Joseph's Tomb

In the Palestinian city of Nablus, there is Joseph's Tomb, which is believed to be his final resting place in Judaism. So many Israelis come into the West Bank to pray and pay their respects and the Palestinians allow this, though the IDF patrol the area as well. Isabel Kershner explains the Israelis' pull to claim Palestinian soil as their own:

Here, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is boiled down to its very essence of competing territorial, national and religious claims. The renewed focus on what the Jewish devotees call the pull or power of Joseph appears to reflect a wider trend: a move by the settler movement at large away from tired security arguments and a return to its fundamental raison d’être — the religious conviction that this land is the Jews’ historical birthright and is not up for grabs.

Which I thought was a good way of looking at it, though, to me, it doesn't necessarily mean anything. She also talks about the overlapping personalities in Islam and Judaism: Joseph was also considered a Muslim prophet, so Muslims felt they have a right to the tomb as well. Though, since the Israelis took control of the tomb, the Palestinians have been disregarding the tomb and desecrating it.

Olive Trees in the Middle East

A look at the Israel-Palestine situation through olive trees.

Menu on the Wall

Image from the BBC.

The Israeli-made West Bank wall passes right through Charlie Butto's restaurant, Bahamas, in the West Bank, which makes for a horrible sight, as written by the BBC. Butto, making the most of the circumstance, decided to use the wall as an attraction: He placed his menu on the wall, allowing customers to order off the wall.

Protecting the Palestinians

In this Reuters article about Israeli settler violence against the Palestinians, Nahla Makhlouf, a Palestinian residing in the West Bank, was given a video camera by the Israeli Rights Group B'Tselem to record vigilante settler violence. During an encounter, the camera lens broke, but the audio kept recording.

Yoav Gross of B'Tselem said the settlers can be heard giving the army a one-minute ultimatum to act against the Palestinians or they would do the job themselves.

"They started counting one, two, three...," he said. "They were giving orders to the soldiers, not the other way around."

One Israeli human rights lawyer, Michael Sfard, says most soldiers do not realize they have not only the right but also the duty, as the occupying power, to defend Palestinians.

It's sad that the IDF doesn't realize what they're supposed to do as soldiers.

Eid & Rosh Hashanah

Photo by Rina Castelnuovo from the New York Times.

The Islamic Eid and Jewish Rosh Hashanah both fall within the same week this year: Rosh Hashanah is tonight and I believe Eid is either Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on the moon. Ethan Bronner takes a look at the overlapping religious holidays and how it comes into play in Jerusalem this year. There is something lacking within the article itself. Bronner is, in my opinion, focusing too much on the Jewish side of it, with only one quote from a Palestinian Muslim. However, the feature photo is amazing.

Understanding Israeli Settlements

I honestly can't understand why Israel continues to build settlements in the West Bank and how they are able to get away with it.

Victims of the Victimized

In this Time article about Khaled Kasab Mahameed, a Palestinian man who is trying to make other Palestinians aware of the Holocaust and the horrible things done to the Jews by the Nazis, he says:

"[W]e Palestinians are the victims of the terrible things that were inflicted on the Jews by the Holocaust."

which is a powerful and true statement.

IDF on Facebook

At first, when I glanced at the spattering of links in my Google alerts (seriously, what did I do before them?) and saw the word "Facebook," I just assumed it had to do with renaming Israeli neighborhoods in the West Bank as part of Palestine. But, I was wrong.

Like any other member of Facebook, IDF soliders, both former and current, post pictures online. In their case, however, they're exposing the Israeli Army because of information leaks: interiors of army bases, weapons, locations, etc. The Jerusalem Post took it upon themselves to investigate this and, as a courtesy to the IDF, printed only a few of those Facebook pictures along the article.

Several Israeli Defense departments sent out notices to all IDF soliders, telling them to take out any classified information from their profiles. They worry that, since Facebook is basically open to anyone, that those within the Israel network will use that information to their advantage. IDF soliders that exposed extremely classified information were sent to jail for a month.

Yes, it's true you have to be careful with these materials, but I think this is a bit out there. It reminds me of New York City's apparent policy about recording or taking pictures of bridges or transportation.

Bits: Nepal's Elections, Sailing with Words, G Train Blues & Celebrating Israel's Anniversary

Photo by Brian Sokol, from the New York Times

1.

"Nepal's Maoists Prepare for Elections," shot by Brian Sokol for the New York Times

South Asia's getting a lot of attention lately, what with the protests and violence in Tibet and now with the upcoming elections in Nepal. Sokol took pictures in Nepal during the days leading up to those elections and the results are amazing.

2.

"Ving, Vang, Vong. Or, the Pleasure of a New Vocabulary," editorial observer by Verlyn Klinkenborg, from the New York Times

I tend to like Klinkenborg's editorial observers because he writes about things I like, like the outdoors and middle-of-nowhere. First, the title caught me because it sounded like something I'd write. Second, the lede caught me because, of course, he mentioned sailing. I like the concept: picking out those things people tend to not notice. It's wonderful.

I know what he means about sailing (or, for me, boating) terms. I still get confused by port and starboard. (I invented my own little device to remember it: port is left if you're rowing, because they both have four letters. It takes me a couple seconds to remember this while I'm coxing though.) I end up calling everything "thingie," because I'm more about the feeling of rowing and being out there.

3.

"At Last, Some Attention for Subway Line Less Traveled," by Anthony Ramirez, from the New York Times
I hate the G train. With a passion. Along with the brown line (J, M and Z), it's the worse train in New York. Yet, I rely on the G train--it takes me to both my jobs (the Rail at Greenpoint Avenue and the Gazette at Nassau) and it's the only Queens-Brooklyn train line, which is ridiculous anyway. It's sad that the city isn't going to try to improve the line.

What's funny about this article is the relationship between the G and the V train. The V train came about into existence while I was junior in high school in 2001. It changed my route (Instead of taking the F to Queens Plaza for the R to 59th Street, I had to transfer at Roosevelt Avenue.) and also changed the G train. In order to create the V trains, the MTA took cars from the G train, thus creating the short G trains we have today. However, in the article, when someone brought that up at the meeting, the MTA denied it. Why? That's such a petty thing to deny.

4.

"Cynicism trumps pride for Israel's birthday party" by Isabel Kershner from the International Herald Tribune

How much should a country spend on its anniversary and how extravagant should it be? Considering the state of Israel and the area now, the government hopes to cheer everybody up with a huge blowout, but Israelis aren't agreeing. Already, 90,000 Israelis signed a petition asking the government to use the money for better things, like actually helping people through education and other public services.

Palestine on Facebook

So people who live in Israeli settlements on Palestinian land consider themselves part of Israel. They added themselves to the Israeli network on Facebook, but come one day, they found themselves part of the Palestinian network. This is kinda funny.

Bits: Alt+Ctrl+Delete & More About Israel & Palestine, Owning an Island, Owning (a Portion of) a River and Chinese Ramadan

On the Palestinian side of the West Bank Wall, photo by filippo minelli

1.

"A compendium of geek graffiti" by Daniel Terdiman, from geek gestalt via cnet.com

I gotta say, I really like that.

2.

"Your Own Private Island" by Kristina Dell, from Time

I gotta say, it sounds pretty tempting--owning your own island? If only I was rich...oh the things I could do. But then again, that's as bad as private waterfront, right?

3.

"Georgia Claims a Sliver of the Tennessee River" by Shaila Dewan, from New York Times

Once more I will say this: that's the kind of articles I'd love to write, but with a more international-spin to em. And the article's well-written, too.

One of the cover stories of the New York Times Magazines sometime late last year concerned the water drought in the West and how it's a big deal. (The pictures were gorgeous too and await adorning my room, somehow...). That's one of the reasons Georgia wants to claim that part of the Tennesee River as their own. And another reason as to why this story caught my attention: the idea of defining borders and ownership. And, I'm sure, it's about pride and defining and broadening Georgia. Bigger is better, right?

And awesome quote:
"Mayor Ron Littlefield of Chattanooga, Tenn., said he was disappointed that [Georgia State Senator David J.] Shafer did not seem to be having the fun that the mayor sees as one of the joys of Southern politics. 'I saw him grumbling that we didn't seem to be taking it seriously," Mr. Littlefield said. "Well, I'm sorry, we're not.'"

4.

"Dispatches from China's Wild West: Ramadan in China" by Joshua Kucera, from Slate

I thought this Ramadan article was kinda late...isn't Ramadan held during a somewhat universal time (I know Saudi Arabia's and I believe the U.S.'s start within a day apart and end the same way, depending on the moon or something)? Or maybe he wrote the article earlier...

Anyway, I really, really like Slate's foreign Dispatches feature, because they actually cover interesting, varied topics. I found an entire series for Bangladesh, which made me happy. And that's something else I'd be interested in.

And it's fascinating, the whole the blend of two cultures, or rather, the attempts of co-existence between two cultures, in this case a more Arabic and then the Chinese culture.

5.

"Mourning tents spread on Gaza Strip" by Ed O'Loughlin from The Age

And this kinda made me tear, especially his quote, because you know it rings true with people from both Palestine and Israel, yet no one hears their voices and they're the ones suffering.

6.

"Israel closes charities in West Bank" from Press TV

But. It's not their land. How does Israel have the right to do that? What the hell?

7.

"Impossible Travel" from KABOBfest

A long, long, long list of travel restrictions for Palestinians/Gazans/West Bankers (is that correct?) within the Israel/West Bank/Gaza area.

8.

"Israelis, Arabs Join to Save Wildlife" by Lauri Copans, from AP

That is pretty damn awesome, working together and for a good cause.

Costa Rica Recognizes Palestine

So Costa Rica recognizes Palestine, in order to promote peace and establish ties, as any reasonable country should. Israel can't handle it so much so that they "indefinitely postponed" a meeting between Costa Rican Preisdent Oscar Arias (who, it has to be noted, is also a Noble Peace Prize winner) and an Israeli diplomat.

I say good for Costa Rica and the other countries that recognize Palestine. I like Costa Rica and Ecuador even more for moving their embassies from Jerusalem to a less-controversial Israeli city, Tel Aviv. Yes, there are Islamic countries that still refuse to recognize Israel, but that's a stupid move on their part. Costa Rica has it right: don't cut off ties with Israel, but maintain relations with the eventually (and hopefully) state of Palestine.

Reporting on Israel & Palestine

So, a Palestinian holocaust, eh? Why isn't this being talked about?

***

Recently, the lead article on the New York Times website was about the Israel-Gaza rocket exchange. (Before, the main photograph was an Israel's woman's response to Gaza's attack, but now it's a picture of a Palestinian child being buried.) The first thing that popped out to me was the actual chronology of the events and then the order of the events within the article. Israel did in fact fire first, but that's mentioned briefly in the third paragraph and then more bluntly in the eighth paragraph. In the lede, the journalist states that Gazans fired into Israel, but that was in reaction to the initial rockets launched by Israel. The same order of facts is reflected in other papers and news services like the AP.

Isn't the whole point of being a journalist is to report the facts and not mislead the readers?

Then, while making my daily news rounds, I noticed a similar article in the International Herald Tribune (which is owned by the New York Times) about the air strikes, written by the same person. The article covered the same, basic information as the NYT's article did, but the spin is different--the article doesn't have that same Israel-slant to it. Instead, she reports on what happened. So, we have the same writer covering the same event, but the stories are slightly different and are published by two different newspapers within the same company. Where did the difference happen?

Jerusalem Without a Country

I'm surprised this story didn't get more coverage. I only stumbled upon it thanks to those handy Google alerts. So Monopoly is putting out a world edition and people get to vote on which countries and cities get placed on the board. These include Istanbul, Turkey; Cairo, Egypt; Paris, France; and Jerusalem.

Originally, Jerusalem was listed as part of Israel, but that caused a ruckus with Palestinian supporters who believe the city, or at least East Jerusalem, should be part of Palestine. In response, someone pulled the country name. This caught the attention of pro-Israel supporters who wanted to know why Jerusalem was the only city without a country. To appease everyone, Hasbro got rid of all the country names. Thus the boards would read: Istanbul, Cairo, Paris, Jerusalem, and so on.

While it's a smart move on Hasbro's part to please their customers, I still think it's unnecessary to not include ALL the countries' names. It is widely understood that Jerusalem is a disputed city so it makes sense to make it a country-less city.

Building in the West Bank

Why, why, why does Israel continue to expand settlements in the West Bank? Why? The Israel government declares those settlements as "illegal," but they don't do anything else about it. Yet, when it comes to Palestinian development, Israel refuses to cooperate. Looking at the statistics in this BBC article proves just that. If Israel really condemned the settlements, they'd evict the residents. It's as simple as that. If it were Palestinian settlers, Israel would have forced them out. If they were really pushing for peace and come to some sort of deal with Palestine, then the least they could do is respect the borders of the occupied lands, no? Don't settle on land that doesn't belong to you.

A Look at Israel

At first, when I read the headline "Israel's Secret Success," in the New York Times, I thought the op-ed would be a typical New York Sun article: calling for more attention to Israel's horrible plight while ignoring Palestine's problems, and condemning anyone who opposes Israel's views and positions.

But I was mistaken.

The author, Daniel Gavron, an Israeli who had his bar mitzah the same year Israel was created, considers himself a Zionist. Yet, he is able to rationally point out Israel's flaws.

Peter Hirschberg of Israel's Haaretz wrote about Gavron. Back in 2003, Gavron was a big proponent of a one-nation state, as opposed to the popular two-nation state idea. Under the one-nation state, Israelis and Palestinians would live in the same country under one government. One of the major reasons as to why the two-nation state isn't viable is, to him, because of Israeli settlers. He said:

"Many Israelis, and other Jews, will argue that historic justice demands a Jewish state...there should be one place on Earth where the Jews can exercise their natural right to sovereignty. They are absolutely right, but, unfortunately, given the choice between sovereignty and land, we chose land. We have manifestly preferred settlement in the whole Land of Israel to a state of Israel in part of the land. It is irrelevant that the settlers are a small minority. The rest of us have permitted them to do what they wanted."

In Gavron's op-ed yesterday, he calls Israel out on what they've done wrong--something that, it seems, every newspaper has been afraid to do, or at least, publish. He talks about how unfair the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories are. He denounces Israel's restrictions of Gaza's electricity.

He also understands that Israel is, indeed, powerful and this get to their heads in the form of paranoia. After the recent suicide attack, Israel now wants to build a fence along its Egyptian border. (The reason being because of Palestinian terrorists, not Egyptian terrorists, so why is the fence along Egypt?) Instead, why don't they try to work it out some other way, showcase some diplomacy and be the bigger person in the situation (or the bigger country)?

Granted, Hamas, the elected Palestinian government, is considered a terrorist group and their actions do support that, and there are Palestinians and other Muslims that deny Israel's existence. But I'm sure there are those who view Israel in the same, violent light (Testing rockets? Right.) and those who want to eject Muslims from areas completely. But no one focuses on that.

And, trust me, I don't consider myself anti-Israel. (Though, I do agree that American funding should be cut back significantly, something Josh brought up earlier last night, but I'll get to that at a later time.) I believe there should be two states, though, to what borders the states should adhere to, I have no idea yet. And, hey, this is only what I know so far, I don't claim to be overly informed about these matters just yet. I've got more to learn about.


(P.S. The fact that Gavron decided to walk across Israel a la Robert Byron and Rory Stewart, though their's were in Afghanistan, and wrote about it makes him even cooler in my book.)

Bits: Peace on Paper, Obama's Grammy, International Learning, Modernizing India, Getting Those Step-Ons and Turtle and Elephant Tales

Unfinished highway in Mumbai. Photograph by Adam Ferguson, via Time.

1.

"Virtual Peace Isn't Enough" by Zalman Shoval, from the New York Sun

Bush's new goal is to set a definition of the Palestine state, rather than creating it. Granted, though, that would be impossible to do in his remaining 7 months.

And Shoval does bring up a good point: on paper, peace means nothing; it's the actual implementation of peace and laws that create it that really mean something.

2.

"Maine to Obama; Clinton Replaces Campaign Leader" by Katharine Q. Seelye, from the New York Times
Hahahaha, Obama won a Grammy and beat Bill Clinton.

3.

"U.S. Universities Rush to Set Up Outposts Abroad" by Tamar Lewin, from the New York Times

Globalization is obviously big and now, instead of international students flocking to the U.S. for education, there is a new place for them in the Middle East and American universities are giving them those opportunities. Brian Baird, a subcommittee member, brings up an interesting point:

"Still, he said he worried that foreign branches could undermine an important American asset--the number of world leaders who were students in the United States.

'I do wonder," he said, 'if we establish many of these campuses overseas, do we lose some of that cross-pollination?'"

4.

"Rebuilding Mumbai" photographed by Adam Ferguson, from Time

These pictures remind me a lot of Bangladesh, except that one picture of the brightly-lit streets at night. In Bangladesh, there was always a dark soft glow of light.

5.

"Indonesia to spray train roof riders" from Reuters

I saw this a lot in Bangladesh: people cram into any space they can when using public transportation, even if that means sitting on the roof of a car, truck or train, without any fear. In this article, it says about 53 people died traveling that way in Indonesia. I wonder what the number for Bangladesh would be. And, come on Reuters, Indonesia isn't part of Africa...

6.

"Turtle Swims from Indonesia to Oregon" from the AP

So he swam 13,000 miles. You go, turtle.

7.

"Wild elephant stray into B'desh village, kill man" from Reuters

And another elephant, though nowhere near where I was.

Bits: Linking Westchester and SF to NYC via Path & Ferries, Dining Over Graves, Magdalen Island, Broken Elevator Woes & Israeli Operations

1.

"Inwood-Westchester Greenway Link Planned" from Inwoodite

This pathway would connect upper Manhattan to my definition of upstate New York (or Westchester, same thing) and allow for access across the Henry Hudson Bridge, a bridge I've had the pleasure of rowing under twice. And they're improving/creating more bridges over the Harlem River

2.

"Cross a Continent by Water to Another City by the Bay" by Patrick McGeehan, from the New York Times

With the impending contract closure with Circle Line Downtown, California-based Hornblower Yachts is joining the mess of traffic along New York Harbor. These different boats will or already have journeyed to New York from varied distances: New Orleans, random places in New England and most notably, San Francisco.

That lucky boat, the Freedom, left San Francisco Bay last month and has yet to travel through the Panama Canal to its eastern goal.

Both McGeehan and the chief executive of Hornblower, Terry MacRae, had wonderful, water-related (anyone know a better word for that?) quotes that I just have to put here:

MacRae: [Referring to the scheduled arrival] In the ocean, anything can happen.

...

This is not the Freedom's first oceangoing tour. Before its stint taking visitors to Alcatraz, it ferried summer-vacation crowds to and from Nantucket. It made the long haul from Nantucket to San Francisco Bay in April 2006, Mr. MacRae said, so it has proven its seaworthiness. "It's been in the ocean its whole life," he said.

3.

"Indian Eatery Features Graveside Seating for 'Good Luck'" by Sam Dolnick, AP by way of the New York Sun

What's interesting about this restaurant in western Indian isn't its food or even its service; instead it is the location, more specifically, where it is built over, which, in this case, is on a Muslim cemetary. Customers sit right next to scattered gravestones throughout the restaurant.

And really, all that matters is:

Customers seem to like the graves, which resemble small cement coffins, and that's enough for him.

4.

"An Island in the Hudson, Plundered in Search of Indian Artifacts" by Anthony DePalma, from the New York Times

I'm pretty sure I've gazed longingly at Magdalen (a.k.a. Goat) Island during MetroNorth trips. And now, after reading this article, I want to go there. Rock shelter? Right on the Hudson? People who go there illegally anymore (I'm all about that--still holding onto my Bannerman's Island dream)? Possible buried goods?

5.

"At Bronx Court, Elevator Woes Slow Justice" by Leslie Kaufman, from the New York Times

Now that's just fucked up.

6.

"Israeli Forces Move Into Gaza" by Steven Erlanger, from the New York Times

What pisses me off about this is that the Israeli troops claim to be performing "routine" operations "to disrupt rocket and mortar assults" along the border. Come on, seriously, am I supposed to believe that?

Bits: Sarkozy on Palestine, Media in Burma and Indians Pretend to Fly

1.

"Sarkozy Reaches Out to America, and to Its Jews" by Nicholas Wapshott, from the New York Sun

During his recent U.S. visit, French President Sarkozy was awarded the Light Unto the Nations Award by the American Jewish Committee. While calling for the existence of a Jewish state and assuring Americans that the French aren't anti-Semitic, he had this to say:

"...Mr. Sarkozy said France is ready to defend the existence of Israel, but the existence of a Palestinian Arab "nation state" is essential to end the Jewish state's differences with the Palestinians."

"The issue of Israel's security is very close to my heart," Mr. Sarkozy said. "I do not always agree with Israel's government, but their security is non-negotiable. But I also wish a viable Palestinian state. Rather than two states, you should have two nations. That may seem a semantic difference."

Thank you, Sarkozy.

2.

"Myanmar's junta prevails in the age of information" by Richard Bernstein, from the International Herald Tribune

By comparing established media responses to the recent/current protests in Burma and the protests in Vietnam in the early 1960s, Bernstein hardly mentions citizen journalism like the images Ko Htike posted earlier or from other first-person accounts from those who flee the country. This is what he has to say about it:

"There has been, as far as we know, no self-immolation [referring to AP photographer Malcolm Browne's Pulitzer winning photo of a monk immersed in flames while meditating] in Myanmar during the recent round of protests there, but what if there had been? Maybe there would have been photos of it, as there were of some other events, notably the killing by the army of the Japanese photographer Kenji Nagai, which was flashed around the world on the Internet."

"Moreover, after a few days, during which amateur photographers were able to put images of the Buddhist protest on the Web, the junta simply turned off the internet. And since then there have been no more photos, and very little news.

"In other words, Myanmar's dictators quickly learned the lessons of the hazards of openness, and it's a lesson whose importance is demonstrated over and over again."

3.

"India's flight of the imagination" by Simon Robinson, from Time

Touching, but sad.