My dad heard from my uncle, who talked to his wife stuck in the village just east of Sidon, 30 miles south of Beirut. They're holed up with supplies and hoping this will blow over soon. See my
blog for more Lebanese comment.
Sitting here in California I am trying to remember to get rest, exercise, live life offline. But before I sign off for the day, I have one plea.
Democrats, liberals, people who want to take back America from our own Taliban, don't let this Middle East crisis derail us.
Tomorrow my Lebanese-American father, my American mother, my half-Jewish husband and I are all going to my mother-in-law's book party. She just wrote a terrific book about Multi-ethnic Australia (see my blog for more details). She happens to be Jewish. My husband's aunt and uncle are hosting a big party for her. They happen to be pillars of their reform synagogue in Oakland, CA, and the aunt is a big supporter of Israel. However they are also supporters of Rabbis for Human Rights.
Anyway. We are bringing home-made Lebanese food to serve 75 people. It doesn't matter what is going on in the Middle East, we love our family and we are proud of my mother-in-law for publishing such a good book.
One reason why we get along so well in our blended Jewish-Arab family is that we agree on the basics. We are all Democrats in the Bay Area branches of our respective families. We believe that you get peace if you work for justice.
My kids are coming home so I have to sign off. My last words - Kossacks, don't let arguing about the Middle East tear this blog and this movement apart. I am an Arab-American and I don't vote on one issue. Keep your eyes on the real goals. We want to take back Congress in 2006 and the White House in 2008. This is the most important thing we can do for the world and for our future.