Daniel Lubetzky

James Carroll wrote an interesting column on archeological clues to the Jewish origins of Christianity and Messianic prophecy.

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My friend Ian Fisher pointed me to this hopeful story about Amal Carmiya, Arab-Muslim who was accepted as a new member of an Israeli Kibbutz.

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Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah and His Majesty King Abdullah II bin al-Hussein are among the most impressive leaders I’ve ever met.  Almost a decade before other dignitaries started realizing that the challenges we face are not between religions or between nations, but between philosophies of tolerance versus philosophies of extremism, Queen Rania and King Abdullah were already spreading this message, consistently, always on point, always ahead of the game, always as an inspiration to OneVoice.

Now Queen Rania is also at the cutting edge of diplomatic communication and efforts to build global understanding, having launched a webpage on Youtube.  Before you visit her webpage, you can also listen to her welcome clip.

We need more leaders like her.

Bahraini king selects Jewish ambassador

Bahrain’s state news agency says that King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa issued a royal decree appointing a female Jewish lawmaker to the post of ambassador. "It is a great honor to have been appointed as the first female ambassador to the United States of America, and I am looking forward to meeting this new challenge," Nonoo told AP by telephone.

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Al-Akhbar in Lebanon (which favors the Hezbollah opposition coalition) reports that the weakness of the Hariri Movement will create a void that will be filled by Salafi groups intent on waging Jihad to defend Sunni Islam against Shiia infidels.  While the source is suspect, it evinces a real trend towards further destabilization and tribalism, which will doom Lebanon and impact the region.

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Like Hotel Rwanda, Beyond the Gates (aka Shooting Dogs) peers into the genocide in Rwanda, here from the eyes of an older priest and a young teacher who witness the slaughter by Hutu militia wielding machetes on Tutsi refugees as UN peace-monitors stand by.  Less than 15 years ago this true story took place.  After witnessing the inhuman carnage from close, helpless to save a mother and her baby, Joe Connor, the idealistic English teacher, asks Christopher, the exhausted Catholic priest:

Joe: How much pain can a human being take, do you think?
If you feel enough pain, does everything just shut down…
before you die?

Christopher: I don’t know, Joe.

Joe: ’cause you’d think that, wouldn’t you? You’d think there’d be some, something in the design, some shut-off valve, if you feel enough pain?

Christopher: I hope so.

Joe: Yeah, God knows.  [chuckles] Maybe we should ask him…  If he’s still around.

Christopher: I think it’s time we packed our bags.

The UN then begins a withdrawal, evacuating foreigners, but abandoning the compound, and the refugees.  What could Joe do? What can the priest do?

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My sister had a really interesting observation on the modern forms of bondage that we experience, relating to the spiritual aspects of Passover…

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British Ex-Jihadists are changing course and not only renouncing terrorism, but organizing themselves to counteract it. The apt term for people who wrap themselves under the the mantle of Islam to justify inhuman acts of terror that are inconsistent with the religion’s core tenets is as pseudo-Islamic terrorists.  Here is an example of people that are starting to reject them.

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When I wrote Re-Imagining Ourselves in Our Fallen Heroes, I was inspired after starting to read the first couple paragraphs from Taylor Branch’s op-ed in the Sunday New York Times’ Week in Review and his comment that "more than once, the dominant culture has turned history upside Down to make itself feel more comfortable."  After reading the whole article, I was also struck by his comment that the "civil rights movement rose from the the fringe of maids and sharecroppers."  This should resonate among modern activists…

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Ruben Navarrette is one of the most insightful writers I’ve encountered lately.  His column on Obama and his Pastor does a better job at analyzing the relationship and its meaning than most.

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