In Sunday’s Jerusalem Post, there is the report of an editorial in Al-Hayat by the London paper’s former editor-in-chief, Jihad Al Khazen. In it, he calls for Arafat to resign. The article begins,

“Our dear brother Yasser Arafat, I suggest that you resign,” Khazen, who describes himself as a long time friend of the PA chairman, wrote. “You have done your best. It is time to give the wheel to younger hands. The American administration wants you to leave the scene, and Ariel Sharon wants to kill you. The reasons of both are known. They took a stance from you based on enmity. I came to this conclusion out of love. I am worried about you.”

Read the rest of the provocative article. I wonder if it will accomplish anything?

Check out The Daily Scribble to add some laughter to your day. It’s a daily (m-f) political cartoon which I’ve been enjoying for a few days now. The liberal bent of the cartoons is right up my alley.

According to Maariv, who is reporting an Arab language London paper, the remains of Ron Arad may have been found and are now being sent to Israel for testing. If this is true, this is big.

The Forward has an article about Nick Berg, his life, especially his Jewish life and his parent’s blame of the Bush administration.

May Mr. Berg be the last American and the last Jew brutally murdered as a “statement.”

UPDATE: (May 20) Thanks to the commentor below who caught my horrible mistake of using the wrong first name. Usually, I would cross of the original error rather than deleating it, but it didn’t seem right it in this case to do so.

A sad and tragic story is told in a JTA article about the Videotaped beheading of U.S. Jewish contractor.

When I read this story, beyond the horror I felt, one though repeated in my mind – the manner in which this war has been fought and the way in which there is little coordination in the supposed rebuilding of Iraq is a shame. (Not to even discuss the treatment of prisoners.)

A sad, sad day.

Interesting program. While doing some research and preparation for a class I am teaching next week, I learned of a powerful and interesting program called Tzedakah in Action that teaches teens about giving tzedakah, setting up foundations and making difficult choices with money. You can find it at the link above or on Social Action. Go, learn and do.

I’m now using a new desing thanks to the fresh look and new templates at blogger. Let me know if you feel strongly one way or another.

Shavuah tov for another week. I hope you had a good and restful shabbat. I’d like to start this week by sharing a favorite mizrachi (eastern) Jewish food – shakshukah. When I was in Israel at the end of 2003, I at shakshukah on two occassions and fell in love with it. A classic dish eaten by many, it is tomatoes, vegetables, garlic and egg. Mmmmm. Really, give it a chance.

Here are some recipes:
shakshukah recipe from Joan Nathan posted on My Jewish Learning
Shashooka II from Jewish-Food archives
Shakshouka (Eggs in Tomato Sauce) from Jewish Food archives
Shakshuka III from Jewish food archives
Shakshuka IV from Jewish food archives

Enjoy and let me know if you try the recipes

Take a look at Richard Silverstein’s blog which he calls “Tikun Olam: Make the World a Better Place” and which he describes as, “A journal on politics, culture and ideas which reflects my personal interests in Middle East peace, world music, and the outdoors.”

Parashat Emor (Leviticus ) includes a variety of subjects – one of which is the holiday cycle and yearly calendar.

Right now we are in the midst of counting the Omer, the days between Passover and Shavuot. The omer is explained in a variety of places, including in this week’s text.

Rabbi Shimon Felix with The Bronfman Youth Fellowships in Israel explains the Omer in “Our changing observance of the period between Passover and Shavuot reflects our sensitivity to the realities of our history.”

[Do you want to learn about another aspect of this week’s parashah? Try Torah from Dixie or My Jewish Learning.]

Go and study!