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You are being invited to buy into the image of Tel Aviv as the “Mediterranean capital of Gay tourism,” tempted by “[t]he people, the bars, the parties, the restaurants, the white sandy beaches, the sense of absolute freedom – these are the components that justify this image.” But this is just an image, an image [...]

I should stop turning my cell phone off when I go to sleep at night. In the past, I thought it was a good idea so that wrong numbers and drunk calls would not wake me in the middle of the night. Now I think I need to leave my phone on. Too [...]

1.
It feels like the night of Rabin’s assassination.
A sharp slap in the face – the shock is so much greater than the pain.
A point of no return.
Since the hitter is probably motivated by his own fears and self hatred and fed off a petri dish of ill beliefs – the mission and responsibility to be [...]

i don’t love posting press releases, but as a new yorker this makes me happy. not as proud as i’d be were i in toronto, montréal, LA or san francisco, but nonetheless. after last week’s demonstration, which brought together the full range of jewish opposition to the israeli government’s war on gaza, from [...]

all of the journalistic words have been, are being, said already.

[...]

to me, there’s only one thing worth saying on the journalistic side:
24 israelis have been killed by rocket or mortar attacks from gaza, ever.
more than 300 palestinians have been killed by the israeli blitzkrieg in gaza in the past 2 days.
more than 3,300 palestinians have been killed by the israeli military in gaza since 2000.
and it needs to be said over and over and over again.

beyond the journalistic. words aren’t worth much, or are everything.

[...]

Every morning for the past few months, I walk along Gaza St. in Jerusalem towards my yeshiva. Every morning, I walk past the house of the Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Every morning, a volunteer for the campaign to free Israeli prisoner of war Gilad Shalit asks me to sign a petition. 
The Gilad [...]

In the last hour, I’ve received a startling amount of information about the horribly, grave humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The lack of fuel impacts a number of critical basic necessities for folks living in Gaza, everything from refrigeration, transportation, food and water supplies (which are predominantly being sent into the region), hospitals, any and all [...]

Last night at 9:00pm, I wrote an email to my best friend about my trip to Ramallah last weekend, my upcoming visit to Bethlehem, and how much I desperately want to stay in Jerusalem for a second year. A few minutes later, I heard sirens; not so unusual, perhaps, but more persistent than I’m accustomed [...]

Written for Torah Queeries:
27 Tevet 5768
Exodus 6:2 – 9:35, Comment on this essay
Parashat Vaera offers deep insight into the insecurity and hesitation many of us experience when challenged to respond to injustice, providing a concrete example of the power of advocacy and the importance of being an ally. The parasha commences with Moses, a man [...]

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Thanks!
Gavi
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From Americablog.org:
Snickers Superbowl Web site promotes violence against gays and lesbians. Bears and Colts players react in [...]