Blogging Postponed Until After Passover...

I won't be blogging again until after Passover.

Happy Passover/Chag Sameach!

Please check in again after the holiday, around April 3!

Architectural Preservation: Post Office Buildings

Summary of Article: Many post office buildings are currently for sale or about to be put up for sale. Preservation groups say these buildings are architectural landmarks and should be protected for their design elements and historic features. Others say they should be sold for money. Look at link for pictures of examples.

Discussion with Kids:

• Today's current event is about "architectural preservation." What does this mean? What is "architecture?" What does it mean to "preserve?" 
• Some buildings are considered to be like works of art that you see in a museum. They are beautiful, have special elements of design and should be kept in their original form (instead of torn down to make new, different buildings) just like you would keep a work of precious art. What do you think makes a building special enough to be worthy of preserving? Think of some examples of architecture that you've notice.
• Look at the pictures of post office buildings in the article. Have the kids describe why these buildings may be worth preserving instead of tearing down or why they are not worth preserving, in their opinion.

Biography: Ruth Calderon

Summary of Article: Ruth Calderon is a new member of the Israeli Knesset. She recently made headlines when she gave a shiur (Torah class) in her new-member-of-Knesset speech. Most new MKs give a speech about their resume, history or plans of action; she spoke instead words of Torah. Coming from a family of mixed heritages--a Sephardic father from Bulgaria, a German Ashkenazi mother--she grew up traditional and secular. She then went on to study Talmud in university as the only woman in the program, and later founded a secular Yeshiva in Tel Aviv. Her speech in Knesset was about uniting the Jewish people and showing how religious and secular Jews can all learn from each other and all contribute to Israel. Her Talmud-based speech was important as not only coming from a woman, but a secular, learned woman. Picture of Calderon.

Discussion with Kids:

• Explain her bio, who she is, what her background is professionally, religiously, personally.
• If you were giving a speech to the world for the first time and could say anything at all, what would you say? 
• Ruth Calderon spoke words of Torah in the hopes of uniting religious and secular Jews. What do you think about this idea and why? 
• What are some issues dividing religious and secular Jews in Israel right now? (Military service for Haredi men, vast welfare/govt benefits for religious Jews, feelings of superiority by different groups). How could this speech help bridge the divide in Israel?
• If you were to come up with an idea to help religious and secular Jews in Israel get along better, what would your idea be? 

Bonus: View parts of her speech here.

Immigration Overhaul Planned

Summary of article: senators have come to a consensus about what immigration overhaul may look like: illegal immigrants would have to go on file with homeland security, pay income taxes, not have a criminal record, and not be eligible for certain govt benefits, like Medicare and food stamps. They will also have to pay a fine, amount TBD. They would likely be eligible for a green card after 10 or more years.

Discussion with Kids:

• Remember when we spoke about immigration reform a few months ago? What do you remember? What does it mean to be a legal or illegal immigrant?
• The govt is coming up with a plan to help people illegally in America. What do you think the plan should be? Should it include a punishment for having come here illegally? Should it include illegals who committed crimes? Should they get all the same benefits as US citizens? Why or why not?
• Tell the details of plan outlined above and discuss the merits. 
• Bonus: discuss how the legislative process works and how a bill must be passed by both Houses and then go to the President for signing. 

Annual Marathon Cancelled in Gaza

Summary of Article: For the last few years, UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) has sponsored a marathon in Gaza, this year to be held on April 10. People come from all over the world to participate. A record number of women were to have participated this year--260 Palestinian women and 119 foreigners, and 1500 schoolchildren (who run a symbolic distance). The marathon is an annual event to raise money for UNRWA summer camps, to which 250,000 Palestinian children go.  Hamas just announced that women can't participate in the marathon because it contravenes Islamic tradition, even though they have run the last few years. UNRWA cancelled the marathon in response to Hamas's announcement.

Map: Where is Gaza?

Discussion Outline:

• There are many different types of governments. A democracy is where the people decide who is in power. In Gaza, the Palestinian people there voted to elect Hamas to power, which is a terrorist group and a fundamentalist Islamic group. Some think that they were voted to power because they promised to help the Palestinian people build hospitals and schools, which they haven't done.  
• Every year in Gaza there is a marathon. What is a marathon? Do you know anyone who has run a marathon? Why is it a fun thing to do and people like training for it?
• Gaza's marathon is organized by the UN, an organization in Gaza to help the Palestinians. This year, Hamas said women can't run in the marathon because it isn't modest. Why would they think this? Do you agree with Hamas's decision? How do you think the women who had trained for the marathon feel?
• If you were UNRWA, the marathon organizers, what would you do in response? Why?

Stanford University's Anti-Israel Divestment Bill Fails

Summary of Article: A group of students at Standford University proposed a divestment bill to the Stanford Student Senate. The bill called on Stanford's Board of Trustee's to divest from certain companies that do business in Israel, claiming those companies abused human rights. The bill's writing was part of the BDS (Boycotts, Divestments and Sanctions) movement, which calls for the destruction of the state of Israel. Last night, after intense lobbying, the bill failed. Seven student senators voted against, five abstained and one voted in favor. When asked why they voted against, the senators said they did not want to vote on a contentious issue that would divide the campus.

Discussion with Kids:

• There are many countries in the world that do good things and some that do bad things. No country is perfect. When countries do particularly bad things, the American government advises everyone not to travel to those countries or do business with them. For instance, in the land of Sudan, almost all blacks are held as slaves and there are terrible wars. Many American companies will not do business in Sudan until they stop doing these bad things.
• Some people who want to hurt Israel want to try to get companies to treat Israel as if it is like Sudan, which it is not.  This week at Stanford, some students tried to convince the school to stop doing business with Israel, claiming Israel was like Sudan.
• If you were at Stanford, what would you do to try to stop these students? 
• Pro-Israel students on campus fought back by telling everyone how it wasn't right to do this to Israel and about what a good place Israel is.
• After a big vote and lots of discussions, the school agreed. 
• Moral of story: the importance of being aware of what's going on around you and of being an activist on issues you care about.

Student Finds $1,800 at ATM. What Did He Do Next?

Summary of Article: A college student, Devon Gluck, went to withdraw money from an ATM and found it making strange noises. It then churned out $1,800. Gluck remembered the students before him seemed to be having trouble with their transaction. Gluck returned home and thought for 3 days about what to do. On the fourth day, after consulting with his friend and with his father, Gluck returned the money to the bank. The bank found the error and returned the money to the correct student's bank account.

Discussion with Kids:

• Where do we keep our money? (In a bank). Why? How do we get our money out of the bank? 
• Tell story of article. 
• Name one thing that Devon did that was a mitzvah/a good deed and why. (He returned the money instead of keeping it). 
• Name one thing Devon could have done better. (He could have returned it more quickly. Why did it take him 4 days to do the right thing?)
• In Judaism, we have a concept that is is best to "rush to do a mitzvah." What does this mean? Why do we have this idea? 
• If you were Devon and found the money, what would you have done? 
• If you were the student who lost the money, what could you have done to protect yourself? (Check your bank account balance frequently. Make sure the bank doesn't make any errors and if they do, notify them immediately). 

Mediterranean Diet Found to Be Best for Heart

Summary of Article: A new study published last week found that eating a Mediterranean diet lowers the risk of heart disease (lower risk of heart attacks, strokes and death). The diet ended after only five years--it was supposed to go on much longer--because the results were so clear and startled experts.

Discussion with Kids:

• A new study has just found that people who regularly eat a Mediterranean diet have healthier hearts and live longer lives. This means that the type of food you eat can make a difference.
• Where is the Mediterranean? What do you think is in a Mediterranean diet? This study was conducted in Spain.
• If you had to conduct a study to see whether diet impacted health, how would you create the study? (Can talk about what a control group is, about framing the parameters for a scientific study). 
• These scientists made 3 groups: one group ate a regular diet (processed foods, soda, etc.) and told how to follow it. The other two groups were told to eat a Mediterranean diet. One of the groups got 4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil each week; the other group had to eat nuts each day. Both groups got lots of fruit and vegetables each day, ate fish 3x a week and beans 3x a week, were asked to eat chicken/turkey instead of meat and were asked to avoid eating dairy, deli meats, and commercially made cookies/cakes/pastries (homemade was ok).
• What do you think they found? Those who ate the Mediterranean diet ended up being much healthier and having healthier hearts.
• If you had to change your diet or add something to your diet to make it better for your heart, what would you do? What is your favorite healthy food? What food would be the hardest to give up?