Ouch!

This post first appeared as “Avigdor Lieberman Can’t Carry a Tune” on The Shmooze blog of the Forward.

Ouch! Lieberman looks as though he is reacting to his own painful singing voice.

There are many Israelis, especially those on the left side of the political spectrum, who would describe Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman as having a tin ear when it comes to recognizing socio-political realities.

Lieberman’s opponents will feel especially validated now that it turns out that he is actually — and totally — tone deaf. If the painful sound of his singing Hatikva, the national anthem, at a pre-Rosh Hashanah gathering of members of his Yisrael Beiteinu party on Monday, is any indication, it seems as though Lieberman would not be able to sing on key if his life depended on it.

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© 2011 Renee Ghert-Zand. All rights reserved.

A Less-Than-Warm Welcome

This post first appeared as “Ukrainian Nationalists Protest Rosh Hashanah Pilgrimage” on The Shmooze blog of the Forward.

Gravesite of Rabbi Nachman of Uman

As an expected 50,000 Breslov Hasidim descend on Uman, Ukraine for their annual Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage to the grave of Rabbi Nachman there, they are being met with protests from local Ukrainian nationalists.

According to reports by the Moscow Times and Kyiv Post, the Svoboda nationalist party held an “Uman Without Hasidim” rally to demand stricter controls on the Hasidic pilgrims. Tetyana Chornomaz, head of the local Svoboda branch, was adamant that the protest had nothing to do with anti-Semitism. However, she did say that “we have many questions regarding their [the Hasidim’s] stay in Ukraine.” In particular, she and other activists are concerned about security and sanitation while the pilgrims are in the area. During the 2010 pilgrimage, 10 Hasidim were deported back to Israel and banned from returning to the Ukraine for disrupting the public order and causing bodily harm to Uman residents.

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© 2011 Renee Ghert-Zand. All rights reserved.

Book Of Good Life

Ok, this is what I’ve been waiting for. With only days to spare, the Maccabeats have put out their new Rosh Hashanah video. Now I’m ready for the holiday. Shanah Tovah to all!