Tag Archives: IDF

More Resources for Current Events, Including Israel

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Note: No one is Objective. Nothing is Objective. Some journalists are better researchers than others. Some journalists include context better than others. In addition to grammar, I definitely seek out reliable research and context in my reading.

Many friends have asked me for recommendations of resources on current events affecting Israel, Israelis, Zionists, and anti-Zionists. (This post is not about books. That will be a separate post.) I’m sad I have to repeat this: Not all Arabs are Muslim. Not all Muslims are Arab. Not all Palestinians live in Gaza or the West Bank. Some Palestinians are Israeli citizens. Not all Israelis are Jewish. Not all Jewish Israelis are white. Not all Israelis agree with every policy of the Israeli government or the Israeli police force (even if one of my cousins is part of the Jerusalem police force). I can support Israel, call myself a Zionist, and still disagree with the Israeli government. I can love Israel and fear for Israelis’ safety, and still think critically about how the Israeli military and Israeli police forces protect themselves from terrorism. I can love Israel and my Israeli friends and family, and still care about people in Gaza and the West Bank. Also, Israeli is at war with Hamas. If you are surprised that I am posting this, please know – I don’t want to have to, but every once in a while, I am surprised and disappointed by how ignorant/naive/hateful/narrow some smart people are. (Sorry for the run-on sentence.)

Note: Here is an interesting one-off explanation of Arab Israeli citizens. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-know-about-arab-citizens-israel

Here are some journalism recommendations:

I really believe in lifting up Arab-Israeli, Muslim-Israeli, and Palestinian-Israeli voices. I asked friends for more Palestinian Israelis to read/hear. My Israeli friend Or suggested I read more of Lucy Aharish and Suleiman Maswadeh. Also, Or and I love Renny Grinshpan who I mainly watched for comedy until she became an activist on October 7, 2023. Now, I love her even more. My Israeli friend/brother Niv recommends: Idan Nimsto on Insta and on Twitter/X. Idan Nimsto is probably for the young and young at heart, but this hip, musical Israeli (Lin-Manuel-Miranda-style) teacher made this FANTASTIC video – Give Palestine Back? – You don’t have to agree with it to learn from it.

Haaretz is a liberal Israeli paper which has always included journalists from the non-white and non-religious Jewish population of Israel. Yes, Haaretz costs money, but it’s worth it.

My parents strongly recommend the PBS News Hour on every topic for every American. If you can’t be home at the right time to sit still for live news, you can follow them on social media. That’s a fun mash up of traditional news and “new media.” On Instagram and Threads, they are @newshour. On Instagram, you can also get direct reports from the IDF.

I like + 972 Magazine – I don’t agree with everything they say, even though I’m pretty liberal. I think a lot of Americans like it for their authentically Israeli criticism of Israel’s government.

I also like The Times of Israel. My smart, logical professor Dr. Steven Windmueller contributes to that paper frequently. He loves context and history and research. If you are an American Jew who is wrapped up in American politics and concern for Israel/Israelis, he’s a great person for you to read.

I love the emails from the New Israel Fund. You don’t have to donate money to get their emails, but you might want to. I also like the UnXeptable website for updates and press releases. [UnXeptable started as a grassroots protest movement against the Israeli government, but turned into a grassroots community support org on October 7, 2023. Thanks to my activist sister-from-another-mister Hadar Peled for the connection to UnXeptable way back when it was the Kaplan Street protest movement.] I have heard that “mainstream media” organizations don’t address the situation of the hostages in Gaza regularly, so I recommend visiting the Bring Them Home website and/or Instagram account to find out more – even when there isn’t big news.

For very personal takes on current events, I strongly recommend both Parents Circle and Combatants for Peace. I love these organizations who emphasize working together. These aren’t either Israeli or Palestinian. Both of these organizations lift up voices from all sides of the story. Find them both on all the socials. Please share their stories. They are working towards PEACE FOR EVERYONE EVERYWHERE. Please help them get the attention they deserve for doing the challenging work of building real relationships across borders. [Again, we don’t have to agree with their every word to celebrate their values.]

Friends & Neighbors: Many of you are probably wondering why I didn’t recommend the New York Times. I like a lot of stuff about the NYT. Their games are awesome. I love the magazine and the book review section. I really like Emily Bazelon and Tressie McMillian Cottom. Also, I don’t think the New York Times is reliable on deeply controversial issues like Israel. I’m not the only one to recognize that the New York Times is not as open to the wider world context as people say/expect. For example, here is the full letter that over 180 of the NYT’s own contributers signed and sent about the paper’s on-going biased reporting on transgender life in America. By all means, read the NYT – as long as you read it with your critical thinking skills turned up to 11. There is no perfect newspaper, of course. So, please don’t let the NYT be your only or even main source for news on Israel. NPR and the New York Times don’t always present all sides of the story – partially because the story is over 2,000 years old. Partially because there are more than two sides to this story. See above!

I admit that I’m not super loyal in the way I consume news. In the course of any given week, I’ve probably read articles in all of the news outlets I listed above plus a couple extra ones local to the story I’m chasing. Additionally, for world news, I like The Guardian. Paying for The Guardian is definitely worth it. (I get most of my Ukraine news there, for example.) I don’t read the same papers every day which is why I try to tell my friends to send me articles they really love or hate too. Hint. Hint.

Thank you for listening. Feedback welcome.

May peace prevail on earth – for my people, for your people, for all the people everywhere.

Israelis, You are NOT Alone.

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Bring the hostages home from Gaza. #bringthemhomenow #bringthemallhome

I’ve been collecting sermons and articles and messages because 1. I want to appreciate the folks who are doing this hard, holy, loving work; and 2. I want to share these words. We cannot be silent, and we will stick together.

From Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback -“Es Brent,” It Burns: Grab a Bucket and Douse the Flames – Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback’s message from the LA Jewish Community Vigil for Israel hosted by Stephen Wise Temple on October 8, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&fbclid=IwAR31my2TVKKE-o19p35SVxaS68IPqyXc4mITpyErYsFxtGwKeZTCKDys2WA_aem_AaXnBK-oKSzwj-sCvkl-TFLrzFd3cNZQfRW9orG9hZ1A-1IUDCUOWv9uxM7VeUrF7U8&v=atXmTiDL5yI&feature=youtu.be&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

“Colonizers do not have thousands of years of history in the land they colonize – as the Jews do in the Land of Israel. Colonizers do have a home country that they can de-colonize to, unlike the Israelis.” – Rabbi Rachel Timoner – Shabbat B’reishit 5784 – Response to the Tragedy in Israel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKo0rxAZ_hc

From Rabbi Michelle Pearlman – “Here is a sermon I gave last Friday (10/20/2023). I asked our interfaith partners to come, and we had a packed house. We stand with Israel.” https://clipchamp.com/watch/qp0zvBArWC6

From Rabbi Jill Maderer – https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/israel-hamas-gaza-war-questions-humanity-20231020.html

More Messages:

From Dr. Rachel Adler – “I’m awed by the courage, generosity, and creativity of ordinary Israelis, protecting and caring for people who have suffered, when your so called ‘elected political leaders’ are about as useful as a broken arm. I hope we in the golah can learn from you.”

From Rabbi Karyn Kedar – “By day sixteen I put on my makeup again. Neutrals to even out the dark shadows. I reached for a soft grey eyeliner, just a bit of definition around the sadness. Mascara of course. So that my eyes would open. I can’t figure out if this is depression or mourning. But my eyes know. They know what they have seen and they know that this is so much more than war. You can eradicate a terrorist, even thousands. But only God knows how to eradicate evil. And God doesn’t know. But none of that is for me to say. I am only a poet, sitting on the lake’s edge. And the sun rises. And the blood kisses the horizon. And the turning of foam into itself. And the autumn tree turned burnt orange catches the fury. And the sounds, never ending sound of the illuminated waves, coming to shore, leaving again, returning again, leaving. And a man crosses the lake standing on a paddle board. I can’t see his features, just a silhouette upon the water, against the framing sky. I want to scream above the sound of the waves, I want to shout straight into the heart of beauty, I want to wail into the relentless sun rising and say: Don’t you know?! Don’t you know!!! This is a dangerous world. And in the morning, on the battlefield, the IDF commander orders his soldiers to brush their teeth and to shave their darkened face, lest they forget their humanity.”

From Rabbi Suzanne Singer – “Please let your friends know that we are heartbroken for them, that we stand 100% with Israel, and that we send them a cyber hug. Praying for peace soon and in our day.”

Articles to Read and Share:

Also from Rabbi Rachel Timoner – Do Not Take the Mezuzah Off Your Door – https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/opinion/israelis-palestinians-torah-humanity.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

From Dara Horne – Why Jews Cannot Stop Shaking Right Now – https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/22/opinion/hamas-israel-jews-massacre.html

From Dr. Stephen Windmueller: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/in-this-moment-israel-at-war/

After unthinkable horror, a new Jewish paradigm

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/10/hamas-covenant-israel-attack-war-genocide/675602/ I really like The Atlantic. I know it costs money and the articles are not short. However, I really think their authors/editors are very thoughtful and thorough researchers. No paper or magazine is perfect, but the last time I was mad at one of their articles/journalists was three or more years ago, so I guess they are mostly reliable.

This is a very good book! https://jps.org/books/zionist-idea/ Hertzberg’s The Zionist Idea!

Some feel good stuff:

THIS is my favorite article. It is not 100% happy because war is bad, but it’s a good article. It’s obviously horrible and tragic, BUT it does really emphasize the toughness of Israelis. It aims to give readers a small bit of hope. https://www.timesofisrael.com/coffee-and-cookies-how-a-hostage-kept-her-terrorist-captors-distracted-till-rescue/

This is the video with David Broza and the soldier Osher Beniso singing “You’ve Got a Friend” – https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyddXevNh6j/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D And this is the article about what happened next – https://newsrnd.com/tech/2023-10-17-after-singing-with-david-broza-and-getting-emotional—the-soldier-received-a-scholarship-to-study-at-%22rimon%22—voila!-culture.BJBZtQ0jWa.html

I know this article is not about Israel, but it’s about the murder of a American synagogue president during this terrible old war. Please read it if you have the so-called bandwidth. it’s important. https://www.inquirer.com/columnists/attytood/samantha-woll-murder-peace-nixon-phillies-20231024.html