Before I acquired wisdom and discontinued my cable television subscription, I sometimes engaged in the masochistic practice of watching Israeli political discussion shows, like Politica or Wisemen’s Council. It’s sort of like watching the verbal equivalent of mud-wrestling – there’s a total lack of civility. Prominent journalists, politicians and academics gather around a table, usually with the moderator symbolically seated between the right and left-wingers, and they just go at it: they yell, they interrupt, they indulge in personal insults and they occasionally let loose a racist or sexist remark.

And we’re talking about a group of people with a common language and history here.

So imagine what it would be like to watch an Israeli face down three people who support the program to boycott his country, in a round-table discussion on Iran’s PressTV. Do you think it would be possible to maintain a civil discourse?

Yishay Mor, an Israeli living in London, proves that it is possible to have an “honest, respectful and open debate” even when there is no pretense of balance on the part of the host. Read Yishay’s short background description of the discussion on his blog, and watch the embedded video while you’re there. Yishay comes in at about 11 minutes. And I’m sure he’d be interested in your feedback, too.

Amir Cohen/Reuters

I know I said I’d be writing a series of four pieces on the election, but in the end they asked me for one more – a wrapup of the results.

It’s called, The election result no one is happy with.

My third piece for the Guardian newsblog is about bloggers who don’t like to write about politics. It starts like this:

One of Israel’s most famous bloggers never writes about politics. “It bores me,” explains Liat Bar-On, a 36-year-old journalist. “I consider myself a leftist and I was against the Gaza war, but I don’t want to write about the violence and the corruption and the crappy reality around me. I prefer to bury my head in the sand and ignore it all.”

Bar-On’s blog, Doda Malka (Auntie Malka), is about “life and relationships – that is, about my relationships.” She channels her considerable writing talents into musings about topics that range from why she gets irritated with friends who send long text messages to her mobile phone, to whether or not she would like to become a single mother via artificial insemination.

Click here to read the rest.

The following is a letter that was sent today to Pinchas Buchris, the Israeli Defense Ministry Director-General. To paraphrase the person who sent it to me, it just goes to show that this conflict is all about who owns the hummus!

Hummus by Liormania on Flickr, Creative Commons

Dear Mr. Buchris,

On behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 2 million members and supporters worldwide, I am writing to propose an idea that would draw attention to how simple it is to reduce violence. I’ve attached a copy of a poster that we hope you will allow us to post on both sides of the Gaza Strip and West Bank barriers. The sign depicts what the world wants to see: Israelis and Palestinians breaking bread together, something that often seems unachievable. The meal is vegetarian-the only diet that does not involve bloodshed-and the poster carries the slogan “Give Peas a Chance,” which is inspired by John Lennon’s song about war. We have also included the statement “Nonviolence Begins on Our Plates: Go Vegetarian” on the sign in both Hebrew and Palestinian-Arabic.

Throughout the Middle East and the world, animals raised for their flesh, eggs, and milk routinely suffer physical and emotional pain, terror, and death. Certainly, these are horrors that humans come to understand during times of war. Treated as inanimate objects who are not worthy of our respect, many animals are still conscious and able to feel pain as they are skinned and dismembered-something that can only be described as torture. Although we are often powerless to stop much of the violence in the world, every time that we sit down to a meal, we can make the choice not to participate in violence against animals.

While choosing a falafel sandwich over a lamb chop might not create instant peace, it will reduce the amount of preventable suffering in our world, which is valuable in and of itself. International peacemaker Mohandas Gandhi said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

Please let me know that we have your permission to place these posters on the barriers. Thank you for your consideration.

Very truly yours,
Ingrid E. Newkirk
President

Update: Mohamed took the time to go over to the PETA blog and confirm that this is not a joke. Voila, the posters.

Protesters demonstrate against the BBC in London. Credit: Frantzesco Kangaris/Agence France-Presse

A reader who works for the BBC wrote to ask if I planned to post about her employers’ decision against broadcasting a fund raising appeal for Gaza. The Beeb based its decision on the concern that broadcasting the appeal while the story was ongoing would give the impression of bias. John Burns of the New York Times summarizes the ensuing controversy here.

Anyway, I responded to this reader’s query by observing that I hadn’t really been following the controversy very closely, even though I knew it was a huge story in the UK. Privately, I thought it sounded shrill, polarizing and unnecessary. And even more privately I thought, “Eh, the Brits are so eccentric. After all, they eat yeast paste on white bread for breakfast. Eechs. And besides that, imagine thousands marching on the streets of London if the Beeb refused to broadcast a fundraiser for East Timor, Congo or Sri Lanka. Ha!”

So I suggested that this reader might be interested in writing a guest post for this blog. Below is her response, which I am publishing with permission. The reader’s name is witheld for obvious reasons.

Oh, two more things: Sky news also decided against broadcasting the appeal; and in the end, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) raised GBP 3 million – even though the money might never actually end up helping the people of Gaza.

***

Hi Lisa

Truth be told, I’m reluctant to write about it because: (a) I do not proclaim to be a writer – nor a decent one at that and (b) although I understand the decision not to air the appeal and, to a degree, stand by the decision, I’m still unsure whether or not it was the right decision in the long run. The argument that the Director General puts forth is that it’s a continuing news story and by broadcasting an emotional appeal on a news channel with harrowing images, it might appear that the BBC was “taking sides”. In addition, management was not convinced that the funds raised would reach the victims and those in need. And yet, by not broadcasting it, the BBC has been denounced as pro-Israel/ anti-Palestine and taking sides.

Just as a side note: this isn’t the first time that an appeal was rejected by the BBC. In 2006, the BBC rejected an appeal for East Africa, again, because they weren’t certain that the funds would reach the victims.

I don’t mean to sound like a PR piece for the BBC and as I said, although I understand the decision I can’t say with 100 percent certainty that it is the right one.

What does piss me off, however, is that this tragic war and the BBC’s refusal (as well as Sky’s refusal) to air the appeal, seems to have been hijacked by and turned into yet another example of how evil they perceive Israel to be. Or how “powerful Jews” lobby and influence broadcasters. Every day, I am emailed viewer’s comments about our programmes and recently, I’m particularly astonished at people objecting to a presenter on a children’s show (“Blue Peter“), who is rediscovering his Jewish roots. The comments are too depressing to reiterate.

I should probably note that I’m not Jewish (or Christian- never even been baptized!) but rather, just another person who wants peace in the Middle East.

Also, perhaps it’s my Canadian upbringing (and thus hyper sense of political correctness), but I am regularly shocked at how anti-Israel (anti-Jewish? I don’t know), Europe and Europeans can be. Not anti-Olmert/current politicians – but out and out ANTI-ISRAEL. And even though I identify as someone who is left-wing, I always seem to find myself isolated when it comes to that old debate that everyone and their dog has an opinion about  – i.e. Israel’s right to exist.

Sorry to have gone on about this, I guess I’m just tired of walking past the protests outside my work and having “shame” screamed at me for something out with my control. It’s been cathartic though!