So this is going to be a far cry from my last post. Since then war has broken out between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. I just wrote "broken out." War is the subject. Maybe that's a mistake. Maybe Hamas started it by refusing to renew the truce and launching rockets on Sderot. Maybe Israel then went overboard in its counterattack. I opposed Israel's attacks on Gaza, still do though it's a moot point now. I've outlined my ideas for Israeli-Palestinian peace before. But I'm feeling really hurt, lost and alienated now. Mostly because I read this.

I don't really know how to feel right now. This makes me so angry. I love Israel, or at least, I love the idea of Israel. I love many of the people of Israel, admire Israeli soldiers. I often disagree with the government, but I admire the fact that Israel is a free society. I look fondly at Israel's socialist heritage.

But banning Arab parties? That strikes me as racism. It goes against my Jewish, Zionist and human ideals. I suppose it's good that the Supreme Court will throw the bans out, showing that institutionally, Israel is at least committed to equality. But this isn't just the government. It's Kadima and Labor and most of the rest of them together. And I imagine if Israelis were polled many if not most would be in favor of these bans.

There are good people, mostly on the Left, in Meretz, maybe even a few in labor, who opposed this ban. But not enough. The ban must be overturned. It should never have been supported.

I feel betrayed. Which is a bit weird because I'm not Israeli. I don't live there, don't vote, don't really have a say. My money is not where my mouth is, so to speak.

And so I feel more alienated. I'm not American but I live in the United States. I am Canadian but don't live in Canada. My Jewish identity is intact but my Zionism is shaken. Not broken. It's still there, but it's dissatisfied. Disappointed. Ashamed. Which is perhaps brash of me to say here in New York. But I can't help how I feel.

So I recently finished reading Exodus. No, not the original, by God, but the remake, by Leon Uris, published in 1958. It's a fun read, pure schlock and propaganda, and terribly written. It's a bit jarring for a person who considers themselves something of a left-wing Meretz type, at least when it comes to Israeli politics. And I know my Middle Eastern history relatively well, having read my share of Benny Morris, Ilan Pappe, Noam Chomsky, Tony Judt and others. I'd be lying, however, if some of Uris' pro-Israel screeds don't ring with at least some truth. The Arab states have fucked the Palestinians in the ass over and over again, to the point where at the very least, blaming Israel exclusively is kind of stupid.

But back to the case of the book itself, well, my buddy Julian recently mentioned this interesting factoid to me, apparently John McCain mentioned being inspired by Leon Uris' Exodus. Now, Barack Obama also enjoyed the book, as he states in this interview with Jeffrey Goldberg. But in the same interview, Obama also mentions have been moved by David Grossman's The Yellow Wind and by the novels of Philip Roth.

McCain knows only Uris, but Obama knows Uris, Grossman and Roth. In some ways, that's all you need to know about the differences between the two candidates. I'm very happy Obama won.

So Usain Bolt won the 100 meter dash and it was awesome. He smashed the world record, running it in 9.69, and could have been even better. We all know this. And a bunch of people have complained, including this guy from The Nation, that NBC screwed up because they didn't cut to the race, but instead showed USA versus Spain in Basketball. That was crap. Shame on everyone at NBC sports. And the thing is, there were two Americans in that race. It's just that neither of them was Tyson Gay, so none of them could win. And that's the real kicker, it's not that there were no Americans involved, it's that they knew no American would win, they new a Jamaican would show them all up, so they didn't show it. That bothers me.

In other news, Canada, finally has some medals. Their showing has still been pretty pathetic, but I'm pleased they got some. If only Israel could grab some now.

Also, I'm moving to Williamsburg soon. I'm excited about that.

So I've been thinking about education reform in the United States recently. Several things occurred to me. I've always thought that teachers should be paid more. Their average salaries should be tripled. At the same time, teachers have to be held accountable. I like unions, but the teachers' unions seem to have at least somewhat of a detrimental effect on education, because they don't allow our teachers to be held to the highest standards, and they allow ineffective teachers to remain employed.

I think we need to provide incentives for the smartest young people to become teachers. Part of that will involve increasing salaries, so that people look to teaching as a viable alternative to higher paying jobs on Wall Street or in Silicon Valley or elsewhere. But we also have to think outside the box.

At Harvard, where I went to college, there was always a lot of controversy about ROTC on campus, due to the military's discriminatory policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Leaving all that aside for a moment, what occurred to me is that America needs a program like ROTC but for teachers. This goes beyond Teach for America, which is a good if flawed program.

What I am proposing is something where if you commit to this program, you will enroll in special training sessions throughout your college career, including summers. After college, you must commit to 4-5 years as a K-12 teacher. In exchange, the government will pay your entire college tuition.

This would say to Americans that our teachers are as important as our soldiers. (and I love soldiers, so to me, this is high praise).

I would be open to variations on this scheme of course. For instance, perhaps instead of paying the college tuition (which some people's parents can and will pay for anyway), the program can stipulate that after the 4-5 years of teaching, if the person so desires, they can attend graduate or professional school free of charge. This will include masters and doctoral programs, medical school, law school, business school, divinity school, etc.

Perhaps there would even be enough funding to provide both. In any case, this too would motivate young people to choose teaching.

Finally, I think that we should create various paths to careers in education that don't already exist, especially at elite colleges. For example, I believe that Harvard has some sort of program now, similar to the one I proposed (though I don't know if the financial incentives are there) with the Harvard School of Education.

I think all elite colleges should offer undergraduate majors in education and/or free tuition to those graduates to attend education school for a masters, to prepare themselves for careers in education. For example, suppose I graduated with a BA in mathematics. The university would pay for my education to receive an MA in education (this would include a living stipend) after which I would commit 2-4 years to teaching. This way, teachers would be more effective and and there would be considerable incentives to do it.

I programs such as these already exist, they should be advertised and promoted more heavily. These programs, coupled with an increase in salary and prestige to K-12 teachers (along with higher, more rigorously enforced standards), would do a lot to improve education in the United States.

I really hate the Lakers. I am like the Celtics ok, but I hate the Lakers. I hate Kobe. I don't like those super-dominating players, a la Michael Jordan. They are no fun to root for. Also he may be a rapist. I was sort of inspired by Ray Allen's play in game 3. He got game, I suppose.

In other news, I am pleased Obama won the Democratic Nomination. I hope he wins the presidency.

I saw Don't Mess with the Zohan. It was one of the worst movies of all time. Really terrible, not clever at all. Very disappointing. They could have done so much. It was mostly slapstick, and bad slapstick, playing on stupid, cheap and inaccurate stereotypes. Really too bad. They could have made a really funny, sophisticated movie. Also, Adam Sandler's accent was terrible.

Israelis and Palestinians coming together to lose weight. Check it out here.

This strikes me as something hilarious but maybe helpful. It also screams reality television show.