Timeout

Yes indeed. It's a timeout.
Pass the hot sauce!

Hag Sameah (happy holiday)

Three-Day Weekend

Usually we Israelis have a one-day weekend... Shabbat.

But today we go into holiday mode (Sukkot). All shops and stores will close this afternoon. Tomorrow, Thursday, will be a full holiday, followed by Friday, Erev Shabbat, and then Shabbat!!!

A Three-Day weekend... which is a big deal here in the Promised Land!

Enjoy!

Sukkot (1980)

Tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday Sep 26) here in Israel, things will grind to a halt with the start of the Sukkot (Succot, Feast of Tabernacles) holiday.

This Golden Oldie is from 1980. And then, as now, the inside of a pretty, decorated sukka was a lot more friendly than the world outside. For previous postings and cartoons about Sukkot just click here.

Syrian WMDs ?

So did we send in commandos in Syrian Army uniforms to make off with North Korean nuclear material from a secret Syrian site?

The exciting, detailed story in the Times that the Syrians are busy denying:

"ISRAELI commandos from the elite Sayeret Matkal unit – almost certainly dressed in Syrian uniforms – made their way stealthily towards a secret military compound near Dayr az-Zawr in northern Syria. They were looking for proof that Syria and North Korea were collaborating on a nuclear programme.

Israel had been surveying the site for months, according to Washington and Israeli sources. President George W Bush was told during the summer that Israeli intelligence suggested North Korean personnel and nuclear-related material were at the Syrian site.

Israel was determined not to take any chances with its neighbour. Following the example set by its raid on an Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak 1981, it drew up plans to bomb the Syrian compound.

But Washington was not satisfied. It demanded clear evidence of nuclear-related activities before giving the operation its blessing. The task of the commandos was to provide it." -more

And here's our previous posting.

Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur begins this evening, (erev Shabbat) and lasts until Saturday night.

It's interesting that the Hebrew calendar is designed so that that Yom Kippur may never fall on a Friday... or on a Sunday, because in either case it would interefere with the proper Shabbat observance (you can't light candles to usher in the Sabbath if Yom Kippur falls on Friday, etc.).

Yom Kippur may, however, fall on Shabbat itself... as is the case this year.

Gmar Hatima Tova
(May you be inscribed in the book of life).

O.J. (1995)

Back in 1995, the Blind Sheik and the Jihad against America were just not as sexy a TV news item as O.J.

* * * And there's a weird connection between O.J. Simpson, the Blind Sheik, and President Bush's new choice for Attorney General, Michael Mukasey.

"Mukasey is most famous for presiding over the trial of the so-called "Blind Sheik," Omar Abdel Rahman, who after a lengthy trial in 1995 was found guilty of conspiring to blow up targets in the New York City region. He's now doing life in prison.

As it turns out, Simpson's trial for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman ran almost concurrently with Mukasey's signature moment in the sun -- both verdicts were rendered in October 1995 -- making the sheik's trial almost a footnote by comparison. Mary Jo White, who was the U.S. attorney who prosecuted Rahman, says that then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani remarked that the Rahman trial was the one that most of America should have been watching instead of Simpson's." -more

Uh Oh, it's O.J.!

It's like standing on a beach, looking out at the sea, and watching an approaching tsunami on the horizon.

And not having any where to run to.

Or am I wrong? Will this NOT turn into a massive media event?

Eastern Front (1980)

This Golden Oldie, from the summer of 1980 was a comment on the weird fact that it looked like an Iranian/Arab war would be fought without Israeli participation.

What's weird today is that it looks like an Iranian/Arab war is being waged with Israel on the playing field and the Sunni Arabs as spectators!!

What Happened?

The title of this posting is the question "What Happened?"

In years to come I'm sure that I'll reprint this one as a "Golden Oldie".

At that time the importance of this event will be obvious to us all. But at this point, even with all the leaks and speculation and inside info being published, I think it's still a matter of "those who know won't say and those who say don't know".

So as long as everybody else has an opinion, let's hear yours. What do YOU think just happened? Nu?

Happy New Year !

Happy New Year!

Here in Israel it's the start of a nationally observed holiday season that lasts from now 'til after the Sukkot holiday. Pretty much nothing gets done until "after the holidays". The Rosh HaShana holiday (which starts the longer holiday season) begins this afternoon. Then Thursday and Friday are holidays, and Saturday is, of course Shabbat, followed by Sunday.

So (with any luck) we will be back with our next cartoon and posting on Monday, September 17.

Shana Tova to us All!

Safety Third

Today's Golden Oldie is from Waaaay back when! A lot has changed... but after thirty four years the carnage on the roads today is even WORSE!

Yikes!

Neo Nazis

As we get closer to September 11th, the insanity of the 911 conspiracy theories continues to grow, along with the growth of wild antisemitic libels. I decided to draw this cartoon based on a reader suggestion (Barak, from the Iris blog) left on the last posting about the 911 conspiracy phenomenon. I put the suggested "quip" into the mouths of some non-Islamist thugs. Neo Nazis. A threat that bubbles beneath the surface and that the world continues to ignore.

Just as I finished the cartoon, the astounding news broke of a Neo Nazi gang in Israel!!!

Israeli Holocaust survivor reaction here.

Your reaction?

Conspiracy!!

9/11 was the first real Internet event, and I think that has something to do with the insane proliferation of 9/11 conspiracy theories. And couple that with the fact that a good part of the west is reacting to the Islamofascist Jihad against America and the Jews like a deer frozen in the headlights of an oncoming car.

Or do you think I'm being alarmist? How about you? Do you subscribe to one of the various 9/11 conspiracy theories? Six years after 9/11 what's your take on it?

By the way, here's a conspiracy site, and here's a must-see special report from Popular Mechanics which debunks the various 9/11 myths.

Shabbat Shalom!

Almost Rosh HaShana (1975)

Once again we're getting ready for Rosh HaShana, The Jewish New Year holiday. Back in 1975, here in Israel, we all smoked cigarettes. My cartoons from the period often featured speakers with cigarettes balanced on their lips. It's different today. Most of us have figured out that cigarettes give you cancer. So most of us quit. What most of us Israelis do these days is to press microwave-generating cellphones to our heads.

. . .and, of course, fish, and especially carp is still in vogue for the upcoming holidays.

Fortune Cookie

I don't understand how Communist China became the manufacturer of everything from American toothpaste, pet food, and Fisher Price toys, to Barbie Dolls and ukuleles.

Yes I said ukuleles!

In a previous posting I posted a picture of your favorite cartoonist playing a bright red ukulele. I bought it in Tel Aviv. It was manufactured in China. If you want to see my Made-in-China uke, the posting is here.

Heat Wave (1975)

Today's "Golden Oldie" is from 1975... but it is NOT one of those "I could run this one again today with no changes" cartoons. Oh we've still got the heat waves (we're in one right at this moment) but consider the following:

First. In the cartoon, Mr. Shuldig wears a "Kova Temble"... the national hat we proudly wore to protect ourselves against the sun. It's Hebrew for "Dunce Hat". No one wears 'em any more.

Second. These days the "kerosene heater" has disappeared from middle class Israeli living rooms.

Third. To escape from the heat we now just turn up the Air Conditioners!!

What a difference thirty two years has made. It boggles the mind.

* * * Or are you one of those people who thought that three decades plus would have brought more changes? Like peace in the Middle East? Colonies on the Moon? A cure for Cancer? Legalization of Pot? Nu?

* * * If you were old enough in 1975 to have read this cartoon what did you imagine would be mind-boggling advances by now? And if you're too young for that, so tell me, what mind-boggling advances do you see for three decades into your future?

The New Jewish Year 5768

I think of Jewish New Year as a holiday. The new Jewish year, on the other hand, is the array of special ups and downs that we, both here at home in Israel, and out there in Diaspora are now poised to experience. Perhaps too subtle a distinction for a cartoon.

This year the holiday begins on the evening of September 12. It will mark the beginning of year 5768, calculated from the creation of Adam. Interesting that our calendar does not begin with the start of creation,(no matter what they tell you) but instead begins its count with the start of the Biblical account of human history.

I hope that both your Jewish New Year and your new Jewish year are sweet and successful.

Have a Happy.

Sunday Mail: September 2, 2007

Posting a cartoon every weekday leaves no room for me to simply share news, ideas, and other stuff with you, so here's: 'Sunday Mail: Letters from Dry Bones'.
Item One: Elul.
We are now in the Hebrew month of Elul. A time when Jews are to examine and evaluate their lives, deeds, and goals (in the run-up to the Day of Atonement). So I got this phone call from the nice folks at the "American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem". An organization which supports a really important cause.

They are going to put together a book of thoughts for Elul. Words of philosophy and wisdom. A page for each day of the month. Would I contribute one page? Before I can think up an excuse, the caller says: "Deepak Chopra, the Dalai Lama, and Kirk Douglas are each contributing a page". Yikes! (If "Deepak Chopra, the Dalai Lama, and Kirk Douglas are each contributing a page" do I have the hutzpa to just say I'm too busy?!?)

So to see this lovely book, with a thought for each day of Elul, and to get a free copy snail mailed to you, check out Jewels of Elul. The Dry Bones contribution is for the 23rd of Elul.

Item Two: Forgive Me!
Folks have been asking me to rerun the link to an incredible freebie I found about a month ago! It's a DVD Video of a monumental project that unravels the secrets of 4,000 years of Jewish history. The DVD contains rarely seen photos & film footage from more than 40 Archives worldwide. There's a limit of 1 per address and the offer stands only as long as supplies hold up. Click to get your Free DVD. Made possible by Jewishsoftware.com & the Destiny Foundation.