In keeping up with the current issues in Israel, I have been reading some of Thomas Friedman's recent articles from Israel. I found this one especially interesting:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/opinion/friedman-israels-big-question.html?ref=thomaslfriedman&_r=0

Here, Friedman writes about the effects of the BDS movement and US Secretary of State John Kerry's efforts to create peace in the region. He writes of the possible outcomes and different solutions for Israel and a proposed Palestinian state.

As I said before, I believe in a two-state solution. In a perfect world, Jews and Palestinian Arabs could live in the region peacefully forever, but sadly, from a realistic viewpoint, that just isn't possible. For peace to be created in the current state of Israel, some concessions will need to be made, likely including the West Bank. I believe in the right for a Jewish state by Jews and for Jews, even one that would occupy the entire region, but in today's world, with modern political issues, a two-state solution is the only solution. Jews can still have their rightful nation for Jews, and Palestine can finally have autonomy, hopefully ending the violence surrounding the region.

A few days ago, we had another thought-provoking discussion on intermarriage. Back in the days of Ketuvim and the Tanakh, intermarriage was a huge deal and strictly forbidden. Obviously, it is not as big of an issue in the modern world, but intermarriage continues to be a hot topic among Jews. In the same Nathan Englander story I mentioned in an earlier blog, a few of the characters discuss how intermarriage is the second Holocaust. I strongly disagree with this viewpoint for the sole reason that any comparison to the systematic slaughtering of twelve million people has to be pretty accurate, which this is not.

I feel personally connected to the issue of intermarriage, and I think that it is completely okay. My parents were both raised Jewish and have stayed Jewish for their entire lives (my dad is even a rabbi), but every one of their three combined Jewish siblings has married a non-Jew. Even in this case, two of them are still raising their children Jewish. I think that who a person marries should have nothing to do with either of their religion. If a Jew decides to marry someone not Jewish, that is their decision, and no one should be able to tell them they are wrong. Religion may be a deciding factor in some people's marriages, but those people should not be able to make the same decisions for other people.

http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/115428/a-synthetic-emergency-israel-divided-over-boycott-threat%E2%80%99

This week I read another interesting article about the BDS movement against Israel. BDS stands for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, and the goal of the movement is to stop Israeli occupation of Palestinian areas by hurting the Israeli economy. I personally disagree with the BDS movement for many reasons. It's not that I think Israel should have vast control of the region; I think that with the current situation of the Middle East, a two-state solution is almost necessary. But what the BDS movement promotes - the economic sanctions against many Israeli businesses, the boycott of Israeli academic institutions - will in no way help anyone, Israeli or Palestinian. Instead of working towards progress, the BDS wants to force all the blame on Israel. With that attitude, no progress will ever be made in the region, and the true goal, peace, will never be achieved.

Earlier this week in English class, we had an interesting discussion about Orthodox Judaism and the rules and laws surrounding it. The conversation started while talking about a short story by Nathan Englander, a prominent Jewish writer. In the story, Englander partly writes about Orthodox Judaism, and in one passage, the characters talk about people who police them about the laws they follow. As we discussed, our class talked about judgment of others, laws and order, and the role of Orthodox Judaism.

I came away from the discussion with an interesting thought: all people need some form of order, and the only difference is whether they give it to themselves or let someone else give them order. Neither is better or worse, just a different viewpoint. In the case of Orthodox Judaism, Jews follow the orders of God to the letter. In many ways, this way of life is easier; if an Orthodox Jew needs an answer, he can look to the Tanakh or Talmud for a quick answer. At the same time, however, the Orthodox Jew has so many rules to follow it can be easy to get lost in the law. I consider myself to be on the opposite side of the continuum – I choose which laws to follow from the Tanakh based on my personal convictions, giving myself order in my life. All laws are meant to give order, and it is up to each individual to choose his path of order.

NFTY EIE is now almost two weeks in, and tonight I celebrate my second Shabbat in Israel. The past school week, our first full week here, has been hectic, somewhat stressful, and a lot of fun.

Yesterday we had a Jewish History tiyul to Sataf, just a short walk away from Kibbutz Tzuba. At Sataf, I learned all about Sataf and הנחל שורק (the Sorek Valley). As we looked over the valley, our class read stories from the Tanakh, including the story of Samson and Delilah, which took place in the Sorek Valley. We also learned about the agriculture and terraces built in Sataf. Overall, it was a very cool trip, and I learned a lot of valuable information.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/opinion/sunday/what-drives-success.html?emc=eta1&_r=1

I recently read this article, entitled "What Drives Success?" It discusses the many ethnic and cultural groups known to strive in America, from Asians to Cuban-Americans, Jews to Mormons. What drives their success? How do these groups rise above struggles or situations in which they are placed? The author designates three significant factors: a superiority complex, insecurity, and impulse control. The significance of these factors reminds me of another book I read, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, which also talks about cultural, socioeconomic, and societal factors that contribute to success.

The most interesting part of the article was how the combination of superiority complex and insecurity equally contribute to success, which, when you think about it, actually makes sense. At first, the superiority complex gives a child confidence to succeed, and the insecurity curbs the child's hubris and arrogance. This balance of confidence allows a child to know his ability, yet also to be modest about the extent of that ability; this dynamic is intriguing, and the article covers it extremely well. It is also interesting to see how different cultures achieve this dynamic in order to succeed.