tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9135844771347848459.comments2009-01-28T22:20:40.244-06:00Eric Migicovskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13692135426871734353emigicovsky@gmail.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9135844771347848459.post-71050168120779118592009-01-28T22:20:00.000-06:002009-01-28T22:20:00.000-06:00Why have you stopped blogging?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9135844771347848459.post-62807499948860801742008-11-22T00:05:00.000-06:002008-11-22T00:05:00.000-06:00Your last line - not of the commoner, but one that understands the commoner - I agree with fully. Politics frequently try to show they ARE something they are not, when really they just need to focus on understanding those things they are not.<BR/><BR/>Keep the good posts coming!Matt Corkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00184899693535822088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9135844771347848459.post-32106625566590426522008-11-06T12:14:00.000-06:002008-11-06T12:14:00.000-06:00Hi Eric,<BR/><BR/>Great post - I agree 100%. <BR/><BR/>This is much like the African American community in California, which the Religious Right has played like a fiddle to drum up support for Proposition 8 (which bans same-sex marriage). African Americans, of all people, should recognize the importance of fighting for civil rights!<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your email - I'll be adding your blog to my Google Reader and look forward to future posts! :)<BR/><BR/>BrianBrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07247100930813590817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9135844771347848459.post-47034801853376045472008-11-02T17:25:00.000-06:002008-11-02T17:25:00.000-06:00Well written. I hope that you are correct. It is a bit of a risk to vote for him, but you may be right that it is indeed worth the risk. I pray, that if elected, he governs wisely, is a unifier, can articulate a vision for our country (the best on earth!) and doesn't lean too far left.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398171082314150371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9135844771347848459.post-35689508629166435892008-10-27T16:25:00.000-05:002008-10-27T16:25:00.000-05:00Eric, these are things that I have been grappling with for the past few years but especially since making aliyah. <BR/><BR/>Regarding the relationships between Jews in American society, RJP once recommended to me that I read Jew vs. Jew by Samuel G. Freedman. I found it to be eye-opening, especially the chapter on the Cleveland Jewish community and recommend you read it as well (http://www.amazon.com/Jew-vs-Struggle-American-Jewry/dp/0684859459).<BR/><BR/>Regarding what is happening in Israel, it seems that privatization, captialization and americanization killed the kibbutz and community :) <BR/><BR/>Only partially. Anyway, the extent of fragmentation in Israeli society is disheartening and is at the point of which Jews have practically no interaction with Arabs, Religious Jews have almost no interaction with Secular Jews, the Left and the Right have little to do with each other, etc. It seems as if it will be impossible for Israeli society to function on any degree of normalcy for a long time because everything is to the extreme. <BR/><BR/>I think one thing that can bring everyone in the right direction is personal dialogues among individuals from these different groups to learn about each other and start to respect one another. This also goes for the American community.Lisa Damasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15180799994810018350noreply@blogger.com