Congrats Daoud Kuttab in the Washington Post:

In its efforts to stop amateur rockets from nagging the residents of some of its southern cities, Israel appears to have given new life to the fledging Islamic movement in Palestine.

We can talk about proportionality all day long, but to call explosive raining down on your town merely ‘nagging’ is a bit like saying that 9.6% of Michigan residents are enjoying nice lazy days with no jobs to worry their pretty little heads. One would think that Sderot residents are annoyed because there is an amateur rocketry competition going on next door. (for all that, muffti found the rest of the article interesting).

Dore Gold has a nice article in Jpost about the issue of proportionality. Dershowitz has something in Christian Science Monitor on Moral Idiocy that muffti didn’t find very illuminating but will probably confirm what most of our readers are already thinking. It’s nice to be able to speculate about proportionality, the annoyance of rockets and the like when you are thousands and thousands of miles away from the actual action (though Dore is based in Jerusalem).

Muffti wishes all of you a shana tova.

One of Israel’s most important public voices, David Grossman suffered the tragic loss of his son in the Lebanon War of 2006. He has written an important op-ed, translated by Haim Watzman and published in today’s NY Times.

NOW, after the heavy blow that Israel has dealt to the Gaza Strip, we would do best to halt, turn to the leaders of Hamas and tell them: Until last Saturday, we restrained ourselves in responding to the thousands of Qassam rockets fired at us. Now you know how severe the retaliation can be. So as not to add to the death and destruction that has already taken place, we intend, unilaterally and absolutely, to hold our fire for the next 48 hours.

Even if you continue to fire on Israel, we will not respond by resuming combat. We will grit our teeth, just as we did in the days and months before our attack. We will not be drawn into using force.

…

Until last Saturday, Israel — under the military leadership of Defense Minister Ehud Barak — acted with impressive level-headedness. We must not lose our perspective now, in the heat of battle. We must not forget, even for a moment, that the inhabitants of Gaza will continue to live on our borders and that sooner or later we will need to achieve neighborly relations with them.

We must not under any circumstances strike with such violence, even though Hamas has for years made life excruciating for the Israelis who live on Gaza’s perimeter, even though Hamas’s leaders have rebuffed every Israeli and Egyptian endeavor to achieve a compromise and prevent a conflagration. Restraint, and our duty to protect the lives of Gaza’s innocent inhabitants, must remain our commitment today, precisely because Israel’s power is almost limitless compared to that of Hamas.

…

And one more inevitable thought. Had we taken this approach in July of 2006, after Hezbollah kidnapped two of our soldiers — had we held our fire then, after our initial retaliatory strike in Lebanon and declared that we were waiting for a day or two to calm the situation and give mediation a chance — we would likely be in a better position today. That, too, is a lesson that Israel’s government should have learned from that war. In fact, it is the most important lesson we must learn.

That’s what you say in German if you wish somebody to get into the new year well. “Rutsch” means “slide” in German, so there are people who add “aber rutsch nicht aus!” (= “but don’t slip.”) to their well-wishes. The origin of that phrase actually is a Jewlicious one; it’s the corruption of a phrase adopted from Jews wishing each other a “Guten Rosh”.

Many words of Hebrew origin have entered German through Jews residing here. Even more of those words survived in dialects (of which Germany has got plenty). Sometimes the original medieval Hebrew word got lost or changed, occasionally the words and phrases were corrupted to onomatopoetically fit a similar German word, so they don’t always make sense at first glance. Often the vocabulary merged with vagrant vocabulary (sorry, it’s a Wiki link, but the only one I could find in English that didn’t refer to thieves’ cant in the English language), and those words that eventually stuck, apart from terms that refer to traditions and rites, denote that poverty and petty crimes were part of the everyday Jewish experience in medieval Ashkenaz.

The Goethe Institute provides a brief, comprehensive outline of the matter online [, which saves me from typing ]:

Maloche, Schlamassel, meschugge – with many of these words, we are conscious of their connection to Jewish culture and its languages Yiddish and Hebrew: for instance, “Mischpoche” (riffraff; clan), “Chuzpe” (chutzpah, brazenness), or when something doesn’t seem to us to be “koscher” (kosher). With others, we hardly notice this: for example, the “Malocher” (drudge) of the Ruhr Valley, or the “Macke” (kink, loose screw) that someone has, the “miese” (wretched, miserable) weather, the government’s “Schmusekurs” (schmoozing up) or the neighbour who is well “betucht” (well-off).

The linguist Hans Peter Althaus has compiled 1,100 words of Yiddish origin in his Lexikon deutscher Wörter jiddischer Herkunft (i.e., Encyclopaedia of German Words of Yiddish Provenance), including old acquaintances like the “Großkotz” (braggart) and the “Schmiere stehen” (to keep a look out), but also some which strike one as exotic in German like “Machascheife” (witch) or “Besomenbüchse” (“smelling salts”, “perfume flacon”) and which occur only in a few German dialects, technical jargon or argot. [Read the full article here].

Guten Rutsch everybody!

Join one of our Facebook groups to connect with other Jewlicious Festival-goers. Share ride info, find a lodging buddy, get updates, ask questions from veterans of past festivals by connecting via these Facebook groups. Jewlicious Festival 5.0 LA/Long Beach starts Feb. 27 and runs for three days. (Didn’t buy your ticket yet? Advance tickets on sale at Brown Paper Tickets)

If you don’t see a group that fits — help us start a new one email us: JewliciousFestival@gmail.com.

AEPI Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/aepigoesjewlicious
AJU (formerly UJ) Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/ajugoesjewlicious
ASU Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/asugoesjewlicious
CAL Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/calgoesjewlicious
Chapman Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/chapmangoesjewlicious
Claremont Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/claremontgoesjewlicious
CSU Sonoma Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/sonomastategoesjewlicious
CSUF Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/csufgoesjewlicious
CSULB Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/longbeachgoesjewlicious
CSUN Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/csungoesjewlicious
Florida Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/floridagoesjewlicious
Maryland Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/marylandgoesjewlicious
New York Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/newyorkgoesjewlicious
Occidental Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/occidentalgoesjewlicious
Pierce-Valley Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/piercevalleygoesjewlicious
SDSU Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/sdsugoesjewlicious
SF State Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/sfsugoesjewlicious
Silicon Valley Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/siliconvalleygoesjewlicious
Soref Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/sorefgoesjewlicious5
Stanford Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/stanfordgoesjewlicious
UCI Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/ucigoesjewlicious
UCLA Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/uclagoesjewlicious
UCR Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/ucrgoesjewlicious
UCSB Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/ucsbgoesjewlicious
UCSC Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/ucscgoesjewlicious
UCSD Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/ucsdgoesjewlicious
UNLV Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/unlvgoesjewlicious
UofA Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/uofagoesjewlicious
USC Goes Jewlicious http://tinyurl.com/uscgoesjewlicious

I for one won’t. This year, that is. I’ll be packing suitcases. And given the current situation in Israel, I know many of you won’t either.

Jüdische Allgemeine contrasts two different views on whether Jews should celebrate New Year’s Eve or not. Lena Gorelik, a Munich author, represents the pro-, Rabbi Avichai Apel (Orthodox, Dortmund) represents the contra-position.

Briefly put, Ms Gorelik thinks that celebrating New Year’s Eve was something Jews could participate in as it wasn’t really a religious holiday anymore, unlike Christmas, and compared it to joining birthday celebrations and pointed out that most Jews abided by the Gregorian calendar all over the world [I only know very few Chasidim that make appointments going by the Jewish calendar]. Rabbi Apel on the other hand claims that chiming in with those New Year’s celebrations conflicted with Jewish identity and that the background of that day was too Christian to ignore the roots.

Oy. To set this straight, indeed, 31st December is known as Silvester / Sylvester in many parts of this world because of a pope. Guess what? Catholic Christianity (which includes the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches of all varieties plus the Anglican / Episcopal church) has got saints assigned to every single day of the year. There are biblical saints, e.g. Abraham and Sarah, whose saint day was set to be on 9th October. There are people who suppposedly lived an extraordinarily virtuous life (compares to the Chasidishe admiration for tzaddikim). There are people from ecclesiastical history, e.g. Nikolaos (6th December) and in this case Pope Silvester (one of four ones to be exact).

Now, it might be worth noting that the ecclestical year does not quite coincide with the Gregorian calendar as it begins on the first Sunday in Advent (that’s when the cyclus of lectures starts all over again). Also, a letter by Cicero documents that the Romans would celebrate the night preceding 1st January (with considerable quantities of alcohol). In the Soviet Union, people were permitted to celebrate on 31st December as that date was considered undoubtedly secular – as opposed to 24th / 25th December and 6th / 7th January.

So, to not discredit Rabbi Apel, I can understand his point that celebrating the beginning of a year the number of which was (more or less) determined by the supposed birth year of Jesus of Nazareth made him feel uncomfortable. Then again, most Jews believe as little in the messiahhood of Jesus of Nazareth as they believe in that the world was created literally according to the biblical stories of creation and less than 6,000 years ago. My suggestion is that if you do believe in the biblical stories of creation and the later implemented Jewish calendar, don’t celebrate New Year’s Eve. If you do believe in the possible messiahhood of Jesus of Nazareth and still are Jewish, don’t celebrate New Year’s Eve. If you don’t believe in either, then take an adult decision.
Sapere aude.

Soldiers Putting Up an Israeli Flag in a Staging Area near Gaza. (AP)

Operation Cast Lead seems to be going well, so far. Over 325 targets have been bombed, and over 360 Palestinians killed (almost completely Hamas-people. Some human rights estimates place the number of civilian casualties as low as 45). Police Headquarters, Hamas safe-houses, munitions stores, rocket launchpads, prisons, a Hamas-run mosque, grad trucks, smuggling tunnels, et al, have been hit. The death toll on the Israeli side has been low, considering the number of rockets being lobed into Israel (80 just on Monday), with only 4 dead, (2 of whom were Israeli Arabs, proving that Hamas’ rockets do not distinguish between Jews and non-Jews), and 2 wounded. Israel reports that it is readying to send in ground troops (though this will undoubtedly increase our death toll). On Hamas’ end, things are not so clear.

Iranian clerics and Hezbullah’s Nasrallah call for a third Palestinian Intifada and that Muslims throughout the world rise up against their governments, mentioning Egypt in particular, in order to support the Palestinians, whom they have deemed to be the most “noble” of people. Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Ahmet Aboul Gheit, however, has slammed Nasrallah for such statements, saying that Nasrallah’s comments are as good as a declaration of war on Egypt, and that Nasrallah just wants there to be as much chaos in Egypt and other countries as exists in his [Nasrallah's] own country. In addition, Aboul Geit, while condemning Israel’s actions, places the blame squarely on Hamas for firing rockets and/or allowing rockets to be fired into Israel. Egypt’s President Mubarak has, also, issued a statement refusing to open the Rafah crossing with Gaza unless Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) is in charge there. (Egypt does not need more Islamistspouring into its country, and unlike Israel, does not conduct itself while on the one hand running a military campaign and on the other letting in aid professionals due to concerns for civilians). Egypt and Turkey are working to broker a peace deal, or more accurately, a form of ceasefire. Showing concern over Hezbullah’s posturing, Egypt has warned Israel that a ground incursion into Gaza will likely result in the opening of a Northern front, with Hezbullah attacking Israel. Nasrallah, however, has made no mention of a possible attack on Israel. Nonetheless, it would be foolhardy for Israel not to be prepared for such a surprise attack, and thus, the North of the country, particularly in Kiryat Shmona, is preparing for the possible outbreak of war.
(more…)

www.flickr.com Jewlicious’ Last Night of Hanukkah photoset

Maya was visiting Jerusalem from San Francisco on the last night of Hanukkah so we decided to go on a whirlwind tour of Jerusalem to see as many fully lit menorahs as possible. Maya even bought an ankle length skirt in order to avoid pissing off the Haredim. We also went to Nachlaot, lit candles at the shuk, went to Adi and Margot’s party in Rechavia and then ended the night with some drinks at a bar downtown called Mia. It was a fun and careless night especially considering that we were at war. I hope that one day the Gazans can have similarly fun and carefree nights, safe and secure and in the company of friends and loved ones. How can this happen? Here’s a hint – don’t lob rockets into the territory of the world’s 4th largest military.

My experience on the border yesterday really shook me up. I had a hard time falling asleep; the images of the day – the sights, smells and sounds spiraling in my head. I also watched two hours of Sky News before going to bed, which probably did not work in my favor. At around 5 am, I woke to the rumbles of F-16’s. I live in Tel Aviv and I could hear the fighter jets flying low over my apartment. I always remember my friends, who lived here during the first Gulf War, telling me how war is always the scariest at night. I couldn’t help but think what it must feel like in Gaza City or in Sderot.

My insider on the other side, Haled in Gaza City, told me that he finally made it home and spent the night huddled in the dark with his family around one lit candle. They had lost two cousins and an aunt since the fighting began. They attended a funeral and then ate a can of tuna for dinner. Explosions continued to boom throughout the night.

Just 20 km over the border, Sderot residents were experiencing a similar type of fright. The Rosenkrantz family had to call the family doctor over, because their youngest son, Amir was having uncontrollable panic attacks. He ended up strangling the family dog. Amir spent most of today undergoing counseling – in a bomb shelter. His mother begged her husband to pack up the house so that they could go and stay with family in Jerusalem.

For me, today was not spent dodging missiles or running for cover as the Red Dawn Alert emergency siren wailed. Today, I was stationed with the Channel One Arabic team, who told me war stories. Danny, a senior correspondent, reminisced about the multiple wars he had covered over the years. He told me about his time in Gaza City, traveling around the remote villages there. I asked him if he missed being a war reporter. He said, “Leah, every reporter deserves their chance to get in on the action, to be on the frontlines. My time is over for that, it’s your turn to see how dark and dirty this part of the world can truly be.”
(more…)

The Festival has finally come to a close and the evenings were packed with really diverse and talented Sephardic artists. Check the photos and videos below. The shows are not over though, we still got two more Matisyahu shows as part of the Festival of Light series and just like last night we will have Shemspeed fam, C-Rayz Walz & Kosha Dillz rapping along with Matis mid set…Hope to see you all there and as always info below:

Check out photos from the 2008 Sephardic Music Festival events HERE.
Check out photos from the Matisyahu, C-Rayz Walz & Kosha Dillz set last night, HERE.
Check out video from select shows at the Shemspeed youtube, HERE.

p.s. download “Childhood” by C-Rayz Walz, Matisyahu & Kosha Dillz
by clicking HERE.

SHOW INFO:

Festival of Light
12/29 – Mike Doughty & Matisyahu joined by C-Rayz Walz & Kosha Dillz

12/30 – Brett Dennen & Matisyahu joined by C-Rayz Walz & Kosha Dillz

@ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Brooklyn, NY
BUY TICKETS

Listen to C-Rayz & Kosha @ myspace.com/freestylevswritten

When I took my dog for a walk early this morning on Dizengoff Street in central Tel Aviv, all was business as usual. Merchants were opening up their shops, parents walking their children to school, trash was collected.

One-hour’s drive later and I found myself on the Gaza-Israel border in the south of the country, where life was the extreme opposite. The sky was covered in thick black smoke. F16’s were flying overhead. Dozens of tanks began massing on the border. A white balloon floated overhead. It’s a missile defense system called an Aerostat.

I could hear explosions and gunfire sporadically. I counted about 8-10 large booms an hour. More and more troops began arriving at the border, shooting their tanks’ cannons to make sure the equipment was working properly. Other soldiers lined up on their stomachs looking out towards Gaza. Some put on tefilin and said prayers. Others spoke to the crowd of international media that had gathered. Many chose to meditate alone and keep to themselves.

This is day two of Operation Oferet Yetzuka (‘Cast Lead’). The goal of the operation according to Defense Minister Ehud Barak: “To bring a fundamental improvement in the security situation in the south. To protect 250,000 people in the south, 100,000 children that have been under constant rocket fire for months.”

Day two began with another series of airstrikes. The number of fatalities now stands at 280 with 600 injured. One air strike targeted the headquarters of Al-Din Al-Qassam Battalion, Hamas’ military wing. Another targeted a Hamas-run jail; hundreds of prisoners ran for freedom. Other strikes hit a warehouse and a tanker holding smuggled fuel. Another hit a mosque and police stations throughout Gaza.

Israeli Intelligence reports issued today note that accuracy has not been an issue for the Air Force: almost all strikes were right on target. In all, the IDF has dropped 100 tons of explosives on Gaza since the start of the operation.

At around 4pm, the IDF had bombed over 40 weapons smuggling tunnels on the The Philadelphi Route (corridor / buffer zone — an IDF code name for the strip of land along the border between Egypt and Israel). These tunnels have been used by Hamas since Israel’s disengagement from Gaza.

At 5pm, more armored personnel tanks from around the country have arrived at the Gaza border in preparation for a possible ground operation. About a kilometer out, artillery batteries, soldiers from different infantry brigades as well as Special Forces began stationing themselves about one kilometer from the Gaza border. Some 6700-reserve soldiers have been called up for possible reinforcement.

Today Hamas fired fewer than 20 rockets, significantly fewer than yesterday. Why? Is Hamas trying to fool Israel into thinking they have no more rockets. Are they saving their firepower?

Another major question: Will the IDF be able to finish this operation from the air? Many Kassam rocket launchers are located next to schools or in the bottom stories of warehouses. The air force has decided not to destroy these infrastructures yet, due to the risk of the massive potential number of civilian causalities. To get to these structures without incurring a large civilian loss, the IDF needs troops on the ground.

Today, rockets continued to land in Israel. The Ashdod hits were the furthest for Hamas ever, about 40 km from the Gaza Strip. Rockets also landed for the second day in Ashkelon and other areas in the Western Negev. The IDF advised residents of Beer Sheva, G’dera and Yavneh to locate a fortified room. Sderot residents are also gearing up for more barrages. Schools within a 20 km radius of Gaza will remain closed indefinitely. Deaf residents in the area have received beepers in case of an attack. Israel’s northern residents are also preparing for possible attacks from Lebanon and are examining the preparedness of their fortified rooms.

What really worries me… that Israeli Arabs and Palestinians will go wild and that a front will open up in Lebanon and that we’ll find ourselves in an all-out war.

Today the Kerem Shalom border crossing was open for humanitarian support. Foreign journalists have petitioned the high court to let them into Gaza to cover the other side; they may be allowed in tomorrow, but I was not permitted into Gaza because I am an Israeli citizen. Covering the conflict on the other side proves extremely difficult. The Hamas regime there is in the Taliban style. There is no way to verify what Hamas is saying. The western world should treat with caution statistics coming out of the Gaza Strip.

There is a wall-to-wall coalition with the Iranians that says Hamas is solely responsible for this crisis. Hamas ripped up Egyptian-brokered deal for a truce between Gaza and Israel brokered recently. One day last week, Hamas fired more than 40 rockets and mortar shells into Israel.

Today the Prime Minister’s spokesman, Mark Regev, said, “If we have quiet from Gaza we will answer with quiet.”

I spoke to Haled, an acquaintance of mine who lives in Gaza City today. It took me hours to get through to him. He told me that he saw someone’s head blown off last night and that he is traumatized. Haled went out two days ago to get groceries and was caught in the crossfire. He has been unable to make his way home and cannot reach his family. He told me there is no food, no water and that the city is in complete darkness. But he told me what most Gazans would never say to a camera that wiping out Hamas is not a bad thing, that life could be different – peaceful – bearable in the Gaza Strip, if not under Hamas’ tyranny.

Is the Arab world behind Hamas or not? It seems like they are behind them in the media, but that really, they are blaming Hamas. Fatah said Hamas is to blame for their troubles.

How long will this battle rage on? How long will the suffering go on for residents on both sides of the border? Are we talking about days, weeks or months? This morning, in a meeting of the Israeli cabinet, there was a positive assessment of what’s going on: the Israeli Air Force has been knocking out Hamas infastructure in Gaza as planned. But the Hamas military machine is still very strong and this could get worse before it gets better. The Prime Minister called on Israeli citizens in the South to be strong and resilient. All of us must be prepared for the long haul.

Cross posted to ROI120

The boys who dropped the amazing, “Freestyle Vs. Written” album a few months ago to rave reviews, in SPIN magazine among others, will be joining Matisyahu tonight as part of his Festival of Light series at Williamsburg’s Music Hall.

to pick up a copy of the “Freestyle Vs. Written” album now from iTunes (here) or off the Modular site (here). Or you could get 1990’s on it and leave your computer to pick it up in stores!

Happy Last Nacht of Chanukah!

Was awesome seeing all you all this past week…watching over 1000 people get down to Sephardic music over Chanukah has been amazing. We have one last event and if you would like to get in for only 10 bucks email tickets@shemspeed.com with your name and we’ll put you on the reduced list. Each email gets two $10 tickets. See you all there. Happy Chanukah!

Sunday Dec 28, 2008
• Anath, Miriam Zafri & just added, Diwon, Eyal Maoz & Elie Massias.
@ Drom
7pm | $15
85 Avenue A (between 5th St & 6th St)

BUY TICKETS

If you would like to see photos from the past nights click – http://tinyurl.com/smfphotos08

and info at http://www.sephardicmusicfestival.com

As most of us know, the international media coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict generally portrays Israel as an aggressive occupier and militant state.

Not to mention the headlines that appeared following this week-end’s Gaza operation, take a look at some of the headlines and articles that made the international news scene in the coverage following the recent Hamas-Israel ceasefire which expired on Dec 19. Yousef Munayyer writes for the Boston Globe (Dec. 21) that “The lights are out in Gaza again and few are paying attention. The 1.5 million Palestinians living in the densely-populated strip are being collectively punished once more, while Israel attempts to strangle the Hamas government.”

Swiss Info, (Dec. 19) a leading news source from Switzerland, recently interviewed Issam Younis, Director of AL Mezan Center for Human Rights, where he compares Gaza to a caged cat, in an article entitled “Concern Mounts over Gaza crisis as Truce Ends.”

Aron Heller of Associated Press for Yahoo News (Dec. 25) writes this past week that the massive barrage of Palestinian rockets slamming into Israel during Hanukkah, “caused no injuries but generated widespread panic.” The headline for his article–”Israel warns Hamas will pay heavy price,” simply implies that Israel plans to act because of widespread panic.

Heller makes no mention of the Israeli homes destroyed by the Palestinian rockets, the 60 plus Israelis who were hospitalized for shock and trauma, including 12 Ashkelon children, or the thousands of dollars in damages that the Palestinian rockets caused to Israeli properties and businesses.

The international media ignores far too often another critical player in the Arab-Israeli conflict and its role in continuing the conflict. Hamas, the ruling party who took over Gaza in 2006, is a terrorist organization that was established in 1987, an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.

Hamas has led a brilliant public relations campaign that has consistently de-legitimized the actions of Israel, as we find in the media coverage of the conflict, while simultaneously legitimizing its own regime in Gaza. (more…)

IAF Strike on Gaza

The morning of Saturday, December 27, Israel launched an offensive on Gaza. The Israeli Air Force struck 40 sites simultaneously, and a total of 170 sites. The attack was a surprise, according to Hamas sources. Hamas claims that all police headquarters have been destroyed, and the Gazan Chief of Police Tawfik Jaber has been killed. Expecting an Israeli attack to be similar in nature to past ones, Hamas lost much of its infrastructure. 195 Palestinians, mostly Hamasmen, have been killed. Though, recent media reports place the death toll as high as 225. In retaliation, Hamas has fired over 80 rockets into southern Israel, hitting Ashkelon and Netivot, where an Israeli citizen was killed. The IDF is mobilizing tanks to be prepare for the event of a ground incursion, and stationing combat units around the “borders” of Gaza to prevent a potential attack on Israel. Minister of Defense,Ehud Barack has said that, “Our purpose is to hit Hamas in such a way that will force it to halt any firing and other hostile activities against Israeli citizens and against the IDF.” This task will be made more difficult in that, according to Hamas spokesman, Fawzi Barhoum, Hamas is prepared and “will continue the resistance until the last drop of blood.” In addition, Hamas official Khalid Mashaal has called on Palestinians to start a “third intifada.”

Israeli security strategy is based on a concept known in Hebrew as hachra’ah. While there is no direct translation into English, the closest concept would be that of a decisive victory. The point is to show your enemy that you are so strong that you can absolutely destroy them, should you so choose. This should deter the enemy from continuing its course of action and prevent future wars or attacks against you. It is essential that Israel show that it is strong, in order to prevent further attacks.

For years now, Hamas and the PIJ (the Palestinian Islamic Jihad) have been firing rockets on Israel with no real military threat against them. When checkpoints or de facto “border-crossings” were blocked, Hamas continued with its activities, winning over the hearts and minds of its populace, who do not realize that Hamas’ activities are the cause of their suffering. Israel has made itself look weak in the eyes of its enemies by allowing rocketfire to go unchecked, and thus Hamas has continued with its actions. However, the implications of this operation, “Operation Cast Lead,” go far beyond Gaza. It is crucial that all of Israel’s potential enemies view Israel as strong, so as to deter all those wish to wipe Israel off the map. These enemies grow stronger by the day, including Iran and its satellite organizations (though this is a different discussion, perhaps better suited for a separate blog). As a result, it is crucial that Israel fully complete this operation, and not leave it “half done.” This will be made more difficult by the fact Gaza is very crowded, giving little room for movement. In addition, Hamas has had time to prepare for an incursion; they will have studied Israel’s performance in its last war, and will know its weaknesses. While they will be, clearly, weakened by the loss of personnel and valuable munitions and weaponry, the IDF should still expect a considerable amount of fighting, particularly in light of Hamas’ dedication to their cause, and their willingness to sacrifice their lives in the name of Allah and jihad. (Note: I am not claiming that there is a lack of logic in such actions. Rather, I believe that these individuals will act very rationally. It is simply a question of to what rationale or logic they hold. Clearly, theirs is rather different from ours). In short, Israel will have great difficulty in completing its tasks with regards to the Gaza Strip. Yet, it is crucial, for Israeli national security, that Israel show a considerable display of strength, force, and reach a quick and decisive victory.

The Future of Jewlicious?

I shouldn’t have mentioned to CK that I’m turning 30 next year. I wouldn’t say he’s been guilt-tripping me, but the following statement by him (he gave me the permission to quote him) is rather telling:

i’m counting on your kids to take over jewlicious

The most creative commenter that draws the link between CK’s statement and the above question will either get a postcard from or a cup of coffee at my expense during my upcoming trip to NYC, depending on the location. (No decaf drinkers, please; I might be too jetlagged to handle decaf people.)

[Update:] I asked CK for an image to go with this post. He deserves some extra love for that one.

Electro Morocco is a unique mixture of energetic electro beats, middle eastern flavor, with a retro rock and pop edge. Their live performance combines live music with synced video clips that creates an unforgettable visual and musical experience. “Electro Morocco is what I would imagine would happen if Gwen Stefani met Balkan Beat Box or JUSTICE”. They perform tonight at Joe’s Pub on the seventh night of the Sephardic Music Festival/Chanukah 5769.

December 27, 2008
• Electro Morocco
@ Joe’s Pub
425 Lafayette St., NYC
11pm | $15 adv
(buy tickets)

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Those of us who supported the Disengagement from Gaza have had to watch over the years as Israel responded with relative silence to the ongoing Qassem rocket attacks on Israeli communities such as Sderot and others in the Western Negev. While it was wise for Israel to leave Gaza, there had to be a strong Israeli response to Palestinian attacks and the construction of strong military capabilities by Hamas. Yet, the Israelis, both under Sharon and Olmert, did little. The attacks continued and, if anything, the pressure was felt by Israel and Israelis while the Palestinians, under Hamas’s methodical leadership, continued to build their forces.

This was not a recipe for success as far as Israel was concerned. Then again, neither was attacking since it was bound to involve serious losses to IDF personnel and cause ethical concerns regarding Gaza’s civilian population which is used as a shield for Hamas, an organization that likes to emulate Hizbullah’s placement of arms and attacks inside civilian areas.

Today, after a week of watching the Palestinians use the conclusion of a flawed “cease fire” to launch dozens of rockets at Israeli communities, the Israelis finally hit back. They used the IAF to target numerous Hamas buildings and it appears that over 100 and possibly 150 Palestinians – many of them security personnel – have been killed. Another 200 have been injured.

Israel has threatened to proceed with more attacks, but nobody is naive enough to think this day will stop the Palestinians. At most it will slow them. This is, however, the best way to reach Hamas and to protect Israel: take the fight into their side and keep them on their toes by attacking anything military or security oriented in Gaza. Sending in ground forces will not be necessary at this point, although the Israelis may feel that they have to use ground forces to “clean up” the area. Israel should remember that sending troops into Gaza will prevent it from leaving again because they will have to come back in some months anyway. Better to avoid this as long as possible.

By the way, expect many media outlets to turn on Israel within the next 48 hours. Also, expect to see some “civilian” building collapse and dusty dead bodies to appear before the cameras, a lesson well learned in Lebanon where a similar event turned the tide against Israel with ferocious speed.

Photos by the insanely talented NatashaP. I’m not usually a fan of heavily filtered photos, but Ms. P seems to have a pretty good handle on every aspect of photography. Her work consistently captures a mood.

Shabbat shalom!

“…Elazar, occupied with destroying the elephants, became mired in their dung, and, searching among the living and the dead, his brothers could not find him. it was only afterwards that they found him mired in the elephant dung.” — Megillat Antiochus

To quote mufft’s li’l sisters…GRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSS!

Happy Hannukah and Shabbat Shalom.

Last night’s Shemspeed/Sephardic Music Festival show was something for the books. To see such a diverse line up of artists and an even more diverse crowd, was great. Eden Mi Qedem set off the night with Sephardic Rock which was a great opener for the Sephardic Psychedelia that Piamenta lunges right into with the crowd right there with him. He called up Avram Pengas to do some classic Israeli tunes which he got the crowd to sing on with him. Right after Piamenta fnished up their set, Rabbi Lein from N. Williamsburg Chabad lit the Chanukia and got the crowd to sing some old school jams which led up to Y-Loveand DeScribe taking the stage along with Yemenite DJ, Diwon. Was seriously amazing to see a semitic hip hop crew who could hold their own and not sound like some cheesy Jewish version of rap music. The crowd danced liek crazy and wouldn’t let them or Kosha Dillz, Ephryme or DJ Balagan leave the stage. We are most definitely going to do a follow up show in February. Thanks to all 500 plus of you who came out. We have two more fesitval shows, so see you there!

Electro Morocco @ Joe’s Pub Saturday night & Miriam Zafri, and Anath @ Drom Sunday eve. for info check the SMF site.

For photos from last night, taken by Nina Safar, go to www.flickr.com/shemspeed click on the Sephardic Music Fest Album and see the insanity!

For video, as always, visit youtube.com/shemspeed

Congrats to the Jewlicious winners of EIGHT DAYS OF GIVEAWAYS of Cool Jew: The Ultimate Guide for Every Member of the Tribe. In a virtual “Christmas Day Matzoh Ball,” on December 25th, we crowned a King and Queen O’ Heebster Swag from the Jewlicious Facebook Group.

The loot? The lucky winners receive an autographed copy of Cool Jew. Each prize also comes with a “No Limit Texas Dreidel” goodie bag filled with a dreidel and temporary tattoos from ModernTribe.com, CDs from the rappers at Hip Hop Shabbat and singer/songwriter Saul Kaye, kosher nosh from Oakland’s Certified Kosher and samplers of organic EcoTeas. They also win Jewlicious swag! Abundant props to our generous sponsors for these awesome gifts.

The envelope please. Our winners–either divinely inspired or randomly chosen, depending on your spiritual beliefs–are Irena Shakhnovich (Boston, MA, Tufts Alum ‘05) and Avishai Weiss (New York, NY, UChicago Alum ‘05, Microsoft). Ain’t no Burger King paper crowns for our royalty. Instead, they’re getting insta “snap n’ glow” specs to hip hop their Chanukah. (Or just look like a dork.) Mazal tov!

But that’s not all… Everyone’s a winner at the next Jewlicious Festival. Or almost. A select number of early arrivals to the festival will receive a free copy of Cool Jew. So get yourself to Long Beach and celebrate you, Jew. Until then, check out CoolJewBook.com for videos, press, tour sked, four more sets of prizes in EIGHT DAYS OF GIVEAWAYS and then some… And throw some more happy in your Chanukah.

They really need to take out that initial PBS sounding intro, but I like that MPC drum hit music (and not only cuz its Diwon playing that live for them). Anyway, check this out Richard Kind and Y-Love are amongst the celebs that chime in on the Xmas trees. Words from TJC, “We interviewed Jewish celebrities ranging from actor Richard Kind to comedian Judy Gold to R&B singer Ari Gold to the editor of New York Magazine, — in addition to up-and-coming comedians, stars, and more!

NY Post’s, Page Six just wrote about the clip, “DON’T mess with George Clooney’s Christmas decorations. In “Christmas v. Chanuka,” a new episode of the Jewish Channel’s “Holy Dazed” series, Clooney’s close friend and former roommate, “Spin City” star Richard Kind, spills that Clooney once hurled four pumpkin pies at him outside a farmer’s market in LA after he barred Clooney from putting up a Christmas tree. (Kind and Clooney lived together for a few months after Clooney split with his wife in 1993.) “He was so angry, he was so upset, like a child,” Kind jokes.” –

According to South Park, tragedies take 22.3 years before jokes about them are funny. These Holocaust jokes, however, seem to need a little more time…

“I would like to take the opportunity to remember all the billions of fleas and lice that lost their lives in German gas chambers, without having done anything wrong other than settling on persons of Jewish background.” — Otto Jespersen (Norway)

“‘Jews are much smarter now…They have spread across the world. Try rounding them up! Most are in America so you cannot send them by train to Germany to die in gas chambers.]!” — Philippe Geubels (Belgium)

Must be a nuance lost in translation. Otto Jerspersen (not to be confused with the famous Danish linguist) a while back burned a tanach on live TV (he later refused to do the same to a Koran citing fears that he wouldn’t live past a week!) As best Muffti can tell, here’s Otto dressed as a Nazi. Anyone care to translate:

Jewish groups have been upset about both comedians, not surprisingly. Muffti would like to see some more evidence; not everything not funny is worth decrying as offensive. Happy hannukah!

Many like me that come from a mixed background have got to handle two family-get-together-and-overeat-till-you-plotz holidays these days. That wouldn’t be quite so bad (apart from the plotzing) if I didn’t have a few decidedly anti-Semitic family members. Now, since I’ve got an anti-Semitic and overall racist step-grandmother that fulfils all requirements typical of badly composed screenplays [which is by no way meant to suggest that all step-relatives are per se as if taken out of a bad film] and that is hard to go gift-shopping for in general (nothing that requires maintenance, catches dust, no jewellery as she only wears certain pieces, no electronics etc.), I had to get creative. It appeared to me that the step-grandmother never had a nice cookie platter (as little children we were not supposed to eat cookies at her place lest we caused crumbs) and that she also doesn’t bake cookies herself anymore these days. So she is getting a nice, crystal cookie platter this year with a bunch of chocolates and homemade cookies. I dare say I’ve added a little Jewlicious twist, but please see for yourself:

Merry Christmas to all our Christian readers!

So on the 4th night of Hanukkah, after all the relative excitement of the first three nights, I decided to just chill out at home with my new temporary roomate, Yiftach the cat. I perused the latest Hanukkah related stuff on the Interwebs. There was the usual collection of “lists” – like this list of 8 Hanukkah Hunks, a predictable collection of hot Jewish men. Also, our friends in Budapest (and Berlin) put together a list of the top 5 Hanukkah videos. At least I think they did because my Hungarian kinda sucks. Number 5 is Light ‘Em Up, a video we featured here before brought to you by Birthright Next. Then at number 4 Judapest chose Pass The Candle, a video project by Michelle Citrin and William Levin that we also featured on Jewlicious (twice!! Thanks Larry…). Then at number 3 is our very own Jerusalemite rapper Rinat Guttman with her original composition “A Candle is Lit” which beat out the big budget videos on the strength of her Hebrew lyrics I guess. Number 2 was this cute piece by banned Haredi singer Lipa Shmeltzer who sings Oy Chanukah in Yiddish! Surprised? Why? Judapest is run by Hungarians after all! Finally, at #1 is Light The Fucking Candles a song that reflects the confusion one sometimes finds in multi-faith families.

Another video featured in the Judapest comments is this funny but somewhat offensive ditty – an ode to the Jews called All I Want for Christmas… is Jews:

It really ought to be renamed “All I want for Christmas is RICH HOLLYWOOD Jews” as most of the Jews noted as appropriate for gentile lust purposes are in the entertainment industry. No Einsteins, no Rahm Emanuels, no Levinas, not even Philip Roth, Saul Bellow or even Adam Mansbach. Just Hollywood machers. This notion that the entertainment industry is controlled by Jews would be offensive, if it wasn’t in fact true – as noted by the LA Times:

How deeply Jewish is Hollywood? When the studio chiefs took out a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times a few weeks ago to demand that the Screen Actors Guild settle its contract, the open letter was signed by: News Corp. President Peter Chernin (Jewish), Paramount Pictures Chairman Brad Grey (Jewish), Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Robert Iger (Jewish), Sony Pictures Chairman Michael Lynton (surprise, Dutch Jew), Warner Bros. Chairman Barry Meyer (Jewish), CBS Corp. Chief Executive Leslie Moonves (so Jewish his great uncle was the first prime minister of Israel), MGM Chairman Harry Sloan (Jewish) and NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker (mega-Jewish). If either of the Weinstein brothers had signed, this group would have not only the power to shut down all film production but to form a minyan with enough Fiji water on hand to fill a mikvah… The person they were yelling at in that ad was SAG President Alan Rosenberg (take a guess). The scathing rebuttal to the ad was written by entertainment super-agent Ari Emanuel (Jew with Israeli parents) on the Huffington Post, which is owned by Arianna Huffington (not Jewish and has never worked in Hollywood).

Doh! Oh well, at least I could be assuaged and entertained by the usual holiday narishkeit that passes for news. OK it wasn’t all narishkeit – like Canadian weightlifter Pete Czerwinski who, never having eaten a latke before, shattered the Latke eating record, consuming a grand total of 47 (!!) latkes! On the introspective level, we have our old friend Benyamin Cohen, author of My Jesus Year writing an ironic article titled Jesus Made Me a Better Jew. The Rabbi’s son discusses his addiction to all things Christian. Benyamin concludes:

Going to church for a year taught me many things and gave me a fresh perspective on my own Judaism. Returning to synagogue, I finally felt at home… So now I am a recovering addict. I have spent the past year attempting to wean myself off of my Christmas cravings. I still have a long road ahead of me and occasionally, I hate to admit, I get tempted to go back on the wagon — by the likes of Santa and his freakish Starbucks Gingersnap Latte… But I am trying… I grew up with Judaism served to me on a silver platter. Being the son of a rabbi granted me unfettered access to the beauty of my faith. And yet, I rebelled. It took going out of my comfort zone, being a stranger in a strange land, to make me jealous of Judaism. It took a year living as a Christian to wake me into realizing that being Jewish was what’s right for me… And I have Jesus to thank for that.

Thank goodness! We wouldn’t have wanted to lose you to speaking-in-tongue Pentecostals, forgiveness dispensing Catholic Priests, bleeding heart of Jesus houses of worship, martini swilling WASPs, Jews for Jesus or lame ass-hybrids like Chanukah Ham Chrismukah celebrations.

And on that note… happy halfway Hanukkah!