In the current climate, when a Middle East war may come from any direction, it's worth sitting back and hearing beauty, the opposite of war and hate. After reading Idan Landau's post (in Hebrew) predicting an imminent "war of choice" by Israel against Hezbollah, I watched the video he featured of the Israeli performer, Karolina, singing an enchanting … [Read more...]
Israel: Price of Dissidence
When Israeli poet and lyricist, Yonatan Geffen wrote his poem comparing Ahed al Tamimi to Joan of Arc, Hannah Senesch and Anne Frank, I predicted what the impact would be: Really, it’s a fairly innocuous song. But it raises the hackles of Israeli patriot-enforcers, who attempt to extract their pound of flesh from the poor victim. You cannot stray from the … [Read more...]
Big Data, Big Brother and Little David
בניגוד לכתבת היח"צ של השב"כ ב"הארץ", לפי נתוני השב"כ מספר הפיגועים דווקא עלה בתקופה האחרונה I've often complained here about the overly cozy relationship between Israeli journalists and their sources in the intelligence/security apparatus. Tonight, we'll hear from a journalist who's especially guilty of practicing such stenography. Haaretz's Amos Harel, … [Read more...]
Slideshow: Banksy’s Walled Off Hotel
Banksy's Walled Off Hotel opened earlier this month in Bethlehem. And it's a trip! After reading this interview in which he spoke in detail about his artistic vision for the project, and seeing the photographs of the project, I was entranced. It's both a powerful political statement and funny as hell. But dark-funny. It's a send-up of Occupation, a sly, … [Read more...]