Archive
Will Olmert Rise From the Ashes?
Is it possible that if a new Israeli government fails to hold together and new elections are called for in 18 to 24 months that Ehud Olmert may return to Israeli politics? It now seems likely. Rumor has it that he sees himself as the senior statesman that can provide a real choice to the not-Netanyahu camp. Having come from the right on the two state solution to a realpolitik viewpoint that a two state solution is essential for Israel’s survival, he can be seen as someone who may be able to move Israel forward on the issue.
And perhaps he could even be running earlier. Pundits here in Israel put Bibi’s chances of not be able to put together a government as being 20% – about ten times higher than most people in the States are predicting. If he cannot put together a government within six weeks, Peres can choose someone else to try to create a coalition or call for new elections within 90 days — around mid-May. And would Olmert run then?
J Street Congressional Delegation
Margie and I current traveling in Israel with four Congresspersons: Jan Schakowsky, Barbara Lee, Hank Johnson, and Raul Grihalva. We’ll be meeting with government officials, business leaders, settlers, Palestinian officials, and representatives of NGO’s. Travelling from Tel Aviv to Sderot to Hebron to Ramallah. More to come.
A Tale of Three Airports.
Tales of TLV – Ben Gurion Airport
December, 1992 – I will never forget the first time I saw Eretz Yisrael. After a long journey flying over the Atlantic, there was a break in the clouds that revealed bright green, verdant fields dappled in sunshine, looking for all it was worth like the proverbial land of milk and honey. I had never been particularly connected to Judaism, my Jewish identity or Israel, but my heart welled up as I peered out the window. I am not sure what I was expecting, but it truly looked magical.
As we landed and taxied up to the terminal, it was as if we had stepped back in time to the 50’s. There were no jetways at all. Instead, we walked down a portable stairway and got on a bus that took us to the terminal. In some ways, it seemed appropriate — harking back to the Israel of the War of Independence. This was country that had pulled itself up by its bootstraps and wanted to retain that memory.
April, 2005 – Reaching landfall over Israel was still exciting. Looking through the window, it seemed that there was a large superhighway that hadn’t been there the last time. This time when we landed, there was no portable staircase, but instead, a typical jetway as seen in any modern airport. We had arrived at Terminal 3 – Ben Gurion’s brand new showcase. We walked off into a sparkling state of the art airport. I was awed as we walked down The Connector (the long corridor from the Airside building to the Landside building) greeted in royal fashion with sparkling ceiling-to-floor glass windows on one side and beautiful granite and Jerusalem stone on the other. It was a (literal) shining example of the progress and success of this little nation. Israel was now a first-world country.
February, 2013 – Flying in over the Mediterranean has become old hat. Highway 1 running past the airport to Tel Aviv looks crowded with cars streaming in and out of this city, just like any other in the Western world. But this time, as I disembark from the plane and get through the jetway, the first thing I notice is that the gray carpet looks worn and dirty. Not quite shabby, but close. And as we walk through the corridors, I can’t help but observe that all of the windows are dirty. They look as though they haven’t been washed since the last time I was here. Perhaps, this too is a symbol of being a first-world country in this decade: government has no money to spend to maintain its infrastructure. Whatever the reason for it, it makes Israel now seem like a country in decline – or perhaps one that just doesn’t care what impression it made on those coming to visit it. Frankly, it was strikingly disappointing and depressing.
How Jews Should Relate to Palestine
It’s obvious what is Israel and what is Palestine – isn’t it?
I very intriguing post about conceptualizing Israel, Palestine and our relationship with them. This is from Jerry Haber, a pseudonym for an Orthodox Jewish studies and philosophy professor who blogs as The Magnes Zionist.
As a religious Jew, I believe that the Jew qua Jew has three homes: the state of which she is a citizen; the Jewish community of which she is a participant, and the land of Israel. Jews do not need political sovereignty in an exclusivist ethnic state in order to feel at home in that land. In fact, increasingly I am feeling less at home in the State of Israel, then in the United States.
Read the entire post (which came via Israeli blogsite +972) here: How Jews Should Relate to Palestine
beyondzerosum 