Monthly Archives: July 2010

Israel briefs, snarkly

Posted on 07/25/2010 by Meryl Yourish

Better late than never: The AP explains the Israeli side of the Gaza flotilla incident in the 11th paragraph of this story about Turkish protests at an Israeli volleyball game in Turkey. (It’s for a European tournament.) How dangerous is … Continue reading →

Posted in Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Media Bias, Turkey, United Nations | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Seriously?

Posted on 07/24/2010 by Meryl Yourish

A commenter uses the name “Rogue spyware” and he thinks I can’t tell that it’s spam? Seriously? I mean, seriously? I know, I know. They don’t stop to check whether comments are moderated. They just spam every blog they can. … Continue reading →

Posted in Site news | 2 Comments

Comic-Con vs. the church of Phelps

Posted on 07/24/2010 by Meryl Yourish

Utterly hilarious photos of a counter-protest to the shmucks in the Fred Phelps cult. I think my favorite mock is the “God hates kittens” sign. And the gay sex chant was just perfect. Alas, there was no Hulk representation. Comic … Continue reading →

Posted in Juvenile Scorn, Pop Culture | 1 Comment

Friday snark briefs

Posted on 07/23/2010 by Meryl Yourish

If it’s Friday, this must be Bilin: Oh, wait. It’s also Umm Salamuna, where peaceful “internationals” helped the peaceful Palestinians throw stones at the IDF. Number of wounded: Two soldiers and two “internationals.” I’m sorry—”peace activists.” UNHRC Kangaroo Court Judges … Continue reading →

Posted in Gaza, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Why It is Important

Posted on 07/23/2010 by Rabbi Kaufman

Someone asked me why I posted on the Conversion Bill, now postponed for six months. It’s controversial. People will complain. I am a Reform rabbi. For me, this is a big issue. For my congregants, it is a big issue. … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

The Conversion Bill and Ridiculous Arguments

Posted on 07/23/2010 by Rabbi Kaufman

It is amazing to me that sane and realistic people who do not like the absolute control of the Orthodox establishment in Israel would argue in favor of the Conversion Bill. Israel Harel, wrote in Haaretz that: The Reform and … Continue reading →

Posted in American Scene, Israel, Religion | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

The “undisciplined”

Posted on 07/23/2010 by Soccerdad

The New York Times has a brief item: Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, said Thursday that he had been told that members of the group would be indicted by a United Nations tribunal investigating the … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, Lebanon | Comments Off

J Street’s All or Nothing Fabrication

Posted on 07/23/2010 by Rabbi Kaufman

It looks like Alan Dershowitz read my article from a few days ago on J Street – Community of Hypocrisy when he wrote his excellent article in the J Post. J Street’s new ad is not winning it friends. Myself and … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel | Tagged , , | Comments Off

HMO’s beat Congress in Gallup poll

Posted on 07/22/2010 by Meryl Yourish

You can’t make this stuff up. Remember how much we hated HMO’s when they first came out? (I still hate them; I chose the PPO option from my health care plan). Well, Americans have a higher level of confidence in … Continue reading →

Posted in Media, Politics, The One | Tagged , | Comments Off

Palestinians censor “Rivers of Babylon”

Posted on 07/22/2010 by Meryl Yourish

Ew, Jew cooties. The Palestinians wouldn’t let a disco group sing one of their hit songs because it references Psalm 137 and—gasp!—talks about the Jewish history of Israel. Maizie Williams says Palestinian concert organizers told her not to sing “Rivers … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel Derangement Syndrome, Jew Cooties, palestinian politics | Tagged , | Comments Off

Have the administration’s Israel and Iran policies changed?

Posted on 07/22/2010 by Soccerdad

Yesterday Meryl observed that once again: Mahmoud Abbas has said the Palestinians will not resume direct talks until… and now you get to fill in the blank, because he keeps on changing the rules. Rabbi Kaufman wondered if the administration … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Israel, The One | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Thursday Israel snarks (because the world just needs more snark)

Posted on 07/22/2010 by Meryl Yourish

They were against smuggling weapons before they were for it: Say, remember a long, long time ago when the news media used to say Israel says Hamas is smuggling weapons through tunnels from Egypt? Like they really weren’t and Israel … Continue reading →

Posted in AP Media Bias, Gaza, Israel | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Changing Opinions

Posted on 07/21/2010 by Rabbi Kaufman

As Meryl wrote yesterday morning, Abbas is refusing to hold direct talks without preconditions that amount to determining the end game of discussions about borders. This is in no small part due to the perception that both the Obama administration … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

I wish I had an Ivy League education

Posted on 07/21/2010 by Meryl Yourish

Then I could say genius things like this: Requiring 60 votes rather than 50 to pass legislation in a body with 100 members is a terrible idea. It’s always been a terrible idea. Nobody would design a legislature that way. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bloggers, Juvenile Scorn | 12 Comments

The “idiot wind” blows back

Posted on 07/21/2010 by Soccerdad

Prior to the presidential election in 2008 the editors of the Washington Post objected to charges that there was something wrong with candidate Obama’s relationship with Rashid Khalidi. It’s fair to question why Mr. Obama felt as comfortable as he … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, Media Bias | Tagged , | Comments Off

Abbas’ strategy: Preconditions, preconditions, preconditions

Posted on 07/21/2010 by Meryl Yourish

Benjamin Netanyahu has called for direct talks with the Palestinians, with no preconditions. Israel, he says, is ready to sit down right now and discuss all of the issues. Mahmoud Abbas has said the Palestinians will not resume direct talks … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, Israeli Double Standard Time, palestinian politics | Tagged | 1 Comment

J Street’s New Ad – The Community of Hypocrisy

Posted on 07/20/2010 by Rabbi Kaufman

J Street’s new 30 second TV ad begins with “While chaos and violence in the Middle East grow….” The ad then actually pretends to condemn “fear mongering.” This is a profoundly hypocritical path. I say “pretends” because clearly the opening … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, Media, Television | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Briefly

Posted on 07/20/2010 by Meryl Yourish

If it’s Monday, it must be time for another AP Gaza sob story: (Yes, I know it’s Tuesday, but this came out yesterday.) This time, it’s all about the family that struggles to survive in a tent. That’s the headline. … Continue reading →

Posted in Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Media Bias, Terrorism, Turkey | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

Could you please shut up?

Posted on 07/19/2010 by Soccerdad

Thomas Friedman, in Can We Talk? regrets the firing of Octavia Nasr. I find Nasr’s firing troubling. Yes, she made a mistake. Reporters covering a beat should not be issuing condolences for any of the actors they cover. It undermines … Continue reading →

Posted in Lebanon, Media Bias | Tagged | 2 Comments

Catherine Ashton: Still an ashhole

Posted on 07/19/2010 by Meryl Yourish

The EU head of something-or-other, Catherine Ashton, is back in Gaza and demanding that Israel open all crossings completely, and allow exports, too. Because the fact that Gaza is run by terrorists who are stockpiling weapons and rockets to use … Continue reading →

Posted in Gaza, Hamas, Israel, World | Tagged , , | 4 Comments