The theme of rebuilding connections to Israel has been making Jewish headlines this past week. The newly released Jewish Agency strategic plan (Securing the Future: Forging a Jewish Agency for Israel and the Jewish People) sets out a blueprint that would lead to forging new links between Israel and the next generation, thereby ensuring the […]
Archives for June 2010
Teva-JNF seminar: pt 4 – The Jewish Edge Effect
Changing frames of reference. That’s really the best way to describe this past week’s Teva Seminar on Jewish Environmental Education. Old ideas were presented in new packaging, and new concepts were introduced in the context of tradition (albeit in new garb, as well). These are examples of what I call the “Jewish Edge Effect”. A […]
Teva-JNF seminar:pt.3
I was on an upside-down bus today. Actually it’s called the “Topsy-turvy bus”. Here it is: Originally a work of art by the late artist Tom Kennedy, this unique mode of transportation has now become a tool for education: teaching new paradigms in the way we look at our relationship with the planet. The […]
Teva-JNF seminar:pt.2
I learned a new concept today: “The Edge effect”. This is a term used in environmental sciences that describes the phenomenon of increased biodiversity in areas where different habitats meet. This means that in areas where a forest and a meadow touch each other, you’ll find greater varieties of species coexisting. The introduction of new […]
Teva-JNF seminar:pt.1
Whew. Finally got a seat at a bar as I await my flight here in Ft. Laurderdale as I begin my journey to the Teva-JNF Ambassadors’ seminar. I’ve been mulling over the next few days – what can I expect, especially in this past week of Zionist maritime adventures? This whole conference, initially meant to […]
Flotilla Thoughts…
I am troubled by the proliferation of (facebook) postings of Fox News clips from people I know consider Fox News to be something short of journalism. My friends we must ask ourselves some tough questions. Fox comes at every issue from the same point, they don’t change. We have to ask ourselves, why do we only agree with Fox when it comes to Israel? How could it be that they get everything else wrong, but get this one right. Or maybe we are not viewing Israel with the same eyes we use to see the rest of the world…
Choosing to Squeeze the Trigger
Yesterday was a difficult day. As Daniel Gordis described it: A yom kasheh – a tough day. It’s irrelevant if the decisions of the Israeli government regarding the flotilla were right or wrong. There are as many articles being published in Israel by fathers and mothers of Israeli soldiers calling the operation a debacle as […]