Shoosha is leaving us today

Shoosha has never been a very happy cat. We tried to give her the best home we could, but we had no experience and didn't do a very good job. Things got worse and worse, even after the behavioral counselling. Her aggressive behavior, mainly towards Bish, has made life increasingly unbearable for him and she has to go.

We are lucky that the wonderful people at the Girgurim cat sanctuary are willing to take her in. The girls and I will be taking her over there this afternoon. A sad day for us (but not for Bish who is relieved).

Girgurim are looking for a loving home for her - it has to be people with experience with cats, no kids and no babies, and who are willing to be assisted with behavioral counselling for her, and possibly daily medical treatment as well. Please ask any big-hearted cat lovers you know.

I will miss her company and our little chats, even though they tended to be rather onesided. It will bw most difficult for Eldest, who was always her favorite human. But even she realized that there was no choice.

We hope she will find a nice home, and be happier. And even if she has to stay at the sanctuary, maybe she will be happy there.

Some personal news

My father has passed away.

I started blogging in June 2002 when my mother was very ill. Among other things it was a means of coping with what was happening. The intensity of obssessive blogging was good for muffling the feelings I couldn't cope with. She died in November 2002.

This time around I couldn't cope with blogging at all. Funny that, isn't it? My mother's illness got me chattering and my father's - shut me up. But then, I have changed a lot from then to now. Changed and not changed.

One day about a fortnight or so ago, I was with my father and he was at his computer. Even checking up on his mail had become far too confusing for him, this man who had always been so capable, independent and sharp. And he wouldn't let me help.

Suddenly he was in my blog. But he was just staring at the screen blankly. He obviously couldn't make the words out, or couldn't remember what he was doing. It broke my heart.

Please whoever is reading this take care and be well.

You know the feeling when you're in a dream and you discover you've got nothing on?

So it came to be that I did a few nice powerpoint presentations for the #2 in my organization. (This is a person so high up I never saw him in my previous job, although his office was onlytwo flights up)

Next thing I know he's decided I'm the most suitable replacement for his #2 while she is on maternity leave. Now this is an extremely talented, capable and motivated young lady, who holds a highly qualified position which requires a great deal of understanding and knowledge in a field of expertise about which I know nothing. Less than nothing. And it consists of a lot of little numbers and moving positions and round and things. (I'm pathetic with numbers. My mind just shuts down). It's a bigwig organization executive sort of thing. To make things worse, she's a really, really lovely person who everyone loves to work with, even while she's gently but firmly explaining the inner workings of the next major cutback to the top brass of the field departments. At least if she was horrible, people would be happy with me even if I was hopeless. Oh and there's that too. Her job means dealing out unpleasantness to the bigwigs all the time. It's her job. Me? I get all tongue-tied and embarrassed and forget what I wanted to say, even if I've been rehearsing in my head for hours.

So anyway, I learned I was to be her replacement a week before she was due. She gave me a short and hurried tutorage and then she was gone.

I thought I'd died and gone to hell.


A week and a half later I'm still not sure that that's not what happened. I stare blankly at every e-mail I get on the organization intra-net, racking my brains, trying to understand what it means and what I have to do.

Luckily for me, (or is it unluckily? I'm not sure as yet) the young lady in question is so very motivated, she actually took a computer home with her, hooked up to the organization network. Now that she's home from the hospital with the baby, she answers most of the mail herself and generally tells me what to do. This not only makes me feel utterly useless (which I am), but also terribly guilty that I'm not being more of a help. It also means people tend to address their mail to her and not to me (I can see her mail as well as mine), so I feel even more of a fool.


Friends remind me that taking the computer home was her choice and this is true. I also remind myself, as does my regular boss (who isn't too happy about the situation), that I actually can't lose here (well, except face, and also I hate to disappoint someone who has put his trust in me). If I fail dismally, I will be off the hook in the future for such additional duties.

And additional duty it is. My usual stuff is piling up. People are calling up all the time to beg me to update this table or that database, and the most I can do is promise to try and find time. You see, I haven't got a replacement. Too lowly and insignificant. From this new temporary position, I can actually see that when I leave my current position, for whatever reason, be it retirement or in search of a better one, the position is marked for something near to cancellation.

Now, in case you were wondering, this replacement business cannot become permanent, because of certain bureaucratic perculiarities of my organization among other things. First of all I'm too old to switch to management. Secondly it's not worth my while from the point of view of salary. With twenty years on the job, I currently earn more than I would as a rookie manager. Third, she's so dedicated, the young lady I'm replacing - why would anyone in their right mind exchange her with me? And last but not least, I love my regular job. I certainly don't want to move up to the top floor for good. It's dead lonely up there. I try my best to do all my duties, old and new, from my usual office, escaping upstairs to her drafty big office only when I need some peace and quiet to concentrate on the latest puzzling incoming e-mail.

One good thing about the whole business, besides its keeping me out of mischief, is that suddenly the spectre of organization reshuffles, that could find me doing something really awful, doesn't seem so scary. Whatever they could get me to do, in that eventuality, it couldn't possibly be as hard as this, or as ill-suited to my abilities, could it?

Mind you, grumble grumble, I did manage to pull together a major project last week (no great feather in my cap - it was yet another major cutback program. What a start!). And I'm doing quite a good job at the moment, if I do say so myself, of reducing the whole 2010 overview onto an intelligible four slide presentation. So what if most of the time I feel as out of place, frustrated and mystified as I did as a twenty four year old new recruit?

rewind

So something nasty happened with google and my other blog. Can't be bothered to deal with it so I thought I'd just move backe here for a while.

I have finally moved. Come and see the new place.

Adjust your favorites, bookmarks, links, whatever. I've got my very own address now: http://imshin.net

Text of Ariel Sharon's speech to the UN General Assembly, September 15, 2005

My friends and colleagues, heads and representatives of the UN member states, I arrived here from Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people for over 3,000 years, and the undivided and eternal capital of the State of Israel.

At the outset, I would like to express the profound feelings of empathy of the people of Israel for the American nation, and our sincere condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. I wish to encourage my friend, President George Bush, and the American people, in their determined efforts to assist the victims of the hurricane and rebuild the ruins after the destruction. The State of Israel, which the United States stood beside at times of trial, is ready to extend any assistance at its disposal in this immense humanitarian mission.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I stand before you at the gate of nations as a Jew and as a citizen of the democratic, free and sovereign State of Israel, a proud representative of an ancient people, whose numbers are few, but whose contribution to civilization and to the values of ethics, justice and faith, surrounds the world and encompasses history. The Jewish people have a long memory, the memory which united the exiles of Israel for thousands of years: a memory which has its origin in G-d's commandment to our forefather Abraham: "Go forth!" and continued with the receiving of the Torah at the foot of Mount Sinai and the wanderings of the children of Israel in the desert, led by Moses on their journey to the promised land, the land of Israel.

I was born in the Land of Israel, the son of pioneers - people who tilled the land and sought no fights - who did not come to Israel to dispossess its residents. If the circumstances had not demanded it, I would not have become a soldier, but rather a farmer and agriculturist. My first love was, and remains, manual labor; sowing and harvesting, the pastures, the flock and the cattle.

I, as someone whose path of life led him to be a fighter and commander in all Israel's wars, reaches out today to our Palestinian neighbors in a call for reconciliation and compromise to end the bloody conflict, and embark on the path which leads to peace and understanding between our peoples. I view this as my calling and my primary mission for the coming years.

The land of Israel is precious to me, precious to us, the Jewish people, more than anything. Relinquishing any part of our forefathers' legacy is heartbreaking, as difficult as the parting of the Red Sea. Every inch of land, every hill and valley, every stream and rock, is saturated with Jewish history, replete with memories. The continuity of Jewish presence in the Land of Israel never ceased. Even those of us who were exiled from our land, against their will, to the ends of the earth - their souls, for all generations, remained connected to their homeland, by thousands of hidden threads of yearning and love, expressed three times a day in prayer and songs of longing.

The Land of Israel is the open Bible, the written testimony, the identity and right of the Jewish people. Under its skies, the prophets of Israel expressed their claims for social justice, and their eternal vision for alliances between peoples, in a world which would know no more war. Its cities, villages, vistas, ridges, deserts and plains preserve as loyal witnesses its ancient Hebrew names. Page after page, our unique land is unfurled, and at its heart is united Jerusalem, the city of the Temple upon Mount Moriah, the axis of the life of the Jewish people throughout all generations, and the seat of its yearnings and prayers for 3,000 years. The city to which we pledged an eternal vow of faithfulness, which forever beats in every Jewish heart: "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its cunning!"

I say these things to you because they are the essence of my Jewish consciousness, and of my belief in the eternal and unimpeachable right of the people of Israel to the Land of Israel. However, I say this here also to emphasize the immensity of the pain I feel deep in my heart at the recognition that we have to make concessions for the sake of peace between us and our Palestinian neighbors.

The right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel does not mean disregarding the rights of others in the land. The Palestinians will always be our neighbors. We respect them, and have no aspirations to rule over them. They are also entitled to freedom and to a national, sovereign existence in a state of their own.

This week, the last Israeli soldier left the Gaza Strip, and military law there was ended. The State of Israel proved that it is ready to make painful concessions in order to resolve the conflict with the Palestinians. The decision to disengage was very difficult for me, and involves a heavy personal price. However, it is the absolute recognition that it is the right path for the future of Israel that guided me. Israeli society is undergoing a difficult crisis as a result of the Disengagement, and now needs to heal the rifts.

Now it is the Palestinians' turn to prove their desire for peace. The end of Israeli control over and responsibility for the Gaza Strip allows the Palestinians, if they so wish, to develop their economy and build a peace-seeking society, which is developed, free, law-abiding, transparent, and which adheres to democratic principles. The most important test the Palestinian leadership will face is in fulfilling their commitment to put an end to terror and its infrastructures, eliminate the anarchic regime of armed gangs, and cease the incitement and indoctrination of hatred towards Israel and the Jews.

Until they do so - Israel will know how to defend itself from the horrors of terrorism. This is why we built the security fence, and we will continue to build it until it is completed, as would any other country defending its citizens. The security fence prevents terrorists and murderers from arriving in city centers on a daily basis and targeting citizens on their way to work, children on their way to school and families sitting together in restaurants. This fence is vitally indispensable. This fence saves lives!

The successful implementation of the Disengagement Plan opens up a window of opportunity for advancing towards peace, in accordance with the sequence of the Roadmap. The State of Israel is committed to the Roadmap and to the implementation of the Sharm El-Sheikh understandings. And I hope that it will be possible, through them, to renew the political process.

I am among those who believe that it is possible to reach a fair compromise and coexistence in good neighborly relations between Jews and Arabs. However, I must emphasize one fact: there will be no compromise on the right of the State of Israel to exist as a Jewish state, with defensible borders, in full security and without threats and terror.

I call on the Palestinian leadership to show determination and leadership, and to eliminate terror, violence and the culture of hatred from our relations. I am certain that it is in our power to present our peoples with a new and promising horizon, a horizon of hope.

Distinguished representatives,

As I mentioned, the Jewish people have a long memory. We remember events which took place thousands of years ago, and certainly remember events which took place in this hall during the last 60 years. The Jewish people remember the dramatic vote in the UN Assembly on November 29, 1947, when representatives of the nations recognized our right to national revival in our historic homeland. However, we also remember dozens of harsh and unjust decisions made by United Nations over the years. And we know that, even today, there are those who sit here as representatives of a country whose leadership calls to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, and no one speaks out.

The attempts of that country to arm itself with nuclear weapons must disturb the sleep of anyone who desires peace and stability in the Middle East and the entire world. The combination of murky fundamentalism and support of terrorist organizations creates a serious threat that every member nation in the UN must stand against.

I hope that the comprehensive reforms which the United Nations is undergoing in its 60th anniversary year will include a fundamental change and improvement in the approach of the United Nations, its organizations and institutions, towards the State of Israel.

My fellow colleagues and representatives,

Peace is a supreme value in the Jewish legacy, and is the desired goal of our policy. After the long journey of wanderings and the hardships of the Jewish people; after the Holocaust which obliterated one third of our people; after the long and arduous struggle for revival; after more than 57 consecutive years of war and terror which did not stop the development of the State of Israel; after all this - our heart's desire was and remains to achieve peace with our neighbors. Our desire for peace is strong enough to ensure that we will achieve it, only if our neighbors are genuine partners in this longed-for goal. If we succeed in working together, we can transform our plot of land, which is dear to both peoples, from a land of contention to a land of peace - for our children and grandchildren.

In a few days time on the Hebrew calendar, the New Year will begin, the 5,766th year since the Creation. According to Jewish belief, the fates of people and nations are determined at the New Year by the Creator - to be spared or to be doomed. May the Holy One, blessed be He, determine that this year, our fate and the fate of our neighbors is peace, mutual respect and good neighborly relations.

From this distinguished podium, on behalf of the people of Israel, I wish all the people of the world a happy New Year.

Shana Tova!

No, I'm not pregnant. That's not my secret. My secret is not nearly as exciting or important as that. Can't a person have a secret without everyone thinking they're pregnant, for goodness sake? Now you'll be disappointed when I tell you.

Gold in the Walls
New story. This time, something about Bish's family:

The stern looking man in the photograph with the short white beard was dressed in what I knew to be traditional Bukharan garb – a small fur hat and a richly embroidered kaftan. So this was the powerful Moshe Aharonoff that Chenya had told me about, my husband’s great grandfather. I had suspected as much when I had spied the photograph, leafing through the old book in a stall in the flea market in Jaffa.

You can read the rest here.

I have such a lovely family
A. Our Sis and Dad are worried because I'm not enjoying work.

B. Apparently they've all been wondering nervously what my secret is. I spilled the beans to our Sis. Don't want her thinking we're getting another cat now, do I? (Shall I tell you too?)

and C. They're embarrassed for me that I unashamedly revealed to the whole world just who reigns supreme in our happy home.

And here's me thinking Our Sis wanted to tell me off when she said she wanted a little chat with me.

A + B + C = Me basking in family care.

I'll tell you about the secret soon. I promise. I'm too tired now.

Youngest had parent's night, you know, when you go to hear how she's been doing. Bish always comes too, but today was the Euroleague basketball championship final so he didn't come. Maccabi Tel Aviv won. Bish has been a Maccabi Tel Aviv fan, basketball and soccer, since before he was born. So he's pleased. I'm pleased because he's pleased, but I'm not really bothered.

Youngest wanted to know how come a team from a country not in Europe plays in a European championship.

I have a secret. Watch this spot for developments.

Daughters. Why?
It was all planned. Youngest was to have her birthday sleepover next Friday. I know, it’s Friday the thirteenth. I suggested they rent some horror movies. Youngest was not amused. Anyway, the big plus of having it on the thirteenth was that I wouldn’t be here. We have a ‘Man and the Desert’ trip that Friday, a good one – traveling the ancient Nabbatean spice route in an open command car (“Make sure to tie your hair back and dress warmly…”).

I had already spoken to Eldest about helping out and Bish would be there (He dropped out of ‘Man and the Desert’ ages ago - didn’t like the idea of getting up early on a free day). It was all set.

Then yesterday morning, I was in Nahalat Binyamin Street’s Friday craft fair with R.T., shopping for gifts for our imminent trip abroad, when I got a little phone call.

“N. can’t come next week. I’m not having it without N.! That’s out of the question. So we’ve all discussed it and we’ve decided to have it … tonight!”

“Oh no. Forget it. No way. Not possible. I’m going out all evening. Bish will be watching the Euroleague final four (and if he wasn’t, he’d be coming with me! He should have been coming with me anyway. Damn basketball!). Eldest is ill, she can’t help. I don’t have time to do any shopping. We haven’t planned any games. We’ve got to rent DVD’s. No. Not convenient. Can’t be done. We’ll find another date. How about the twentieth?”

“But, but, but…”

What do you think? Do you think we didn’t have the party last night (and this morning)? You bet we did. Youngest is not a force to be reckoned with, or to be fobbed off with minor details like no parents, no food, no games, no films.

I’m quite proud of her actually. Tired, I didn’t get much sleep last night, but proud. She and her little friends organized it all by themselves, food decorations, games, everything.

Youngest isn’t tired though. Right now she’s out buying goodies at Baba’s supermarket (open on Shabbat) for a surprise party she and her friends are throwing for… I’d better not say. Not that I think there is any fear of the relevant party reading this but still.

I got home at twelve thirty last night and Youngest’s party was in full swing. Well, besides a sweet little thing that had passed out on Youngest’s bed, and another that hadn’t felt well and had gone home.

I was at the fortieth birthday party of a childhood friend of mine, but that’s another story, a big one. I’ll tell it some day.

Right now, I’m going back to bed.

Not what you think.

The first time he ever glimpsed her was in a dream about a tiger. The tiger was jumping at him through a fiery cloud, but that was easily taken care of: he stopped the tiger in midair – it hung with red eyes and dripping mouth, growing larger but coming no closer. And there in the upper left corner was the woman, floating in the blue, an angel in a Renaissance landscape.

A story by Richard Lawrence Cohen.

Mum and Greta

“Yes, your mother was always fascinated by my story”, said Greta. I was taken aback. This wasn’t at all what I had expected.

I sat with her for a while, but all I managed to learn was that she was a retired teacher. You know how these things are, scores of people milling through the apartment, everyone wanting to make themselves known to you, to shake your hand, to wish you long life...

Continue reading.

God is the tiny brown insect
crawling along my teaspoon.
If I am not very careful
I will drown him when I wash the dishes.

The insect crawls onto my finger and I place it
gently on the ground outside.
Easier to meet God
in a creature I need not fear.

Today was the memorial day for the Holocaust.

I don't seem to have anything to say. A relevant story of mine is to be published on Cafe Diverso tomorrow. I'll link.

It's a funny thing that every time I bitch about work on my blog, the very next day at work is an excellent one. Maybe I should do it more often.

Going back to work after a lovely nine days at home has not been a good experience. I dislike certain aspects of my life at work very much. I would like very much to let go of this dislike and just see the nice things, which are considerable. Unfortunately I can't seem to do this right now.

On the other hand, going back to my sangha (my Buddhist community) is proving extremely beneficial. Maybe some day I'll be able to let go of my wish to let go and then I'll know I really have let go. If you know what I mean.

A step in the right direction, I believe, was my decision today to cancel my participation in a three day trip with work to Eilat next week.

In the meantime, being at work wears me out and I seem to have little energy left to do any writing when I get home. I will try harder thought, because it has a soothing effect, whatever nonsense it is I'm writing (as you can see).

You know what I love about blogging? People answer you. You rant and rave about something most impolitely, and next thing you know the subject of your rudeness has sent you a very nice e-mail.

Stephen Howe:

Intrigued by your comments on my 'AUT boycott' piece.
There's really no need to speculate quite so vaguely about my sources - most (even Haifa U internal memos etc.) are publicly available. Check, especially, http://www.ee.bgu.ac.il/~censor/katz-directory/

I don't 'claim to be objective' - only that I try...

You say:
'For some reason he fails to point out that Haifa University does actually have a more than fair representation of Arabs on its student body, and in some faculties their percentage is even higher than in the general population.'
But I DO say exactly that in almost the same words!

As for not seeing the wood for the trees - when people disagree so violently about the shape of the wood, or even whether there is one, sometimes just enumerating the trees is the most useful thing to do.

Anyway, what do fish know from trees? And why 'Not a Fish'? I like fish. My only genuine, living hero is the TV weatherman Michael Fish...

With regards,
Stephen

I'm probably one of the few non-academic bloggers who spent their Pesach holiday obsessing about the AUT boycott of two Israeli universities. This is very likely a result of a very large chip on my shoulder about all things British.

Last day of my holiday :-(

That AUT thing again
I’m continuing to turn over Stephen Howe’s article in my head. It seems to me that he is victim to that failing common to specialists, whether they are plumbers or nuclear physicists -- yes, he has “read many hundreds of articles, interviews and documents relating to the controversy;” and he has “talked in detail to many of those most closely involved at Haifa”; he has “even written a little about it” himself, but still, or maybe because of this, he is quite unable to see the wood for the trees.

NEW YORK, April 28 (AScribe Newswire) -- ”The Committee on Human Rights of Scientists of the New York Academy of Sciences has released the text of a letter to the Association of University Teachers (AUT) of the United Kingdom calling upon the organization to "rescind and withdraw its call for a boycott of Israeli universities, passed by AUT delegates on April 20, 2005."”

An excerpt of the letter:

We call attention to the "Commentary" in Nature (vol. 421, 23 January 2003) by four prominent UK academics: Colin Blakemore, Richard Dawkins, Denis Noble and Michael Yudkin entitled "Is a scientific boycott ever justified?" This commentary reaffirmed the importance of the UNESCO-ICSU protocols in the most emphatic manner. It points out, that short of preventing (sic) a nuclear war, even extreme circumstances do not support boycotts.

More specifically, Efraim Karsh puts the affair in perspective beautifully. (HT: Roger Simon)

Saad al-Din Ibrahim is one of Egypt's foremost sociologists and founder of the respected Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies at the American University of Cairo. He is also an outspoken pro-democracy activist ... Professor Ibrahim was peremptorily sentenced to seven years of hard labor and his center was shut down and ransacked. He was released three years later as a result of heavy American pressure.

Professor Hashem Aghajari is a prominent Iranian historian and political dissident. In 2002 he was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death for stating that people should not blindly follow the teaching of religious leaders...

As a longstanding member of the British Association for University Teachers (AUT), I cannot recall a single motion to boycott Egypt or Iran for these appalling human rights violations. Nor, for that matter, do I recall the AUT lifting a finger to ease the abysmal denial of academic freedoms and human rights in the Middle East, where repressive leaders supersede state institutions, where citizenship is largely synonymous with submission, and where physical force constitutes the main instrument of political discourse.

Need we say more?

Update: Yes, we need

To: Sally Hunt,
General Secretary, The Association of University Teachers
United Kingdom

Dear Sally Hunt,

Regarding the AUT recent decision to boycott Haifa University and Bar Ilan University in Israel, I am shocked to learn that, in addition to a call for boycott, the AUT is ready to offer a waiver to scholars on condition that they publicly state their willingness to conform to the political orthodoxy espoused by the academics who sponsored your motion.

Oaths of political loyalty do not belong to academia. They belong to illiberal minds and repressive regimes.

Based on this, the AUT's definition of academic freedom is the freedom to agree with its views only. Given the circumstances, I wish to express in no uncertain terms my unconditional and undivided solidarity with both universities and their faculties. I know many people, both at Haifa University and at Bar Ilan University, of different political persuasion and from different walks of life. The diversity of those faculties reflects the authentic spirit of academia. The AUT invitation to boycott them betrays that spirit because it advocates a uniformity of views, under pain of boycott.

In solidarity with my colleagues and as a symbolic gesture to defend the spirit of a free academia, I wish to be added to the boycott blacklist. Please include me. I hope that other colleagues of all political persuasions will join me.

Sincerely,

Dr Emanuele Ottolenghi
The Middle East Centre
St Antony's College
Oxford University