not what you expected to hear her say

“…I am married and doing a master’s degree [in Tel Aviv]. I am a liberal, free woman, with all the rights that I could enjoy. I compare myself to other women my age in Jordan, the territories, Egypt, any Arab country. They don’t have the rights that I have: freedom of expression, the right to vote. They are forced into marriage at a young age, and religious head covering, despite their own convictions. With me it’s the opposite; I have everything…”

Boshra Khalaila has been traveling the world telling people how it is to be a 26 year-old Israeli Arab woman – and breaking many myths along the way.

behold the monkey

An 81 year-old Church goer in Spain decided to do some amateur art restoration when she noticed a 120 year-old painting of Jesus hanging in the Church was in need of attention.

The result of her efforts caused some distress, with some unfavorable reviews of her abilities.

Since the story hit the headlines, there has been a dramatic increase in visitors and donations to the Church.  Now the Artist, formerly known as Cecilia Gimenez, wants to be paid royalties from the increased revenue.

religious freedom

It is good to know that in Israel sometimes religious freedom works both ways.

The religious freedom that allows stupid people to be offended by homosexuality is the same religious freedom that allows homosexuals to celebrate their wedding party in a function centre without discrimination.

Perhaps some of those readers with their homophobic comments should also contribute to the damages awarded to the couple.

do as i say, not as i do

Blind faith is never a good thing – but it is the weapon of choice amongst religious leaders.

Ultra-orthodox Jewish Rabbis have been leading the charge against smartphones lately, taking every opportunity to inform their followers that it is a sin to use them.

40,000 men ( women were not permitted to attend ) went to Citi Field baseball park in New York recently, to be told by the Rabbis not to use smartphones.

Now a Rabbi in Israel has been photographed using a smartphone – but he went on the attack to defend his sin.  He claims to have special permission to use a smartphone for the purposes of “…bringing people back to Judaism.“.

If that is not enough to avoid accusations of gross hypocrisy, they go further in a public announcement:  “…Anyone who doubts his rabbi is as if he doubts the divine presence…”

cheap shot

In a women’s high school football match in Utah a players gets a knee to the head.

The hit is an ugly one, for no reason other than she was being closely marked during the match.  It is very impressive how she takes the hit and gets up without making a performance like the overpaid prima donnas in the ranks of professional mens football.

Here are some of the best of them.

offensive cartoon

No one was murdered because of this image.

self-imposed gaza blockade

In a move that would appear to contradict the argument that Israel’s blockade of Gaza is leading to starvation in Gaza, Hamas has decided to halve the fruit imports from Israel.

No matter how the Hamas leadership may try to spin this, it is further proof that they put their own political desire ahead of the good of the people they claim to represent.

It is a totally dishonest to complain that Israel is harming Gazans with the blockade, and then enforcing their own blockade on their own people.

sarah silverman, again

Sarah Silverman once again proves her comic genius, putting it to good use to illustrate an electoral anomaly in the American voting system.

Some people are offended by her “potty mouth” and one Rabbi was moved to write an open letter to Sarah to try to help her mend her ways.

As if his letter was not ridiculous enough, Sarah’s father Donald let fly with his own responses to the Rabbi in his readers comment.

There are some very good genes in the Silverman family!

un funding being put to good use

It will be interesting to see if the UNRWA will have the guts to stand up to the pressure from Hamas on the curriculum in UNRWA-funded schools.

Hamas are objecting to the proposed reintroduction of Holocaust study into the school curriculum.

They prefer to keep fueling the conflict by condemning another generation to lies and ignorance, instead of educating them to strive to improve their situation.

The only way Hamas can keep control in Gaza is to keep the people ignorant and without hope, and to scare the people by creating a false enemy.

iphone 5 in gaza

Through the efficiency of smuggling tunnels, the new iPhone 5 is already available in Gaza, months before it will be available in Israel.

Despite the high prices charged in Gaza, one reader comments that it is cheaper than a price quoted on an Israeli price comparison website.