QOTD: Judea Pearl

QOTD: Judea Pearl in JPost

...in 2005, I still cannot name a single Muslim leader (or a journalist, or an intellectual) who has publicly acknowledged the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a dispute between two legitimate national movements.

Chinese Jewish Surnames

Michael Freund on Chinese Jewish surnames in Kaifeng, China

All of the Jewish descendants belong to one of seven clans, each identifiable by its surname. Legend has it that during the Song dynasty over a thousand years ago, a Chinese emperor, unable to pronounce the Jews' Hebrew-sounding names, bestowed his surname and the surnames of six of his ministers on the Chinese Jews. These seven names -- Zhao, Li, Ai, Zhang, Gao, Jin and Shi -- were used by Kaifeng's Jews throughout the centuries, and it is to the Shi clan that Shi Lei traces his own roots.

Explaining the Labor Party's Shift in Policies

Arutz Sheva carries this interesting nugget that seems to explain to me why the Labor Party in Israel has turned more and more to pro-Arab positions.

A registration campaign has made the Arab sector the largest faction in the Labor party. More than 100,000 Israelis signed up with labor, but police are probing charges of forged membership forms.

...Arab membership rose more to 22 percent of all registered members, 50 per cent more than the last membership drive three years ago. Arab parties now hold nine seats in the Knesset and have one seat in the Labor and Likud parties. They probably will receive more representation in Labor if the new membership list is ratified.