Two-wheelin' it in Tel Aviv

UK Peer + IDF + Haiti = 'Teh Styupid is Strong in This One'

Jenny! Look!: That must be an Israeli baby-organ bandit sizing up his next meal now!

From the UK Jewish Chronicle:

Tonge: Investigate IDF stealing organs in Haiti

Baroness Tonge, the Liberal peer, said this week that Israel should set up an inquiry to disprove allegations that its medical teams in Haiti “harvested” organs of earthquake victims for use in transplants.

Her call has been sharply criticised by fellow LibDems, but party leader Nick Clegg has refused to act against her.

The organ theft claims were published last week in the Palestine Telegraph, an online journal based in Gaza of which Baroness Tonge is a patron.

Previous Haiti posts: http://betbender.blogspot.com/search?q=Haiti

Trying Out For 'American Idol' - in Israel

An utterly frikin' WONDERFUL take on trying out for Israel's version of "American Idol." With pics!

(VIDEO EXPOSE') What Israelis REALLY Think of US Airport Security

(H-T: Israeli satire site: Latma)

(Video) Elvis at 75, in Israel: 'It's Now or Never'

The 'Neon Sistine' Elvis ceiling. More here (Photo: Dave Bender, All Rights Reserved)

I just love sweet, yet mildly bizarre subculture stories, don't you?



Great vid. I covered this a few years ago in print, with photos - and in video, too:

'Blue Suede Jews'

"Memphis has Graceland. Vegas has impersonators. And Israel - yes, Israel - has the Elvis Inn, a bizarre desert Mecca for Middle East Elvis enthusiasts. It's the Holy Land, people, and the King has risen."... See More... See More

Read More: http://www.atlantajewish.com/content/012006/bluesuedejews.html

http://www.davebrianbender.com

(VIDEO) Israel: 30 countries at mass-casualty, NBC drill

"Preparing for a germ warfare attack, Israel stages its largest ever drill on emergency preparedness as hundreds of emergency response experts from around the world attend a simulated biological attack on Tel Aviv."

Israel: Just Jew it (developing post)

Which is to say that I'm returning to Israel, to resettle after three amazing years working and living here in Georgia among some pretty amazing folks, both in Atlanta and elsewhere, statewide.


Atlanta skyline. (Dave Bender, All Rights Reserved)

Rav Kook wrote:

"When people are asked why they are unwilling to settle in Eretz Yisrael [The Land of Israel] right now, they have all types of cheshbonot - calculations - as to why now is not the time.

One says his chesbon is that his children need to finish school or college; another's chesbon is that he has to vest his pension, and so on.

If we look in the Torah, though, we will see that before the Jewish people entered Eretz Yisrael, they first killed the King of Chesbon.

Once the King of Chesbon is killed, the decision to move to Eretz Yisrael becomes easy."

In more contemporary terms:

This post will be developed and expanded, as I try to get more nuanced feelings about this whole process of being here and there down on pap- 'er, blog...


Sunset panorama outside the Jaffa Gate of Jerusalem's Old City. (Dave Bender, All Rights Reserved)

Comments welcome.

'Flying While Jewish' vs 'Flying While Arab': Poll

I'm just wondering what you readers think here about the imbroglio on US Airways Flight 3709:

On Thursday, a flight attendant on a US Air flight from New York to Louisville mistook the religious prayer article as a bomb after the Jewish passenger, Caleb Leibowitz, 17, had taken them out to pray, according to reports. Tefillin consist of two black boxes, each connected to leather straps.

The passengers and crew were taken off the plane in Philadelphia. Fire trucks and police met the plane on the runway.

Leibowitz was questioned and released. No one was arrested in the incident.

Seems to me that what's interesting in the story of the Orthodox Jewish kid being hassled on the flight for strapping up in his seat is the worldwide Jewish reaction in the news, online, in blogs, etc to the whole story: somewhat embarrassed amusement, internal backbiting, justifications and explanations, etc. followed by... ho-hum, and maybe a stern lecture from a rabbinic pulpit about "not making a 'shonda' in front of the goyim."

But nothing beyond that, except maybe some understandably ruffled feathers, if that, among the other passengers forced to switch flights towards their destinations...

Whereas in the Arab world (as per the "Sheiks On A Plane" aka the "Flying Imams" event): the usual response would be law/warfare, sometimes including riots, torched embassies, screaming denunciations, enraged fatwas, indignant press conferences and vitriolic talking heads on news programs.

That says something. What do you think that "something" is, I'd like to know. Drop a comment below, if you please.

(Video) BBC Porcine Aviation Moment: Gaza & Sderot

From the Beeb: A celebrated (going by the accent and Belfast reference, Irish) UK soldier takes his own professional "boots-on-the-ground" look at Gaza and Sderot - and comes to (for Bush House, as least) surprising conclusions that refute The Goldstone report about last year's battle, and incidentally, much of the BBC's own programming about the conflict:

A year ago the Israeli army was readying itself to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, after a three-week campaign which led to accusations of war crimes.

The Israelis said they launched their assault because they could no longer tolerate the indiscriminate rocket attacks which were being launched on Israel from inside Gaza.

One year on, celebrated Gulf War veteran Colonel Tim Collins travelled to Gaza for a soldier's view of the conflict.

Broadcast on Tuesday 19 January 2010.

The un-embeddable video is here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/8470100.stm

Anyone with an embed link out there?

(H-T: EoZ)

Haiti & The Israeli Field Hospital: Curb Your Enthusiasm

A cautionary note from a very astute blogger:

"We do not do these things to improve the Israeli "image" or gain the love of the world. Bitter experience taught us that no good deed goes unpunished. African nations that received so much aid from Israel in the 60s broke off diplomatic relations in 1967. Uganda, which had been the recipient of agricultural aid and student exchange programs, repaid us by hosting a plane hijacked by terrorists. Anyone who expects that Haiti will establish diplomatic relations with Israel just because we saved some Haitians will probably be disappointed. As for anti-Zionists, nothing will change with them. It doesn't matter what we do, they still know that we all have horns and tails and eat babies. Don't confuse them with the facts."

Read the rest.

And here's a clever, ironic take on the issue, in the UK Telegraph. So ironic, in fact, that many talkbackers totally misunderstood the point of the sly, British understatement...

My previous post about the Israeli rescue effort is here.