Dave Bender: Compelling Photography

Wednesday, September 27

Lebanese blogger: Ramadan and Rosh Hashanah greetings

Lebanese Political Journal has a fascinating back and forth in the "talkbacks" under what seems to have started off with a brief - and pretty unbelieveable - post, offering Ramadan and Rosh Hashana greetings.

Worth taking a look, and offering your own.

Ramadan Kareem!
Happy Rosh Hashanah!

Last year, a Jewish friend of mine in Beirut was fasting over Yom Kippur, which occured in the middle of Ramadan. He decided to break his fast with Hassan Nasrallah and his supporters at an Hezbollah iftar. However, in the middle of Nasrallah's speech, he was accused of being a Jew by the head of security and interrogated. He claimed he was Christian. They let him go after a long haranguing. He left the event nonplused.

If LPJ have the collective huevos to write what they do against Hizbullah, we should support them, IMHO.

Having worked in construction with Muslim Israelis and Palestinians over the years, and being a chronic fast sufferer (wanna like-to-die nausea, shakes and headaches - don't ask...), I appreciate the rigors of month-long Ramadan, as well as the upcoming Yom Kippur.

So, G'mar Chatima Tova (May you be inscribed for a good fate) and and "T'zom kal," an easy fast to all.

(Cross-posted at Israelity)

Intimidating the West: Connecting the dots

Even with the welter of world coverage (make that a tsunami) about the growing threat to the West posed by militant Islam, Daniel Pipes gives it to us short and to the point.

From this...

To this, in just 16 years

The violence by Muslims responding to comments by the pope fit a pattern that has been building and accelerating since 1989. Six times since then, Westerners did or said something that triggered death threats and violence in the Muslim world. Looking at them in the aggregate offers useful insights.

Monday, September 25

Repentance Pains? Call: '1-800-CLE-TZEDEK' (UPDATED Video)

Rosh Hashana over and 10-Days-of-Repentance pains got you down, Bunky? Well, Stephen Colbert, of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," has the cure.

And he even gets the Hebrew right (not to mention the ringtone).

"Call: 1-800-CLE-TZEDEK. Operators are standing by."

But seriously, folks: Can you - for even a picosecond - imagine something like this aired for Ramadan in the West - let alone in the Muslim world? Don't believe me? Then try this burka on for size:

Some Columbus radio stations have rejected as insensitive an advertisement for a car dealership that invokes Islamic references.
The general manager of the dealership, though, says the promotions — which he called "tongue-in-cheek" — will air on some stations beginning next week.
In the spot, Keith Dennis of Dennis Mitsubishi talks about "launching a jihad on the automotive market."
Sales representatives "will be wearing burqas all weekend long," the ad says. One of the vehicles on sale "can comfortably seat up to 12 jihadists in the back."
"Our prices are lower than the evildoers’ every day. Just ask the pope! " the ad says. "Friday is fatwa Friday, with free rubber swords for the kiddies."

G'wan. Guess who's got their panties in a knot over the spot... (hint: it ain't the Hadassah ladies)

(Cross-posted at Israelity)

(HT: Life of Rubin)

A Little Good News Today (Audio)

Although I grew up in a small town in Florida and Houston, Texas listening to country music until it came out my ears, Canadian country singer Anne Murray never really interested me, until I heard this:

And then, reading through the lyrics, and listening to the song tonight though to myself, "that's a pretty good wish for a journo in this region for Rosh Hashana..."

Damn. 23 years later, and it's still accurate (except for Bryant Gumbel)...

A Little Good News
Anne Murray
Written by Charles Black, Rory Bourke, and Thomas Rocco

Peaked at # 74 on the Pop chart in 1983 while hitting #1 on the Country chart

I rolled out this morning
Kids had the mornin' news show on
Bryant Gumbel was talkin' 'bout the fighting in Lebanon
Some senator was squawkin' 'bout the bad economy
It's gonna get worse you see, we need a change in policy

There's a local paper rolled up in a rubber band
One more sad story's one more than I can stand
Just once how I'd like to see the headline say
"Not much to print today, can't find nothin' bad to say", because
Nobody robbed a liquor store on the lower part of town
Nobody OD'ed, nobody burned a single buildin' down
Nobody fired a shot in anger, nobody had to die in vain
We sure could use a little good news today

I'll come home this evenin'
I'll bet that the news will be the same
Somebody takes a hostage, somebody steals a plane
How I wanna hear the anchor man talk about a county fair
And how we cleaned up the air, how everybody learned to care
Whoa, tell me

Nobody was assassinated in the whole Third World today
And in the streets of Ireland, all the children had to do was play
And everybody loves everybody in the good old USA
We sure could use a little good news today

Nobody robbed a liquor store on the lower part of town
Nobody OD'ed, nobody burned a single buildin' down
FADE
Nobody fired a shot in anger, nobody had to die in vain
We sure could use a little good news today

Go buy a cd or two of her music for more great songs.

JerusalemOnline news update: 00:00, Sept. 25th (Video - Channel 2 TV)

Today's Headlines:

Palestinians to resume Unity Government discussions
Abbas: Free Fatah leader Barghouti for Shalit
Nasrallah rallies crowd in Beirut

Click on image for latest Israel
Channel Two TV news

Israeli female army unit foiling white slave trade

Sergeant Tzipora Schindler, 20, moved from Newton, MA to Israel two years ago. She volunteered for the only infantry battalion in the Israel Defense Forces that includes women. Schindler’s battalion helps patrol the southern region of Israel. (Alon Tuval for the Boston Globe)

ON THE ISRAELI-EGYPTIAN BORDER -- Sergeant Tzipora Schindler , a 2004 graduate of Newton South High School, is on the front lines of Israel's other border war, on the lookout for terrorists and smugglers along the country's southern frontier.
From her base camp atop Mount Uzia, she can see through binoculars where Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia intersect at the Gulf of Aqaba below, gleaming like an oasis in the desert landscape.
Schindler, 20, left her parents in Newton and moved to Israel two years ago, seeking spiritual rebirth after spending part of her childhood in Jerusalem. She quickly volunteered for the only infantry battalion in the Israel Defense Forces that includes women.

Read more.
(Cross-posted at Israelity)

Friday, September 22

Shofar, So Good (Video)

Taken when I got real high over Jerusalem.
Click on photo for larger image. (Photo: Dave Bender)

An oldie, but a goodie for Rosh Hashana. Shana Tova!

And this from journalist colleague Judy Lash Balint:

The New Year season in Israel is marked by a unique set of sights, sounds and smells.

Markets burst with color. The bright scarlet of bulging pomegranates, deep shiny purple eggplant, huge green grapes and succulent dark brown dates line the stalls. The sharp sound of the shofar reverberates through the slightly damp air of the early morning, as the faithful heed its plaintive call to repentance during the days leading up to Yom Kippur. The scent of the last of the summer flowers lingers in the air, mixed with the fragrant odors of traditional holiday food wafting out of kitchens and bakeries all over the city.

It's hard to comprehend that in the midst of such vibrancy, Israelis continue to face existential threats from neighboring enemies that claimed hundreds of lives over the past months.

Read more.
(Cross-posted at Israelity)

Thursday, September 21

'A Hard Rain's Gonna' Fall' - in Hebrew (Video)

Although I never, as a rule, watch American Idol, or its Israeli version, "Cochav Nolad," rules are made to be broken, and this time it was over nominee Maya Rothman's neat little Hebrew version of Dylan's 'A Hard Rain's Gonna' Fall.'

Noted lyricist, playwright and columnist Jonathon Gefen did the translation (not too shabby at'll...), and, and, umm... I have no idea who actually won the contest.

Ahh, what the hell. Enjoy this YouTube version via Danya via Israelity. Shana Tova!

Flagging support for Israeli charities after war

The war may be over, but the socioeconomic, psychological and emotional needs of thousands of Israelis countrywide remain dire, especially now, on the eve of Rosh Hashana. Help them start off the New Year better than the old one ended.
From the Support Israel site:
The "Support Israel" Flag is a special way to show your support to Israel during this difficult time. The flag is constructed of logos of the many organizations that support Israel through Hasbara (PR), Donations, Aliya, Education etc.

By clicking on the organizations' logos you can take a look at the websites, learn about their activities and choose your preferred ways to help Israel.

By forwarding the Flag to your friends, you show your support and help Israel reach as many supporters as possible. Our goal is 1 million supporters!

(Cross-posted at Israelity)