If you want to glimpse an inspiring initiative about educating girls, check out this recently produced 11-minute video about the Gashora Girls Academy in Rwanda. While visiting central Africa in 2010 for research on a play I was writing, I had the opportunity to visit the foundation of this amazing [...] Continue reading »
Can ‘Never Again’ Make ‘Again’ More Likely?
Last fall in Jerusalem an Israeli parent told me about a facet of Israel’s secondary school system that made me wonder if it’s not ultimately self-defeating. A main reason for my trip to Israel was to better understand the seemingly intractable conflict between Israel and neighboring populations. I wanted to [...] Continue reading »
The Bane of Baksheesh
How much of a threat does this camel-mounted cop pose to Egypt’s future? We met in Giza, where he tried to combine the shake-down with the bait-and-switch. He is part of the corps of tourist police stationed around the pyramids. Presumably there to protect me from terrorists, if a terrorist [...] Continue reading »
Americano, and Leave Room for Conspiracy
With the awards season coming up, I am nominating this cafe in the West Bank for most flagrant act of trademark infringement. I had to blink twice when I saw this sign. I was visiting Ramallah to see where the Palestinian Authority is headquartered. Once there, I found it is [...] Continue reading »
Punching Holes toward Peace
During my recent stay in Old Jerusalem I found myself in need of a paper-hole punch to help organize manuscript pages for the play I was working on. (I work on my writing every day, whether on the road or in my Seattle apartment.) It wasn’t critical that I obtain [...] Continue reading »
An Israeli Father’s Lament
Beginning writers are advised not to view their scribbles as therapy, not to think that assembling words can somehow disassemble one’s demons. Good general advice. To which there are exceptions. For certain writers, or for just one work among a writer’s output. I recall reports of Eugene O’Neill emerging from [...] Continue reading »
A Tale of Love and Darkness
Amos Oz is celebrated as one of Israel’s finest writers. Based on his 2003 memoir, A Tale of Love and Darkness, I would be the last to dispute that praise. Oz was born in Israel in 1939. His parents were part of the huge desperate migration that escaped the Holocaust [...] Continue reading »
Of Settlements and Camps
Whenever land disputes between Israel and Palestine are discussed, one always hears the terms Jewish “settlements” and Palestinian “refugee camps.” To an American, the term “settlement” evokes the early phase of a 19th Century frontier town – wooden sidewalks, hitching posts, saloon, jail, sheriff, preacher, transient population of mostly young [...] Continue reading »
Stark Economic Disparity in Israel
I traveled to Israel last month to see first-hand the land being disputed and meet some of its occupants. I wanted to deepen my understanding of the conflicts there which carry such toxic force far beyond Israel’s borders. One thing I found was a radical difference in daily economic conditions [...] Continue reading »
A Novel Shows Roots of Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Hell has once again erupted in Israel. War is being waged between Hamas, the governing authority in Gaza, and Israel. Prior to last week’s outbreak, Hamas, or militant factions in Gaza which Hamas does not control, had fired around 750 rockets into southern Israel this year. Deciding enough was enough, [...] Continue reading »