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May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
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The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
August 24, 2005
/ 19 Menachem-Av, 5765
Family quarrel
By
Paul Greenberg
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
The Hillel center at the University of Missouri was the only Jewish game in town when, more years ago than I care to think about, I was its student president.
There was no Jewish congregation in Columbia, Mo., back then, so when a church would come looking for someone to talk about Judaism to a Sunday School class, I'd be the one sent. One question always arose: What are the Jews exactly — race, religion, culture, nationality, ethnic group?
None of the usual, neat categories really fit, till I hit upon one that was familiar to everybody in the class. "We are," I explained, "a family."
Heads nodded in recognition. Everybody had one of those.
I could remember overhearing conversations around the kitchen table as a child: Yes, the grown-ups might agree, after much discussion and even a little shouting, Uncle Moysh or Cousin Abie was a bum who would never make it on his own, but, nu, we had to help him make a fresh start. After all, he was mishpucha — family.
No wonder "Moonstruck" has become my favorite movie over the years; it's really all about one thing from the opening scene to the last toast: A la familia! .
I can't remember being quite so proud in quite this way of the family as I was this past week, when the news was full of images of Jews being forced out of their homes — this time by other Jews.
The self-control of both settlers and soldiers required a kind of courage that not even war may demand.
It had taken 8,000 Israeli troops to capture Gaza in the Six Day War, when Gamal Abdel Nasser was going to drive the Jews into the sea. It would take a force of 50,000 — trained, disciplined and almost all unarmed — to remove the settlers from the Jewish settlements that were planted there after the war.
Young soldiers, many of whom doubtless agreed with the settlers, carried out their orders with tears in their eyes. Troops joined in prayers with those who resisted them before carrying out their orders. An Israeli general oversaw the evacuation of his children and grandchildren from their homes. Young women in the army, assigned to look after the toddlers, took confused little kids to the waiting buses while their parents went limp and were carried away, almost gently.
Pleas alternated with insults. ("How can you do this? You have a Jewish heart!") There was much shouting and gesticulating — for we are not from the hand-mute peoples — but in the end the soldiers did what they had to do, and so did the settlers. It was as if both sides were practicing passive resistance.
It was one noisy, emotional, voluble, even theatrical scene after another, but it all went more smoothly than almost anybody had expected. Yes, some young agitators, the kind of two-week warriors who were urging families who'd lived in Gaza for two decades to put up a fight, began throwing paint, acid, oil, sand — anything they could — at the troops. They succeeded only in disgracing themselves.
Ariel Sharon, who had planted these settlements, said it pained him to order their removal, but at the sight of these attacks on troops and police, his pain turned to rage.
One woman set fire to herself in protest — talk about un-Jewish! And in two separate incidents, one in northern Israel and the other on the West Bank, two Jewish terrorists murdered innocent Arabs in hopes of foiling the evacuation.
No one in Israel, certainly no one in authority, defended the killers. They had shamed their people and were denounced. Whatever they had hoped to accomplish, the evacuations went on.
Even if these withdrawals set the stage for the next war — Arab extremists are already shouting "First Gaza, then Jerusalem!" — at least when it comes, Israelis will know they tried to avoid it by pulling out of the most controversial, and most vulnerable, settlements.
It must be done despite the heart-wrenching scenes. It may look as if the people of Israel are divided. But despite all the shouting and cries, the protests and political divisions, it's all in the family.
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Paul Greenberg Archives
© 2005, TMS
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