(see 10 for introduction)
8 next
Good news out of Madison, “progressive” bellwether John Nichols has rung out November with
“Accenture pact a boneheaded move.”
The streak lives, still no mention of “Israel” this year, 101 columns down, nine to go.
If John does stumble, it very well may be over the violin incident, Ha’aretz and The Guardian,
“Images from another place, another time” and “Israel shocked by image.”
He could focus on the Jewish angst/Israel losing its soul aspect of the story.
Incidentally, The Guardian quotes novelist Yoram Kaniuk, who happens to be the source of a joke which says all you really need to know about the histroy of the Israeli/Arab conflict. Here it is, as told to Sana Hasan (“Enemy in the Promised Land”).
A Frenchman, an Englishman and an Israeli were caught by cannibals. While the cannibals heated a big pot of water to boil them in, they told the prisoners that each of them could have a last wish.
The Englishman asked for a cup of tea, the Frenchman for a glass of wine and the Israeli for a kick in the rear. After the cannibals had complied, the Israeli said, “Ah, so you kicked me! You scoundrels! You’ll have to pay for that” and he took out his gun and shot them.
The Englishman and Frenchman looked at him in amazement and exclaimed, “Well, if you had a gun all along, why the hell didn’t you use it earlier?” To which the Israeli replied, “Because our army is called the Israeli Defence Forces.”