How much is a Palestinian worth?

I have thought about this issue a number of times and keep forgetting to put my thoughts down, but with the (supposed) impending release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier who has been held hostage by Hamas for over three years and as the (suposed) details of the deal come out, I once again am thinking about this issue, but this time I'm putting them in writing.

One of the critical arrows repeatedly flung at Israel in response to its military actions against the Palestinians is that the disparity in dead and wounded, especially among civilians, indicates either a distinct indifference on the part of Israel to the sanctity of Palesinian life or an intentional attempt by Israel to inflict as much damage as possible on the Palestinian populace. Now, it is very possible that either or both of these are true on some scale (to what degree I do not care to guess). However, the details of the Gilad Shalit deal indicate that it is the Palestinians themselves who devalue the worth of their people's lives. The number that I have read (on haaretz.com) is that Israel will be releasing a total of 1,150 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for this one Israeli soldier. 1,150 to 1. That is a staggering number, especially when we consider the following.

The reports vary but the death toll from the Gaza war earlier this year are put at between 1,166 and 1,417 Palestinians and approximately 13 Israelis. Using the ratio established by Hamas in their negotiations with Israel over the Shalit deal, the Israeli losses were equivalent to 14,950 Palestinians, more than ten times the maximum number of Palestinain losses quoted. Thus, it was Israel who sustained the far heavier losses; it is the Palestinians that should be criticized for inflicting such a level of damage and for their disregard for Israeli lives.

I am sure some, if not many, will content that it is not fair for me to make this kind of comparison, but why not? Gilad Shalit has sat imprisoned for over three years because Hamas has sought to push higher and higher the number of prisoners released for his freedom. At the same time, how many Palestinians have languished in Israeli jails because Hamas has viewed them as little more than commodities to be traded. Think I'm off base? If so, why didn't Hamas make the deal for even a couple of hundered prisoners two or three years ago? Why hasn't Hamas pursued the release of their 'soldiers' (I am clearly using that term very, very loosely in order to make my point) with the same vigor and increasing desperation that Israel has sought the release of Gilad Shalit? I think we can only conclude that it is because they are at least as guilty, if not more so, of the 'depraved indifference' of which they accuse Israel. They do not care about the plight of their own people, only the pursuit of their political and ideological goals. Now maybe I should have expected such behavior from a terrorist organization like Hamas, and I do, but I guess I assumed that they actually gave a damn about their own people even if they don't care about anyone else. Looks like I was wrong, for as they say, the numbers don't lie.

Birkat Hachamah ba'Kotel

This morning was an event that happens once every 28 years. According to the Talmud, once every 28 years the sun returns to its 'creation point', namely the exact location it was placed by God at the creation of the universe. There is a special prayer that is said for this which thanks God for creation and for the sun (birkat ha'chamah means "the sun blessing", chamah is a term used for the sun in the Mishnah and Talmud). This year is thought to be particularly special because this rare event is taking place on erev Pesach (Passover eve). There are sources that say that this has only happened two other times in history, one was the Exodus from Egypt and one was Purim, so many people believe that the timing of birkat hachamah this year indicates the coming of great things.

As for me, I do not necessarily believe that the sun returns to its creation point every 28 years. In spite of that, the chance to say this blessing is a relatively rare occurace, especially because of its timing relative to Pesach, and perhaps a unique opportunity for me to experience this in Jerusalem. So I got up early this morning to go to the Kotel (Western Wall), not only because I thought it would be cool to say this blessing at the Kotel, but also because I thought it would be an interesting scene. I arrived at about 7:30am, and actually missed the crowd at its largest, which was at around 6:30am (I know this because there was a webcast of the Kotel on chabad.org, so I was able to see the crowd before I left my apartment). There were still a lot of people there when I arrived, but it wasn't too crowded, and I was able to pray the morning service and the extra little service for birkat ha'chamah in relative peace. I also took a few pictures and videos and thought people might enjoy seeing a bit of what the scene was like. The video is sideways, so you will either need to turn your screen on its side, or it might just be easier to turn your head. Anyhoo, I wish all the M.O.T's out there a chag Pesach sameach v'kasher (a happy and kosher Passover) and hope that today's event really is a sign of good things to come.

On justice...

I have been following on-line the story/case in Austria about a man who imprisoned his 18 year old daughter in a dungeon underneath his and his wife's home, repeatedly raped her and fathered her seven children, one of whom died underground and none of whom saw the outside of the dungeon until 11 months ago. The daughter is now 42. (For more info on this case you can go to http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29733949/)

The man is facing a variety of charges that could put him in jail for the rest of his life. As I read this article and as I have thought about this case over the past few days, I had the thought that not only would it be appropriate for this man, who is in his 70's, to spend the rest of his life in prison, but also it would be appropriate if he was raped while incarcerated.

One of the definitions of justice is "the administering of deserved punishment or reward." Keeping this definition in mind, can anyone really argue that if this guy was raped in prison he wouldn't deserve it? Would that not be a perfect definition of having the punishment fit the crime? To those who argue that prison should be geared towards rehabilitation rather than punishment (and I find myself in that camp quite often), I would say that what better way to show this man what a horrible thing he has done than to have him experience something similar. Would that not be a means of inspiring empathy for the plight of his victim?

My thoughts on this are still not fully formed, and I realize that essentially encouraging the rape of a prisoner is problematic for all sorts of reason, but I have had a very strong reaction to this case and felt like putting a few of my thoughts down. Feel free to comment, critique, etc.
Be well.

Chag Purim Sameach

So a couple of things from today that I found entertaining and felt like sharing.

I went to services this morning at HUC and the guy giving the sermon used the term
"stiff-neckedness" and I found that really funny for reasons that still aren't totally clear.

I went to a concert tonight to see two bands Regaestan and Coolooloosh. That's not that entertaining, but...

Regaestan
Okay, try and imagine the lead singer from Counting Crows, Weird Al Yankovik (sp?) with long dreadlocks, a white version of the guy from Digital Underground (the Humpty Dance guy), two strung out looking hippies and two 'typical' Israeli dudes playing Regae. They actually weren't bad though. Not great, but not bad.I'm not sure how well my description explains it (probably not at all) but I assure you, it looked really funny.

Coolooloosh
This band I really enjoy. This is the second time I see them and both times they have put on a great show. I highly encourage you all to check them out at http://www.coolooloosh.com. I recomend scrolling down to find Yogi's drum solo. If you like The Roots or Ozomatli or that kind of stuff you will probably enjoy it. If not...well check it out anyways. (That wasn't really entertaining either. Hmmmm...)

Since it is Purim tonight they had some costume items for sale at the show. Not having any kind of costume to wear, I decided to by an afro wig, although its really more like a Jewfro wig (to all of my non-Jewish readers, if you are not sure exactly what a 'Jewfro' is, ask a Jewish friend or colleague to explain it...if they are offended by your question, kick them in the shins for being lame and then tell them that I said it was okay to ask...or you can always just ask me). Anyhoo, I was wearing this thing most of the night and towards the end I saw another guy with the same hair and at first I felt mildly silly for having the same goofy wig as someone else...until I realized that this guy didn't have a wig on.

So this all sounded a lot funnier in my head when I was thinking about it. Now that I have put it in writing it just seems...I'm not sure...but not that funny. Hopefully I am wrong and this stuff is comic gold...or at least comic aluminum. I hope all the MOT's out there (and anyone else who is into it) have/had a great Purim.

Keeping America safe,

Scott

Its been a while...

So I have not posted anything in several months, mostly out of laziness. I will not go into everything that has gone on in the past number of months but rather start anew in the hopes that I will be consistent in my posting from this point forward. So...the main thing happening in my life these days is that I began my spring semester yesterday. I am only taking three classes this semester, but before you go chiding me for being a slacker, the three classes are Talmud, Midrash and Halachah (Jewish law) and I am taking these classes in HUC's Israeli rabbinic program in Jerusalem. So that means that the entirety of all three classes is in Hebrew, spoken at a pace that would put an auctioneer (or the MicroMachines guy, anyone remember him?) to shame. I would say that I am functioning at about 60% at the moment, so I understand the majority of what goes on, but just barely. I am counting on my ear adjusting to the speed over the next couple of weeks, but for right now it just makes my brain hurt. If you want to try this at home you have a couple of options:

Option 1-If you kind-of speak/understand another language (if you're fluent it doesn't count), find a radio or tv program on-line and then have it play from 12 different speakers, and start the broadcast at 3 second intervals so that it sounds like everyone is talking over each other. Do this for at least 1.5 hours and that is similar to how my classes feel right now.

Option 2-If you are totally mono-lingual, find one of those foam or rubber squeaky hammers and have someone beat you over the head with it for an hour-and-a-half or so. It doesn't recreate the classroom experience, but it will enable you to feel (once it is done) how I feel when I get out of class.

So hopefully this is the worst of it and that each week will get a little easier and I will understand more and more, but for now, it is very overwhelming.

That's really all I've got at the moment. Like I said above, I am hoping to post regularly from this point on, but we'll see if that actually happens. So until next time, take care all and don't forget to save those wrappers!!