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A New Dawn for America

I feel particularly optimistic tonight, and I see sunlight in America's future. Gathering with my family in front of the TV, and listening to Senator McCain's gracious concession speech, my greatest hope is that a sense of bipartisanship, motivated by the desire to act in the best long term interests of America, will drive our country forward to a truly better place through the difficult times that remain ahead.  It is easy to be cynical about politics and elections, but the demographic facts about this election stand cynicism on its head.  As Barack Obama said tonight, in America, anything is possible.  As we go forward, let's not forget this.  We can rise above our own selfish interests to do the right things for our country. Tonight, I am more proud to be an American than ever before, and I feel very fortunate to be a first generation American who not only has lived the American dream, but who continues to believe in the American dream for my children and for all Americans.

"In this country we rise or fall as one nation, as one people."

President-Elect Barack Obama

November 4, 2008

 

Why I am Voting for Barack Obama for President of the United States

I have been a registered Independent voter since 1994.  Like many Americans, I've given more thought to this election than to any previous political contest. Many of us share a deep sense of unease as we witness a degree of instability and see a snowballing lack of confidence in  our country's economic and political institutions that was considered impossible in America. I feel strongly that my vote in 2008 may well be the most important exercise of this civic duty in my life. 

In supporting Barack Obama, like General Colin Powell, I also believe that Senator Obama is a "transformational figure".  I trust Barack Obama's judgment and believe in his ability to successfully lead this country through the dark period that engulfs our national psyche.  I also believe he is sincere in his desire to "do the right thing" for America.  His specific position on eliminating capital gains taxes for start-ups supports long-term investing through innovation and venture capital.  This approach recognizes that there are no quick fixes to our economic problems and that America needs to resume a path toward sustainable long-term economic growth through new job creation.  

In my view, the Washington Post's endorsement of Barack Obama for President on October 17 most closely reflects my own personal opinions.  Below, I have quoted some excerpts from the Post's editorial which capture the essence of my strong support for Barack Obama:

"Mr. Obama is a man of supple intelligence, with a nuanced grasp of complex issues and evident skill at conciliation and consensus-building. At home, we believe, he would respond to the economic crisis with a healthy respect for markets tempered by justified dismay over rising inequality and an understanding of the need for focused regulation. Abroad, the best evidence suggests that he would seek to maintain U.S. leadership and engagement, continue the fight against terrorists, and wage vigorous diplomacy on behalf of U.S. values and interests. Mr. Obama has the potential to become a great president. . . .

A McCain presidency would not equal four more years [of the Bush administration], but outside of his inner circle, Mr. McCain would draw on many of the same policymakers who have brought us to our current state. We believe they have richly earned, and might even benefit from, some years in the political wilderness. . . .

There are two sets of issues that matter most in judging these candidacies. The first has to do with restoring and promoting prosperity and sharing its fruits more evenly in a globalizing era that has suppressed wages and heightened inequality. Here the choice is not a close call. Mr. McCain has little interest in economics and no apparent feel for the topic. His principal proposal, doubling down on the Bush tax cuts, would exacerbate the fiscal wreckage and the inequality simultaneously. Mr. Obama's economic plan contains its share of unaffordable promises, but it pushes more in the direction of fairness and fiscal health. Both men have pledged to tackle climate change. . . .

Mr. Obama also understands that the most important single counter to inequality, and the best way to maintain American competitiveness, is improved education, another subject of only modest interest to Mr. McCain. . . .

A better health-care system also is crucial to bolstering U.S. competitiveness and relieving worker insecurity. Mr. McCain is right to advocate an end to the tax favoritism showed to employer plans. This system works against lower-income people, and Mr. Obama has disparaged the McCain proposal in deceptive ways. But Mr. McCain's health plan doesn't do enough to protect those who cannot afford health insurance. Mr. Obama hopes to steer the country toward universal coverage by charting a course between government mandates and individual choice, though we question whether his plan is affordable or does enough to contain costs. . . .

It is almost impossible to predict what policies will be called for by January, but certainly the country will want in its president a combination of nimbleness and steadfastness -- precisely the qualities Mr. Obama has displayed during the past few weeks. When he might have been scoring political points against the incumbent, he instead responsibly urged fellow Democrats in Congress to back Mr. Bush's financial rescue plan. He has surrounded himself with top-notch, experienced, centrist economic advisers -- perhaps the best warranty that, unlike some past presidents of modest experience, Mr. Obama will not ride into town determined to reinvent every policy wheel. Some have disparaged Mr. Obama as too cool, but his unflappability over the past few weeks -- indeed, over two years of campaigning -- strikes us as exactly what Americans might want in their president at a time of great uncertainty. . . .

...Mr. Obama, as anyone who reads his books can tell, also has a sophisticated understanding of the world and America's place in it. . . .We hope he would navigate between the amoral realism of some in his party and the counterproductive cocksureness of the current administration, especially in its first term. On most policies, such as the need to go after al-Qaeda, check Iran's nuclear ambitions and fight HIV/AIDS abroad, he differs little from Mr. Bush or Mr. McCain. But he promises defter diplomacy and greater commitment to allies. His team overstates the likelihood that either of those can produce dramatically better results, but both are certainly worth trying. . . .

Thanks to the surge that Mr. Obama opposed, it may be feasible to withdraw many troops during his first two years in office. But if it isn't -- and U.S. generals have warned that the hard-won gains of the past 18 months could be lost by a precipitous withdrawal -- we can only hope and assume that Mr. Obama would recognize the strategic importance of success in Iraq and adjust his plans. . . .

We also can only hope that the alarming anti-trade rhetoric we have heard from Mr. Obama during the campaign would give way to the understanding of the benefits of trade reflected in his writings. A silver lining of the financial crisis may be the flexibility it gives Mr. Obama to override some of the interest groups and members of Congress in his own party who oppose open trade, as well as to pursue the entitlement reform that he surely understands is needed. . . .

… the stress of a campaign can reveal some essential truths, and the picture of Mr. McCain that emerged this year is far from reassuring. To pass his party's tax-cut litmus test, he jettisoned his commitment to balanced budgets. He hasn't come up with a coherent agenda, and at times he has seemed rash and impulsive. And we find no way to square his professed passion for America's national security with his choice of a running mate who, no matter what her other strengths, is not prepared to be commander in chief. . . .

… Mr. Obama's temperament is unlike anything we've seen on the national stage in many years. He is deliberate but not indecisive; eloquent but a master of substance and detail; preternaturally confident but eager to hear opposing points of view. He has inspired millions of voters of diverse ages and races, no small thing in our often divided and cynical country. We think he is the right man for a perilous moment."

Don't Forget What Makes America Great-- Our Diversity

As we celebrate this Memorial Day weekend and remember those who have died for our country in military service, let's not forget that our young men and women continue to fight to preserve our democratic society and the personal freedoms that define our way of life.

In his new book, The Post-American World, Council on Foreign Relations member Fareed Zakaria reflects on many of the challenges that we face as a country in the 21st century. He also reflects on the strengths that make America unique.

When I describe what makes the Silicon Valley eco-system for entrepreneurs unique and, in my view, exceedingly difficult to duplicate, my description mirrors what Zakaria describes as America's core strength:

" Per capita, it turns out, the United States trains more engineers than either of the Asian giants. ... America's hidden secret is that most of these engineers are immigrants. Foreign students and immigrants account for almost 50 percent of all science researchers in the country. . . . Half of all Silicon Valley start-ups have one founder who is an immigrant or first generation American. The potential for a new burst of American productivity depends not on our education system or R&D spending, but on our immigration policies. If these people are allowed and encouraged to stay, then innovation will happen here. If they leave, they'll take it with them. More broadly, this is America's great-- and potentially insurmountable-- strength. It remains the most open, flexible society in the world, able to absorb other people, cultures, ideas, goods, and services. The country thrives on the hunger and energy of poor immigrants."

I am a first generation American who, by the good fortune of being born and raised and Puerto Rico, was an American citizen before my immigrant parents were naturalized. But for the ultimate sacrifices made by American soldiers against the Nazis in World War II, I would not be here.

This Memorial Day, let's also not forget that the lifeblood of innovation and entrepreneurship comes from many places, but it has found a uniquely fertile soil in an America that embraces and celebrates diversity.

Memo To United Airlines Management— Don’t Forget Who’s The Customer

My business partner and I landed at Chicago’s O’Hare airport at High Noon today, having awakened far too early for a Sunday, Mother’s Day to boot. We were en route to Rochester, New York, to kick off a week of East Coast business meetings.

With raindrops battering the airplane windows as we approached the gate, we learned that a massive storm system had forced the cancellation of many United flights into in out of Chicago, including our connection to Rochester.

We entered the terminal and saw a line of at least five hundred people trying to re-book their connecting flights—the wait for the “rapid, self-service kiosks” made us wish for unconsciousness. A large dose of good luck and membership in the Red Carpet Club succeeded in getting us re-booked onto a flight to Buffalo which left in 45 minutes, and both of us were upgraded to First Class… As we waited to board, an announcement was made that the First Class cabin had checked in full and that the ten other passengers waiting to upgrade would have to fly coach. We were lucky, indeed.

But that’s not the punch line to this story.

We were the first two passengers to board the 737 and, to our surprise, five of the eight first class seats were already occupied—by United employees. They had even completely filled the overhead bins with their bags, and I had to politely ask for one of the dead-heading flight attendants to move her bag into coach so that I could keep my own bag with me. I even offered to carry her bag to do it!

The flight was 100% full. At least 1,000 paying customers of United Airlines were massively inconvenienced due to cancelled flights throughout UAL's Chicago hub. There is no doubt that other passengers on Flight 1142 to Buffalo had been re-routed onto this flight. Did United have an opportunity to build goodwill with five more of their loyal customers by moving the extremely unhappy paying passengers up front and having the employees fly coach to Buffalo? Yes.

But that would be another airline in another world and another time. And this blog is about the real world, where airlines, companies that used to be in the customer satisfaction business around circa 1975, no longer consider the lasting impact on every passenger who will not forget the image of five employees hogging 63% of the First Class cabin on Mother’s Day during a massive disruption of service to paying customers.

And I’m one of the lucky minority who got to ride up front…

The Benefits of Being Disconnected

I started posting to this blog in January of 2005.  Today, with this post, I've posted 189 times.  In the interim, I've also become a podcaster on VC-InsideOut, and I am active on the Facebook and Linked-In social networks.  In some respects I am a power-user of the web because I am a venture capitalist specializing in information technology investing, but I also enjoy the medium of expression afforded by these tools that have truly created the endless open-ended conversation with the world that defines the social Internet. 

But there is such a thing as being over-connected on the web.  A symptom:  the gnawing sense of obligation that you might feel to keep your content fresh-- especially the little things, like changing your blog and Facebook pictures, or endlessly thinking of something pithy to say on your Facebook status bar (or on Twitter).

I usually post more actively when I am on vacation, but this past week, I unplugged totally for the first time in too long. 

No email, no phone, no blogs, no keyboards, no laptop--  but I did have my digital camera.

Being in Fiji was a key ingredient to the mix, as were several good books and plenty of great conversations with fellow travellers.  One of the more unusual recurring themes on this trip was meeting a number of people from all over the world who had quit their jobs and were in various stages of taking a year off from the working world-- having visited many countries and experienced life from a completely different perspective.  Most of these people were between 22 and 32 years old, and many had IT backgrounds.  Fiji can be very attractive if you are on a limited budget; maybe this concentration of checked-out global travelers was a function of the attractive and cost effective environment, but it still surprised me.

My week of electronic abstinence evolved into a mini-course in restoring perspective, in slowing down response time, and in generally re-charging my batteries for 2008.  I recommend periodic disconnection from the web for everyone.

Speaking of connectivity, I'm looking forward to CES!

Happy New Year!

   

Local Outrage-- We'll Pay the Price for SF Oil Spill for Years

What used to be a normal day at Crissy Field--

Now ruined by a toxic oil spill on the water--

One of the great pleasures of living in San Francisco is the ability to enjoy the natural beauty and unique features of the San Francisco Bay.  When I first moved to San Francisco in 1990 I would windsurf regularly under the Golden Gate Bridge, launching from Crissy Field.  In 1993, I joined the South End Rowing Club (one of two local Polar Bear swimming clubs) and would actually swim in the Bay three to five times a week, immersing myself in the exhilarating waters of Aquatic Park for as long as thirty three minutes... 

More recently, I've been riding my bike down to the Golden Gate Bridge through the Presidio and taking advantage of the new cycling paths next to the superb wetlands restoration project at Crissy Field.  I often cross the Golden Gate on my bicycle and ride up into the Marin Headlands. But cyclists are depressed, windurfers are grounded, and nobody is swimming in the Bay after the collision of the Cosco Busan cargo ship into the Bay Bridge on Wednesday November 8th at 8:30 AM released 58,000 gallons of oil into the Bay. Click here for Sacramento Bee story.

Crissy Field is desolate and adorned only by oil spill cleanup booms; virtually all of our San Francisco Bay beaches are closed due to the disastrous oil spill that has befouled our Bay-- and the spill now stretches out to sea 10 miles, threatening sensitive bird breeding grounds in the Farallon Islands.

click on image to enlarge

We, the cyclists, swimmers, sailors, beach-loving families, and, most of all, the defenseless wildlife that are our national treasure, are going to be paying the price for this negligence for years.  It appears that emergency crews did not act in a timely manner to stem the damage-- and the sad fact is that in 30 minutes, the bulk of the damage was done. 

The earth is already in trouble from climate change, and avoidable tragedies such as this one should only punctuate the need to plan ahead for the low probability, high loss events that can impact our lives and destroy the natural habitat that makes the Bay Area special.  It is a sad day for all of us. 

Young Adult American Jews Can Reverse a Trend of Indifference and Alienation by Visiting Israel

An increasingly large proportion of American Jews under the age of 35 is becoming increasingly indifferent to and alienated from Israel.  Why?  Primarily because these people have not visited Israel. 

According to a new white paper- Beyond Distancing: Young Adult American Jews and Their Alienation from Israel, by Steven M. Cohen and Ari Y. Kelman, “the erosion on Israel engagement has taken place over the entire age spectrum, from elderly, to upper-middle-aged, to lower-middle-aged, to young adult. … We see a pattern of shifting (declining) attachment to Israel stretching over 50 years, from those who are now 65 and older down to those in their 20s.”

Funded by the Jewish Identity Project of Reboot and the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, this paper’s conclusions are based on a survey of 1,828 Jewish respondents between December 2006 and January 2007 and focuses on non-Orthodox respondents.
    
What does Jewish American alienation from Israel mean?  It means that the majority of American Jews under the age of 35 do not believe that the destruction of Israel would be a personal tragedy and do not talk about Israel to non-Jewish friends.  Over 40% of American Jews under the age of 35 and almost 40% of American Jews under the age of 50 describe their level of Israel attachment as Low.  60% of the respondents have never been to Israel, and only 15% have been more than once.  48% of respondents believe that there is either a moderate amount of anti-Semitism in the U.S. today; 38% believe that there is a great deal of anti-Semitism in the U.S. today (62% believe there is a great deal of anti-Semitism in Europe today).  More importantly, 47% believe that anti-Semitism will increase in the U.S. over the next several years (62% believe so in Europe).       

Among the paper’s most important observations, intermarriage has an important influence on the distancing of American Jews from Israel.  However “contrary to widely held beliefs, left-liberal political identity is not primarily responsible for driving down the Israel attachment scores among the non-Orthodox.  If left-liberal politics were influential, we should see significant differences between liberal-Democrats and conservative-Republicans.  The absence of such a pattern, and their inconsistent variations within age groups, run contrary to the assertion that political views are the prime source of disaffection from Israel.”

I am the son of a Holocaust survivor with a strong Jewish religious education, but I was largely indifferent to Israel for much of my life because I didn't have the perspective that you gain from actually going there.

I first visited Israel in early 2002 and have now been there 11 times.  Going there has completely changed my perspective about the importance of the State of Israel.  Today I am actively involved in direct philanthropic initiatives in Israel that promote religious pluralism.  I care deeply for Israel while being highly sensitive to the country’s many faults and contradictions.  I care about preserving the Jewish State of Israel in the face of great challenges, and I respect the deeply passionate people who make the commitment to live in Israel, even though I may not share their social or political views.

If you are a Jew who is indifferent to or alienated from Israel, you should visit the country and see for yourself why it is the center of so much global controversy.  Don’t be a bystander in this developing story.  The Business Leadership Council of the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation is leading a business professionals Mission to Israel next April 30—in my view, this is a great opportunity to gain a new perspective on Israel and on your Jewish identity.       

Nicolas Sarkozy's Jewish Heritage

The new President of France has strong Jewish ethnic origins and understands the roots of Zionism and the case for the existence of Israel.  Below, I have excerpted parts of an article written by Raanan Eliaz in the European Jewish Press that outlines the Sarkozy family's origins and experience during the Holocaust.  There is plenty of debate over whether Sarkozy's Jewish ethnicity will materially influence French policies in the Middle East.

Puting this question aside, but drawing on my own family history and my father's negative experiences with French anti-Semitism, in my view it's a big deal that someone of Nicolas Sarkozy's background, who is also a vocal supporter of improved relations with the United States, is the new leader of France. Bonne Chance, Monsieur President!

From the article:

"In an interview Nicolas Sarkozy gave in 2004, he expressed an
extraordinary understanding of the plight of the Jewish people
for a home: "Should I remind you the visceral attachment of
every Jew to Israel, as a second mother homeland? There is
nothing outrageous about it. Every Jew carries within him a fear
passed down through generations, and he knows that if one day he
will not feel safe in his country, there will always be a place
that would welcome him. And this is Israel." (From the book "La
République, les religions, l’espérance", interviews with Thibaud
Collin and Philippe Verdin.)

Sarkozy’s sympathy and understanding is most probably a product
of his upbringing; it is well known that Sarkozy’s mother was
born to the Mallah family, one of the oldest Jewish families of
Salonika, Greece. Additionally, many may be surprised to learn
that his yet-to-be-revealed family history involves a true and
fascinating story of leadership, heroism and survival. It
remains to be seen whether his personal history will affect his
foreign policy and France’s role in the Middle East conflict.

In the 15th century, the Mallah family (in Hebrew: messenger or
angel) escaped the Spanish Inquisition to Provence, France and
moved about one hundred years later to Salonika. In Greece,
several family members became prominent Zionist leaders, active
in the local and national political, economic, social and
cultural life. To this day many Mallahs are still active
Zionists around the world.

Sarkozy’s grandfather, Aron Mallah, nicknamed Benkio, was born
in 1890. Beniko’s uncle Moshe was a well-known Rabbi and a
devoted Zionist who, in 1898 published and edited "El Avenir",
the leading paper of the Zionist national movement in Greece at
the time. His cousin, Asher, was a Senator in the Greek Senate
and in 1912 he helped guarantee the establishment of the
Technion – the elite technological university in Haifa, Israel.
In 1919 he was elected as the first President of the Zionist
Federation of Greece and he headed the Zionist Council for
several years. In the 1930’s he helped Jews flee to Israel, to
which he himself immigrated in 1934. Another of Beniko’s
cousins, Peppo Mallah, was a philanthropist for Jewish causes
who served in the Greek Parliament, and in 1920 he was offered,
but declined, the position of Greece’s Minister of Finance.
After the establishment of the State of Israel he became the
country’s first diplomatic envoy to Greece.

In 1917 a great fire destroyed parts of Salonika and damaged the
family estate. Many Jewish-owned properties, including the
Mallah’s, were expropriated by the Greek government. Jewish
population emigrated from Greece and much of the Mallah family
left Salonika to France, America and Israel. Sarkozy’s
grandfather, Beniko, immigrated to France with his mother. When
in France Beniko converted to Catholicism and changed his name
to Benedict in order to marry a French Christian girl named
Adèle Bouvier.


Adèle and Benedict had two daughters, Susanne and Andrée.
Although Benedict integrated fully into French society, he
remained close to his Jewish family, origin and culture. Knowing
he was still considered Jewish by blood, during World War II he
and his family hid in Marcillac la Croisille in the Corrèze
region, western France.

During the Holocaust, many of the Mallahs who stayed in Salonika
or moved to France were deported to concentration and
extermination camps. In total, fifty-seven family members were
murdered by the Nazis. Testimonies reveal that several revolted
against the Nazis and one, Buena Mallah, was the subject of
Nazis medical experiments in the Birkenau concentration camp.

In 1950 Benedict’s daughter, Andrée Mallah, married Pal Nagy
Bosca y Sarkozy, a descendent of a Hungarian aristocratic
family. The couple had three sons – Guillaume, Nicolas and
François. The marriage failed and they divorced in 1960, so
Andrée raised her three boys close to their grandfather,
Benedict. Nicolas was especially close to Benedict, who was like
a father to him. In his biography Sarkozy tells he admired his
grandfather, and through hours spent of listening to his stories
of the Nazi occupation, the "Maquis" (French resistance), De
Gaulle and the D-day, Benedict bequeathed to Nicolas his
political convictions.

Sarkozy’s family lived in Paris until Benedict’s death in 1972,
at which point they moved to Neuilly-sur-Seine to be closer to
the boys’ father, Pal (who changed his name to Paul) Sarkozy.
Various memoirs accounted Paul as a father who did not spend
much time with the kids or help the family monetarily. Nicolas
had to sell flowers and ice cream in order to pay for his
studies. However, his fascination with politics led him to
become the city’s youngest mayor and to rise to the top of
French and world politics. The rest is history. "

Raanan Eliaz is a former Director at the Israeli National
Security Council and the Hudson Institute, Washington D.C. He is
currently a Ph.D. candidate at the Catholic University of
Leuven, Belgium, and a consultant on European-Israeli Affairs.



Original article: ejpress.org/article/16491

A Very Special Shabbat

Today is a very special Shabbat because we are celebrating my son's Bar Mitzvah-- the first in our family in 30 years-- and the last such milestone after our daughter's Bat Mitzvah of two years ago.  As the son of a Holocaust survivor I feel very proud to have now successfully passed the torch of the Torah, the moral and legal framework of Judaism, on to the next generation.

Considering this observance of Jewish faith and ritual in a larger context, particularly the secular vs. religious debate that occupies so much of the media, I feel that many critics of religion and of religious observance are missing a very big point.

In a column on religion in the New York Times on March 3rd, Peter Steinfels takes to task Richard Dawkins' book, The God Delusion, which so many people continue to read.  Steinfels notes that the new wave of books on atheism, including, of course, Sam Harris' "Letter to a Christian Nation", is being criticized primarily by avowed atheists, philosophers, and scientists writing in publications like The New Republic and The New York Review of Books.

Critics, such as Marxist Terry Eagleton, make a very simple point that I find amply evident--

Referring to Dawkin's book, Eagleton observes:

"In a book of almost 400 pages, he can scarcely bring himself to concede that a single human benefit has flowed from religious faith, a view which is as a priori improbable as it is empirically false. ... The countless millions who have devoted their lives selflessly to the service  of others in the name of Christ or Buddha or Allah are wiped from human history-- and this by a self-appointed crusader against bigotry."

Today, as my wife and I embrace our son and celebrate with our family, friends, and our Jewish community the coming of age of another generation of Jewish men, we are also celebrating the passing of the mantle of knowledge that inspires people to do the right thing in the name of humanity.  I thank God for that.

   

Do You Know How to Pray?

Jerusalem
December 11, 2006

We stood on the side of the road in silence, looking across the valley at the Temple Mount and the Al-Aqsa Mosque from Mount Scopus. Only the gathering evening wind and the steady idle of the Mercedes taxi’s engine accompanied us while we looked out into the encroaching darkness.  It was almost 6 PM, and my Israeli driver, who has shepherded me through ten trips to Israel since 2002, had brought me to this historic site before my dinner meeting to enjoy a few quiet moments and admire the lights of Jerusalem.

We had just left the Kotel, where I observed the 32nd anniversary of my father’s passing by reciting the Jewish mourner’s prayer, the Mourner’s Kaddish, at the Western Wall.

As we contemplated the Old City, we heard a new sound.  A melodic and melancholy chant now blended with the swirling wind and rose through the valley from the Al-Aqsa Mosque to reach us on Mount Scopus.  It was the muezzin's evening call to prayer , multiplying through a succession of loudspeakers from the minarets of the numerous mosques that dotted the darkening landscape in front of us.

“Do you know how to pray?” my driver asked, piercing the silence.

With my own recent prayers still in my head, I quickly replied, “Yes, of course I do.”

His query surprised me, since my own experience is that spirituality and prayer come from within and need no formal instruction.  But my first reaction misinterpreted what he was really saying.

“I don’t know how to pray”, he asserted. “I am a Jew, and I live in Israel, and that’s it. . . . I think that the Jews who live outside of Israel know much more about prayer than many Jews here in Israel.  To be a Jew outside of Israel, you have to want to be a Jew and want to learn how to pray.”

I felt saddened as I considered his heartfelt statement, but I didn't know how to respond.  I closed my eyes and asked myself how differently he, an Israeli Jew, would feel about his own Jewish identity if the State of Israel actually embraced religious pluralism.

And for a moment, as I strained to hear the now fading melody of the muezzin, I imagined what that Israel would be like.

Photographs (click on image to enlarge)

The Western Wall in the foreground with the golden dome of Al-Aqsa Mosque above it, in a picture I took in June 2006.

The view of Al-Aqsa Mosque from Mount Scopus, December 11, 2006, at approximately 6 PM .