Filed under: cooperation, good eats, judaism, politics
• 7:07 pm 5
Mixed Signs
This morning I got on the bus, in this very Jewish suburbanish neighbourhood where I’m staying with friends, to get to Manhattan. (The bus mostly because I was too lazy to walk to the subway.) But anyway. The key thing is: very Jewish neighbourhood in New York City. My friends live next door to a shteeble (Yiddish for “small house,” it’s used to describe a small place of prayer). And not just any shteeble – one with two gabbis, both named Tzvi!, and a rabbi who’ll inspect your minivan for chometz before Pesach.
But I digress. I get on the bus, take a seat, and wait for the other passengers to climb aboard so we can start rolling. The last person on, an elderly woman, goes to pay but doesn’t have change. The driver allows her to sit on the bus and dig through her purse as he starts to drive. She waves in my direction to get my attention and, enunciating quite well, whispers “change?” while pointing at her bills. From her accent, I assume she is Deaf, but I don’t reply in sign in case I’m wrong. We work it out eventually; I use my metro card, she hands me cash, the driver shrugs. Done. I go back to my bag and seat, grab my newspaper, and she catches my eye – “thank you.” Without thinking, I start to sign “you’re welcome,” catch myself, and say it instead. She’s overjoyed. “You sign!”
At this point we switch languages, and she stops trying to vocalise everything. She thanks me again, tells me it’s nice to meet someone who signs. Then looks at me for a moment and asks if I’m Jewish. I confirm this. What proceeds is at best confusion, at worst hateful. She starts ranting about how this neighbourhood is so Jewish, so Jewish!, she cannot stand it. She says her family’s from Germany and the “Germans knew how to treat the Jews.” I tried to remain calm, and ask why she lives in this neighbourhood. She replies that her family moved here from Germany; “it’s safer to be surrounded by Jews.” Huh.
For those playing along at home, she (a) doesn’t like the Jews, (b) approved of Germany’s attitudes/actions towards the Jews, yet (c) believes it’s safest to live amongst Jews.
I don’t follow the logic… do you?
21 July, 2008 • 8:55 am 0
One Week
Within this week:
- one broken toe
- one mangled finger
- one Shabbos in Washington DC
- one funeral in Florida
May the next week be less crazy.
Filed under: judaism
17 July, 2008 • 8:18 pm 1
Quinoa Salad
Cross-posted to Two Heads of Lettuce.
By popular request, the recipe for my quinoa salad, which some folks supped on at Kol Zimrah earlier this summer.
½ cup quinoa
1 cup water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp orange juice
1 clove garlic, minced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tsp ginger, grated
2 tbsp raisins
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
1 orange, peeled and chopped coarsley
In a strainer rinse the quinoa under running water and drain. Combine the quinoa and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until all the of the water is absorbed.
In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the quinoa and mix well.
Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Filed under: good eats
16 July, 2008 • 2:06 am 0
Israel, Palestine, and… Montreal?!
Cross-posted to Jewschool.
One of the many frustrations I have when it comes to Israel is the whole settlement situation. It is illegal to start a new settlement in Israel. Every week, new settlements are started, and the government allows the majority to remain. It’s illegal, but the government doesn’t stop it. Huh. Israeli law, international law, the Geneva Convention, and Oslo are often sited in support of stopping, and removing, the settlements. But, still, Israel does not move on it. In fact, we often hear that the Israeli government is building houses in the territories, er East Jerusalem. (Because if you call it Jerusalem, the media’s less likely to call out the illegality of it.)
But what happens when the legalities play out elsewhere? Like in the Superior Court in Montreal?
[T]he gist of the case is the assertion that Israel is violating the 4th Geneva Convention, which prohibits a state from transferring its population into territories it occupies. Canada has incorporated that provision into its domestic law and it applies to Green Park and Green Mount. … [T]he lands in question are under the jurisdiction of the municipality of Bil’in and are part of Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.
And what’s the case against Green Park and Green Mount?
Green Park International and Green Mount International, acting as agents of the government of Israel, are violating a host of international laws that govern conflicts, as well as Quebec’s Charter of Rights.
Also being sued is Annette Laroche, sole director and officer of the two corporations. Two million dollars in punitive damages are sought, as well as an order to cease construction.
The court documents allege the defendants, “on their own behalf and as de facto agents of the State of Israel, are… aiding, abetting and assisting and conspiring with the State of Israel in carrying out an illegal purpose.” [Full article.]
This case will be complicated, certainly. Israel has thus far refused to try cases on the grounds of jurisdiction, but will Quebec? As Green Park and Green Mount are both Quebec-based companies, they have to abide by Quebecois, Canadian, and international law; it seems clear that they’re not.
I’d like to see this case go through the system. If the plaintiffs win, it would set precedent for other Palestinian towns to file similar legal cases. And could possibly also deter international (ie, not Israeli) companies from supporting (building or funding) the illegal settlements. I mean, could you imagine how great it would be if Palestinians actually had a legal way to sue American Jews who buy homes in the territories (er, “Jerusalem”) sight unseen (such as the new Nof Zion community)? Will Quebec be an open enough venue for a case like this, with such strong opinions on both/all sides, especially in light of the Bouchard-Taylor Commission’s findings?
* * *
In other, only vaguely related news, a bank in Canada is being sued by Canadians who live in Israel. They claim this bank, Lebanese Canadian Bank (somehow related to Royal Bank of Canada, which isn’t being sued), knowingly dealt with Hezbollah. And Hezbollah’s to blame for the Lebanese war in 2006, during which the plaintiffs’ homes were damaged/destroyed. I’m not sure how this will play out. [Full article.]
(Is there something in the water, Montreal?)
Yes, those are muppets (Judge Gavel Doozer from “Fraggle Rock;” muggaphone player and Judge Marvin Suggs from “The Muppet Show”). Why not?)
14 July, 2008 • 9:08 pm 3
Pickles and Poutine
Motzei Shabbos I was exhausted, and planned to trek home to sleep. Instead, I was convinced to make an appearance at a friend’s going away party. He’s a good enough friend to not mind me saying that I was won over by the promise of deep-fried pickles. Seriously. To say I was intrigued would be a gross understatement. So after we separated Shabbos from chol, welcomed the new week, we walked over to Dive Bar.
We were pleasantly surprised by the numerous vegetarian offerings to be found on the menu. Then, while debating between a veggie burger and beer chaser for the deep-fried pickles, or just a beer, my friend spotted it: poutine.
A well known Quebecois comfort food: A heap of Dive Bar Fries studded with farm fresh cheddar curd cheese that melts under hot, thick gravy! Tremendously satisfying. Goes well with a cold beer! Vegetarian gravy available.
The menu said everything it had to. We ordered a side of poutine for our pickles.
The pickles were good, but not great. I’m not a huge fan of salt (the flavour that is; I certainly am a fan of its chemical reaction in cooking and baking), but even I was giving the salt shaker a work out. They were lightly beer battered then fried. The pickles were still crunchy on the inside, while the batter was golden brown. I’d order them again, but maybe from another establishment (you know, in hopes of finding a better purveyor).
And then the poutine. Oh, the poutine. It was not poutine. It was possibly passible as disco fries. Maybe. The gravy was clearly from a vegetarian gravy mix; I could recognize and taste the dehydrated peppers, onions, and celery in the sauce. And the gravy was under the fries, not spooned over the whole dish to help in the cheese melting process. But no worries – the cheese was melted in an oven (gah!) or under the heat lamps (oy!) so it didn’t need the gravy’s assistance. And the cheese. Certainly not cheese curds. Probably not of the cheddar variety either. (We guessed it was mozzarella.) So entirely disappointing. Lacking the necessary components, it had no hope of tasting good, let alone tasting like real poutine. They should not be allowed to call it poutine on the menu. I feel quite strongly about this. I mean, what if some unsuspecting New Yorker ate this alleged poutine, not understanding the dish to be an imposter, and then never sought out the real goodness in Quebec? Tragedy. (The above picture is what poutine should look like. Saturday night’s poutine was nothing at all like this yummy concoction.)
In honour of the lack of squeaky cheese (cheese curds squeak, when you bite them, oh yes), I revive danse la poutine:
3 July, 2008 • 10:33 am 1
Coffee
This is mostly a post reminding myself to take advantage of this. But, hey, you should too! From the Jew and the Carrot we find that there’s a coffee
that’s not only organic, kosher and free trade, but it’s grown by a cooperative of Jews, Christians and Muslims in Uganda. The co-op is called Mirembe Kawomera, which means Delicious Peace in Luganda. You can buy the coffee off their website, for $10.50 for 12 oz. which comes out to almost ten cents less per ounce than some blends at Starbucks. And if you can arrange a big order for your community (20 lbs or more), prices go down even further, to $8.00 for 12 oz. Coffee that saves me money, is free trade, organic, kosher, and part of a project that promotes peace and interfaith initiatives? The only way it could get any better would be if it found me a boyfriend and cleaned the cat litter.
Once I’m settled into my new place, you can be certain I’ll be looking for folks to join me on a bulk buy.
(And, yes, this means that my attempts to give up coffee have been going poorly. I’m back up to 3-4/week from the 1/week from the 2-3/day.)
Filed under: cooperation, good eats
