The Evolving Jew

And also the night before a fast day, this year, so don't forget to fill up on chinese food tonight! http://evolvingjew.blogspot.com/2012/12/silent-nacht-holy-nacht.html

 I have a question that I'm sure many of us have. I can't imagine how anyone could vote for the other guy. (In my case, the other guy is Trump). And not only vote for him, but do so enthusiastically?? In the abstract, I have to question what kind of people those voters are, that their judgement is so deeply impaired. And yet many of those voters are friends and relatives of mine. People who I know to be kind and generous, and deeply good to the core. How could they possibly vote for someone who I feel is a deranged, racist demagogue? But I put those questions aside. Because I won't let politics, even a year as extreme as this, get between me and the people I care about. I hope the people on the other side of the political divide feel the same way about me.

http://evolvingjew.blogspot.com/2015/07/a-lesson-of-tisha-bav.html

New York Times, January 8th, 2020 ( link ): China Identifies New Virus Causing Pneumonialike Illness While a great deal of blame can go around for how COVID-19 was handled and the subsequent deaths and upending of our lives, no one can be blamed for not being aware of this virus strain before January. The same can't be said of the other (social) pandemic roiling our country. Racism and police brutality didn't first appear in a New York Times article 6 months ago. It's been with us for a long, long, long time, hundreds of years. There are no excuses. Enough.

BLACK LIVES MATTER Things need to change in this country. Now. I say this despite the fact that I have deep reservations about the lack of social distancing at the protests. And am deeply frustrated, even angry, at the hypocrisy of public officials and politicians who look the other way at the crowds gathering in a time of pandemic while still keeping our kids home from school and out of the playgrounds. It's a mockery of those of us who have meticulously socially distanced for months at the expense of our children's emotional health and development. But none of that should obscure the fact that the cause is deeply just. George Floyd's death (and the death of far, far too many black men and women) should not be in vain. I hope that this moment in America brings about real and lasting change.

With everything that's going on, it seemed inappropriate for the top post on my blog to have been about the Israeli election results (and that post was out-of-date anyway). Like everyone else, we are surviving, dealing with the challenge that everyone has right now, of having the kids home from preschool 24/7. But thank G-d we are healthy. May Hashem heal all who are sick and may this pass swiftly.

I'm deeply disappointed by yesterday's election results. I'm not a fan of Netanyahu (to put it mildly) nor of the right wing in Israel. But the people have spoken. There have been enough elections already. Some party or faction on the center or left should just swallow their pride and join a coalition led by Bibi. Israel needs a functioning government and maybe a center-left element might moderate it slightly. Enough elections. Update Mar 8: The above was written when it looked like the right-wing bloc had 60 seats. With only 58, it's anyone's guess what will be.