Since the beginning of this month, a group of Angelenos has gathered near downtown’s City Hall as part of Occupy Los Angeles, its version of the much-publicized Occupy Wall Street — a protest movement calling for reforms to the U.S. political and economic systems.
Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas which rules Gaza have agreed on a deal to swap the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, held captive for five years, for the release of a proposed 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
If captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is freed in the prisoner-exchange deal with Hamas that prompted an emergency Israeli Cabinet session, it will raise two immediate questions: Which side finally acceded to the other’s demands after years of fruitless negotiations since Shalit was captured in a June 2006 raid along the Israel-Gaza border, and what took so long to get here?
Reacting to news of the proposed deal between Israel and Hamas that could see captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit returned to Israel in the coming days, after more than five years in captivity, Israelis in the United States, as well as American Jewish leaders, expressed happiness and relief Tuesday, even as they acknowledged discomfort at the price of the soldier’s freedom. Israel’s government reportedly will release approximately 1,000 Palestinians from its prisons in exchange for Shalit’s freedom.
Some months ago, I was asked by a group of Christian pastors to lead a series of study sessions on Jewish mysticism. We agreed to explore Isaac Luria’s late medieval kabbalistic model.
Thousands of palm fronds for Sukkot lulavs reportedly have been smuggled out of Egypt despite a ban on their export.
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