"Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, co-chairwoman of the festival and the rabbi of Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, a gay synagogue in New York City, said the controversy was another sign that each religion had become polarized between its liberal and conservative wings."
"I reject that they have the right to define religion in such a narrow way," Rabbi Kleinbaum said of religious leaders who denounce homosexuality. "Gay and lesbian people are saying we are equal partners in religious communities, and we believe in a religious world in which all are created in God's image."
The Dove is a married heterosexual mother of sons and she says hear, hear.
You should read the whole article to get the picture, but I must highlight the 5K unity run announced by the Beirut Marathon Society to commemorate the start of Lebanon's civil war 30 years ago.
The Dove has been silent about Lebanon for some time because she just doesn't know what to say or think. Time will tell. The Lebanon roundup links at right will help you read the analysis of others more qualified than I. May unity and democracy prevail.
Back in November the Dove reported on the People's Grocery Store of Oakland. It's a local collective that brings great natural food and produce, some of it home-grown, to a poor section of my city. Now they've won a prize: The Jefferson Award: Malaika Edwards, grocery founder. (From the SF Chronicle)
Young Malaika Edwards graduated from Oberlin College, one of the Dove's 5 alma materae (sp?). Oberlin still sends me fond requests for money so they wouldn't mind me claiming the lineage. It's an old joke about Obies - they leave Oberlin and graduate from somewhere else. In any case, I'm quite proud of this tenuous connection to Malaika. She exemplifies the best of Oberlin College - original thinking applied to social change.
Issandr al-Imrani over at the Arabist Network linked to Juan Cole's article about The AIPAC investigation. Now criticizing AIPAC isn't something the Dove would bother to do on this blog, because negative comment just doesn't work here. We're focused on the positive. You are welcome to read all about AIPAC at Juan Cole and at the Arabist Net.
I wanted Issandr to know about American Jewish groups working for peace and justice in Palestine - and therefore standing up to AIPAC.
Jewish Voice for Peace does all kinds of activities for justice in Palestine, but my favorite is their work to stop
Caterpillar (the American tractor company whose giant machines are used by the Israelis to bulldoze Palestinian houses). See this photo of a protest in California last week - JVP called me two days before to see if I could attend. The newspaper didn't specify that JVP organized the protest, nor did it go into any detail about - why Caterpillar? Read more about it at the Stop Caterpillar site.
JVP also sponsored a lecture series in SF a couple of years ago on the history of the conflict, which featured both Palestinian and Israeli scholars. Somewhere on that site is the reading list from that lecture series - it was incredible.
The SF Chronicle reports on two local cities taking green initiatives. This is important - if our national government won't address environmental issues that may destroy our species' future, then thank goodness our cities will.
San Francisco will become the first U.S. city to host the United Nations World Environment Day conference, when mayors from around the world arrive in June with the goal of hammering out environmental accords to promote "green cities."
...
Mayoral participants will brainstorm and develop a set of Urban Environmental Accords with an eye toward improving the environment in cities around the word. The categories to be addressed are urban design, transportation, energy, open space, recycling, health and water, and include 21 action items to be targeted over the next seven years.
The city of Oakland, in an effort to promote conservation and clean energy, may become the nation's second city to join the Chicago Climate Exchange, whose members trade "emissions allowances."
(Turki said) “Yes I believe the Middle East is ready to go down the road toward democracy. We are ready to reject dictatorship. We agree with the Americans on this.”
“Nowhere in the Middle East has the acceptance of democracy been greater than in Syrian and Lebanon. The enlightened classes from the beginning of the last century studied in Europe and brought back ideas of democracy. We have been at this for a long time now."
He also said: "democracy must come from the inside, not from traitors working with the outside, like Chalabi. Democracy cannot be brought on the back of a tank. The stick is used by those who want to provoke and not by those who wish good things for their people.”
Deborah Madison: Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone Indispensable - I use it all the time, and give it as presents to brides, young people starting out, etc. Not for vegetarians only - hence the title - a great resource for anybody wanting delicious recipes for vegetables, grains and legumes. Great sauces and salads, too.
Claudia Roden: Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon Excellent in-depth cultural and social essays on three major cuisines; the recipes include the standards as well as unusual dishes, and the photographs are gorgeous. A great gift book - the Dove asked for and got it for Christmas.
