This just in...
Last night I went downtown to see a movie. When it comes out there it will be called The Bubble...it's an israeli movie (in Hebrew) It's one of Ethan Fox's films - he's a pretty provocative director who makes really good albeit controversial films.
The movie is a bit heavy on the gay theme which I don't mind, but there are a few of you out there that would find parts uncomfortable - guys kissing, girls kissing...etc. with a very liberally inclusive etcetera. It does a really good job of showing life among young adults of Tel Aviv with all the conflict between various social groups, coming of age, and a romance which crosses the Palestinian/Israeli border, suicide bombings, yadda-yadda...very worth seeing..may not be out until i am home..but look for it. I highly recommend it.
The latest news ie. more israeli soldiers taken, israel invading Lebanon...etc. Not the best of news and as tensions escalate, opinions surface. I am finding it very difficult to deal with the vast extremes in perspectives. No one wants to budge. Each thinks he is exclusively right. When good defenses become brittle, people just get loud, and the loudest one wins. My roommate continues to be one of those for whom there is no question on the issue: Israel is always right no matter what it does or how it does it. It's very frustrating how much people assert Israel is a definitively Jewish nation, yet no one - absolutely NO ONE can produce a universally applicable definition of the Jew. The non-practicing jew born in the US to a Jewish mother has more claim to the land here than generations of people who have built their houses and tilled the land. And the Rabbis keep ammending who and what is an acceptable jew under the Law of Return.
On another note, with the WorldPride event coming up here Jerusalem, which I had really hoped to attend....may not be safe to attend. A few days ago someone posted a bill in the Mea Shearim (ultra orthodox neighborhood) which will reward 20,000 Shekel (or some such sum) to anyone who kills a participant of the gay pride parade. Last year three people were stabbed.
So. My trip into the city last night was so beautiful - reinspired me to want to be here. But - the news - the spirit of hatred and destruction which runs unchecked over here is really disconcerting. We have no idea how fortunate we are in the US - even under the Bush Administration. America has many many problems and bears much of the responsibility for many ills abroad, but for as long as we live in the relative safety and psychological freedom we do, we ought to appreciate it - really appreciate it.
It won't last forever. It can't. History is a solid record of the fact that the Have's will eventually trade places with the Have-Not's. It seems so much of the rest of world fights to the death to have what many of us take forgranted. True, people did at one time fight to the death for our country's establishment, but how many of us would? I really can't say whether or not I would. I really can't say whether I would, like so many young people here, risk my life as a security guard so the people in the cafe can drink coffee with some peace of mind. Yet, I certainly expect that sort of thing. I certainly expect to be safe everywhere. American's will litigate at the first sign of a breech of security. Here, security and peace of mind aren't exactly enduring. People enjoy it for a time, but always there is this sober understanding that at any moment everything can change. As inconvenient a concession as that may be, it's probably more realistic and more healthy to keep a light touch. Of course - the hysterical paranoia of post-9/11 Americans engaging in a war on terror is equally unhealthy.
But - right not, as I type, there is a crowd of thirty some students out side the computer lab glued to the newscast waiting for the names of the soldiers - wondering if it's anyone they know.
With that, I am going on a caving trip in the judean hills this afternoon...and have a test tomorrow...no time to study for it..so...anyway..i'll post pictures of the caves soon.
Back to life. Back to reality. Love to all of you!
The movie is a bit heavy on the gay theme which I don't mind, but there are a few of you out there that would find parts uncomfortable - guys kissing, girls kissing...etc. with a very liberally inclusive etcetera. It does a really good job of showing life among young adults of Tel Aviv with all the conflict between various social groups, coming of age, and a romance which crosses the Palestinian/Israeli border, suicide bombings, yadda-yadda...very worth seeing..may not be out until i am home..but look for it. I highly recommend it.
The latest news ie. more israeli soldiers taken, israel invading Lebanon...etc. Not the best of news and as tensions escalate, opinions surface. I am finding it very difficult to deal with the vast extremes in perspectives. No one wants to budge. Each thinks he is exclusively right. When good defenses become brittle, people just get loud, and the loudest one wins. My roommate continues to be one of those for whom there is no question on the issue: Israel is always right no matter what it does or how it does it. It's very frustrating how much people assert Israel is a definitively Jewish nation, yet no one - absolutely NO ONE can produce a universally applicable definition of the Jew. The non-practicing jew born in the US to a Jewish mother has more claim to the land here than generations of people who have built their houses and tilled the land. And the Rabbis keep ammending who and what is an acceptable jew under the Law of Return.
On another note, with the WorldPride event coming up here Jerusalem, which I had really hoped to attend....may not be safe to attend. A few days ago someone posted a bill in the Mea Shearim (ultra orthodox neighborhood) which will reward 20,000 Shekel (or some such sum) to anyone who kills a participant of the gay pride parade. Last year three people were stabbed.
So. My trip into the city last night was so beautiful - reinspired me to want to be here. But - the news - the spirit of hatred and destruction which runs unchecked over here is really disconcerting. We have no idea how fortunate we are in the US - even under the Bush Administration. America has many many problems and bears much of the responsibility for many ills abroad, but for as long as we live in the relative safety and psychological freedom we do, we ought to appreciate it - really appreciate it.
It won't last forever. It can't. History is a solid record of the fact that the Have's will eventually trade places with the Have-Not's. It seems so much of the rest of world fights to the death to have what many of us take forgranted. True, people did at one time fight to the death for our country's establishment, but how many of us would? I really can't say whether or not I would. I really can't say whether I would, like so many young people here, risk my life as a security guard so the people in the cafe can drink coffee with some peace of mind. Yet, I certainly expect that sort of thing. I certainly expect to be safe everywhere. American's will litigate at the first sign of a breech of security. Here, security and peace of mind aren't exactly enduring. People enjoy it for a time, but always there is this sober understanding that at any moment everything can change. As inconvenient a concession as that may be, it's probably more realistic and more healthy to keep a light touch. Of course - the hysterical paranoia of post-9/11 Americans engaging in a war on terror is equally unhealthy.
But - right not, as I type, there is a crowd of thirty some students out side the computer lab glued to the newscast waiting for the names of the soldiers - wondering if it's anyone they know.
With that, I am going on a caving trip in the judean hills this afternoon...and have a test tomorrow...no time to study for it..so...anyway..i'll post pictures of the caves soon.
Back to life. Back to reality. Love to all of you!
posted by gwistik at Wednesday, July 12, 2006
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