Dedicated to our friend Eric Swergold, who recently raised $60,000 for cancer research with “Swim Across America” - way to go Eric!
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Since the Norwegians have turned the Peace Prize into a political tool, is it food for Table Talk?
After they gave the Prize to Arafat, maybe we should just try to ignore them.
But maybe we could add one thought.
People are saying that this award for the President’s rhetoric is equally a rebuke of the former president.
How does the President's diplomatic rhetoric look from a so-called “Jewish” perspective?
George W., who was touted by some Israelis as “the best friend Israel ever had”, was the first president to use the term “two-state solution.” Even though a Palestinian state would be disastrous for Israel, thanks to him, this goal has become official US policy.
Barak O. has reiterated that policy and further declared that the Jewish People’s connection to the Land comes from our suffering in the Holocaust (see his Cairo speech).
So here’s the Q for your table: Do you think that the President’s rhetoric will have any impact on peace in the Land of Israel? If not, what will?
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Simchas/t Torah
PS – In honor of Simchas Torah (Sunday), here is your happiness video of the week:
“I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.” - Churchill
Showing posts with label Obama's Cairo speech. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Obama's Cairo speech. Show all posts
Friday, October 09, 2009
Friday, June 05, 2009
Free Speech
In memory of my grandparents (Eliezer ben Zelig and Sima bas Golda) whose yahrzeits are yesterday and tonight.
To dedicate a future Table Talk, send an email.
The goal of Table Talk (the Art of Amazement blog) is to stimulate conversation at your Friday night dinner table. Please print and share.
Ahh, the power of concentrated thinking.
Yesterday, I heard a scientist interviewed on the radio about the development of “ivisibility cloak” technology. There have been recent breakthroughs on bending light around an object, so that a viewer would not see the object. The sharp reporter asked, “Since the light is being bent around, if you were wearing one of these, would that mean that you couldn’t see anything, because the light would not be reaching your eyes?”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” admitted the scientist.
As you know, I generally avoid politics in this forum.
I don't intend to change that practice today.
So I will not discuss, for instance, the way the President's Cairo speech seemed to equate Nazi genocide with the suffering of Palestinians.
(By the way, if you search for the text of the speech, most websites have the AP transcript, which is inaccurate and leaves out most of what he said about Israel. The accurate (searchable) text can be found here and here is the video:
What I would like to suggest as food for discussion is the following line:
"America's strong bonds with Israel are well known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties, and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied."
Is this the basis for Jewish sovereignty in the land of Israel? Is this a tenable argument from an Arab perspective?
It seems to me that the Holocaust has been used as the basis for modern Israel, but the further it recedes into the past, the less compelling it becomes for Jews and presidents alike (not to mention Arabs).
But...if Israel’s not justified by the Holocaust, then what?
Shabbat Shalom
PS - my grandfather was particularly fond of Johnny Carson, and this was one of his favorite sketches:
To dedicate a future Table Talk, send an email.
The goal of Table Talk (the Art of Amazement blog) is to stimulate conversation at your Friday night dinner table. Please print and share.
Ahh, the power of concentrated thinking.
Yesterday, I heard a scientist interviewed on the radio about the development of “ivisibility cloak” technology. There have been recent breakthroughs on bending light around an object, so that a viewer would not see the object. The sharp reporter asked, “Since the light is being bent around, if you were wearing one of these, would that mean that you couldn’t see anything, because the light would not be reaching your eyes?”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” admitted the scientist.
As you know, I generally avoid politics in this forum.
I don't intend to change that practice today.
So I will not discuss, for instance, the way the President's Cairo speech seemed to equate Nazi genocide with the suffering of Palestinians.
(By the way, if you search for the text of the speech, most websites have the AP transcript, which is inaccurate and leaves out most of what he said about Israel. The accurate (searchable) text can be found here and here is the video:
What I would like to suggest as food for discussion is the following line:
"America's strong bonds with Israel are well known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties, and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied."
Is this the basis for Jewish sovereignty in the land of Israel? Is this a tenable argument from an Arab perspective?
It seems to me that the Holocaust has been used as the basis for modern Israel, but the further it recedes into the past, the less compelling it becomes for Jews and presidents alike (not to mention Arabs).
But...if Israel’s not justified by the Holocaust, then what?
Shabbat Shalom
PS - my grandfather was particularly fond of Johnny Carson, and this was one of his favorite sketches:
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