Daily Archives: 06/14/2010

(Community Matters) Jacobins or Nihilists?

Prof Bernstein (New School Distinguished Professor of Philosophy) in the New York Times

When it comes to the Tea Party’s concrete policy proposals, things get fuzzier and more contradictory: keep the government out of health care, but leave Medicare alone; balance the budget, but don’t raise taxes; let individuals take care of themselves, but leave Social Security alone; and, of course, the paradoxical demand not to support Wall Street, to let the hard-working producers of wealth get on with it without regulation and government stimulus, but also to make sure the banks can lend to small businesses and responsible homeowners in a stable but growing economy.

(Community Matters) One of our activities while in Israel was establishing contacts for Ballet Austin and their vision of presenting The Light in Israel.  Steve, Diane & I met with the US Embassy’s Cultural Attache while in Tel Avis one morning.  And, we made another very important contact through the partnership & a member of KCDC who put us in contact with a leading Israeli philanthropist & arts patron.

The Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company (KCDC).  Loved meeting the company manager, Galia Kalef Hayon (herself a former dancer), over lunch. We’d planned to make a show at the kibbutz on Friday evening but schedule simply ran too tight and we’d already committed to a Shabbat dinner. 

(Community Matters) Western Galilee is a gorgeous part of Israel, northern Israel, along the Mediterranean, borders Lebanon.

Diane, Steve and I stayed near Nahariya, in the exquisite, stone beach home of Orit Guri, Amir and their 5 daughters; it sits on the Mediterranean sea.  We were also hosted by Merav & Dori (they have 3 small children).  Orit and Merav were guests of Diane & Steve while visiting Austin as member of Partnership with Israel, a program of the Jewish Agency and Federations around the US.  The Western Galilee partnerships include Austin, Dallas and other mostly mid-West relations.

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(Community Matters) The grand ‘ol lady certainly created a stir.  Two opinion pieces, not necessarily in conflict though advocating different end results:

Leondard Pitts Jr

Joan Vennochi

(Community Matters) Rosh Hanikra is the northern, most western border between Israel & Lebanon – beautiful sea, mountain and grottos

There’s a cable car from the cliffs down to the grottos, ripped into the chalk and flint mountain by seismic shocks and seeping water. During the Second World War, the British built a tunnel and bridges through the mountains for the train route through the Middle East into Europe.  Hard to believe it only took a year to build this line; the literature noting men from Britain, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa worked on it.

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(Community Matters)

I was going to note my political thoughts, but they are still evolving.  It is such an incredibly complex situation in the Middle East and just as complicated within the former land of Palestine.  I hope to post my evolving thoughts in the next few days

(Community Matters) Caesarea Maritima, again, my second time there – Steve & Diane’s first. Built by Herod the Great (25BC – 12BC) to honor his Roman patron, and as a critical harbor. It was also the site of Herod’s home on the sea.

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(Community Matters) We toured Yad Vashem, led by our guide, Itay Ben Zoken. My second time there.  Like an onion, I enjoyed the layer one sees the next time.

this map depicts the number of Jews who lived where at the outbreak of WWII

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