A.LOEWENSTEIN ONLINE NEWSLETTER

• Aussie election brings very mixed results
• Staying on top of the tweeting Aussie election count
• Israel poor materially and morally
• Voting time down under
• What being assimilated means for some US Jews

Aussie election brings very mixed results  21 Aug 2010 Yesterday’s election in Australia remains unresolved, a hung parliament and massively high Green vote. More here, here, here, here and here. Truly progressive politics did very well but the uncertainty means that Australians don’t yet know if the right-wing Labor Party or more right-wing Liberal Party are in charge.

Staying on top of the tweeting Aussie election count  20 Aug 2010 For regular updates during the day of Australia Votes 2010, these twitter feeds are useful (here and here).

Israel poor materially and morally 20 Aug 2010 This is called a successful country? Poverty in Israel is more widespread than in any of the other OECD countries, worse than even Turkey and Mexico. Almost one in five Israelis live in poverty, according to OECD guidelines; for children, the rate is nearly one in three.

Voting time down under 20 Aug 2010 And now, dear readers, it’s time to vote in the Australian election and save the country from two-party system inertia.

What being assimilated means for some US Jews  20 Aug 2010 A wonderful essay by The Magnes Zionist about the proposed New York Islamic centre, explaining how too many Jews now see themselves as part of the establishment: It is a sign of the Jews making it in America that, with Islamophobia on the rise, many Jews now feel comfortable about joining their erstwhile enemies, the nativist (old) anti-Semitic bigots, in common cause against the newcomer religion. Add to this the Jewish antipathy towards Islam because of Arab attitudes towards Israel and Zionism (Jews tend to forget that prominent Arab anti-Zionists were Christian), plus the human propensity for bigotry and tribalism, and that pretty much explains Jewish Islamophobia – except that, I hasten to add, there is very real Arab and Islamic anti-Semitism out there in the world, again mostly because of Israel and Zionism. Still, it is the task of religious leaders to fight the very natural tendency of their flock to degenerate into bashing the other. I would like to think that most Jews will join the real Americans who reject all forms of religious bigotry – not merely because it politically correct to do so, or because it is our American duty, but because it is a core value. Why, then, are so many Jews hemming and hawing about the Cordoba Center? Take it from me – it’s all about Israel.