By RP Nation, on Wed Nov 30, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET The RP’s Huffington Post column about Israel this week has sparked considerable interest at this site and over the rest of the Internet tubes as well. (Already more than 650 comments have been made over at HuffPo).
For another perspective on one of the central issues at stake — LGBT rights in the Middle East, we turn to the RP Nation’s Scott Piro who submitted the following piece. We would love your feedback, as always.
In 2007, the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs initiated a nation-branding campaign informally known as ‘Beyond the Conflict.’ The goal was to change people’s perception of Israel from a war zone populated by the ultra-religious into a more normal place – rich with culture, dominated by high-tech and scientific achievement and grounded in identifiable, Western values.
American nonprofit organizations joined the effort by making sure non-conflict stories saw the light of day – everything from Israeli companies being listed on the NASDAQ and Israeli-made computer chips powering everyday products, to stories about Tel Aviv’s nightlife and Israeli model Bar Rafaeli gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue.
Nation-branding is practiced by many states, from established democracies like the U.S., Canada, France, Japan, South Korea, South Africa and New Zealand to developing countries like Tanzania, Colombia and Guatemala. It’s not unique to Israel.
In addition to the cultural and technology stories, the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs sought ways to emphasize Israeli values. Israel’s record on LGBT rights was smartly identified as a way to highlight its societal tolerance and diversity, and draw contrast with more repressive regimes in the region and around the world. In reality, Israel is the only Middle Eastern country where people are not persecuted because of their sexual or gender identity. Here are the facts for LGBTs in Israel:
- Anti-discrimination laws protecting LGBTs
- Recognition of same-sex marriages performed abroad
- Legalized LGBT adoption rights
- LGBT soldiers serve openly in all military branches, including special units; discrimination is prohibited
- Same-sex couples have the same inheritance rights as heterosexual, married couples
LGBTs enjoy these rights nowhere else in the Middle East. In fact, every other Middle Eastern country makes homosexuality a crime punishable by death (Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Yemen) or jail time (Gaza, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Morocco, Algeria), or LGBTs face risks of violence, torture and “honor killings” by militias or their own families (the West Bank, Iraq, Turkey) or harassment and crackdowns from the government and non-state actors (Bahrain, Jordan). In fact, when compared to states outside the region – including most Western democracies – Israel has one of the strongest records for LGBT rights in the world.
Read the rest of…
Scott Piro: “Pinkwashing” Deconstructed
By RP Staff, on Mon Nov 28, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET As loyal members of the RP Nation already know, the RP recently returned from a life-changing trip to Israel.
Last week, he filed reports on Bibi Netanyahu, Why Israel Traded 1000 Prisoners for Gilad Shalit, Fun Facts from an Extraordinary Tour Guide, and Walking in Jesus’ Footsteps. (Click on the preceding topics to access the links).
Today, The Huffington Post has published the RP’s most comprehensive and thought-provoking post yet: The Liberal Case for Israel.
(And controversial — within the past hour, more than 150 people have commented — Join in on the fun!)
In it, the RP introduces his readers to the 21st century Israel — one that is much-under-publicized — a country with a vibrant, open, tolerant, and yes, progressive culture. Israel’s record for promoting liberal values — on gay rights, economic equality, race, and immigration — matches or passes most Western democracies, including the U.S, and far, far exceeds its intolerant and illiberal neighbors.
Here’s an excerpt:
The Palestinian flag at a gay rights rally?
It’s the iconic ironic image of the New New Left.
The sentiment’s familiar: a maltreated minority identifying with the victim célèbre of radical academia.
But the juxtaposition of these two particular causes would be absurdly hilarious if it weren’t profoundly tragic: The Hamas regime represented by that flag demeans, oppresses, jails, harrasses, assaults, and tortures gays and lesbians.
Imagine what would happen if you flew a gay rights flag in Gaza City.
(On second thought, don’t even imagine it.)
Of course, the flag waving is less likely an endorsement of Hamas than a symbol of the Far Left’s persistent preoccupation with Israel’s reluctant occupation of lands it captured in its defensive struggle for existential survival during 1967’s Six Day War.
I’m not going to use this column to relitigate that debate.
Rather, as a card-carrying member of America’s center-left — those of us who call ourselves liberals, progressives and/or mainstream Democrats — I write to share with my ideological fellow travelers a much-under-publicized reality: That Israel is not simply the region’s only democracy and the U.S.’s strongest ally; but that the Jewish State also models liberal and progressive values as well as — or even better — than any other nation today.
Click here to read the RP’s full Huffington Post column, “The Liberal Case for Israel”
By Sandra Moon, RP Staff, on Mon Nov 28, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET
The Vatican makes some major changes to music and liturgy used in Catholic worship services. While the changes reflect a better translation of Latin than previously used in English mass, some practicing Catholics are annoyed with the new language. [NPR]
For a daily review of religion and media, check out The Revealer. [threrevealer.org]
Do we need organized religion? In a new book, Irene Panayi explores organized religion and how it can “be a lifeboat for our troubled times.” [The Sacramento Bee]
By Lisa Miller, on Mon Nov 28, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET  Sunday, Dec. 4th: The Mind Body Studio, 517 Southland Dr, Lexington
OR
Saturday Jan. 7th: The Om Place, 815 Quisenberry Ln, Winchester
10:00am-5:00pm
Join this fantastic circle of women for a day of gentle yoga, chakra meditation, understanding your aura, Nia dance, writing, and Ayurveda, as we reconnect with the inner Goddess that resides in each of us.
The Women’s-Circle Retreats are a light-hearted, profoundly insightful, replenishing, time-out from stress. Here, in the company of other fantastic women, we remember how to tap into pure calm from deep within, and to carry that as wisdom and balance into our daily lives.
This will be a day of laughter, movement, play, and stillness, in the company of others who share a similar desire to feel great and to
live from a place of happiness!
To reserve your space in the class, mail a check for $70, include your name, phone & e-mail, to Lisa Miller, C/O The Cntr for Wellness Therapies 2040 Regency Rd, suite A, Lexington, KY 40503
Questions? Lisa Miller, RYT/ Chopra Center for Wellbeing Instructor:
(859)227-4101, or LisaMMM628@aol.com
Bring a lunch, journal & colored pencils, water bottle, & dress comfortably.
By Lisa Miller, on Tue Nov 22, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET
Local Artists & Crafters are Setting up Shop!
Help raise funds for the Temple*
When you find fantastic holiday gifts
And buy directly from the vendors:
Sunday, November 27th, 2011
11:00am—3:00pm
Temple Adath Israel
124 N. Ashland Ave., Lexington
Priced from $12+:
*Temple Adath Israel will receive 10% of the proceeds from the fair.
Beautiful, thoughtful, unique holiday gifts!
By Sandra Moon, RP Staff, on Mon Nov 21, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET
Are Christians in the U.S. being oppressed, like some church leaders claim? [LA Times]
James Arthur Ray is sentenced to two years in prison for the deaths of two participants in his “Spiritual Warrior” seminar who died in a sweat lodge ceremony. [Time]
Some faith leaders have been active in Occupy Wall Street, but others have been reluctant to support the movement because of its lack of central leadership and ambiguous list of demands. [Reuters FaithWorld]
By Jonathan Miller, on Fri Nov 18, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET 
Today is dedicated to all of my Christian readers, except those of the Laettner variety. Israel is my Jewish homeland, but is very much the Holy Land for Christians as well — for a variety of reasons; but most significantly, as the place where Jesus spent his entire life.
Accordingly, I want to share some pictures and stories from my ventures this morning along the Sea of Galilee, where Rabbi Jesus of Nazereth shared his profoundly influential message during the last few years of his life.
We began at Capernaum, home of Simon (Peter) and a synagogue in which Jesus shared his ministry. Check out the sign on the picture above. The white stone is from a 4th century facility built on top of the dark stone synagogue which dates from Jesus’ time. This landmark shows an extraordinary link between the archeological evidence and the scripture from the New Testament. And across the road lies the ancestral home of St. Peter, upon which different levels of churches have been built over the millennia.
Read the rest of…
The RP: Walking in Jesus’ Footsteps
By Jonathan Miller, on Thu Nov 17, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET What happens when your mission through Israel is guided by an internationally-respected expert on religion, history, and archeology?
You get an extraordinary experience.
Let me share a few fun facts gleaned from the wisdom of Dr. Ian Stern (pictured at left), the Director at Archaeological Seminars Institute.
First, Ian is sitting on a rock that was separated from the Second Temple when it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E.
The remaining part of the wall, known as the Western Wall, or Wailing Wall, is in the background.
The stones in the foreground weigh somewhere between 6 and 8 tons. It took an incredible engineering feat to accomplish something so destructive.
How ’bout those Romans?
Heard of the Jewish holiday, Tisha b’Av, which commemorates the Temple’s destruction? Ian is sitting on it.
 Fun fact 2: In the picture to the right, check out the ladder leading from the balcony to the window.
This is a closeup view from the courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, one of Christianity’s most significant holy sites — if not the single most significant — as it marks where Jesus was crucified, buried, and reborn.
So back to the ladder…That modest, unassuming ladder has rested in that exact spot for more than a century.
Why you ask?
Well, it has become a symbol for the millennia-old battle between various Christian churches for the right to manage the church ground. One church owns the balcony; another the window. If the ladder were moved, it would disrupt centuries of careful negotiation. Ian tells us that the church is opened and closed every day by a Muslim family to avoid inter-Christian squabbles.
Read the rest of…
The RP: Fun Facts from an Extraordinary Tour Guide
By Jonathan Miller, on Wed Nov 16, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET JERUSALEM: My people — the Jewish people — have the reputation of being both opinionated and cantankerous. Israel’s founding father, David Ben-Gurion, once remarked that “for every two Jews, there are three opinions.” When his successor as Prime Minister, Golda Meir, was confronted by President Lyndon Johnson — who complained that he had to satisfy 150 million voters — Meir responded that she had to placate two million prime ministers.
So it’s been especially remarkable that my conversations this week with Israelis reveal a broad consensus of popular support for the government’s decision last month to trade more than 1000 prisoners for the safe return of just one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. Indeed, Israel’s controversial prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is surging in the nation’s public opinion polls since the prisoner swap.
How is this consensus possible? Upon first glance, the trade seemed highly imbalanced and unfair. And many analysts have complained that such a deal only encourages further hostage taking. Remember the maxim, “Never negotiate with terrorists”?
Yesterday in Jerusalem, I learned the powerful lesson why.
 The first clue came in a visit to an Immigration Absorption Center in the Jerusalem suburbs. I had the extraordinary opportunity to meet with dozens of recent immigrants from Ethiopia, a small representation of the more than 120,000 Ethiopian Jews who have emigrated to Israel in recent decades, most dramatically in two covert military operations, Operation Moses (1984) and Operation Solomon (1991). With their lives in danger due to famine and political unrest, thousands upon thousands were airlifted to Israel to enable them to begin their lives anew, free to worship their God. And in the intervening decades, Israel has spent many millions of dollars to educate, feed, clothe, shelter and prepare these immigrants for modern life.
Read the rest of…
The RP: Why did Israel Trade 1000 Prisoners for Galid Shalit? I Learned the Powerful Answer in Jerusalem
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Nov 15, 2011 at 12:30 PM ET  I'm placing a written within the cracks of Jerusalem's Wailing Wall, a centuries-old tradition Meandering yesterday through the cobblestone streets of Jerusalem’s Old City brought back some poignant memories of my first trip to the Jewish homeland — a precocious and often obnoxious 11-year-old — traveling on a community family mission in 1978.
I most vividly remember the reaction of many Israelis to my yarmulke (skull cap) — specifically the stitching of my first name translated into Hebrew: Yonatan.
They’d flash a proud smile, point to my head, and shout “gibor,” the Hebrew word for hero.
After some initial confusion — I couldn’t figure out why so many Israelis knew about my junior tennis exploits — I learned that I wasn’t the subject of their compliments.
Instead, it was my fellow Yonatan, Jonathan Netanyahu, who two years earlier had led the successful Raid on Entebbe, a hostage rescue mission at the Entebbe Airport in Uganada, in which all 102 hostages were rescued unharmed. Indeed, the only casualty of the mission was Netanyahu himself.
It was a great time to be a Yonatan. And I would never forget the surname.
 A few decades later, I became aware of a new Netanyahu. Yonatan’s baby brother, Benjamin — better known to Israelis as “Bibi” — made a dramatic splash on the international stage in the mid-1980s, as Israel’s representative to the United Nations.
Of course, I was intrigued. Bibi was smooth, polished, charismatic, and spoke the best American-ized English I’d ever heard from a native Israeli. I was proud to be connected to him; even though the association was mostly in my imagination.
But then came the bad news. Bibi was a card-carrying member of the Likud party, the dreaded right-wing of Israeli politics. A proud, progressive Democrat, I couldn’t associate myself with the Israeli GOP equivalent. And when Bibi’s first foray as Israel’s Prime Minister in the 1990s concluded unsuccessfully — and his personal reputation grew more controversial — my heart hardened further; the Entebbe narrative dissipated further into childhood fantasy.
Read the rest of…
The RP: Me and My Bibi
|
The Recovering Politician Bookstore
|
