New Embassy, Who Dis?

An American president finally kept a campaign promise and moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem, and it had to be Trump. Nixon opened up diplomacy with Red China when he was president. Some argue it was one of a few good things to come from his corrupt presidency. I wonder how history will view this decision by Trump.

Of course there was immediate reaction from the Arabs living in Gaza. There are protests at the border and many people have been wounded or killed. The loss of human life is always regrettable, especially when it could be avoided. There are multiple generations of young men sent to their graves by old men making poor choices based on hate that was passed down to them. When troubles like these happen I am always reminded of a quote attributed to Golda Meir, "Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us."

Apart from the bloodshed at the border, what this week will again show us, as Jews, is that we are not truly welcome by either side of the American political spectrum. It is an ugly truth I have seen time and time again just in my lifetime, not to mention historically.

The Liberal Left do not want a strong Israel, if any Israel at all. The current trend on the Left is to cast Israel as the oppressor and take the side of the poor, down trodden Palestinians. Regardless of the historical reality of the situation and the 22 Arab states that surround Israel and would happily wipe Israel off the map. The Left is quick to ignore the Palestinian rockets coming from Gaza and only focus on the Israeli response to those rockets.

The Religious Right fully supports a strong Israel but deep down doesn't want the Jews. For them a strong Israel is another step in the return of their messiah. While some on the Right see the advantage of having a friendly democracy in the Middle East, many others are guided by their faith and messianic dreams. Once their messiah comes back the Jews will either convert or be cast into Hell with the Muslims and other non-believers.

Where does that leave Israel? In order to secure its borders and survive as a nation Israel takes support where it can get it. At the moment that means taking it from the American Right. That means overlooking the American Right's big tent full of Religious fundamentalist, White Supremacists, and End Timers. If Israel was to turn down this support, how long could Israel last as an island of democracy? Where would there be any other help?

More and more anti-Israeli outbursts in Europe are shown to actually be anti-Jew. Their are Nazis marching in American streets. Jews are afraid to identify as Jewish around the world. And through it all we survive, but for how long?

On top of it all we have to worry about Jews hating Jews. "You're not the right kind of Jew" or "You're not actually Jewish." Religious Jews arguing amongst themselves, secular Jews allowing their leftist ideas get in the way of supporting Israel. Maybe we need the Arab threat to keep us from fighting each other. Maybe we need the anti-Semitic threats around the world to remind us that without a strong, sovereign Israel we have no safe place to live long-term.

This is a long, rambling post today. I should have taken more time to research, spell check, and outline a draft. This was just raw feelings put to a page. 

Momma Always Said Kosher is as Kosher Does

As I try more each day to be more mindful of my Jewish observance level I find eating in restaurants to be more and more difficult. While I do not keep strict kosher when eating out, or at home for that matter, I have tried to work my way to that point.

At present I don't buy any prepackaged food to bring home unless it is marked as kosher by a recognized certifying agency. When I'm out of the house I eat "kosher style" and avoid pork, shellfish, and mixing dairy with meat. That is becoming more problematic as time goes on to the point I have started ordering fish or chicken and avoiding beef now.

Today I had a hamburger with lettuce and tomato and as soon as I bit into it I felt sick. Knowing the grill where the burger was prepared was probably covered in pork grease still makes my stomach turn. It seems that beef is now going to be off the menu as well and I will be sticking to chicken, fish, and salads while I am out and about.

I don't see chicken lasting much longer, at least not regularly prepared chicken. I have held for a long time that chickens don't give milk so why the restriction, but it is becoming harder for me to maintain that stance.

As crazy as it might sound to a younger version of myself, I can see restricting myself to a vegan diet while out and about. I'm not sure I will get to that point anytime soon, but it is not as unimaginable as it once was. 

As Long as We Remember

Today is Lag B'Omer but for me the significance of the day forever changed 18 years ago. It was the day before Lag B'Omer when my grandmother (A"H) passed away. I flew back home for the funeral, dealt with the racism of my uncles toward my mixed race daughter, and returned home. I haven't been back nor do I have any plans to ever return.

She was a great woman. She took me in as an infant and raised me as her own. Growing up with her on the farm, isolated from the world except for my time at school everyday, gave me a unique perspective on life and shaped me into the person I am today.

We were poor by any definition of the word, but we always had food on the table. I always had clean clothes for school, patched as they may have been. She taught me that we can survive through the darkest times. She taught me to always look for the brighter tomorrow.

I am who I am because Granny raised me to be me. So I light the candle every year on the day before Lag B'Omer and I remember. I remember because I hold in my heart that you are never really gone until the last time someone speaks your name, until no one remembers you. So I remember. 

Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right

I finally called my synagogue about renewing my membership. I called a week ago. It was around 4:00 PM, I had meant to call earlier but I had a day full of meetings. When I explained to the receptionist who I was and what I was calling about I was told that the person I needed to speak to had just walked in but they couldn't talk to me at the moment and she'd call me back when she had the time. I made sure they had my updated contact information and they hung up.

I'm sure they knew who I am. During our brief discussion I had mentioned I wanted to make sure there weren't any outstanding charges from our previous membership. The receptionist was able to pull up the names of my ex-wife and oldest son on the computer. So they have an idea of who we are/were.

Was it the Irish surname again? Did that throw her off? When she mentioned my ex-wife and son, I said, "Yes, that's my ex-wife and oldest son." Since my son still had his mother's previous name (which is passably more Jewish than mine) did the receptionist think I was the non-Jewish ex-spouse asking about membership? Is that why she and her co-worker are ignoring me? Is this what the kids call "ghosting"?

I'm more than a little frustrated by all of this. I'm hoping the office staff are truly busy and mean well, but unfortunately my mood lately has me thinking the worst of others.

If I wanted to be petty, I'd call them back and mention that the Conservative movement has been going through a few decades of implosion and they should be jumping at the chance to add qualified members. Maybe I should check out the Reform congregation just down the road from me, or the Modern Orthodox shul downtown? Both are considerably closer to me. Of course I don't think I would be happy with the Reform level of observance and I'm sure the Modern Orthodox wouldn't be happy with mine. So here I am, stuck in the middle with you.