Amanda Vanstone - The "gift" that keeps on giving....

Amanda Vanstone rears her ugly head once again in the SMH to deploy inflammatory terminology such as "queue jumping" and "destination shoppers". While true that more needs to be done to resettle refugees from camps, the notion of a "queue" is just plain misleading. Under resettlement rates as at 2009, this so-called queue would mean a 188 year waiting period for resettlement of all refugees around the world - would you wait that long??

Inspired by my recent trip to Poland, I did some searching online and found a memorial book which my late Grandfather, Moshe Halperin, helped to publish about his town, which he, like other Jews, was forced to leave during the Holocaust. My Grandfather was born in the Polish town of Mikulince, in Galicia, or Tarnapol area. The town is now part of the Ukraine, and is called Mikulintsy. Prior to WWII the town was estimated at 3200 Jews, comprising 70% of the town's population. According to the memorial book I found online for the town of Mikulince, only 30 from the town survived. Among them, my Grandfather and his sister, Sally. My Grandfather had been witness to the death of his parents, Michael & Henia, and his brother Yosef, all three of whom were shot dead before his eyes.

Mikulince was the first Polish town to be declared by the Nazis as "Judenrein" - free of the Jews. After the war, those who survived returned to the town, but there was nothing to return to. From the Mikulince memorial book, one particular entry caught my attention. It was written by Nusia Schweizer Horowitz, of Mikulince, describing her experiences during the Holocaust. Mikulince had become part of the USSR before the war ended. Of the aftermath of the war, she said, "The Second World War ended on May 9, 1945. A few months later, a repatriation agreement was signed between Poland and the Soviet Union. Former Polish citizens, ourselves among them, were allowed to return to Poland. In this way, we left the U.S.S.R. When we got to Poland, we had but one ambition. We wanted to leave European soil which had absorbed too much of our people’s blood. Young people organized into Zionist groups of all political persuasions. By every possible and impossible means, they crossed borders illegally and got to port cities such as Hamburg, Marseilles, and Genoa. Helped by the Jewish Agency emissaries from Israel (Palestine), they tried to get there. We crossed the seas in unseaworthy ships and when we reached our destination, the British authorities deported us to camps in Cyprus. Once again, we lived behind barbed wire."


I don't know the exact story of my Grandfather's arrival to Israel, but I can only assume he made his journey in the same way. 


There is nothing unique, unfortunately, about the state of refugees in our world today. What is different, from the time my Grandfather and his townspeople crossed the seas, like today, in unworthy boats with no guarantee on the other end, is the refugee convention of 1951. It gives people the right to seek asylum when arriving at a border by whatever means they arrive. 


Crossing the seas is dangerous. Some people, people smugglers, profit from the phenomenon. But the suffering of many who risk the journey is real. And with a 188 year "queue" for resettlement and no solution in sight, I don't blame them for trying. 


check out the memorial book for my Grandfather's town, here: http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/Mikulintsy/mikulintsy.html

Feminism is outdated? I have some news....

Being fortunate enough to live in a free, (mostly) tolerant, democratic society like Australia, you often hear that feminism has outlived its usefulness. In fact, there is a stigma associated with being a feminist, with words being thrown around like "feminazis", associations made that if you're a feminist you must be a man-hating lesbian (not that there's anything wrong with being a lesbian), that you don't shave your armpits, that feminists are cannot be feminine, and so on. This comes from men and women alike, with many women getting defensive and being quick to declare "I am not a feminist", as though it is a bad thing. I will admit, that in my younger years I too was quick to declare that I am not a feminist, so as to distance myself from the negative associations that come with the title.

Now, in a positive spin, you can say that things could be worse, and these attitudes towards feminism today are due to a relative equality that exists today between the sexes that did not exist 40, even 30 years ago. Certainly in countries like Australia (or my home country of Israel for that matter), it is true to say that things are pretty good right now, and yes, things could be a LOT worse. But everything is relative, and if you ask me, "pretty good" is not "good enough". Now, I am not going to say that anything short of 100% full equality is unacceptable, because that is never going to happen. Even if every woman and man that sought full equality between the sexes were to see the fulfilment of this vision, there would still not be full equality, simply because some women don't want it. What do I mean by that? Well, some women with tertiary education choose to exit the workforce permanently when they have children. Similarly, not all women have the ambition to progress up the corporate ladder, or run for public office. Some do not want to work long hours, or give up family time, or are not motivated by large paychecks, and so on and so forth. Not that these views are unique to women, but the point is, it is never going to be fully equal in terms of representation, and so long as that's a matter of choice, and not a product of patriarchal traditions, sexism, discrimination and so on then that is perfectly fine, at least by me.

Having said all that, I would have to stop short of arguing that feminism has outlived its use. Yes, even in the free world. Women still face issues of inherent prejudices against them, are still significantly under-represented in public positions, at the head of companies, and even in the most progressive societies, there is still a significant wage gap between the sexes, accounting for similar or equivalent work, experience levels, educational background and so on. Now I am no research or statistics expert, however, pick any given country, like Australia, Canada, the US or any other you fancy, do a bit of research, and I think you'll find that even when you account for elements of choice and free will, the gaps you find cannot be adequately explained by these elements. Now since this blog post is just my opinion, and not a news article or academic paper, I'm not going to present statistical events to the claims I have just made because, let's just say that I have done a lot of reading on these topics over the years, and if you are interested I encourage you to use your minds, take initiatives and do the research yourselves.

What I will do, is present you with some general findings about the status of women in the G20. TrustLaw, a Thomson Reuters Foundation Service, conducted a global poll of experts in the world's major economies in order to determine the status of women in these countries. Now keep in mind, not all is bad in these countries, however it appears to have been the purpose of this poll to focus on what IS bad, or to put it more politely, what issues are still of concern and in need of addressing. Just another reservation, not all G20 countries are democracies. That in mind, the problems, or challenges, which women face vary from country to country, based on that country's characteristics, such as cultural influences, the nature of their regime, the governing system etc. So yes, some countries, when you consider things on a relative scale, are far worse than others. Nevertheless, let us just this once not employ the now quite popular term "first world problems" even when analysing the status of women in the first world, which is "relatively" better, because let's face it: if you are going to talk about relativity, then you can't ignore that it works both ways. Country A being better than Country B in its treatment of women is simply not good enough, when Woman A in Country A is at a disadvantage be it politically, culturally, socially, economically than Man B in Country A. Unless of course you don't mind being a hypocrite, which is fine for you, though I reserve the right to judge you accordingly.

OK then, what are the findings of the TrustLaw poll? The best and the worst first: Ranked at the distinguished number 1 among G20 countries is Canada. Ranked at the dishonourable worst is India. The latter result is quite surprising to me personally, seeing as India "beats" Saudi Arabia, a country known for its dire oppression of women, to the first-in-reverse spot.

Some key findings of the poll:

Wage/Wealth Gaps

• In Indonesia, being a woman will mean you own 38% of earned income.
• In South Korea, if you are a woman in full time work, you will be earning 38.9% less than your male counterpart in full time work. Yeah, the guy in the cubicle next to you, your team mate - chances are he  takes home more money than you.
• If you are a Japanese woman in full time work, your male colleague is earning about 28.3% more than you.
• Bonjour to the French women, you are currently earning 16.5% less than les hommes whom you work with. 
• My fellow Aussies women, did you know you are earning 18% less than the blokes?
• To the Poms, being a British man earns you 18.6% more than your female colleagues.
• Germans, being a big fan of German biers myself (my favourites are this and this, in case you're wondering), I am somewhat jealous that had I been a German woman, my male colleagues would have more money for delicious delicious bier with a 21.6% gender pay gap.

Women's Health/Birth issues

• In India in 2010, 56,000 maternal deaths were recorded. Another issue worth noting, not in the scope of this poll though, is the problem of female infanticide and female foetus abortions which take place in India and other countries. This has lead to a ban in India on sex-determining ultrasounds during pregnancies, though the ultrasounds, and the abortions, still occur nonetheless.
• In Indonesia, every hour a woman will die during childbirth. I will say that again: EVERY HOUR A WOMAN WILL DIE.
• In South Africa, twice as many women live with HIV than man, largely due to higher rates of sexual violence (more on that later).
• in 2008, 1.09 million girls dead or "missing" due to infanticide. This is sometimes (often?) attributed to the one child policy in China. 
• In Argentina, it is estimated up to 500,000 clandestine abortions take place every year. This is due to lack of sexual and reproductive education, and lack of  access to legal abortions.
• In the USA, or what we often hear of as the leader of the free world, 2011 saw no less than 92 anti-abortion restrictions enacted at a state level. My "favourite" on the abortion debate in the US is the requirement for completely medically unnecessary, physically invasive, mandatory transvaginal ultrasounds a la Virginia, and my real favourite is the response in Georgia, asking for a ban on Vasectomies, because honestly,  "It is patently unfair that men can avoid unwanted fatherhood by presuming that their judgment over such matters is more valid than the judgment of the General Assembly, while women's ability to decide is constantly up for debate throughout the United States." (so says bill sponsor Yasmin Neal, and I tend to agree).
• Also in the USA, 22.9 million women do not have health insurance.

Public/Corporate Representation

• In Saudi Arabia, 2011 saw women gain the right to vote. So I dare say public office is out of question. What with the ban on driving, and leaving the house unaccompanied by a male relative and all.
• In South Africa, 42.3% of seats in the lower house of parliament are held by women (this is actually not bad).
• In Mexico, 26.2% of seats in the lower house of parliament are held by women.
• In China, 21.3% of seats in the lower house of parliament are held by women.
• in Russia, 13.6% of seats in the lower house of parliament are held by women .
• In Brazil, 8.6% of seats in the lower house of parliament are held by women .
• In Argentina, 37.4% of seats in the lower house of parliament are held by women.
• In Japan, 11% of seats in the lower house of parliament are held by women .
• In France, 22% of board members in largest publicly traded companies are female.
• In Australia, 35.9% of seats across both parliamentary houses are women. In the corporate world however, there are only 5 female CEOs among the top 200 companies in the country. All around, female representation is not great in Australia, despite those who point to the fact that both the current Prime Minister and the Governor General (and in NSW's case, the Governor as well), are female.
• In the UK, 22.3% of judges are female, and 17% of ministerial positions are held by women.
• In Canada, 1/3 of federally appointed judges are women.

Sexual & Domestic Violence

• In India, 52% of women thinks it's justifiable for a man to beat his wife.
• In Indonesia, 90% of women claim to have been sexually harassed in the workplace.
• In South Africa, 66,196 sexual offences were reported in 2010-11.
• In Mexico, 1/4 of women suffer sexual abuse by their partner.
• In China, 1/4 of women think it's justifiable for a man to beat his wife.
• In Russia, 14,000 women die each year from domestic violence. A further 57,750 are trafficked from Russia each year.
• In Brazil, 250,000 children are estimated to be involved in prostitution.
• In Italy, 1.2 million women have been sexually harassed at work (with former PM Berlusconi's well publicised antics, is it any wonder...?)
• In Australia, 19.1% of women experienced sexual violence since the age of 15.
• In Germany, just 24.4% of convicted sex trafficking offenders received jail time in 2009.

Now, this is already very long and if you've made it this far - congratulations. I still urge you to read the original link and do more research, as there are other disturbing statistics such as marriage rates under the age of 18 in various countries, which I have not covered here. 

Now, I'm not such a fan of bra burning myself, they may have outlived their usefulness as a political tactic. And clearly, many of these statistics show gender gaps which are not necessarily evident due to legal, institutionalised forms of discrimination as was the case in the past. But that's just it. Equality and justice can not be a concept on paper only. Laws against sexual harassment, abuse and assault need to be better enforced. Gaps in wages and representation are not simply a fact of life to be accepted, there needs to be awareness and pro-active steps taken to address them. Health issues are a major concern and should not be simply tolerated if they don't affect us. 

The solutions from many of these things are around, and they SHOULD be easier to address than many of the problems women dealt with in the past. But they won't address themselves. So men and women, feminism is NOT outdated and it needs YOU - to say something, or do something, because there is still work to be done and every little bit counts!

(And once again, if you've read this far, I congratulate you on this achievement and thank you for reading).

Israel & Marriage

This could just be my left wing bias in the information sources I follow out of Israel, but I think there seems to be a significant rise in the public debate in Israel, since Obama's declared support for same sex marriage, on the issue of marriage for all, including same sex marriage in Israel. 

The following article  from Haaretz newspaper is just another example of this, and follows declarations by several Israeli politicians on this issue. As the article states, "Just a handful of Israeli politicians responded to the U.S. President's statement by expressing clear support for same-sex marriage. Almost all such politicians belong to the rapidly shrinking opposition..." However, many progressive Israeli facebook pages, many of which have sprung up since last year's social justice protests which awakened  Israelis into civic action, have been abuzz talking about this issue, both as a result of Obama's statement, as well as in response (so it seems) to the reality of the new coalition agreement between Netanyahu & Shaul Mofaz who now heads up the Kadima party. 

In Israel marriage equality is in an even more dire situation than most democratic nations who have been debating this topic over the last decade or what not. This is due to the fact that not only is same sex marriage not legal (as is the case in many other countries), but since the state's inception, marriage in Israel has been an exclusively religious ceremony, entirely monopolised by the Rabbinate (for those Israelis belonging to the Jewish faith, by choice or merely by birth). This has resulted, at least in my view, in a highly unjust system, where many Israelis, straight or otherwise, have been unable to marry their partner of choice.

Reasons for this include:

• The inability, due to Rabbinate rules, to marry a partner who is not of the Jewish faith (if you are a Jew).
• The inability to marry if you, or your partner, are deemed 'Psulei Chitun', or 'unfit for marriage' according to Jewish law. 'Psulei Chitun' are defined as: 1. A pair who are banned from marriage due to being related, or who are already married to someone else (fair enough..) OR 2. If you are a 'mamzer' (IE, were born out of wedlock, you may only marry another 'mamzer', or alternatively you can marry a slave or a convert (how wonderful) OR if you are a Cohen (IE, descended from the lineage of High Priests from the days of the Two Temples), in which case you have further restrictions on who you can marry (can't marry a divorcee etc.). According to Jewish law, if you belong to the second category of Psulei Chitun ('Mamzer' or Cohen), you can still marry anyone you like, but this marriage is considered a marriage conducted in sin. However, 'fortunately' the Israeli Rabbinate has stepped in to save us all from such sins, by banning altogether marriages of Psulei Chitun who do not comply with Jewish law. They do this by maintaining a register of people who are 'Psulei Chitun', passed down through the generations (so if your great grandparent was deemed 'unfit for marriage', it will pass down through the generations, the Rabbinate keeps tabs on you and will know that as the great grandchild of said person, you too will be 'unfit for marriage' and denied this right).
• The inability to marry if you wish to marry in a non-religious ceremony, since it is not currently legal to have a civil, secular marriage in Israel.
• The inability to marry a fellow Jew, if you, or your partner, have undergone a conversion conducted via anything other than the Orthodox stream of Jewry. That is, if you or your partner converted through a reform/progressive Rabbi for example, you cannot marry a fellow Jew - because the Israeli Rabbinate does not recognise the validity of your conversion!

Of course, it is easy to see that under these rules, GLBT Israelis also cannot marry. However, the issue of marriage rights in Israel is far more wide spread in its discrimination, and SHOULD, if you ask me, be of far greater concern to Israelis than it currently is in public discourse.

In light of this, it is surprising to me, but very much welcome to observe (hopefully not subjectively due to my circles), a heightened interest in discussing this issue, as mentioned, in light of both Obama's statement and the new Israeli coalition. 

As mentioned in the article quoted above, there is a real opportunity currently in the Israeli Knesset, under a broad and largely secular coalition (the likes of which has not been observed in a long time) to legislate some far reaching reforms to (in my opinion) benefit Israeli society as a whole. In his statement on his decision to join the Netanyahu government, newly elected Kadima leader Mofaz said that his condition for joining the coalition was enactment of a law to replace the Tal Law, which legally sanctioned exempting Ultra-Orthodox Torah scholars from military service, whereas all other citizens are compulsorily conscripted into military service under Israeli law, upon reaching 18 years of age. The effect of this would mean for the first time in Israel's 64 year existence, Ultra-Orthodox Jewish young men would be required to share the burden of other Israelis and also serve a mandatory military term. 

As an individual who has shouldered my share of the responsibility of IDF military service, I would certainly welcome such a move, as do a growing majority of Israeli citizens, both secular and religious alike. However, there is certainly a greater opportunity at play here not to stop there and enact other reforms, such as opening up marriage rights in Israel to include civil marriages and same sex marriages. 

The counter argument to allowing such a move is that sanctioning religious-only marriages in Israel is necessary in order to maintain the Jewish (alongside the democratic..) nature of the state of Israel. For the record, I love the Orthodox Jewish marriage tradition, and hope one day to marry, in Israel, according to this tradition. My reason for this is because of my personal commitment to maintaining my Jewish identity, and in keeping with the Orthodox tradition. However, that is my choice. What I don't like, and I would hope others would agree with me, is imposing such practices on others without affording them the freedom to choose their own way. To me it is quite simple really, it is unnecessarily intrusive into people's personal lives, is unnecessarily restrictive of personal freedoms, and undemocratic. 

We Jews have survived and succeeded in maintaining our culture and tradition through many generations over thousands of years. Many of that time has been while in exile, without a state to call our own. We passed down our tradition among our family, our friends and our community, without legislating and forcing these practices on one another. I for one am proud of my Jewish identity and tradition, and proud of our unique story of survival, where many other nations have ceased to continue their existence through time. There have always been those that have converted to other faiths, or assimilated into other cultures, irrespective of the relatively contemporary phenomenon of secularisation. And yet, we're still here, and not solely by means of coercion. And in my personal view, that is what I'd like to see in the Israel of today: Continuation through education and celebration of our tradition, not through coercion. 

That being said, while the Tal law is reportedly on its way into the dustbin of Israeli history, I won't hold my breath on this one. While I'd like to remain optimistic and embrace the positive opportunities that the current Israeli government composition provides, the history of Israeli politician's actions and contemptuous disregard for the Israeli public, I fear, is in fact exemplified by this latest manoeuvre orchestrated by Netanyahu to sustain the full term of his government. As such, I am not really hopeful that the Knesset will actually do something right this time. It almost seems to me (sadly), that there is no precedent for the Knesset actually doing something favourable for the mass public, rather than merely for specific sectors who are effectively represented by self-motivated advocates from within the Knesset itself. How sad indeed.

I'd love to be proven wrong though....How ironic it would be if Israel, with all its complexities around the religious-secular divide, would precede (supposedly) secular Australia in instituting equal marriage rights for all (including same sex marriage rights). Then there might actually be some justification for this gargantuan government Netanyahu is presiding over.

Like I said though, I won't be holding my breath....

Planned Obsolescence - marketing strategy vs. ethics

It has been a while since my last blog, but thoughts on the above subject have inspired me once more, and so I share my latest thoughts on this issue.


I am totally in love love love with this marketoonist blog, which I've been following for a few weeks now.

This post on 'planned obsolescence' is particularly poignant IMO. From a marketing perspective, planned obsolescence is of course a successful sales & marketing strategy, and hence one that is commonly in practise in the modern age. However, it raises the issue of ethics which we often lose sight of. By ethics, I mean both in the sense of an ethical sales & marketing strategy, as well as the social and economic effects of encouragement of constant renewal and heightened consumerism.

To be clear, I am not claiming purity of actions on this matter, I am a total sucker for the latest online & mobile technologies and a massive tech junkie in these areas. However, I for one would certainly feel a lot more content from an ethical perspective if the drive for adoption of evolving and emerging technological innovations did not feel like in the back of my mind I am doing a deal with the devil - aiding overconsumption, questionable production practices and labour force exploitation, particularly in the developing and third world.

In theory, we as consumers have the power of changing these practices, by voting with our wallets and demonstrating our consumer preferences by consuming ethically. But too often we are distracted by the new, the evolving, by the desire to keep up with technology, or be early adopters, to put it in marketing terms. So what is the answer - how to balance conflicting viewpoints that exist among many of us - I don't know....but this post certainly provoked that line of thinking in me, and if it does the same in others, maybe that's a good start at the very least.

Open to others thoughts on the matter, if anyone wants to share their opinions.

I'm baaaack! Where from you ask?

OR....India in written form, Part I.

Just in case anyone has actually noticed my absence from the blogging world...No? Oh well...I was away, now I'm back, just fyi :) So we've cleared that up, ok cool...

So where am I back from? Travels! Again! Lucky me :)

Where to this time? India. It had to be done really. Pretty sure as an Israeli citizen, if I hadn't gone to India that at some point my citizenship would have been revoked. It's just one of those things, one of the travel destinations that Israelis sort of must do. It's on a kind of generally accepted, unwritten list of things that Israelis must do, or know how to do. Like playing Sheshbesh (backgammon), or knowing how to barter, or being really good at arguing and pushing in, even for those of us who may not actually like doing it, but the know how is there. INCIDENTALLY, knowing how to barter and argue and push in turn out to be good skills to have if you go to India. So yeah...back to that. For anyone that may actually read this blog, I'ma tell you about my Indian adventure right about....NOW.

Let me just preface whatever comes next with saying that I absolutely loved it. That must be said cos it is a crazy, chaotic country so if some of what I say sounds like maybe I didn't love it, well then let it be known that I did. And I am dying to go back....and I WILL be back. Hopefully with a more resilient stomach next time, but I'll get to that later.

So....India. Why, how, where?

WHY


Apart from the obvious, "why not?", I actually had an amazing opportunity come up, so I decided to seize it, perhaps somewhat irrationally. Irrationally, cos what I should have done at the time I made the decision to go was pursue stable employment, pay off debt, acknowledge I'd already done my annual overseas trip for the year, and yeah, be like all responsible and shit. But in hindsight it all worked out well, so I'm happy with my decision, and 'meh' for rationality.

So what was the opportunity? Well, I had heard about a trip that was being organised for Australian young professionals by The Joint Distribution Committee; An organisation, that while little known (at least by my generation) in Australia, I was certainly aware of, more in an Israeli context because of their historical involvement in my home country. It was the first trip of its kind to be targeted at an Australian audience, for 10 days in India. I was keen, I applied and I got in. So far so good, hurray.

The purpose of the trip was to learn about, and engage with the local Indian Jewish community. Sounded interesting since admittedly, apart from having two good friends in Sydney with an Indian Jewish background, I knew very little about this community, so different from my Ashkenazi (IE Eastern European) Jewish background.

HOW AND WHERE

Ok, fast forward. Off we went to India. I decided to extend my stay past the 10 day program and spent a month in total in 'incredible India', as their tourist campaigns so aptly call this truly incredible country. Myself and two friends arrived 4 days prior to the start of the program, and did our own exploring for those days. We landed in Mumbai on the west coast, the mid-point between the distinct North and South regions of India, and what has been described as India's most cosmopolitan city.

So, what's Mumbai like? People say you either love it or you hate it. Me? I'm a city girl through and through, live it, breathe it, love it and so I loved it. What can I say, compared to other places I've visited, it's completely nuts. Not nuts like New York City, or Vegas, or Tel Aviv (none of which I'll even try and explain, here's hoping you've been there or have your own image of these anyway), but just nuts in it's own special way. Firstly, it's heavily populated. 22 million people leave there. That is, all of Australia's population living in the one city. So Aussies: That means no Aussie dream here of a stand alone house, it's all built up. Apartment buildings and a high rate of population density, much as you'd expect from the second most populated country in the world really. FUN FACT: Amongst all of this, Mumbai is actually home to the world's most expensive home. 27 stories, built for a family of four, though uninhabited because it doesn't conform to the Indian principles of vastu shastra (read: Indian Feng Shui) - fascinating!!

Secondly, the roads. Oh. My. G-d. Marked lanes? Meh, let's form our own. Road rules? Yeah, that's optional. Walking into oncoming traffic? That's cool, the cars will stop for you eventually. Seat belts fitted in cars? Overrated. Side view mirrors? Nahhh, those will be clipped off in an hour, max. Rear view? Yeah, no,  you just look out for the car in front of you, the cars behind you will do the same for you. AWESOME. Somehow, it works. Rule #1 about India: Don't question, just surrender to the madness, accept and enjoy.

Then of course there's cows, this relates to all of India of course. Poking their heads into stores? Sure, what, they're not allowed to browse? Perched on a hill that you yourself barely made it up? Makes perfect sense. Bumming on a Goan beach? Why should humans alone have all the fun? In the middle of aforementioned busy  roads? Hey, they're holy and they'll do what they want, get it yet?

Apart from that, Mumbai is colourful, diverse and very very interesting. It has a mix of Indian traditions, along with colonial landmarks and modern western influences. You'll see beautiful women clad in the traditional Sarees, Punjabis and others which on a complete side note I cannot spell right now because Wikipedia is down (I could cry...), alongside men & women in all the latest western fashions. The same applies for everything else. In case you had any doubts (I didn't..) all the modern luxuries are available here, although we did notice that apple products are not as popular here, which suited me fine as a stubbornly anti-apple-fangirl personally. Oh yes, and another thing about India: everyone really is obsessed with cricket (*yawn*), much more so than Aussies I reckon. Hockey is also quite popular there apparently. The sport that is, not Joe Hockey (ewww...)

Mumbai highlights for me:

1. The sea is always a highlight for me. I can't say it's the cleanest (pollution levels in India are pretty awful...you can never rid yourself of the pollution induced dirt under your fingernails, I gave up), but it's still pretty to look at. On our 4th day in India prior to the JDC program starting we took a ferry from the Gateway of India to Elephanta Island, an hour long boat trip, very serene and calming, and especially beautiful on our trip back to the mainland as the sun was setting.

2. Mani Bhavan - Where Gandhi had lived, currently a museum. I learnt a lot about his character, actions, the quit India movement and India's quest for independence there. As a political enthusiast I was fascinated, and as a humanist I am completely awe inspired by the man. What struck me the most: there was a copy of a letter Gandhi had sent to Hitler, pretty much on the eve of World War II appealing to him as the man capable of preventing the war. As we know, that didn't *quite* help so much, but as the granddaughter of holocaust survivors I certainly appreciate the gesture. Particularly given it originated from a man in a country with its own problems to deal with and quite removed from the situation. This was however, just one of many things I learnt about Gandhi, with relation to his visions on issues like women's rights which were well ahead of his time, and generally his humble, forgiving and humane approach to all. Really inspiring stuff.

3. Food - Ok so yes I did get food poisoning. Pretty much everyone who goes to India does. But I still love Indian food and it was very very yummy. Even if I can't stomach it at all right now and probably won't again for a while....And Mum, if you're reading this: YES, I ate the street food. YES, I know everyone advises against this. SURE, I could have been more careful than I was, I KNOW my stomach is not conditioned to it etc etc etc. BUT....I didn't get sick from street food. Against advice given to me, I didn't eat only steamed food. I didn't eat only in places where I could see the kitchen. I did eat fried foods. And that was all fine. The food there is fabulous and delicious. Ultimately what we estimate and what others have since told me about their travel experiences is that you need to be more careful of western food because chances are restaurants don't know how to properly preserve western food they prepare = a recipe for getting sick. Anyway, forget all that. Food = two thumbs up.

4. Shopping - Anyone who has ever being in my room knows this is an illness for me. I have wayyyy too many clothes/shoes/jewellery/bags/stuff (internet readers....please don't rob me :p) already. I promise I was good. I didn't go crazy. But shopping is hella cheap. And there's a lot of beautiful stuff. So who can resist??

5. Mumbai trains - they are crazy! People jump on, people jump off, the train is still moving, personal space - what is that anyway? But, it's fun! The city trains have male compartments and female compartments, and the female compartments are wayyyyy more fun. And either way, Mumbai traffic is so crazy that a train is MUCH faster than catching a taxi, even if for tourists catching a taxi is still so cheap compared to home, definitely compared to stupidly expensive Sydney taxi fares. Anyway, tacking onto highlight no. 4, travelling in the women's compartment means the prospects for more shopping! I didn't actually buy anything, but you can probably buy ANYTHING on the train if you want. The men's compartments are always way too full for that. But for the women, if unlike me, you're not too busy creepily admiring how pretty all the women's sarees and stuff are and once you move past the jealousy of how bloody good they are at making crazy colour schemes work, and accessorising with awesome scarves you can do a LOT of shopping on the train. You can buy wallets, handbags, nail polish, hair accessories, random toys and sometimes even food (if you dare). It's pretty fun going through the stuff all the sellers have to offer, some practical, some completely random, and I also really liked how they just pass it all around for people to browse and noone steals anything, there's a complete trust thing going on, and it works.

So yeah, let's call that part I. When I next have a streak of motivation I'll move on to part II - The JDC program and Jewish India. Stay tuned and I hope you enjoyed reading :)

FINE. Since everyone else is talking about it...

....so will I.

Same sex marriage, that is. Nothing new from me really, everyone who knows me know that I support it. And to be honest, there has been so much talk about this in Australia in the lead up to Saturday (for those unaware - the issue will be debated at the ALP national conference on Saturday, considered a fateful moment for the campaign for marriage equality in Australia), that I am actually sick of hearing about it and wish it wasn't a topic of conversation anymore.

Sounds harsh, I know. I mean no offence to anyone as I do feel strongly on this issue. Don't mistake my annoyance with indifference or trivialisation of this issue, that is not what I mean. 

My issue is this: I am impatient, and I get bored very easily. I have never been diagnosed but I wouldn't be shocked if I actually have ADD. Actually, I'm not really impatient. I just hate hate hate wasting time. And what it has now boiled down to for me is that I can't believe we are still having this discussion, on this issue.

Now that we're on the topic of things I hate (strong word, I know), you know what else I hate? "Cliqueyness". Exclusivity. Always have. I find it a big turnoff, when people feel they need to exclude others, even if it's not me being excluded. It demonstrates a lot about the character of an individual or a group in my opinion, and I just don't like it.

I have never felt the need to be part of the "IT crowd" and if I've been in an environment that has an "IT crowd" my default reaction is disdain. And notwithstanding that view, I am blessed with a wide social circle of wonderful people, all of who have been hand-picked carefully to be part of my life - but never to the exclusion of others!

So where am I going with this? Well, the closer this Saturday gets, the more media coverage, political debates and commentary I am exposed to on the issue of same sex marriage, the more I have a heightened sense of exclusivity, between those able to marry to the exclusion of others who are not. And right now, I can't say anything more clever or sophisticated than it just pisses me off. It just seems to me like one group of people excluding a group of others from what they have. To me, it seems quite simple, that this is what it boils down to. The way I look at it is this: Leaving prejudice out, how would you explain to a 5 year old child why supposedly one group of people can marry and another group can't? I would imagine it'd be something like "because boys should marry girls, and girls should marry boys. Girls can't marry girls, and boys can't marry boys." Followed by a standard child's response "But why?" Children see through a hollow response with amazing clarity when they don't think they've received an adequate response. I have listened over and over to arguments opposing marriage equality and it always comes down to the same reaction, like a child, "But Why?" I haven't heard a compelling argument as yet.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and I respect that. And I doubt that writing this will change any minds on the issue, I'm not writing with that intent. 

I just can't help but think what a waste of time it is talking on and on about this issue when, at the end of the day, I don't think it's anybody's business. And just in case I haven't pissed anybody off yet by writing this, let me go a step further. I think dreadlocks look awful. I think girls who wear very short skirts look skanky. I think as a girl having a full sleeve tatt is unfeminine. I think a lot of things about a lot of different things to do with lifestyle, dress sense, appearances, behaviour etc. But I think what I think because it's just not what I would do. But....I know people who have dreads, girls who wear short skirts, have full sleeve tatts. And they are not feral, or skanky, or unfeminine. They are beautiful, and interesting, and unique, and what I would hate on me I love and appreciate in them, for who they are and how they choose to express it. 

I could never picture myself being romantically involved with a person of the same gender. Doesn't do it for me. I also don't fully understand how a person can be attracted to both genders, and I can't at all wrap my head around the concept of genderlessness, I don't get it, at all. But I have some amazing friends who are in same sex relationships, or same sex attracted, or bi-sexual or very passionate about gender theory and social constructs that surround it. It is part of what makes them who they are in this world, and it is part of the package of people I know and love. And like people with dreads, or short skirts and many tattoos, it doesn't affect me, at all. 

Now don't get me wrong. I am not drawing a parallel between choosing how to wear your hair, or get inked ( I have a tattoo as well..), or where you shop and being gay or bi, which I don't believe is a choice one makes. I am just saying, none of these things affect me personally, like, at all. Trust me, I LOVE a good whinge and if they did affect me personally in any way, I'd whinge until I'm blue in the face. No really, I would. Any poor bugger who's had the misfortune of being on the other end of the phone when, as a consumer, I've been overcharged or ripped off, or otherwise feel I've been wronged will tell you I will not let it go until I'm happy with the outcome I want. Any friends who've overheard me on said conversations will have a good laugh knowing what an angry me on a mission is like.

So seriously, why am I still talking about this? Why is anyone still talking about this? 

I believe in G-d. I believe that there is only one judge in our lives and that is G-d. If I am wrong about my views on this, or any other issue, G-d will be my judge. And I believe that He will be the judge of others, on this or any other issue. Now you may not believe in G-d. That's cool too. Doesn't change anything, really. Who are we to judge others on matters that are completely harmless and victimless and are just none of anyone's f***in' business, really?

So yeah, can't we just legalise this already and then, oh I don't know, talk about the stuff that ACTUALLY affects all of us?

PS check out this video of a child's response to a married gay couple. Game of Ping Pong anyone?

PPS In the interest of disclosure: I am a member of the ALP right.

Gilad Shalit to be released...personal reflections

More to come after it actually happens, but I just wanted to share some of my thoughts at this moment.

A little over 3 years ago, when kidnapped Israeli soldiers Udi Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were returned, no longer alive, from Hizballah captivity in the last prisoner swap undertaken by Israel, I wrote a note on facebook about their return to Israel, in coffins. 

Reflecting on this now, while hoping accounts are true and Gilad Shalit who is about to be released from Hamas captivity after 5 years is ALIVE, I remembered this note because of the third last paragraph, about the sanctity of life and the honour of those who serve their country, and the duty to bring them home.

I wrote that note when I was very sad and pained that day. You can read the note at the bottom of  this post. I hope in the next few days to share a different type of emotion. We are all waiting to see Gilad back home. An entire nation has been hoping, praying, dreaming, campaigning for this day to come.

Last year, when visiting Israel, I was happy to have the opportunity to take part in one day of the March for Gilad Shalit, in the Netanya (my home town) leg of the march. It is hard to put down in words what that day felt like. 15,000 people were reported to have marched that day. For 6 hours, in the middle of the day, middle of summer in the harsh Israeli heat. Young and old, secular and religious, from all walks of life. I have not been back to experience the recent social protests this summer in Israel, but it was said there was a sense of unity and mutual vision. That's what the march last year felt like. Gilad's father, Noam Shalit, led the way. Everyone was united and in high spirits. Those who couldn't march greeted us along the way, residents of the small towns along the route, handing out water and fruit, all voluntarily, to encourage the marchers on their way. Gilad Shalit was everyone's son, brother, friend, everyone came out to show their desire for his return. It was very special and inspiring to see so many people come out and share solidarity about one person's ill fate to be held captive.

                                          15,000 marching for Shalit, July 2010

                                                   

Later in my trip, while visiting Jerusalem, we visited the protest tent for Shalit outside the PM's home. It was late in the evening and the Shalit family were not there that evening. But still, people flocked there, and the tent was constantly visited by supporters, messages of support hanging up everywhere.

                                         Shalit protest tent, Jerusalem, July 2010

And already, voices are piping up saying the price of his release is too heavy. 1000 terrorists for one person, what will this bring for Israel's future security? I don't know the answer to that. Military experts can speculate, in a much more learned manner than I can, and maybe they are right. But I think today, like most people, I choose to go with my heart, not my head.

Yes, I know the price of terror. Everyone who has lived in Israel during any of the wars or intifadas, as I have, knows the price. I can recall  every single attack that happened in Netanya during the second intifada. The panic, the franticness, the cellular lines crashing, trying to do the call around, finding out where everyone is and are they ok. When you find out your loved ones are ok, relief is almost instantly replace with guilt, because someone else's loved ones aren't ok. If it's not anyone you know, it's someone that someone you know knows. Every time. Netanya, a coastal city on the Eastern border of the Mediterranean sea, was hit very hard in the height of the second intifada, being located a mere 14km's from the West Bank, the Palestinian territories. Some things never leave your memory, and I remember exactly what it was like in those days. The well known Passover Massacre, carried out by the current Palestinian governing party, Hamas, took place at the Park Hotel, on the street I lived in at the time, in the hall where my cousin had held his Bar Mitzva approximately 6 months earlier.

Yet, as I said, 15,000 people from Netanya joined the march that day. My former fellow residents, who like me had been scarred emotionally by the effects of terror, whether personally losing someone or not. The pain and trauma is shared by all. The parents, grandparents, siblings, friends of those we have lost, what would they give if they could get their loved ones back? Those we have already lost, we can never get back. But Gilad Shalit, we can get him back. We want him back. We all want to see him alive, hopefully. Smiling, hugging his parents once again. We want to add him on facebook, though he doesn't know what facebook is. We want to write on his wall, welcome back, through our smartphones, though he's probably never heard of an iphone before. We want to see him catch up on everything he has missed, let him know we've been thinking of him, all of us.

Yes, this is not a strategic argument. It is purely sentimental. But that is what humans are, or should be. We have a heart. Can't wait to welcome you back, Gilad. We've been thinking of you.

A Very Sad Day.....

on Thursday, 17 July 2008 at 03:32

It's a very sad day today in Israel. After 2 years of uncertainty, the fate of the 2 kidnapped soldiers Udi Goldwasser & Eldad Regev who were kidnapped into Lebanon by Hizbollah terrorists has finally become known as the two were returned to Israel today, in coffins.

I think it's shattering. You might think, they've been gone for 2 years now, surely the family has prepared themselves for the likelihood of this outcome, surely they must have built up thick skin to deal with this possibility. But I doubt that very much. I believe that no matter what you keep telling yourself, trying to prepare yourself for the worst, it's human nature to always keep that flicker of hope that maybe, just maybe, it isn't so, maybe they are still alive. And when you find out that your worst fears and thoughts are a reality and that flicker of hope as been completely extinguished, that's a big, big crash. I don't think any words that you say or any thoughts that you think, any scenarios you conceive can ever prepare you for that. And to say it's tragic, to say it's distressing, to say it's terrible, doesn't begin to cover it. No words can.

And I don't claim to understand and sense the full weight of what that actually means. But with the hope of the soldier's families came the love, support and hope of the whole of Israel. And with that hope being put out entirely, I believe any Israeli, or any decent, compassionate human being who has followed the period of their captivity feels that little knot in their stomach, feels a share of the overwhelming pain that the family is no going through, finding out this terrible outcome. There is no comfort in that. I don't believe that closure in knowing the fate of your loved on, or the fate of these brave men who endangered themselves for the good of others, for the good of Israel, provides any consolation at all. How can there ever be closure when they never got to say goodbye? When their deaths were untimely and unnecessary?

I feel it is a very bleak day today. And it serves as another spine-tingling reminder of the kind of evil we are faced with. To face people so cruel, so ruthless that they make no attempt to spare the lives of those held captive. And feel no guilt in withholding the fate of their captives from the world, including the red cross. They hold no value for human life, a kidnapped soldier can just as well be dead or alive, as long as they are in their hands. As long as they can serve as pawns, like a game of chess, to satisfy their demands from the enemy, Israel. Their life, their intellect, their loved ones, their contribution to the world has no meaning whatsoever, they are just chess pieces, dead or alive, it's all the same.

And to those who may say that Israel is foolish for agreeing to "play the game" to negotiate the return of soldiers, whether alive or dead in exchange of terrorists, to those who say Israel therefore gives the incentive and the drive for more kidnappings, think again. I am extremely proud that Israel can set itself a part in such a way. No soldier will ever be left behind, ever. To Israel, a soldier is not just an instrument of war, that plays his/her part whatever that may entail. Sure, you swear to devote yourself to your country, in life or in death as duty requires. But in doing so, you can trust that in Israel, your actions will not go unrecognised. A soldier is a living, breathing human being, with a support system, a hunger for life, potential to realise, thoughts, plans, desires. And when a soldier is killed in duty, we owe it to them to let them rest in peace, on Israeli soil, where we can thank them , cherish them, and honour them for their courage and willingness to give in belief of their contribution for the good of the rest. And in agreement as well as disagreement in the rights or wrongs of the objectives they set out to achieve in their duty, paying the ultimate price is deserving of honour. A soldier is not less valuable and important in death than in life. For what they have given, we owe them in return, for following through what they believed to be right for the greater good of everyone. A hefty price is a worthwhile price to pay for the honour of a fallen soldier. It is an enlightened nation, that which values life by honouring death, that will do what it takes to bring their soldiers home, dead or alive to receive the honour and respect that they deserve. Because we do care, all of us.

I am proud to be a citizen of a country that fights for their people to the end. Through life and death, no human will ever be faceless again, no one is left behind, every human is important, whether deceased or living.

My thoughts are with the families of the fallen soldiers today, may they rest in peace and may their families find comfort in us all to try and achieve the unthinkable and somehow, some day, pull through this devastating atrocity.

יהי זכרם ברוך.