By Cliff Keller — We have been misinformed. Recent events suggest that the world’s oldest profession, contrary to longstanding claims to the contrary, must surely be criticism. Criticism’s probable precedence over all other human pursuits makes perfect sense. Passing judgment is fun, easy to do, has no age limitations and requires neither logic, training or education to participate.
By Cliff Keller — Due to the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19, we in Israel are now, by law, “locked down,” a social condition during which everyone keeps his or her distance from others whenever it’s convenient.
By Cliff Keller — The malls have closed in Israel. As of March 15, 2020 and recent regs passed to hinder the spread of COVID-19, better known as the coronavirus, so have all Israel’s gyms, public swimming pools, discos, bars, restaurants, movie theaters, heritage sites and hotels. Public transportation remains functioning but Israel’s Health Ministry […]
Irreconcilable DifferencesBy Cliff Keller — In its Proclamation of Independence, Israel promised itself and the world that it would adopt, by October 1, 1948, a written constitution with which to govern itself. It failed to do so and that failure weighs heavily upon the nation today, over seventy years later. In the absence of a […]
Dead Before It Was Born – By Cliff Keller – Rajab Abu Siriya, a writer for the Arabic language newspaper Al Ayyam based in Ramallah, Israel, did not think much of President Trump’s recent “Deal of the Century.” In an article for Al Ayyam entitled The Enemy’s Deal, Siriya called the plan, unveiled in a […]
A Perfect Example By: Cliff Keller — The day before Iranian major general Qasem Soleimani’s first funeral in Iran, he had four of them, a friend and I went on a search for a good hardware store in and around the Jerusalem suburb of Abu Gosh. My friend Derek (not his real name), an American […]
Going out and coming in By Cliff Keller — Mornings are much different here, in Jerusalem, than the mornings Marcia and I remember while living in the States. Birds, for example, that look for all the world like pigeons—perhaps more like pigeons who, in their past, once consorted with mutant doves—begin calling out at daybreak […]
Providence and unlimited broadcasting… -By Cliff Keller- “When I was young, I said to G-d, ‘G-d, tell me the mystery of the universe.’ But G-d answered, ‘That knowledge is for me alone.’ So I said, ‘G-d, tell me the mystery of the peanut.’ Then G-d said, ‘Well George, that’s more nearly your size.’ And he […]
-By Cliff Keller- “Step out of your comfort zone! Muster the courage to approach people! You’ll be surprised by how many new friends you can make.” So advises a relatively recent and popular YouTube video, 10 Tips to Meeting Friends in your Area. But it’s not at all clear that the video’s list of tips […]
There Goes the Neighborhood – By Cliff Keller – Ir Ganim’s community multi-year archaeology project was about much more than finding artifacts. One morning not too long ago, for what seemed like the thousandth time, I glanced out a rear window of our Jerusalem home in Givat Massuah. Across the notch that separates that hilltop […]
