One very worthwhile story that is a longer read is A Reporter at Large: The Real Heroes Are Dead : The New Yorker. I read the piece when it first came out in The New Yorker, and found it very moving. I found that it put the events of 9/11 into sharp personal focus. If you are then sufficiently interested, take the time to read "We Were Soldiers Once....And Young" - read the book - as opposed to watching the movie.
Whatever you think of David Letterman, you should watch this:
2. TIFF continued - The controversy about the so-called "Toronto Declaration" and the Toronto International Film Festival continues - the Festival actually opened yesterday. here are good comments from Pajamas Media » An Open Letter to Jane Fonda and the Toronto Film Festival Boycotters, Artists for censorship - The Globe and Mail, Academic & cultural boycotts: Selective, sordid, silly | Op-Ed Contributors | Jerusalem Post and There's justice, and then there's propaganda - The Globe and Mail.
I re-read the Declaration - the text of which is here. I find several things objectionable, but will only focus on a few. First on my list is the equating of Tel Aviv with the so-called occupation. To me this is evidence that the Palestinian leadership, their acolytes, hangers-on, fellow-travelers and sympathizers think that all of Israel is occupied. I would disagree with them even if they suggested that only the West Bank and Gaza were occupied, but at least in that case I can respect an honest debate on the issue. But if they think that Tel Aviv is part of occupied territory, then there is simply nothing to discuss.
Second, is the deliberate use of accusatory & inaccurate terminology - Israel's "aggressive wars" and its "brutal assault" on Gaza. What would the signatories say about the 1973 Yom Kippur War, launched by Egypt and Syria on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar? What about the unrelenting rain of rockets on Sderot and Southern Israel over many years prior to Operation Cast Lead?
Third - where are all these people on other world issues - the Congo, Darfur, Tibet, Sri Lanka, and so on? Naomi Klein was interviewed on CBC today and allegedly said that she would protest if the city in focus was Beijing or some other such city. Maybe so, but one never hears much about that - she does not need a film festival to use as a platform.
Fourth - a variant of the old expression is that "...even if you put perfume on a pig, it is still a pig..". So, at the end of the day, their position is not tenable despite all the caveats and flowerly language:
- their reliance on such well-known anti-Israel advocates such as Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu to label Israel as an apartheid regime destroys any possible credibility they might have.
- the suggestion that Tel Aviv is not a diverse city is absolute foolishness.
- did Tel Aviv or the Israeli Government somehow prohibit Palestinian filmmakers from submitting entries for the festival?
- what is wrong with drawing attention to Israel's phenomenal achievements in medicine, science and culture - why don't the Palestinians do a Brand Palestine campaign to celebrate similar achievements - is it because they cannot?
- where is the outrage and concern for the million or so Jews who were kicked out of so many Arab countries in 1948?
And to me the ultimate irony is that the film that was withdrawn and seemed to spark the whole "boycott" is Covered by John Greyson, which deals with "... violent response to the opening of the first queer film festival in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina." Does anyone really doubt that this film could be shown in Israel - Tel Aviv or elsewhere - as a matter of course? Could it be shown in Gaza, the West Bank, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, Egypt, Yemen and so on? I rather doubt it.
3. They Should Watch These Videos At Their Smarmy Boycott Parties:
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3. Tell The TIFF-sters about These - FrontPage Magazine - The Other Occupations
6. New Holocaust Scholarship - Institute for Global Jewish Affairs – Global Antisemitism, Anti-Israelism, Jewish Studies
7. A Shame... - White House: 'Ahmadinejad won't get invite to NY event' | International | Jerusalem Post
9. CAIR & Campus - FrontPage Magazine - The Campus War Against Israel and the Jews: The Council on American-Islamic Relations
10. Is It Too Late? Washington shifting from diplomacy toward sanctions on Iran | Iran news | Jerusalem Post - remember, For Tehran, Talk Is Cheap - Forbes.com
11. The Pervasive Nature of Swine Flu -Health Min.: If you think you may have swine flu, don't kiss Torah scrolls - Haaretz - Israel News
12. Were You Ready For Some Football? The NFL season started last night - finally - and all I can say is OUCH!
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