Historic Wine Found in Israel

Happy 1st Night of Chanukah!!

Article: Archaeologists have discovered a 3,700 year old wine cellar in Israel. This is perhaps the earliest evidence of wine production. The wine cellar was found in a ruined palace in a Canaanite city in northern Israel (Tel Kabri), near Israel's current wineries. The archeologists' excavations found 40 large jars in a storage room. Though no liquid survived, leftover organic materials trapped in the jars' pores suggest that wine made from grapes was stored in there and that the wine was sweet, strong and medicinal. Researchers think they may be able to recreate the flavor of the 3,7000 wine one day!

Discussion:

• Memory recall: what is an archaeologist? How do they do their job?
• Why is wine kept in a cellar?
• When else have we heard the work "Canaan?" (Torah)
• Why is it interesting that the wine cellar was found near current wineries?
• What does it mean that the wine was "medicinal?" How was wine used for medical purposes in the olden days? (As an anesthetic and as a cleanser of wounds)

Iran Strikes Deal with the West on Its Nuclear Program

Article: Iran and the major Western powers struck a deal yesterday in Switzerland that the West will ease crippling economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for Iran stopping its nuclear enrichment and not rushing to develop atomic weapons. The major powers are excited and hopeful that diplomacy has worked to contain Iran and avoid war; Israel is highly skeptical, saying that the deal gives Iran everything it wants--easing of sanctions and preservation of the most substantial parts of its nuclear program. The deal takes no steps to force Iran to ship out or destroy the nearly 20,000 centrifuge machines it has creates to produce nuclear fuel.

Discussion

• Do you think this deal will succeed in stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons? 
• Why is Israel and the West scared if Iran should develop nuclear weapons?
• What does diplomacy mean? How has it theoretically "worked" here? 
• What do sanctions mean? Why is Iran desperate to lift them? 
• In 6 months or a year, what do you think will happen?

Women Take Control of Dating Strangers

Article: Some women meet their boyfriends and husband at school, in college, at church/synagogue, or at their jobs. Some are set up by friends and relatives. However, what about women who are finished with school and meet a man randomly, at a restaurant/bar or on vacation? There is no way to "vet" him and make sure he is a good person. A new social networking app, Lulu, responds to this. It lets women comment on men they know or have dated, and uses an algorithm to score these men on a scale of 1-10. Examples of ways to rate men include: #smellsgood; #tempertantrums; #wanderingeye; #handsome, #CanCook, etc. Women say that this gives them a sense of empowerment in a world where they often feel they lack power in dating. Men feel proud when they have a good score and some men say that bad scores have pushed them to become better boyfriends to improve their rating.

Discussion:

• What do you think of this app idea? Discuss pros/cons to it from women/men's perspectives
•  How did your parents meet? Was it in the "real" world or through a familiar social network (school/family/friends/set up)?
• Why do known social networks feel safer for dating? (Accountability for bad behavior; can get recommendations and history of person and their family)
• What are things you would rate someone over? Create your own categories.

How did Wolves Become Our Pet Dogs?

Article: Many wonder when dogs became domesticated, from fierce wolf-like dogs to our pets. Some think humans initially raised dogs for slaughter. A new theory suggested that dogs were used as helpers by hunters, before even agricultural livestock became the norm. In recently published research, evolutionary biologists analyzed the DNA of 18 ancient dogs and wolves, comparing them to modern dogs and even coyotes. They found that dogs were likely first domesticated during the Ice Age in Europe (18,000-32,000 years ago) in Northern Europe. Domesticated dogs likely descend initially from a now-extinct European wolf and helped hunters-gatherers search for meat. Scientists used to think dogs descended from Asia or the Middle East, because there is a 12,000 year old remain found in Israel of an elderly man hugging a puppy.

Click here for slideshow.

Bad Guy Body Armor Deconstructed

Note: this blog discussion and photo may be too scary for some younger kids. I think my 5 and 7 year old will enjoy it (particularly my son, who loves playing soldiers and superheroes) but just a heads-up...

Article: Hassan Nasrallah, chief of Hezbollah, the internationally recognized terrorist organization, made a rare public appearance last week. He appeared in Beirut with an outer ring of snipers and bodyguards, as well as an inner-ring of body guards, all of whom are related to him by blood and are close relatives. Examine the photo and discuss all the ways Nasrallah has protected himself from assassination attempts:

• There are 4 bodyguards on the stage with him whose job is to protect him. 
• Man #1 is holding an automatic weapon wtih the "safety off," which means it is ready to shoot at any second
• Man #2 is standing directly behind Nasrallah. His job is to push Nasrallah down if anyone should try to shoot him
• Man #3 is holding what appears to be a suitcase (see red box in picture). This box actually jumps out into a protective ballistic shield or blanket, that will cover Nasrallah in case anyone shoots.
• Nasrallah himself appears to be wearing layers of body armor under his black gown.

Question: why is Nasrallah going to such lengths to protect himself? Why do people want him dead?  He is a very bad guy, responsible for terrorism against his own people and Israel. He is backed by Iran's money. He has survived assassination attempts before. However, an Israeli intelligence officer looking at this photo Nasrallah could still be taken down with the right weapons, such as a high powdered rifle round. He is not invincible.

What to do with the Iraqi Jewish Archive?

Article: When the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, 2700 documents from the Iraqi Jewish community were found in the basement of the Iraqi Intelligence building. They were collected and brought to Washington, D.C. 24 of these documents are currently on display through January 2014. The question is what happens when the exhibit is over. The U.S. plans on returning them to Iraq, due to a signed agreement it made with Iraq. Jewish organizations contest that they should be returned to Iraqi Jews, as the documents were originally confiscated from an Iraqi synagogue in 1984 by Saddam Hussein and belong to Iraqi Jews, not the Government of Iraq.

Discussion:

• What do you think are types of documents in the collection? (Ketubot, contracts) Why were they in the synagogue? (Likely in the Geniza, where documents with God's name are stored)
• Why are these documents important? What can these documents tell us about Iraqi Jewish society? 
• Why are Jews afraid of the documents being returned to Iraq? What will likely happen to them? 
• What are the legal arguments for and against returning them? (Signed agreement v. who is the rightful owner)

Israel is Missing from the Map!

Article: Have you read “Thea Stilton and the Blue Scarab Hunt,” from the Geronimo Stilton series? A recent version of the book from Scholastic Publishing showed a picture of a map of the Middle East, without Israel on it! It shows the path the mice sisters walk as they travel to Egypt but shows Jordan in place of Israel. A young reader complained to Scholastic. As a result, Scholastic is stopping shipment on this book and will reprint with a correction.

Discussion:

•  A young reader did very close reading and showed the map to his mother, who noticed Israel was missing. What action did they take next? 
• Why can it be important to be a close reader? 
• How does this show that even young readers can make a big difference?