Monthly Archives: November 2006

Wow! Same-Sex Marriages to Be Recognized in Israel!

Israel

Wow! A red letter day of the good kind. According to Yuval Yoaz in Haaretz,

“In a precedent-setting ruling, the High Court of Justice on Tuesday ruled that five gay couples wedded outside of Israel can be registered as married couples, Army Radio reported. A sweeping majority of six Justices in favor and one against ruled that the common-law marriages of five gay couples obtained in Toronto, Canada, can appear as married on the population registry. The gay petitioners sought to force the state to give equal recognition to common law marriages of heterosexual couples to those of gay marriages, which can be performed in certain countries.”

 

Another reason to have pride in Israel!!! (Now if only there were leagal marriages in American that Israel could recognize…)

Thoughts on the election…so far

American Politics

Sitting on my couch and listening to NPR report election results (and cheering more than moaning – thank G-d) my hope for this country is increasing a tad. Maybe this will be real change. Maybe not.

What is Jewish about this post? What is Jewish about caring about elections?   Many things, in my opinion.

First, on voting – Jews have been prohibited from voting and participating in government in many of the countries in which we have lived. Voting is a privelege and, in America, Canada, Israel and other  countries it is a right.  I believe that voting is a right which all Americans (and etc) are obliged to take seriously.  This obligation is even heavier for Jews – for those who were never permitted to vote and for the principle of tikkun olam (the obligation to repair the world).

Tikkun olam appears throughout our texts – we must care about the world around us and we must  take part in making the world a better place.

Using the voices we have in the American government – voting, writing/talking to congressional personnel is our obligation and our right!

Remembering Rabin z"l

Israel

Yesterday was the 11th anniversary of Prime Minister Rabin’s assassination at the hands of Yigal Amir. 11 years since an act of extreme hatred and murder that change the course of the history of Israel and her relationship with herself and her neighbors. A great warrior had turned peace maker and a murderer stopped his life. My heart still cries with sadness, with pain, with shock. Part of me still can’t believe that it happened. I wonder where things would be today had he not been assassinated?

With sadness…

Some websites on the anniversary:

YNet on the Tel Aviv memorial

Israeli Government site on the memorial (note, the site says that 11/2 was the anniversary – that is the anniversary date on the Jewish calendar, 11/4 on the secular calendar)

Knesset Memorial Website (also available in Hebrew and Arabic)

Rabin Center for Israel Studies

Site on the grieving country and world, including information from the funeral, children’s drawings and more.

Author David Grossman’s powerful words at the memorial (David Grossman’s son was killed in the Hizballah war this summer.)