July 25, 2006

PLEASE READ

MY HEARTFELT APPOLOGIES. THE FOLLOWING STORY WAS ALLEGORICAL. IT IS NOT TRUE (I DON'T EVEN HAVE A BROTHER).

THE STORY WAS TO (POORLY AS IT SEEMS) SHOW WHAT THE WORLD IS EXPECTING OF ISRAEL. HIZBULLAH IS THE CANCER.

PLEASE FORGIVE ME IF IT WAS TAKEN LITERALLY.


My brother has cancer.

He went to the doctor felling very ill. The doctor did some tests and lo and behold there was a tumor growing in his lung. The doctor told my brother that surgery would be the best option.

So my brother goes in and has the procedure. When he comes to, the doctor tells him that the surgery was a success. He removed 10% of the tumor.

Upset, my brother asked why he didn't remove the whole thing. “Well, the tumor is growing at a pretty slow rate so we did what we in the medical community call a ‘measured response.’ After all, if we were to remove the whole thing, we may cut some healthy host tissue by accident and that would be a tragedy. No, you should wait. If the tumor grows, we’ll just cut out a bit more and hope for the best.”

Also, who's to say that the healthy tissue is better than the cancerous? After all, they're both cells.

Oh, did I mention the doctor was from Europe?

July 10, 2006

From the "I think I just had a stroke" files

Jew-Arab wife swap gets ugly

THEY exchanged the meat-eater with the vegetarian, the religious with the secular. Yet only when the Israeli producers of television's Wife Swap exchanged an Arab for a Jew did the wheels come off.

Amal Ahmed Abdullah, 28, a Muslim from an Arab village near Jerusalem, tearfully packed her bags and quit the reality show early.

She bade her Jewish "husband" a terse farewell, unable to bear the increasingly rancorous arguments.

By contrast, Ayelet Movsowitz, 39, felt at home and went out of her way to fit in with her Muslim "spouse", a world away from her farming community home in northern Israel near the Sea of Galilee.

Kuperman, an Israeli production company, bought rights to the hit television series Wife Swap - where two matriarchs from two households trade places - and decided to take the show to the frontier of the country's eternal conflict.

Ms Movsowitz, a part-time secretary and mother of three, found herself welcomed into the Ahmed Abdullah family, which is liberal by Arab standards.
Like her "husband", Karim Ahmed Abdullah, 36, a gentle construction worker, she made the effort to adapt.

The pair developed a bond, and Ms Movsowitz even tried out her stumbling Arabic for the children.

In contrast, Ms Ahmed Abdullah and her "spouse" Sean Movsowitz, 41, started off badly when he revealed he was not comfortable with her being alone with his children.

The pair squabbled incessantly. She wanted to watch al-Jazeera, he decreed CNN. She forgot Jewish dietary laws and mixed dairy with meat, to his consternation.

The quarrel grew heated. Ms Ahmed Abdullah could not bear the tension any longer and packed her bags.

Roy Oz, the executive editor of the show, said: "Their differences were not cultural but personal.
"The cultural and religious differences only served as the point of conflict for these two. The reason they couldn't get on was simply because they are such different people."

July 09, 2006

My thoughts

I apologize for the blackout. I have (baruch Hashem) been recovering from the surgery.

I have been watching the unfolding of events in Israel with a furrowed brow.

It is laughable that there are those who would criticize Israel for it's measured action against her enemies. The "Palestinians" have been reaping what they have sown. They invited terrorists to rule them and now they must pay the price for their actions. Sovereign governments must behave responsibly and when they revert to barbarism they must be met with war. Kidnapping is the ultimate cowardly and barbaric act. The "Palestinian" government needs to be held accountable. As for the poor civilians, see HERE.

Jewish blood is not cheap and the Jewish nation will not sit idly by as one of her sons is stolen from his land.

That being said, Israel needs to take a step back and look at itself. It is time to protect its people and clean house: see HERE.

For those modertae Arab governments... Israel's "friends," see HERE

As for Israel's actions in Gaza, I say kol hakavod.

No negotiations. No discussion. No peace.

Please daven for our brother held in captivity: Gilad Ben Aviva