Obama is better for Israel

With American election season marching on, there isn’t a Jew in the American Exile who isn’t worried sick over who to vote for. There has been a lot of uptalk about McCain, and for Obama, downtalk. One friend, a generally liberal, socially conscious Jewish girl, told me blunt, “A vote for McCain is a vote against Israel.” Another friend, generally more conservative, helped me come to the following thoughts:

On domestic issues, Obama is much more in tune than McCain with Jewish values. Obama will act with compassion to help the downtrodden in America, through universal health insurance and poverty programs. He will also do far more than McCain to combat problems that cross national boundaries, such as hunger and AIDS. He is better for the Earth. Most importantly, Obama will put good judges on the Supreme Court.

An Eye Gazes Toward Zion

As of about two weeks ago I didn’t know the words to Hatikvah. I speak almost no Hebrew, but since I’ve been planning to spend this summer in Israel, I figured that even if I came in knowing nothing else, at least I could sing along with the crowd and not look like a fool.

It took me a while to learn the whole thing. The refrain was the easy part, but I still mix up Nefesh yehudi homiyah with Ayin letziyon tzofiyah when I’m thinking about it too much.

The interesting byproduct of this process has been my study of the meaning behind the words. The refrain is by far my favorite part of the song musically, but it’s the last phrase of the first stanza that I keep going back to when I forget Nefesh yehudi homiyah.

LaShuv L’Tzion: To Return to Zion

Mention the word “Zion” to five of your friends and you’re likely to get five different answers ranging from “you mean Israel?” to “Oh Shit, I loved the Matrix!” For those of us who have visited the true Zion, I think the feeling in many ways matches the sentiment expressed in the movie: “If the war was over tomorrow, Zion is where the party would be.”

That being said, the politically charged climate in which Israel exists as it approaches its 60th anniversary allows for a truly fantastic range of viewpoints on how Israel should make its way forward in the next sixty years. The goal of this blog is to be a sounding board for a panoply of viewpoints on the state of the State of Israel. It is an experiment, and hopefully, much like that of our subject, one which will grow and change over time while staying true to its most fundamental goals.