Are you old enough to recognize this exercise guru?

Are you ready for the 50th anniversary tour?  Arlo is getting ready himself as he re-learns the 18 minute song about the time he was arrested for littering and how it disqualified him from fighting in Viet Nam.  Of course, I’m talking about Alice’s Resturant.  Every 10 years Arlo Guthrie hits the road to perform this classic song/story of stupidity that actually happened to him at this friend, Alice’s Thanksgiving day celebration. Want to join me at his Michigan concert on April 30, 2015 at the Berman Theatre? http://theberman.org/arloguthrie/  And here’s the song with the lyrics, so you can along.

Onto the serious issues of the week.. Ferguson, Immigration, Israel, Iran Negotiation, Marriage Equality and Anti-Semitism.

Nothing will bring back the life of Michael Brown and the thousands of other innocent people who’ve been wrongfully killed.  Yes, racism is a problem in this county.  Yes, the police possess and use excessive force (mainly) against minorities. Yes, easy access to firearms doesn’t help this volatile situation. But 12 jurors committed months to their responsibility on the Grand Jury, listened to hundreds of hours of testimony, read thousands of pages of evidence, deliberated for days and decided against an indictment. Even with this ruling, I assume officer Wilson will need to go into hiding considering the protests that erupted around the country.  One city, Seattle (Tzachi, you sure you want to move back there) decided that boycotting Israel will help the Ferguson situation:

There are approximately 11.4 Million unauthorized immigrants in this country with nearly 60% of them from Mexico and 25% of them living in California. This is a broken system with our government’s solution stuck on the desk of this Do-Nothing Congress.  A bill was passed in the Senate to help ease this situation but the House refuses to bring it to a vote. President Obama’s executive order could ease the lives of nearly 5 million people.  Many were brought here as children, worked their way through school and college only to learn later in life they were undocumented. Most just want legal status so they can live their lives and contribute to our society without the risk of deportation. I know this issue is much more complicated than just the words in this short paragraph, but if the choice is to do nothing or something, I vote for the latter.

The essence of Zionism is that Israel is the Nation for the Jewish People and (thankfully) this reality has been official for 66 years. The 1948 Declaration of Independence already states this fact. But, this week Bibi Netanyahu wanted to pass a bill reiterating the Jewish Nationhood in addition to elevating Hebrew as the only national language which would antagonize the 20% of Israelis who aren’t Jewish. Of that 20% are Druze who fight and die as IDF soldiers and police officers. This political provocation is not needed and not helpful during these turbulent times. I was confused by Bibi’s action till I spoke with the 3 most educated Israelis in my life (husband, son and son-in-law) who all agree that Bibi’s initiative is unnecessary and politically motivated solely to appease his right wing constituents and hold onto his coalition power.  If he loses his coalition, Israel will set elections to elect a new Prime Minister. Voting on Bibi’s bill has been postponed till next Wednesday while the wording is still being contemplated.

Just this week, Ambassador Ron Prosor made an impassioned speech to the global community in the (unfriendly) halls of the United Nations. Ambassador Prosor is one of my favorite advocates for Israel. His messages are always educational, historical, articulate and meaningful. If you’ve got around 10 minutes (I’m a slow reader so you might need less time), I strongly urge you to read his most recent speech:http://www.jwire.com.au/ron-proser-addresses-u-n/  And bravo to US Ambassador Samantha Powers on her distain for the European community’s lack of attendance at the conference on Anti-Semitism. Though the hatred is rising, less then 1/3 of the European nations sent representatives to the conference:

But on a positive (musical) note, please enjoy this wonderful recently released song from Israel that reiterates our desire to live in Peace by learning to

love the ones who love you less:

Agreeing to disagree (and delaying the negotiations for 7 months) is not a great strategy when it comes to eliminating nuclear disaster especially with Iran’s bull’s eye on Israel’s back. But this is the situation. Others invested in coming to an agreement are the surviving 39 (of the 52) Iranian hostages from 30 years ago…remember them?  They’ve never been compensated since “dear” President Carter granted Iran immunity after signing their release which took place the day Reagan was sworn in. Many have suffered severely since their abduction with one who just recently committed suicide. If you are interested in more details of this case, please read this NYT article:

Can’t say it any better than that…

Shower Epiphanies (SE) – profound thoughts that overtake your mind in the shower’s non-disruptive environment where no phones or distractions interfere with your thought patterns. Several years ago, an article was written on life’s lessons that I assume came from those SE.  Here is that advice:

(thanks cousin, Tom, for reminding me of these lessons).

Kudos to the 18 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

The Western Wall (known as The Wailing Wall prior to 1967) was the only remaining tangible structure to the ancient Jewish Temple.  The Temple stood on the Mount right above The Western Wall. The First Temple was built around 957 BCE. It was destroyed, rebuilt and destroyed again yet the site has always been our most religious focal point.

Throughout the millennium (depending on who controlled the land), Jews have had varying access to The Ancient Temple Site. 600 years after the 2nd Temple’s destruction, a Muslim Shrine was built on the Temple Mount. Today, this space is the Jewish holiest site and Muslim’s 3rd holiest site.  Muslims are the only ones allowed to pray there though non-Muslims can visit but never pray on the Temple Mount in accordance with Israeli Law. Yes, Israeli Law which most likely won’t change even with the pressure from the extreme Right Wing Jewish Movement.  Until the Moderates on both sides can come to the table and make Peace, these murderous uprisings will sadly continue, but, to reiterate, The World needs louder condemnation especially when we see images of Gazans dancing in the street and passing out candy to children in celebration of these murders and Jordan’s parliament praying for the Jerusalem terrorist heroes.

A bit more history about the region.  It was named Palestine 2,000 years ago by the Romans who named it after the Philistines who lived on the land along side the Jews, though the Philistines are long gone. Jews have continuously lived there for thousands of years and as proof of their presence, here is the flag of the region in 1939.

And here is the Cure, with Paul’s son James on keyboard singing Hello Goodbye: