Haveil Havalim Edition #2

Haveil Havalim Edition #2

Dov Bear here, here, here, and here.
and the Yehupitzer Rav here, here, here, here, and here have been debating how Jews should approach Christmas. My own view is closer to that of the Yehupitzer Rav.

Powerline celebrates 350 years of Jewish in America. And I don't think that the message of George Washington is irrelevant to the issue above.

Presence tells of a new blog of Orthodox luminaries, Cross Currents. I was surprised by some of the names on the masthead. In proper fashion he credits Hirhurim. ("One who repeats something in the name of the one who said brings redemption to the world." Babylonian Talmud, Hullin)
Interestingly Marvin Schick, one of the contributors to Cross-currents offers his own overview of the 350th anniversary of Jews in America at his personal blog and critiques Jonathan Sarna's treatment of American Jewish history.

Getting back to Jews and Christmas, egged on by Dov Bear I added my thoughts. Biur Chametz did too. (I've had enough of that subject!)

Biur Chametz also does some Vanities type work in which he points out how diverse the Orthodox Jewish blogosphere is. It includes an atheist, an adultress and actress. It also includes a a religious Zionist American politically-conservative software engineer. That would be me. :-) And Dov Bear does something similar called a "link dump."

Another one I would include is a single, thirty something, female American-Israeli journalist who just got a piece published in the Washington Times.

Kesher Talk has a roundup of links - not necessarily blogs - on the subject of American antisemitism especially the sort that originates on campuses. Here's an example of how to fight campus antisemitism.

Israel's in the news. Well sort of. Crossing the Rubicon2 tells us that dioxin disfigured Viktor Yushchenko will be going to Israel for plastic surgery. And the Kosher Eucharist notes that Israel is playing a positive role in the genocide in Darfur.

Mere Rhetoric objects to Jewish residents of Gaza protesting using orange badges. I agree it's over the top. Even such a staunch opponent of disengagement, Effie Eitam objected. Read what he said at Arutz-7. Mere Rhetoric also performs a useful intellectual exercise to imagine what the world's reaction would be if Israel decided to expel Arabs into a nascent Palestinian state.

What's the difference between the PA and Israel? I think that this image speaks volumes.

Kihasa on the Potomac noted a couple of stories about ghoulish endeavors of the West vs. the Arab world. The stories aren't true, but they fit a long running tradition of propaganda.

Meryl Yourish draws a straight line from Arafat to the Iraqi belligerents who sent a suicide bomber into an Army mess tent in Mosul last week. She also mistrusts Mahmoud Abbas. She didn't mention his Holocaust denying PhD though, though

The situation in Israel has so upset Willow Tree that she prefers not to discuss it.

That's it for the second edition of Haveil Havalim or Vanity of Vanities (despite Biur Chametz's objection!)

Applications are now being accepted for Haveil Havalim Edition #3 - that is offers to host the roundup as well as nominations for the best Israel or Jewish related blog entry for the week of December 26 - January 1. (Yes, we'll allow a little wriggle room if it's a bit older.)

To let me know, put a reference to Haveil Havalim or Vanity of Vanities in your subject line and send it dhgerstman at hotmail dot com. Praises, criticisms and encouragement are welcomed too. (Well at least 2/3 of those are welcomed.)