Friday, March 30, 2007

Happy Passover

Dry Bones cartoon: At our Passover Seders we link our generations through time and our families around the world. It is our time of togetherness.
Each year, at our Passover Seders we link with Jewish generations through time and Jews around the world. It is a time of togetherness.

Outside of the borders of the Promised Land there are two Seder nights but here in Israel our one festive Seder meal will be held on Monday evening... and Tuesday will be a holiday.

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Passover week in Israel is a series of days which are "half-holidays" with everybody working shorter and erratic hours. Yesterday (Thursday) I had some print work done in Tel Aviv and the printer suggested that I stop back during "Hol HaMoed" (the half-holidays I mentioned). When I asked what hours his print shop would be open he thought a moment and then just suggested that I "call before stopping in".

So here's my schedule for the coming week. Or at least just the start of it:

Monday morning (Israel time) I'll post a new cartoon
Monday night I'll be crunching matza at a Seder.
Tuesday is a "full" holiday... no work, just matza crunching.
Tuesday evening (Israel time) I'll be posting a Golden Oldie
Wednesday I will put up another new cartoon.

On Wednesday I will also call Tzvika (the printer) to see if and when the Print Shop is open.

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Happy Passover to us All!

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Thursday, March 29, 2007

Arab Boycott (1994)

1994 Dry Bones cartoon: Arabs delay cancellation of the anti-Israel Arab Boycott... again.
Back on March 29 1994, I counted the ongoing list of reasons given by our Arab neighbors for not implementing their commitment to cancel the anti-Israeli boycott.

Thirteen years have gone by and I've stopped counting the excuses.

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For those who don't know the history of the boycott, or who think that it is anti-Israeli rather than anti-Jewish consider the following:

"Arab boycotts of Jewish interests started as early as 1921, 27 years before the establishment of Israel. The original boycott forswore with any Jewish owned business operating in the British Mandate of Palestine.

Aiming to isolate the Jewish community economically, a formal boycott was declared by the newly formed Arab League Council on December 2, 1945: 'Jewish products and manufactured goods shall be considered undesirable to the Arab countries.' All Arab 'institutions, organizations, merchants, commission agents and individuals' were called upon 'to refuse to deal in, distribute, or consume Zionist products or manufactured goods.'

Officially, the boycott covers three areas:

Products and services which originate in Israel (referred to as the primary boycott and still enforced in many Arab states)
Businesses that operate in Israel (the secondary boycott)
Businesses which have relationships with other businesses trading in Israel (the tertiary boycott)"
-more

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Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Drowning in their own Sewage

Dry Bones cartoon: Gazans dug up their sewer pipes to make rockets to kill Jews. Now they're drowning in their own sewage.
The latest news from our neighbors in Gaza is a report of a major disaster. A village has been flooded by a massive spill of sewage and mud. The village is close to one of the areas used by the Palestinians to launch rockets at Israeli towns. Here's the story:

6 killed, many missing in Gaza sewage flood
"At least six people killed, thousands evacuated after sewage, mud flood northern Strip Bedouin village of Umm Naser" -more
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More than a month before the disaster there was this little noticed piece of news:
Israel Says PA Using Gaza Sewage Pipes for Kassams
(IsraelNN.com) "Israeli authorities have charged that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is digging up sewage pipes in the Gaza area so that the pipes can be used for Kassam rockets.
The charges were made after the PA accused Israel of causing sewage to be spilled on Gaza's main north-south highway by not allowing needed pipes to move through border crossings."
-more
... and this interesting blog posting from March 5:
"There have been numerous reports about horrible conditions in Gaza due to the raw sewage flowing openly in the streets and being dumped into the sea because of the absence of the sewage system. And of course it was blamed on... yep, Israel. But you'll never guess where the metal pipes intended for the construction of a sewage system in Gaza have been going. They have been used for manufacturing Kassam rockets." --more

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Tuesday, March 27, 2007

(1980) The "Good Guys"

1980 Dry Bones cartoon - 63 prisoners had their heads chopped off in Saudi Arabia yesterday, and they are the good guys!.
Twenty seven years have gone by since I did this cartoon and the West still thinks of the fundamentalist, anti-female, anti-Semitic, anti-democratic, repressive Saudi Sheiks as the "good guys" in the region.

Of course considering the other players in the region, maybe they're right.

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Monday, March 26, 2007

Ahmadinejad: The Visionary

Dry Bones cartoon: UN votes sanctions against Iran.
I like to think that the current situation is really frustrating for Ahmadinejad, the latest arrogant little dictator and would-be destroyer of the Jews.

Or are things going his way? Are we all following his step by step scenario designed to bring a cataclysmic clash between the forces of good and evil?!

And what's up with the latest noise about an Israeli/Saudi meeting?

What's your take on what's happening?

Nu?

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Friday, March 23, 2007

Bunny Rabbits

Dry Bones cartoon: Spring is in the air!!
The shorter days of winter lengthen as the planet moves towards the long days and shorter nights of summer. The date on which the days and nights are equal in length is the vernal equinox. March 20. The first day of spring. Flowers in bloom, rebirth and optimism in the air.

* * *
Only natural that great religions should mark this transition time.

The Baha'i faith marked the start of its calendar on March 20, the spring equinox itself, with a holiday called Norouz .

Jews will celebrate the start of spring on Passover, the week-long Jewish holiday which starts this year on the evening of April 2nd.

The Christian holiday of Easter Sunday is celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the day of the vernal equinox. Easter Sunday this year will be Sunday, April 8.

So happy spring, one and all!

And as for global warming... what do you think?
Nu?

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Thursday, March 22, 2007

Water (1992)

1992 Dry Bones cartoon - We're going into the 21st century without water.
Back in 1992 it was becoming obvious that the world faced a water problem.

At the June 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit), held in Rio de Janeiro, a plan for the 21st Century was adopted. It was called Agenda21. It called for a World Water Day.

On December 22, 1992, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring an annual World Day for Water to be observed on March 22 ...and today's the day!

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Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Car Talk

Dry Bones cartoon: The GPS robot voice.
I don't understand it. Here in Israel, guys who wouldn't dream of asking directions are turning on their GPS car navigation systems when they drive to the local grocery store!! I'm not sure what's going on but here's a clue: I don't own a car and I want a talking GPS navigation system too! My son-in-law says that his system can be switched to pedestrian mode!! I wonder if he'd let me take it out for a walk?

Welcome to the future.

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Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Hamas Terror (1993)

1993 Dry Bones cartoon - Hamas terror in Gaza.
This Dry Bones cartoon was done back in March 1993. At that time we were waiting for Arab leadership to condemn the Hamas terror campaign in Gaza.

At the time of this posting it's March 2007.
We're still waiting.

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Monday, March 19, 2007

Hamas and its PA Poodle

Dry Bones cartoon: Hamas and the PA Coalition Gov't Poodle.
This cartoon was fun to draw. I like the whacko powerless puppet quality of the "poodle". Meanwhile, in the "real world", we're being treated to both optimistic and pessimistic speculation about what happens next.

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US Says it Will Not Deal With PA Gov't
National security adviser Stephen Hadley says Washington will refuse to deal with new Palestinian government unless it forgoes violence and fully recognizes Israel -more
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Shin Bet: Economic Pressure on PA to be Reduced
Organization chief tells cabinet meeting establishment of new unity government may cause moderate EU countries to reduce economic pressure on Hamas -more
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Sunday, March 18, 2007

Yaakov Kirschen Speaks!

Click to listen to Dry Bones cartoonist Yaakov Kirschen being interviewed by Daryl Cagle.
Daryl Cagle is a dynamite cartoonist, a bright and funny guy, and an Internet innovator. Cagle.com is the place for professional cartoonists. Daryl's latest idea was to interview editorial cartoonists online for MSN. It turned out really well. Sort of like radio with pictures. Daryl chose me to be his second interview subject. We spoke over an Internet connection and did a dozen little shows, each about a different Dry Bones cartoon.

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To listen, just make sure that your speakers are on, and click on Yaakov Kirschen Speaks.

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And then, if you've got the time, let us know what you think.

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Friday, March 16, 2007

Palestinian Authority Coalition Government

Dry Bones cartoon:the PA Coalition Government is a fig leaf to hide the naked truth revealed by Hamas
The phony fig leaf cover-up called the Palestinian Authority Coalition Government wont fool anyone. Nope. But I believe that it will provide an excuse for the appeasers to climb down from the moral stance that they've somehow been tricked into assuming.

What do you think?

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Thursday, March 15, 2007

Media Messages (1997)

1997 Dry Bones cartoon: Palestinian Incitement Ignored, Israeli Archeology Condemned.
Today's Golden Oldie is from ten years ago this month. March 1997. The news at that time was that Palestinian incitement was ignored by the Media, while Israeli archeology and the building of homes was condemned.

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As it was then, so it is now.

The latest incitement began when Israel began work to repair the crumbling earthen ramp leading to an entrance to the Temple Mount. The Islamic Movement in Israel accused Israel of destroying the Al Aksa mosque (which stands on the Temple Mount). By the way, Israel has now begun webcasting LIVE video images of the excavations and repair work in "an effort to allay Muslim fears that the work would damage nearby Islamic shrines". See for yourself. Check it out at The Israel Antiquities Authority website.

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Wednesday, March 14, 2007

End the Incitement

Dry Bones cartoon: Incitement against Jews and Israelis Part of Education in the Palestinian Authority.
At the time of this writing Israel's lackluster PM and the PA's irrelevant President are trying to prop each other up. The topic they've discussed is supposedly peace. But the only path to peace is through an end to incitement. And that's one item that I'm sure was not on their agenda.

For more info and links, check this previous posting about Incitement and the Peace Process.

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Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Mayhem on the Roads (1987)

1987 Dry Bones cartoon - mayhem on the roads and the police try to stop the slaughter by checking for unsafe cars.
This Golden Oldie Dry Bones cartoon is from twenty years ago this month. The police, back in March 1987, were trying to fight the outrageously high rate of deaths on the roads. Back then we blamed the roads. We blamed the cars. What we didn't blame was our behavior behind the wheel.

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At the time of this writing, in March 2007, the road fatality plague continues. And this week was particularly bad. Newspaper headlines shout about the carnage. TV newscasters provide voice-overs for the news shots of the crash scenes. The only thing that's changed since this Golden Oldie was first published is that we now blame the drivers and not the "dangerous" roads, or the "unsafe" cars.
* * *

Want to learn more... or maybe help? Check out a wonderful, dedicated volunteer group called Metuna "The Organization for Road Safety".

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Monday, March 12, 2007

Not Just Another Pretty Face . . .

Dry Bones cartoon: BBC survey finds Israel to be the most negatively viewed country in the world.
"The BBC survey gave respondents a list of 12 countries and asked whether they had a 'mostly positive or mostly negative influence in the world.' The country with the highest number of mostly negative responses overall is Israel (56% negative, 17% positive), followed by Iran (54% negative 18% positive), the United States (51% negative, 30% positive), and North Korea (48% negative, 19% positive).

Israel also stands out for having the largest number of countries (23 of 27) viewing it negatively. Iran is regarded unfavourably in 21 countries, the United States and North Korea in 20." -more

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Here's what Conservative Thoughts thinks:

"What does this poll have to do with reality? First of all Israel the most hated country? Of course everyone hates the Jews Zionists. Especially in Islamic countries where children are taught that Jews are monkeys and pigs. Then we have the USA rated worse that communist and socialist countries where human rights and freedoms are virtually non-existent. North Korea is rated in a more positive light that the USA? Pollsters should have asked which country would you rather live the US or North Korea; I bet those numbers would change dramatically." -more

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What do YOU think?

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Friday, March 09, 2007

Punch Drunk

Dry Bones cartoon: Our PM is fighting with our Defense Minister, our comptroller says we're being led by incompetents, our President is being charged with rape, Hizbullah is rearming, Iran is testing missiles, and our Health Ministry didn't tell us about the killer bacteria because they ' didn't want to panic us' ?!!!'.
Our Health Ministry tried to deal with it in secret, so as not to "panic the public." Well the story got out and the latest local headline reads:

Killer Bug Sows Panic in Israel

"Jerusalem - A killer bacteria resistant to antibiotics is sowing panic across Israel as it sweeps through hospitals, leaving scores dead and afflicting hundreds more.

Five hundred people in more than 10 hospitals have been struck down with the lethal Klebsiella bacteria strain in the past six months, with 30 percent of cases ending in death, senior health ministry official Yair Amikam told AFP.

Battling to cope, the health ministry is demanding an extra half a billion dollars to improve hospital infrastructure and for hundreds of new beds, as doctors raise alarm bells of a wildfire epidemic failing decisive action."
-more

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Thursday, March 08, 2007

Two Women (1979)

1979 Dry Bones cartoon - Israel's runaway inflation. Big sale... everything at 50 percent of next year's prices.
Today is International Women's day

Today's Golden Oldie stars two women trying to deal with what was our biggest problem back in '79. Israel's runaway inflation had reached an incredible 111%!

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As I write this International Women's Day posting, news is coming in from Iran. The headline is:

Iranian Women Arrested at Rally Protesting Detention of Women's Rights Activists

"According to unofficial reports, around 30 people were detained, including some of the most prominent women's rights activists in Iran.
The protesters had gathered in front of the revolutionary court in solidarity with five women on trial over their roles in a demonstration which was broken up by police in June last year."

-more

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So how is your International Women's Day going?

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Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Incitement and the Peace Process

Dry Bones cartoon: Under the Oslo Accords, teaching arab kids that Jews are the spawn of the Devil is incitement, in today's Palestinian authority it's called education.
Folks who say that Israel surrendered land in return for empty promises are wrong. At Oslo we got a commitment to end the anti-Semitic insanity and anti-Jewish incitement that is such an important part of the Mideast equation.

So if the commitments are not being fulfilled, why aren't we demanding action?!

Would you like to see actual footage of official Palestinian TV incitement aimed at children? Check some of 'em out at Palestinian Media Watch.

So my question is simple.

Why aren't the governments of Israel and the "Quartet" taking some kind of action?!

Shouldn't any future Israeli-Palestinian agreement have provisions for the funding of an Anti-Incitement Authority?! An international watchdog committee with teeth?!

And shouldn't such an official Anti-Incitement Authority be expanded to include monitoring incitement in the border states of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria?

Your thoughts please?

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Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Improving the Political System (1998)

1998 Dry Bones cartoon: Israel's President has no power, now if we could extend the concept to our Prime Minister....
Today's Golden Oldie cartoon was originally published on March 6, today's date ...back in 1998.

It's fun when a cartoon seems just as appropriate now as it was then... But THIS one, I suspect, would be better today than it was back then!!

Yikes!!

Oh, and by the way, the Israeli Prime Minister in 1998 was Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Monday, March 05, 2007

Ask the Expert

Dry Bones cartoon: The Israeli public has NOT lost faith in PM Olmert. The Israeli public never had any faith in PM Olmert.
Yup. The Israeli public has NOT lost faith in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The Israeli public never had any faith in PM Olmert.

And now, Israeli State Comptroller and Ombudsman Micha Lindenstrauss is about to publish initial findings of his investigation into the handling of the home front during last summer’s Hizbullah war... (at the same time the Winograd Commission is preparing its report on the mismanagement of the war itself).

Incredibly, Olmert is refusing to cooperate with the State Comptroller's investigation.


"Unlike Defense Minister Amir Peretz and other senior officials, Olmert did not appear in person for his questioning and asked for an extra month to prepare written responses.

The report, said Knesset member Zevulun Orlev, chairman of the Knesset’s State Control Committee, had been held up more than four months “due to the Prime Minister’s failure to cooperate.”

The National Union / National Religious Party Knesset member accused Olmert of “unacceptable, unreasonable and unworthy behavior.” Orlev charged Olmert and his aides with actions which he said “conveys indifference and lack of concern to the State’s citizens as to their fate on the home front, if and when the next war takes place.”

Likud Knesset Member Yuval Steinitz also attacked Olmert Sunday for his failure to cooperate with Comptroller Lindenstrauss, saying Olmert has abandoned the home front three times.

First, he said, Olmert failed to stop the Katyusha attacks on Israeli towns. Second, he failed to declare a state of war which would have helped give civilians the proper support. Finally, he said, Olmert is now also working against Lindenstrauss’s efforts to learn lessons from the war." -more

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Friday, March 02, 2007

Purim Joke

Dry Bones cartoon: Ahmadinejad, 21st Century Haman.

Yup. Ahmadinejad, the modern reincarnation of Haman of Persia is both a test for the civilized world and a trial for Israel. The future is looking more and more like the past. As the old curse goes: "May you live in interesting times!"

...And a Happy Purim to us all.

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Thursday, March 01, 2007

The Purim Holiday (1997)

1997 Dry Bones cartoon: Purim: The Spring break of the Jewish people.
This year Purim starts on Sunday evening, March 3 but because there's no Sunday Dry Bones, we'll run this year's Purim cartoon tomorrow, Friday.

Kids were already showing up today in school and on the streets in costumes and masks!! Yes, Purim is indeed the official "Spring Break" of the Jewish religion.

For a full explanation of the holiday, check what we had to say last year.

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