Dove's Eye View

Good News and Bad News

The picture looks like good news: The New York Times > International > International Special > Clerics Fighting a Gay Festival for Jerusalem. Leading clerics from all three religions in Jerusalem, bonding over a common concern. That's the good news.

The bad news is, they're gay bashing.

"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.

A breakthrough is close, if...

Daoud Kuttab in the Beirut Daily Star: The Daily Star - Opinion Articles - A breakthrough is close, but only if daily lives are improved.

Hope in Lebanon

Helena Cobban sees signs of hope in Lebanon. See her blog, 'Just World News': Political interactions vs. bombs in Lebanon.

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.

The Jefferson Award: Malaika Edwards, grocery founder

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)

Read also Produce to the People. The People's Grocery site is here.

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.

The AIPAC investigation

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.

Masrah al-Madina: for theater, for civil society

From the Beirut Daily Star: Masrah al-Madina: for theater, for civil society.

The Dove visited the previous incarnation of this theater in 1995, alas not for a performance, just to get a look inside at the theater space.

Poll: Withdraw from Gaza, Dismantle Settlements, Negotiate

Richard Silverstein at Tikkun Olam blog (not the same as Michael Lerner's Tikkun Magazine) posts this roundup of poll results in Israel and Palestine: Israeli-Palestinian Poll Indicates Strong Support for Gaza Withdrawal, Dismantling Settlements and Negotiations with Hamas.

Thanks, Richard, for alerting us to these signs of hope.

What Will the Neighbors Say?

The Dove thinks, along with Richard Silverstein, that what the world needs now is love, sweet love: Wolfowitz Romance Stirs Gossip (washingtonpost.com). Seems that the architect of the Iraq war has a feminist, intellectual, neo-conservative Arab mistress.

The Dove carries the flag for Arab-Jewish love everywhere, even among warmongers. Love can turn anybody around!

Tip of the hat to Wonkette.

California cities lead green action

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.

First, San Francisco to host U.N. green meeting.

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.

Next, Oakland considers joining climate exchange.

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."

Riad al-Turk on Democracy in Syria & Lebanon

Josh Landis of Syria Comment interviews Riad Al-Turk, a Syrian opposition member (Communist) of long standing.

(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.”