreak in the Carmel, then pure enjoyment from the National Football league with the Cowboys win over the Colts, and at last the Rabbis calling (Jewish) Israelis to refrain from renting or selling property to non-Jews (Arabs). 

Like the majority of Israelis (I might be wrong), I am against such a (formal) declaration. President Shimon Peres declared that such a call creates moral crises in Israel. I agree. We all do. But come on, are we surprised? Isn’t this the actual reality in Israel? Seriously, just look around you. We are trapped in our little ghettos with our nice walls protecting us from any contact with the other side. Even mixed cities are not really such. Ramleh? Come on, you’ve heard my Mayor Yoel Lavy and I’ve discussed Gindi project in a previous post. Jaffa? There isn’t such a city, it is a part of Tel Aviv and slowly most of its Arab residents are fleeing – either from lack of housing plans or from extremists taking over the bride of the sea. Even Haifa, the symbol of coexistence has its segregated neighborhoods and any mixture is rare my friends. Sadly, even the Arab minority suffering from this oppression is not eager to have gay neighbors in the midst of their neighborhoods. I guess racism and xenophobia is contagious in the Middle East. 

People, Take a small glance around: do you have an Arab neighbor? Do you have a Jewish neighbor? If the answer is yes, you are probably amongst a minority of liberals. A belief of few that is slowly fading away as a result of streams of racism flushing over this land. 

I would like to thank the dear Rabbis for bringing this distressing reality for debate. Obviously the phenomenon is not exclusive in rotted Safed. It is all around.

'بيلي'

كتير وقت مكتبتش بالعربي. بركن آخر مرة كانت بدرس التربيه لما أستاذ سليم طلب نكتب عن العطله الصيفيه. 

دايمن كنت أكتب عن العطله الصيفيه بيافا. كنت أكتب عن اصدقاي الصيفيين من شوارع حارة دار تيتا وقصص ابوسيمون وولاد خالي من يافا ولي بيجوا بيزورنا من امريكا. على كل حال  – ليوم قررت أكتب عن شب تعرفت عليه بالجامعة, بالفرصة بين درس مناهج البحث ودرس إتصالات وعلاقات دوليه. 

كنت قاعد زي عادتي مع زميلاتي نشرب قهوه في ساحة الكافيتريا. حديث الفرص بروق البال من كل وجع راس الدروس... كنا قاعدين وهو كان يحوم حوالينا مع كالبو الأبيض. كان يدور على كرسي ولما ساعادتوا يلاقي واحد جمبنا قالي: "لازم اعلم 'بيلي' يدورلي على كراسي فاضيه. 'بيلي' بيكون كلب اللافرادور شتوا. صديقناأعمى وبعد ما قعد انتبهت انو عندو كمان جهاز سمع على أذنه. 

سألني إذا بضيقناش اذا بـقعد جمبنا. جاوابتوا انو أكيد لأ. الصراحة, لو مكنش ضرير مكنش بقعد هيك قريب منا. كان يشرب قهوه سادة وجرب يولع سيجارة. كمان شوي حرق ايدو بس مبين عليه متعود. زي الخيتيارييه اللي بيتفو السيجارة بأصبعهم. 

محستش كتير مريح فبدت أحكي معا. الصراحة, هوه بدا يحكي بس مفهمتش عليه منيح. سألتوا شو اسم الكلب وهوه سألني شو اسمي. قلتله عيسى. أكيد مفهمش, فسألني شو يعني عيسى. ليش اهلك سموك عيسى؟ ضحكت وكملت احكي معا على 'بيلي'. قلي انو كلبو زي الزباله بأكل كل اشي – "لازم اعلموا مايكلش غير اكلوا“ قالي. سارلوا معاي 8 سنين ومش عارف اعلموا... 

كان الي صعب احكي معا. معرفتش وين أطَلع لمن بحكي. عينه كانوا فاتحاة عادي ولونهم كان بني, زيي أنا. عنده علامات على وجهه وبعدين شوفت انو كمان ايدو متعوره. 

كنت بيدي اساله اش صار... بس هو بدا يحكيلي عن صعوباته. زميلاتي كانوا يحكوا عن بعرفش اش وانا كنت أسمع عن حياة أعمى في إسرائيل. قالي انو مش مخلينه يدخل مع الكلب على  مطاعم وأماكن عامة, حتى الكانيس (الصراحة فكرة اش كان ابونا بيقول لو أعمى كان بيجي مع كلبه على الكنيسه). "كيف بيدي أمشي من غير 'بيلي'؟ هذا عيني“ قالي. حكتله عن زيارتي ل: "محادثة في الظلام“ بمتحف حولون. ضحك وقالي “كيف كانت ساعة عاميان؟ أنا هيك 8 سنين". معرفتش شو أرد وصرت احكي معا على الدروس. 

وقفني في نص الحكي. “عندك لهجه غريبه, اش يعني عيسى؟" فسرت انو أنا عربي بتعلم بالجامعة فسألني وقال “ليش العرب بيخافوا من لكلاب؟ أنا بشوفهم بهروبه من 'بيلي'" ضحكت معا وقلتله إنو بركن ولا مرة كانيلهم كلب. صار مرة واحده جدي وقال “تزعلش مني, بس أنا فاحص الموضوع للعمق" "مكتوب عندكم انو الكلب نجس, عشان هيك آه؟" 

جربت افسر انو الجيل الجديد إتغير وبيلعكس, بيربوا كلاب ببيوتهم... 

لف وجهه ويطلع عليَّ... "أنا بكرهيش العرب, تفهمنيش غلط. مع انو ولا واحد مصدقني بعد المرق عليَّ. ليش بتفكر أنا أعمى؟ اطرش؟ هيك؟ أنا كنت بباص تفجر فيو فلسطيني. بس أنا بكرهيش حد. أنا بعرف انو في عاطلين ومناح من الطرفين. أنا بعامل كل ابن آدم على حسب اش هو. أنا ولا مرة راح اكره حد". 

لو مكنتش بسمعه كيف حكى الإشي, مكنتش بتأثر بالمرة. كنت بفكر انو كان عم بجرب يكون موجهن أو اشي... وافقت معا وقلت انو في كتير عاطلين بهالدنيا.

بدأت أفكر على كل الأسئلة اللي بيدي اسالها. متى حدث الشيء, كيف بقدر العيش هيك؟ بدون سياسه أو أراء سياسيه... كنت بيدي اسألوااسئله. بالزبط زي ماهو حكى معاي, ابن ادم مع ابن آدم. 

بس هوه... هوه كمل يحكيلي عن 'بيلي'. على كل البنات من تل ابيب المنفعلات ومتحمسات منو ومجنيناتو كتير. بهذا الوقت اجت زميلتي وسألت: "بينفع احسس عليه؟" بكل انفعال. أنا ويا فرطنا ضحك! وهيه, هيه كانت مبسوطة تلعب مع 'بيلي'. و'بيلي' كان مبسوط. 

The road to Ramallah: toward a dead end

For many years I have attended the annual memorial ceremony for Yitzhak Rabin. I planned to attend this year, too, particularly after hearing that it might be the last one to be held in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, which was called Kings of Israel Square when the late prime minister was assassinated there, at a peace rally, in November 1995. I thought I was willing to make a lot of sacrifices in order to be there, but it turned out I was wrong about that.

On the morning of 30 October, the day the memorial was supposed to take place, my mother asked me to join the family in visiting relatives in Ramallah. October 30 is both my father’s birthday and my 8 year old little cousin’s, and the families wanted to celebrate together.

I was a bit disappointed, but the long, tiring debate over whether the rally should be politicized or not ended up being the deciding factor. I always wanted to hear stronger voices for peace rather than the mainstream voices – mainly the voices of politicians – that have taken over the event.

I was listening to the speeches live on Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) as I drove along the crooked roads to Ramallah; and as I was passing all those settlements I heard the echoing voice of renowned artist Yair Garbuzas he said:

“For fifteen years we have gathered to ensure an end to the occupation and its corruption of our society. But not only have we failed to end the control of another people; we have also lost control of ourselves and our country, which has been conquered from within by our so-called leaders.

“So-called leaders that are nothing more than a bunch of Napoleons – egotistical hedonists disconnected from the people. They have no vision and not even a simple practical plan other than their adherence to populist sentiment and destructive pleasures of power. Fifteen years since we swore: enough to bereavement! And we continue to kill and be killed.”

It was striking to hear those words while driving on the road to Ramallah. We all fail to understand the meaning of occupation until we actually observe it. Even a Palestinian-Arab-Israeli citizen like me fails to see it (God, I need to find a one-word self-definition).

The meaning of the occupation starts with Route 443, the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway that was built on expropriated land owned by West Bank Palestinians and then restricted to non-Palestinian cars. It continues through the checkpoints, the soldiers, the neglected Palestinian villages, and even the Ramallah bubble (similar to the Tel Aviv bubble in a sense).

We are slowly heading toward a dead end – attacks on democracy and the rule of law are consistent and well organized, murdering any hope for those seeds of peace Rabin sowed to grow. The voices of sanity are suffering serious losses in the parliament, daily life and even in academia. We are failing on a daily basis to see the grim reality.

I guess Robert Allen Zimmerman (Bob Dylan) says it best with ‘A Hard Rain’s a Gonna Fall’:

Oh, what did you see, my blue eyed son ?
And what did you see, my darling young one ?
I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it
I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it
I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin’
I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin’
I saw a white ladder all covered with water
I saw ten thousand takers whose tongues were all broken
I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, and it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall.

Daddy, I want to work.

I try avoiding modern Arabic music. Modern as oppose to my admiration for classical Arabic music, featuring musicians like Wadih El Safi, Sabah Fakhri or Umm Kulthum. I do believe that video killed the radio stars, and music in general. I prefer watching Umm Kulthum on a stage rather than Rubby shaking it on my television. 
I find the new modern music (and not just in the Arab world) lacking any sophistication or musical finesse. It seems like all the Arab world cares about is a good looking Haifa Wahbi, dancing on stage while background music is played. I don’t want to get carried away and proclaim that all modern Arabic music is such, but there are endless examples to prove my point. 
I ran into this song last night while I was visiting my cousin. The name of the singer is Mohamed Eskandar, a beautiful combination between Muslim and Christian names. The song is rolling out a dialogue between a daughter who just graduated from her academic studies and her father. 
At first, the song seems like a charming little piece of a father trying to spoil his daughter with all the luxuries of life. Later he continues with persuading the daughter to avoid a career with absurd explanations. 
He starts with the dullest declaration that “Our daughters don’t work”. He further along continues with “Better take that thought out of your brain, why bring trouble to your life?” and “Let’s assume you get accepted to work, what shall we do with your beauty?” no commentary needed. Another assumption is “Tomorrow your manager will have feelings for you, and naturally I will come down and break the office on his head”. In the video, you can see the boss touching the young girl’s body while she enters his office and latter the father pulling a gun at the manager and cracking a box on his head. No doubt, all managers in the modern world harass their female recruits and that's it totally legit to come down and break his head. 
Eventually, after “convincing” the average listener, the singer mentions “Women's rights are extremely important” in an Arabic cynical way, “But how about taking my feelings into consideration, your presence is my strength and this is elementary”. 
After watching the video, a quick glance shows more than half a million views for that video. Truly sad for such a chauvinist song with shallow arguments regarding women’s integration in today’s workforce. 
The video features many more elements I did not discuss like nannies hitting infants as a result of a women's career. I think it’s worth watching yet don’t forgot to press the ‘I like/dislike this’ key at the end.

كلّ ما قلبي عم ينبض و بعزّي
بتبقي ملكة و ما بقبل تنهزّي
شغلي و سهري و تعبي عشانك
عندي فيهن لذّة
نحنا ما عنّا بنات تتوظّف بشهادتها
عنّا البنت بتدلّل كلّ شي بيجي لخدمتها
شغلك قلبي و عاطفتي و حناني
مش رح تفضي لَ أيّ شي تاني
بيكفّي إنّك رئيسة جمهوريّة قلبي
شيلي الفكرة من بالك أحلالك
ليش بتجيبي المشاكل لحالك
تَ نفرض بقبل تشتغلي
شو منعمل بجمالك
بكرا المدير بيعشق و بيتحرّك إحساسو
و طبيعي إنّي إنزل هدّ الشّركة عَ راسو
شغلك قلبي و عاطفتي و حناني
مش رح تفضي لَ أيّ شي تاني
بيكفّي إنّك رئيسة جمهوريّة قلبي
حقوق المرأة عَ عيني و عَ راسي
بس يا ريتك بتراعي إحساسي
وجودك حدّي بيقوّيني
و هيدا شي أساسي
شو هالوظيفة اللّي بدّا تفرّقنا بيني و بينك
يلعن بي المصاري بحرقها كرامة عينك
شغلك قلبي و عاطفتي و حناني
مش رح تفضي لَ أيّ شي تاني
بيكفّي إنّك رئيسة جمهوريّة قلبي

Shana Tova, I guess.

שיהיה שלום. שנצא מהשטחים. שלא יעלו את הריבית. שהממשלה כבר תחליט. שלא יעלו את מחיר הדלק. שבית"ר ירדו ליגה. שנצליח לצאת מהמינוס. שלא תהיה מלחמה. שתהיה עוד עונה של הסופרנוס. שאריק איינשטין יוצא דיסק. שהשכן מלמטה יפסיק לשמוע מוסיקה. שנרוויח בבורסה. שמכבי תעלה לפיינל פור. שמכבי לא תעלה לפיינל פור. שנוכל סוף סוף להחליף את האוטו. שיהיה כבר סרט אחד טוב בכבלים. שלא יגרשו את הפליטים. שלא יתקעו לנו אנטנה סלולארית מול הבית. שהילד יפסיק לבכות בלילות. שהילד יביא תעודה טובה. שהילד יבקר יותר עם הנכד. שהילד יחזיר את האוטו שלם. שהילד יחזור שלם. שנפסיק להקשיב להבטחות של פוליטיקאים. שהשכן מלמעלה יפסיק להשקות עציצים. שיעקב איילון יצמיח אפרו. שיונית לוי תכנס להריון.שילדים יפסיקו להרביץ למורים. שיהיה פחות תאונות דרכים. שיפסיקו להידחף בתורים. שלא יעלו את מחיר המלפפונים. שיפסיקו לחתוך אותנו בכבישים. שנפסיק לחתוך אחרים בכבישים. שיבטלו את אגרת הטלויזיה. שהרכבת תגיע בזמן. שלא יהיו פקקים בגהה. שתהיה חניה ליד הבית. שיבטלו לנו את הדו"חות. ששרון יתעורר. שנעלה לאליפות אירופה. שיזכור פעם אחת את יום הנישואין שלנו. שיגיד לי שהוא אוהב אותי. שתגיד לי שאני תותח. שהבוס יחטוף שבץ. שהמטפלות יפסיקו להרביץ לתינוקות. שאבהות יפסיקו לרצוח אימהות. ששרים יפסיקו להתעסק עם חיילות. שיהיה כל יום חדשות טובות. שלא נדע יותר צער.

והעיקר, שתהיה פעם אחת שנה מוצלחת, קבינימט.

Studying Arabic in Jewish School

After 62 years, the Ministry of Education has finally decided to implement Arabic language studies starting the fifth grade. The new initiative would allow students at 170 public schools in northern Israel to learn the second official language in Israel on a relatively early age.
Today, students are obligated to study Arabic during junior high school but then it becomes optional during high school days. Students can choose to continue studying Arabic, French, Russian or Amharic as a second language at the latter stage. The new suggested program will require Arabic studies during elementary school which is usually around the age of 10 or 11, creating a continuous flow from age 10/11 until the age of 14/15 . Pity that the implementation is only in the northern district but that’s a good start I suppose.
During my post high school days, mainly in my practical engineering school, I was constantly surprised to find out that very few class mates understand/speak Arabic. Those who had some knowledge, acquired it at the military service, either at the check points or the intelligence branch. Others have basic pathetic sentences from their junior high school days. It sure felt like someone is missing the point out there, how pity.
I had an argument with a friend from Ramallah about Hebrew language studies in their high schools. I fail to understand this illiteracy of opposing such studies. The first and one of the most important bases for mutual understanding and building bridges is simply learning the other’s language. I am not asking everyone to master both languages, although it is not that hard, but basic knowledge, I believe, is elementary – “even” starting at elementary school.
I would recommend, for the Israeli citizens amongst my readers, to start exploring your neighbor’s language. It would create a great starting point for interaction with your neighbors, classmates or who knows; maybe you will end up working at an office with an Arab.

“I am not afraid my life will end, I am afraid it will never start”

Sudanese and Eritreans crossing the only way out of Africa via land are facing a horrifying journey to the Promised Land. Vague information is reaching the media about shooting incidents, becoming more common as time passes by. The Egyptian officials are handling this challenge with two main tools: night vision equipment and bullets. Israel? Let us think about it. 

More than 20,000 refugees and asylum seekers are “residing” in Israel today. More than 85% are from Sudan and Eritrea. Ever wondered what the difference is between myths and facts in this relation? Ever looked into the reality beyond the media? Do we really care? Can they go back to their homelands?
 

Sudanese and Eritreans’ first welcome to Israel is a detention facility in southern Israel. 2000 people are held there including women and kids from one to six months. No policy as to who should be released other than space considerations by the prison service. 

One of the major arguments against those refugees is being immigrant workers. A refugee is identified mainly by submitting such a request. We cannot assume otherwise until verified and confirmed, in legal procedures. Unfortunately, there is no such procedure in Israel. All Sudanese and Eritrean nationals are granted a “Conditional Release” status, giving them immunity from deportation to their homeland, period. Employment authorization? Social rights? Health care? What about a traditional procedure similar to the Western world? Not really. How about a distressing similarity to other Third world countries? Defiantly heading that way, slowly and safely. 

As time passes by and the authorities continue to avoid this major challenge to the State of Israel, we may reach the dead end of a lose-lose situation very soon. Refugees in Israel did not come to visit the holy places neither to enjoy the beaches of Tel Aviv. Let us try and learn from past mistakes to face the challenges of the future. This is not just a simple motto; this is the sad pages of a horrible history. Sadly, lacking any clear policy we are left with more questions and fewer answers.
 

So, what would an African refugee ask for in the Holy Land? I would assume a fair shot to prove his truth, in an attempt for a better future in the Holy Land or their Homeland. Refugee seekers are not immigrant workers and a clear policy in this matter is essential and vital to our future, everyone’s future.

A rush of idiots in my parliament

I tend to avoid television as much as possible but if I had to choose one favorite channel, it would be channel 99; the Knesset/Israeli Parliament channel. It keeps me company during late night hours with monotonic useless discussion but also with extremely interesting debates.

Last week, a striking event occurred in my parliament. I usually tend to avoid video clips in my blog but this is an exception, one I am not proud of.

After last week’s flotilla events and the focus from the media on MK Haneen Zuabi, the best show in town was yet again the Knesset. MK Zuabi planned to give out her speech at the Parliament with no successes whatsoever. Apart from a few sane voices in the crowd – I must mention Rubbi Rivlin for that – most of the MKs were not “happy” about Zuabi’s presence in the Parliament. While some repeatedly interrupted her speech others tried to physically pull her from the platform. 

No words could possibly describe this better than the video below.

Concluding the show, various MKs from different parties were happy to come on stage and to asperse words of hate calling Zuabi a traitor. Knesset member Plesner, a well educated graduate from the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, added the icing on the cake with a sexist statement asking Zuabi: “How would Hamas treat you in Gaza, as a single woman of 38 in age?”

I was so shocked from this discussion, if one could call this a discussion. I am not asking anyone to agree with MK Zuabi, I myself have some disagreements with her, but this is not how democracy responds to disagreements. I read Shahar Ilan post on how the parliament is not a place for manners; he may be right one way or another but guess what? The Knesset is the face of our democracy! 

Gaza Flotilla - 6 Vantage Points

The recent events from the freedom flotilla to Gaza and the Israeli aggressive reaction to it, makes you wonder what the hell happened here? How did Israel, again, lose its temper and react the way it did, causing the death of 9 activists. Peace activists or provokers – this is not the issue. 

In an attempt to understand this reality, I will try to go into the minds of each one of the players and see the reality from their vantage point.

Israel
The reality, in whichever view point you see it, was bloody. At the end of the day, 9 people lost their lives while things could have turned out otherwise. No blame is placed upon the Israeli Defense Forces and the elite unit soldiers. Once the policymakers decided to send those soldiers to the flotilla, defining it as a battle field, the outcome was predicted. Most importantly, the Israeli government must come up with a broader solution to the harsh reality in Gaza strip preventing such confrontations in the future and solving the humanitarian crises.
 

 Peace Road / Humiliation Boulevard 

In the short term, Netanyahu and his government must take full responsibility with the failure of this operation – even if it will cost some sort of political price and embarrassment. Moreover, in the long term I would expect the Israeli government to come up with a clear plan with the flow of similar rallies to the Gaza strip shores. The criticism Israel is facing these days about reacting in international water was never heard with the Karin A Affair (AKA Operation Noah’s Ark). Karin A was a ship worth of $400,000, the cargo used to conceal the weapons was worth $3,000,000 and the weapons was estimated $15,000,000 worth – all of the above mentioned was captured without one single shot by the same elite unit.  As much as letting Noam Chomsky into Bir Zeit University would have brought no international attention and criticism, letting the flotilla into Gaza would have possibly resulted similar possible harmfulness results.

Turkey
Turkey is clearly playing an important role in the Middle East. Unluckily for the Turkish people, or not - with Ardogan as the Prime Minister the attention is doubled. We all heard the unsympathetic reaction by Ardogan and the Turkish Parliament today, something Israel cannot afford. Yet on the other hand, Turkey must try and maneuver carefully and not lose its central role in the Middle East. Turkey has gained its crucial function not because of its geographical location or fancy hotel clubs; it is a continuous policy of understanding and interpreting the balance of powers in the Middle East. A policy that has somehow lost its direction with AK party in the government. Yet, let us not jump to conclusions. Turkey recognizes its role as a linkage point between the Arab/Muslim world and the West, a reality it must contain and preserve mindfully.

Palestinians
The people of Gaza must make a continuous effort to break the siege by any peaceful means. It is extremely difficult for the average Palestinians in Gaza to face and criticize the mistakes taken by the ruling entity (Hamas). Nevertheless, a rally of candles on daily bases in front of Erez checkpoint has more influence, both on the Israelis and the world, than thousands of rockets fired at Sderot or a third Intifada. The current reality gives a life belt to the Hamas Fatah tension too. Regardless, Fatah should continue with the proximity talks that hopefully will lead to real sincere negotiations toward a final agreement with Israel. 

Palestinians in Israel
Serious acts of cautions must be taken by the citizens of Israel. It is more than legitimate to criticize the Governments’ policy, let us just stay away from another October 2000 events. 

 Sages of Israeli Boulevard

The Arab World

The Arab/Muslim world couldn’t care less about the Palestinians. They are trying to adjust their statements to the voices heard from the streets. As long as they stick to the Arab Initiative and Israel shows some sort of sincere interest in it, they are providing a rescue boat to Israel mainly from Iran's negative involvement.

Iran
As much as the Arab world couldn’t care less about the Palestinians, the Iranian governments’ main interest is to stay in power. The Iranian people are starting to get closer and closer to their Government due to continuous mistakes by the Israeli Government, mainly in relation to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Hapoel Gilboa Galilee, Again.

The Israeli basketball league was founded in 1954. Two major unions, Hapoel and Maccabi, sent 4 teams each and managed to pull out a league out of it. Back at the time, Hapoel was the sports union that belonged to The General Federation of Laborers in the Land of Israel and Maccabi belonged to the Maccabi World Union; an international Zionist Jewish sports organization.

Up until today, the branding of each sports team goes back to the rivalry between the two associations. Clearly they almost have no connection with sports teams today, but I guess sports fans need that stimulation to keep up the interest and passion about the game.

Throughout 56 years of basketball, Maccabi Tel Aviv managed to control the league with 48 championships. Hapoel Tel Aviv, the eternal runner-up managed to prevail Maccabi 5 times in the 60s. In addition to that, Hapoel Galilee pulled out an amazing serious in 1993 and eliminated Maccabi from making it to the finals in a serious of 5 games. Hapoel Galilee won the championship that year after 23 straight championships at that time by Maccabi Tel Aviv. In 2008 Hapoel Holon managed to beat Maccabi with a winning basket and marked the second loss after another 14 straight championships to Maccabi, luckily I was present at that match with my father.

Like my father, I have learned to be a constant fan of underdog teams. I was always amazed by the amount of hatred I would say, he grasped upon to the Maccabi enterprise. It is not like he was a huge fan of Hapoel, but something about the arrogant and bragging system of Maccabi, as he would describe it, would just drive him nuts.

Gladly, I got the chance to watch this year’s final match of the final four with my dad (the system was changed in 2005 from a serious of 5 games to two days of a final four); Hapoel Gilboa/Galilee played Maccabi Tel Aviv and won the championship. I’m still trying to figure out if my joy was something I grew up with; not loving Maccabi, or is it just a matter of empathy with “The broken, the beaten and the damned” as My Chemical Romance wrote in their “Welcome To The Black Parade” song. 

I still wish it was Hapoel Tel Aviv who would actually detach that championship from Maccabi. For tonight, I think I will enjoy this sweet Gilboa/Galilee championship. After all, it was Hapoel fans that used to say in the 70s: “If Maccabi fans are against the PLO, we are in favor of it”.

Arabs in the Public Sector

The parliament committee regarding the recruitment of Arabs in the public sector published an interim report on May 04, 2010. The report shows discouraging numbers regarding the employment of Arabs in the Israeli public sector.

6% is the official number of Arabs in the Israeli public sector but obviously there is more into it. While some offices are ornamented with an honorary 0%, the committee adds a terrifying fact that there is not a single Arab in a decision making position in the Israeli public sector – not even one chief executive or legal advisor. A deeper analysis of those numbers would probably show more than 50% of those positions are engaged by political appointees and Arab party activists but the committee (lead by politicians) will never look into that.

Previous committees and decisions by various governments placed the magic number of 10%; the reality is far from reaching that “goal”. Reuven Rivlin said words of gratitude about the work of the committee and added he is looking forward to reading the final report. I am still trying to figure out the tune of his voice and whether it holds cynicism in it or not. In addition to that, Prime Minister Netanyahu said he intends to attend the committee session at its final stage.

In an attempt to understand this, I fail to see the logic behind this reality. If I had to manage a public office where 20% of my customers are native Arabic speakers, what would stop me from recruiting Arabic speaking employees? Not to mention the fact that Arab Israelis master both Arabic and Hebrew almost equally.

Better recruitment techniques of Arabs in the public sector on professional bases and not solely as an act of affirmative action, would help bridge the gap between the Palestinian Israeli citizens and the state of Israel. “Vacancies in the public sector are a state resource. They are important resources since they hold an opportunity to influence many aspects of our life, including distribution of financial resources. Thus, the principal of equality requires that all jobs be allocated by the state without any discrimination between Jews and Arabs” said the Supreme Court Judge Zamir.

The recruitment process would probably have a smoother flow if it takes place in the Universities and amongst Arab academics. The Palestinian Israelis have shown smooth integration and successes in the Israeli academic system in rising numbers, a success that is not being developed in any way into employment opportunities.

I will not go into the affirmative action and its implementation but obviously there is a state of mistrust between both sides. Some may say that there are many open vacancies, allocated for Arabs, which are not filed due to the issues of mistrust. Applications are not even reaching the public sector HR offices and the goal of 10% is a result of a long term process that the government needs to accomplish hand in hand with the Arab population.
 
This video (in Hebrew) shows the need for a severe change in the mind set to accomplish better coexistence. 




Thanks to Rotem for her enlightening information and data.

Palestinian Authority Boycotting Settlement Products

After 43 years, the Palestinian Authority finally comes up with an impressive act of boycott to oppose the rising settlement enterprise.

Just like the famous Indian independence movement boycotting British goods, the Palestinian Authority was sort of stimulated by that and decided to boycott any Israeli goods produced in the West Bank. A quick look at the list of products shows more than 900 products in various industrial areas in the occupied territories.  I doubt those companies having any ideological agenda behind this infrastructure, but why would my taxes subsidize such benefits? How come factories are shutting down in northern and southern Israel while industrial zones in the occupied territories are expanding?

Obviously, for the short term this boycott will negatively affect a lot of Palestinians currently employed in those industrial areas. On the other hand, it will bring more economic independence in the long term for a nation seeking to build its new state.

“Better an educated enemy than an illiterate friend” is a famous Arabic saying. I think that the Israeli government should appreciate that and remain silent about it, aren’t we all sick of this everlasting bloodshed? Isn’t it the time to transform our differences and debate from the battle field to the supermarket shelves and the marketplace of ideas?

I do hope that the boycott applies only to merchandises produced in the settlements and not just any made in Israel products. This will allow Israelis to join hands with such a boycott and give it a greater effect, not to mention an even wider international boycott.

Champs you Chimps!

The joy is just indescribable. Hapoel Tel Aviv won the Soccer Premier League championship in Israel after a nerve-racking thriller last Saturday.

Hapoel had an amazing season in which we lost only one match. Maccabi Haifa, the runner-up, managed to add the mark of Cain to this championship by doubting the legitimacy of the pointing system. I am personally not a big fan of the current system, but hey, the rules apply to everyone. That’s how things are!

Come to think about this, in the 2009 Israeli election Kadima won 22.47% of the votes while The Likud reached 21.61% percent only. We all know how it ended up with Shimon Peres asking Binyamin Netanyahu to form the coalition. So why are you surprised from this Championship? It’s pretty simple, if you read the book.

With all the respect I have for the club of Macabi Haifa, this championship was well deserved by Hapoel. I can still see Macabi Tel Aviv players playing-not against Macabi Haifa so that they will lower their rivals' Championship chances. I can still see Beitar Jerusalem crashing the boards in the last season game in an attempt to win Hapoel. Gladly, Macabi Haifa’s last game was against the boys from the Tikva neighborhood – Bnei Yehuda, who actually played in an honorable way and pulled a tie from Macabi Haifa allowing Hapoel to control it's own fate.

Bottom line, Hapoel won Beitar in their home court in Jerusalem and succeeded to win the championship and the cup after a champion less decade.

Congrats Reds!

Naomi Chazan | The Freedom of Speech

My class in Research Methods was canceled. I was walking back to my car to drive home and noticed a flyer in the elevator announcing a conference titled: "The Academic Freedom of Speech in a Disputed Society". I took a quick look at the names of the speakers and saw Prof. Naomi Chazans' name in the list. I attended one of her visiting lectures in my Knesset class by Salim Brake last year in Haifa University and her vast knowledge tempted me to go listen to her again.

I started walking to Tubovich Hall in the Law faculty and when I finally got there, it was almost full. It was mainly journalists covering the whole conference, retired folks who probably live in Ramat Aviv and a few Meretz youngsters who still dream about the old days of Prof. Chazan.

Prof. Dan Jacobson started with short opening remarks and Prof. Chazan was the first to speak. Prof. Chazan has lately suffered aggressive assault, mainly by IM TIRTZU and other extremists, about her activity in The New Israeli Fund and the contribution to the Goldstone Report. The “well known” picture of Prof. Chazan with horn on her forehead was distributed by IM TIRTZU.

Prof. Chazan opened by stating that the basic foundation of modern democracy is the disagreements within society. The latest events are not a reality of the last couple of months; it is a process of years, a reality that puts the Israeli democracy at great risk. The reality where anyone criticizing Israel becomes automatically subversive and anti-Israeli is a reality of these days. Prof. Chazan declared that she woke up to a reality where she has become a “Disturber of Israel”. After devoting all her life to fix our society? What is happening today? How did this come to be our reality? Whose interest is it? How do we protect our freedom of speech? Where do we draw the line?

Prof. Chazan states that there are groups within the Israeli society, claiming they are safeguarding it, when they are actually ruining it. Next, she states two main points that we need to pay good attention to:

1. You are not to call for hate on any group based on their ethnicity
2. You cannot incite for use of violence

Violation of these two clear points is purely against democracy. So how did we get to the point of a constant attack on the freedom of speech? An attack we witnessed first against the Palestinian citizens of Israel and the peace movement then attacking Human Rights movements and now even civic movements and the media. NGOs that were seen as completely legitimate in the eyes of the public are being cut back on their freedom of speech.

Who is leading this attack?

Public figures are pushing these organizations aside and are constantly attacking NGOs that took the leading role to improve our civil and human rights. The attack is clear and intense with constant repeating methods of slander and exclusion and limits the borders of the political debate. The actions are well-timed and in great intensity.

It starts by doubting the intentions of those NGOs. While those NGOs main purpose in democracy is to criticize and act constantly on assessing our democracy, it is almost impossible for them to make the public “like” them.

Another way of action against those NGOs is to distrust their donors. Somehow the European Union and the Ford Foundation became a suspicious source of funding with hints about Anti-Israeli activities by them. The laws in Israel are clear and every organization has to declare and state their source of income, every source of income. We could all visit The New Fun website and examine that.

In addition to all the above mentioned, attacks on the freedom of speech are bringing to doubt any of their findings. Again, the purpose of it is not popularity; it is simply a reassessing process of our democracy. No odd claims that such criticism is serving the enemies of Israel.

Protesting and objecting in a democracy is constructive; undermining the existence of the state is destructive. These are boundaries to be examined over and over. Otherwise, we are throwing half of our population out of the political and social participation by making them enemies within – nothing tears our society more than this.

The point where our disagreements become acts of incitement is a frontal assault on democracy, an assault leading to violence and hatred for political reasons.

We need to keep all discussions open within a pluralist society, tolerating each others’ ideas and thoughts, equality and obedience to the law. We have come to the point where we are uncertain and afraid of ourselves. We are unable to take responsibility of our own actions and thus find ourselves delegitimizing anyone who asks us to do so.

Prof. Chazans’ last point was that the freedom of speech must be within clear boundaries to keep this reality away from civil rebellion. In addition, we cannot continue to declare that we will renounce our democracy for the sake of the physical existence of the state of Israel.