Archives for July 2006

Playing around with the old stat counter we see that these are some of the most popular posts of the moment. It is a mixture of the very serious with the relatively trivial.

Three Days in Israel- Graphic Images

A Soldier Says Tefilat Ha-Derech

A Little Digestive Distress- Chicken Vindaloo

A Boy Named Mookie

The Supermarket

This is a very powerful video that shows you what happens after a suicide bombing. May we all live to witness a real and true peace.

Be forewarned, it is graphic and disturbing.

Carl at Israel Matzav has an interesting post in which he discusses the current war and whether there is a connection or disconnect between American and Israeli Jewry.

“Yesterday, I saw a survey that indicated that 81% of Israelis (with Arabs included in the survey) support the current action in Lebanon. 81%. You can bet that the percentage of American Jews in favor is much lower.

I think that most of us have noticed that the strongly pro-Israel community (which I define to mean the people who either are contemplating or who have made aliya, or who visit here on a regular basis) is moving more and more to the right of American politics, while the majority of Jews are remaining Democratic and on the left. There is no shortage of attempts to explain why American Jewry remains so liberal – particularly in light of the fading Democratic support for Israel. At the rally in New York this week, Hillary Clinton winced when Elie Weisel said “Thank God George Bush is President.“

I am not sure how many people still classify themselves as being a member of one party or another. In my unscientific poll of friends, family and assorted others I found that many people are really beginning to view themselves as being Independent. They may be a registered Democrat/Republican but they increasingly find themselves having a harder time identifying with the parties.

Stereotypes also play into this. I think that there are still many people who like to view the Republican party as being composed of affluent white men who support big business as opposed to the Democrats who are supposed to be the party of liberals and progressives.

I would also assert that most people really are not familiar enough with the party platforms to explain what the party beliefs are and or why they adhere to those particular items. We live in a busy and hectic world and few people are willing to take the time to try and really understand the issues so they opt for the easy way out.

Anyway, that is my short two minute thought on this. I may come back and revise and or develop this further.