[ p h i l o s o p h i c a l ] __ r a n t s

Well, I’ve finally made a decision regarding the Olympic Torch Relay and China’s hosting of the Games this summer, and whether or not they should be protested. I’ve been wavering back and forth between thinking the world should admonish the awarding of such an event to a country whose human rights record is beyond abysmal, and thinking that sports should remain “pure” and free from political nonsense.

I wake up almost every morning to CBC radio’s “The Current.” It’s a great current affairs show that often tackles controversial topics with great gusto. This morning, they had on one of the Chinese chairpersons of the Torch Relay who was trying to defend the Games against the protesters. She was up against a University of Toronto professor who had a pretty solid argument in favour of protest.

The chairperson was trying to argue that politics and sports should be kept separate. Note that this very defence doesn’t even attempt to counter the arguments against the human rights issues; it just tries to hide them in the corner of the international boxing ring. The U of T professor countered with some pretty strong arguments which have - at least for the time being - convinced me solidly. So here’s why I’m standing in opposition of this summer’s Games in China:

1. The Modern Olympic Games have always been a politically motivated event. They were created in part to re-establish France’s political superiority in the wake of the Franco-Prussian war. This is a fascinating history - you should read more about it.

2. It is ridiculous to assert that even now the games aren’t political. Athletes don’t represent themselves, they represent their countries. And when they win, their national anthem is played and their nation’s flag is flown. And then, when they return home to their country, they are lauded and admired as national heroes.

And my own arguments:

3.The very fact that people in China right now have no idea that the world is protesting their government speaks volumes.

4. If we begin to compartmentalize such sensitive and volatile issues as Human Rights, we risk compromising our own values and ethics. Even if these Games weren’t a political event, which clearly they are, they still should have be protested. Protesting human rights abuses in China but attending or supporting the Games is doublespeak.

The world is giving tacit approval for China to continue its torrid abuse of basic human rights. Is this surprising? Of course not. Western governments continue to trade with China and act as if nothing is wrong because it suits their wallets and their political egos. Why expect anything different when it comes to sports?

Apparently lots of people! It seems that having a Canadian flag on your backpack isn’t enough to keep you safe anymore…

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/04/04/canadians-gaza.html

Let’s run down the facts of what happened:
- A delegation of Canadians on a mission with the Canada-Israel-Committee came under fire by terrorists from Gaza.
- The Canadians, accompanied by Avi Dichter, the Israeli Minister of Public Security, were in Israel proper.
- The terrorists were in Gaza.
- After the event, multiple terrorist organizations claim responsibility, making it clear that the Canadians were considered legitimate (if not intended) targets.
- After the attack, people blame Israel.

Nu? How about some international outcry for this violation of basic international diplomatic rights? Oh wait… that’s right… the Canadians were probably Jews. So there’s no such thing as diplomatic rights.

Of course, in response to this event, the news commenter wheels have started turning. One would assume that Canadians would be outraged at the terrorists for this attack. And indeed, some are. But of course, plenty of “ordinary” Canadians have decided to place the blame squarely Israel for this attack.

My favourite comment on today’s events has nothing to do with the attack itself, and more with the CBC’s coverage:

cbc is under the influence of neo-con (Read: Jews) traitors and is the mouth piece for the global agenda. … i believe nothing the cbc prints anymore because they are lapdogs to yankee imperialism (Read: Jews). your all traitors and this promo feed newstory should be left on pay per view for those brainwashed seniors (Read: Jews) that allowed this type of society to exist in the first place.

And more… here’s what you won’t see on the news - pictures taken by members of the delegation while they were under attack: http://cicweb.ca/media/newspix_080404.cfm

NEWS FLASH: PM Stephen Harper thinks that the insurgents / fighters / terrorists / militants / gunmen in Afghanistan (call them whatever you want, as long as they are killing Canadian soldiers, they’re just plan assholes to me) are now not motivated out of an ideological hatred, but are killing Canadians and NATO allies because we are apparently getting in the way of the Afghani drug trade. Whether this is true or not, I can’t say - I’m not an Afghani drug lord, and unfortunately my contact in Afghanistan has gone silent… But the real news is in that Harper thinks this is great, because it means we’re winning and doing better - “Hey, the terrorists don’t hate us ’cause we look like the Americans anymore, they hate us ’cause we’re narcs!”

Is he serious? Really? We’re winning because they’re killing us for a different reason? THEY’RE STILL KILLING PEOPLE… This is what shocks me about the current governments in Canada and the U.S. They’re both Conservative… aren’t they supposed to be all about the numbers? Aren’t they supposed to be looking at the cold, hard, facts to make decisions? Isn’t that what Capitalism is all about?

Why is it, then, that these governments seem unmotivated to rethink their policies and actions given the rising monetary cost, not to mention the cold, hard numbers of dead Canadian and American bodies? Some accountants might call these wars a failed investment…

Make sure you get down to the last one on the list. It will change the way you look at the world. Or maybe just the way you look at America.

1. The RIAA list of the Top 100 Selling Music Artists of All Time.
I was actually pleasantly surprised by most of the artists on this list. Turns out the factory-made, genetically engineered pop music that seems to be so pervasive since the Spice Girls were manufactured in a defunct cold-war weapons factory is not actually as successful as it appears to be. At least not when compared to the other bands on the list. I was, however, disappointed that Brittney Spears has sold as many albums as Dave Matthews has. And more than Pearl Jam and Tom Petty. She doesn’t work nearly as hard as they do. And the output isn’t exactly on par. Isn’t it a little ironic (Alanis Morisette was further down the list) that the capitalist society which has propelled the likes of Brittney to the top is the same one that is so adamant about the notion that you have to work hard to be deserving of money? Judgement: AMAZING

2. Reform and Chabad are Friends!… in China…
Read the article. It’s enlightening. Perhaps there is something that America and Canada can learn from China. Judgement: AMAZING

3. Anti-Islam film ‘Fitna’ draws Dutch Jewish condemnations.
The newly-released anti-Islam film by right-wing Dutch legislator Geert Wilders drew condemnations from the Netherlands’ Central Jewish Board, which Friday called the film’s focus on anti-Jewish preachings by Muslims “counterproductive” and “generalizing.” Just one question: When was the last time we heard a reciprocal condemnation of pervasive anti-Jewish propaganda? Judgement: a tie between AMAZING and FUCKED UP

4. Stuff White People Like
If you’re a wordpress-er like me, then you’ve likely already seen this blog. If not, you must head over to it immediately. It is a humourous and surprisingly (perhaps frighteningly) accurate portrayal of white society. Some of my favourites from the list: #88 Having Gay Friends, #75 Threatening to Move to Canada, #68 Michel Gondry, #67 Standing Still at Concerts (I dance like hell, though), #26 Manhattan (now Brooklyn too!), #87 Outdoor Performance Clothes. Judgement: Overall it’s AMAZING. Some of them are STUPID or JUST PLAIN ODD

And the Kicker… the piece de resistance, the one that floored me tonight…

5. The Quantum Sleeper
“What is the Quantum Sleeper?” you ask… While you must go to the website and look at the pictures to truly appreciate the absurdity of this item, here’s a quick rundown of the features it contains:
- Protection from bio-chemical terrorist attack
- Protection from natural disasters (earthquakes…?)
- Protection from kidnappers / stalkers (”What’s that giant object in the bedroom…?”)
- Toiletry system
- CD Player & AM/FM Radio

JUDGEMENT: The Quantum Sleeper is the culmination and supreme iconic indicator of post-9-11 society. It is simultaneously amazing, stupid, fucked up, and just plain odd. Mostly though, it’s a piece of shit.

Courtesy of your local Nova Scotia newspaper.

I put this little widget on my site that lets me track more specifically who’s reading what I have to say. I admit, it smacks a little bit of “Big Brother is watching you,” but I’m just curious… It tells me how many people have been reading at the same time (the most is 4 — no big surprise there).

It also pinpoints pretty precisely where on the globe people are coming from. Here’s the surprise. I’ve got people reading from places I’ve never heard of, and one place which I’m fairly sure I will never ever go to. Check out some of the more interesting places that made the list below.

The astounding:
1. Riaydh, Ar-Riyad - Saudi Arabia
2. Garching, Bayern - Germany

More of the ones I’ve never heard of:
1. Lake Mary, Florida
2. Spring, Texas
3. Sherman Oaks, California
4. Alexandria, Virginia

The honourable:
1. Bat-Yam, Tel Aviv - Israel
2. Montreal, Quebec - Canada (Glad some people are reading from around here)
3. Woodstock, Ontario - Canada (Yes, there is a Woodstock in Canada. No music, though)
4. Barrie, Ontario - Canada - (Ahhh, Northern Ontario. Nothing to do but read mindless drivel)

CBC Radio had a programme on this morning which was discussing how the Canadian Chinese media is covering the current crisis in Tibet. While the press here obviously enjoys much more autonomy than it does in China (”Hello? Can anyone in China see this website?”), apparently Tibetan protesters are being referred to as “rioters,” and the violent Chinese crackdown on these “rioters” is being referred to as the “restoring of order.”

Ok. So I’m not on the ground in Tibet and I don’t have the ability to judge this situation with 100% impartiality and objectivity, but it seems to me as though the cloak of Chinese state censorship has extended to the far reaches of their Diaspora. While I obviously think that this is probably not the best way that the Chinese Canadian media should enjoy their freedom of press, I’m not educated enough on the intricacies of the whole affair to offer any conclusive argument. My opinion is that Chinese Canadians who enjoy rights ensured by Canada should make use of them and speak up. And maybe they are… a cursory Google search for “Chinese Canadian criticism of China” did yield some results, although none from any Chinese Canadian media outlets. A good blog commentary on the issue can be found here.

Of course, one thing led to another, and I started personalizing the issue. I live in a Diaspora, too. Does not living in our ancestral homeland affect the way the Jewish media writes about Israel? Apparently it does…

Larry Cohler-Esses, who has been the editor of the Jewish Student Press Service, has worked for The Washington Jewish Week, The Jewish Week (New York), and has been dispatched worldwide (to Syria and Yemen, no less) had this to say in a 2004 interview on the Jewish press:

“People don’t read Jewish newspapers for the reason they read regular newspapers. People read regular newspapers to get information, whether they agree with the paper or not. People read Jewish newspaper to affirm their sense of identity. Often that means you are writing articles that people don’t particularly want to know about.

“If you want to know to know about Israel, you can get most of your information from The New York Times and the Washington Post. You read the Jewish newspapers to get your sense of Israel’s rightness and correctness in the world affirmed.”

Nu?

Are we employing self-censorship here in Canada and the US? What happened to “Two Jews, Three Views”? I’ve often complained that the Canadian Jewish News is not exactly the most newsworthy paper in the country. To be sure, there’s more criticism in the Israeli media of politics, military actions, and internal social affairs, not to mention culture, sports and the regular skewering of fellow Jews. You get the idea. Even the Jerusalem Post has a more nuanced collection of articles than the New York Jewish Week, or the Canadian Jewish News - the largest Canadian Jewish weekly. A quick look through the “Israel,” “News,” and “Politics,” sections of these sites provides more than enough evidence. For a people who have been at the forefront of championing the mainstream, secular media, we’re doing a pretty shoddy job of ensuring journalistic integrity in our own newspapers.

Like with Tibet, I don’t purport to offer any conclusive solution. But I do believe that perhaps salvation lies in people continuing to read what independent Jewish journalists have to say, i.e. read (and write) blogs. The variety of opinion is healthy for the mind. We’re like the dark fruits and vegetables in the produce section. Full of antioxidants.

***

In other news (extremely relevant to me today), apparently Shakespeare’s plays were not written by Shakespeare, nor were they written by another man named Shakespeare. One woman claims to have evidence that Shakespeare’s plays were written by a Jewish woman.

One of the URJ’s most successful and admirable efforts to get people more engaged in daily Talmud Torah is the Ten Minutes of Torah initiative. For those not familiar, it’s an email study programme where each day of the week is devoted to a different aspect of study: Torah, ethics, history, Israel, and so on.

Just recently, a new weekly topic was added. (Actually, it replaces the weekly Hebrew lessons… not sure why they couldn’t have kept all of them… not enough days in the week for study? Ahh well. The new addition to the roster makes every Tuesday “Mishnah Day.”

This is fantastic. Truly a leap forward for Reform Judaism. Delivering weekly drashes on the Mishnah into thousands of people’s inboxes is a phenomenon whose significance shouldn’t be underestimated. To quote a certain Texan… “The Reform movement has been traditionally pretty allergic to Talmud, excepting catchy aggadot (for which we needn’t turn to Talmud anyway because of Sefer Ha-Aggadah).” This is another step in paving the Derech Torah. For more on my thoughts on the unpaved road to Torah, see my most recent post.

For many, this will be the first time that they are introduced to the Mishnah. For others, it provides some much needed sustenance to fill in what has been a glaring lacuna in Reform Judaism’s overall pedagogy. For those of you who have been keeping track, in the past two days I’ve used the words zeitgeist, lacuna, and pedagogy.

אם אין קמח אין תורה אם אין תורה אין קמח
If there is no sustenance [literally flour], there is no Torah.
If there is no Torah, there is no flour.
Pirkei Avot 3:21

Rashi comments on this perek by noting that one cannot always be studying Torah - if one does not eat, then one can’t learn. At first glance, one might assume that this means that there are times when you should take yourself away from Torah… ahh, but of course, that’s not the case. Those rabbis were tricky fellows. In short, what the rabbis are getting at is that there are multiple paths to Torah. Or for those who believe that there is a singular path of Torah living, the rabbis are noting that each person who travels it is unique. No two people walk down the same physical road at the same pace, on the same path, or with the same stride. It would be foolish to think the same of the path of Torah. Thus, the time you spend feeding yourself and taking care of your personal needs is part of paving the road of Torah. Without food, it would be a pretty bumpy ride.

To be sure, just before the above quoted line, it is written “Where there is no Torah, there will be no good conduct; where there is no good conduct, there will be no Torah.” The Hebrew for “good conduct” is derech… literally “path,” or “way.”

Now you are likely asking yourself why Jesse has suddenly delved into a drash on Pirkei Avot and Rashi. Especially after a blogging absence that Mark Swick would label “a shanda!” The answer, folks, is quite simple, and can be summed up in one word. A word which, in fact, is perhaps the single word which can be used to describe our current socio-cultural-political zeitgeist.

Facebook

That’s right. Facebook. Rashi, Pirkei Avot, and Facebook are now having a party together. And I’m sure that somewhere in the Facebook universe there’s an invite that hasn’t been sent to me.

This evening, through the marvellous wonder of the mini-feed, I happened to notice that a person (who shall remain anonymous) had listed their religion as “Torah Jew.” Having long ago withdrawn the limits of what one could list their religion as, we’ve seen many things filled into that magical space on people’s profiles. From the oft pervasive secularism of the theatre crowd to my own listing as “Frum Reform,” I do believe that the customizable space is a great benefit. I’d be the last person to suggest that you can pigeon-hole something as expansive as religious beliefs into a small box on Facebook.

But this notion of Torah Jew - a phrase I’ve heard repeated many times before - suddenly troubles me. If there are Torah Jews, it naturally implies that there are Jews who don’t get to have the distinction of Torah be a part of their Jewish identity. Are some Jews more observant of the Torah’s laws? Most certainly yes. Are some Jews more involved in daily Torah study? Of course. But does answering yes to these questions make such people any less entitled to the Torah? Has the Torah withdrawn itself from them? Is the Torah entirely absent from their lives? Can it be said that there is any Jew that is devoid of Torah? I challenge you to answer yes to these questions. No human has the right to deny Torah from another. By titling oneself a Torah Jew, it intrinsically - and arrogantly so - serves to snub those who aren’t classified as such. It is yet another elitist tool of certain members of the Ortho-aristocracy. And worse, it is a silent and subversive tool.

The Torah teaches that Moses was not allowed into Eretz Yisrael because - similar to much of (but by no means all of) the current generation of Orthodox Jews - he did not speak gently to the people and tried to impose his authority via arrogance.

To quote an anonymous commentator of some ha’aretz article from while back:

This is the great failure of this generation of Orthodox Jews: instead of leading the wider Jewish people to Torah, they have decided to isolate themselves in arrogance and in judgement…

I challenge the Orthodox Jews to attract Jewish children to the Torah with the same or greater strength that they are attracted to Harry Potter. This should be their mission. Not accusing the non-Frum Jews of their failure.

Not long after getting out of the army, a friend and I drove down to Eilat to relax for a couple of days. We were sitting in our hotel room after an amazing day of hiking and snorkeling, and there was the news. A suicide bombing. Twenty people were murdered, dozens more injured. It was the “Childrens’ Attack.” I stared helplessly at the TV screen, I prayed for the injured, and I prayed to see an image of the new prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, distraught, upset, denouncing the violence. As the night rolled on, more people died, the army made plans, but Abu Mazen never appeared. My friend and I were shooken up, we couldn’t stay and swim any longer. We packed our bags and headed home.

The next morning, on the drive back, we stopped by an army base where my old unit was stationed. There was a good friend of mine, now an officer. Roi was doing some work on a tank, and he was alone. I climbed up with him, and we sat down to talk. There, on that hulk of steel we cried. We were sorry for ourselves, we were sorry for our country, we were sorry for the victims, we were sorry for the Palestinians, and we were sorry for the world. Niether of us had ever wanted to fight, but we did. We did it because we needed to, because there was a war, because we had a responsibility to keep our friends and our families safe. But, every day, we prayed for peace. We prayed for an end. Every day that we fought in the territories, every day that we caused Palestinian suffering, we understood just how much we shared with them, and how hurtful it was for everyone for this all to go on. The past few weeks had been quiet. Roi’s company was able to leave the front. We thought it was ending, that perhaps things would change, but the night before had shattered everything once again. So, we sat, stared at the sun, and we cried. We were tired.

That was nearly five years ago. Since then, wow, things have changed, right? Arafat died, the Red Sox won the World Series, the disengagement hapenned, I went to school, Arik had a stroke, Facebook, the Lebanon war – and we’re still fighting the Palestinians, and terrorism keeps on going. You know what? I am tired.

I am tired of fighting, I am tired of death. Yes, I will go on. I will continue to support Israel, I will continue to fight for peace. I will continue to draw attention to the genuine suffering of the Palestinian people, and I will continue to serve in the reserves, and God forbid – in another war. But, I am tired of all of this i am tired of trying to fight my way through this horrible moral thicket, and I am tired that for every thought of doubt I have, someone is questioning my character. Blaming me for the holocaust, blaming me for the death of Palestinians, blaming me for the death of Jewish citizens, and blaming me for ignoring Torah. All of this is complicated, it is exhausting. My thoughts have grown so jumbled and confused, that the beginnings and ends of conversations and arguments are hidden beneath so many layers of rhetoric.

I am lost, I am confused, and I am tired.
by Josh Frankel