Happy Christmas!. Funny, I used to write that word only as xmas, becuase I found it hard to even write the word Christ. It felt like trespass.
Today two media things have me thinking and writing this entry. It is Christmas and though it is the birth of Jesus, it is never far from our minds that his death is around the corner. With His birth is the predestination of His death (and resurrection) and we all know who killed Him.
ok... so these are the 2 media items: Yassar Arafat is not allowed to visit Bethlehem by Israeli authorities for the Christmas celebrations.
Now, I think it's a bit dumb, diplomatically speaking, to prevent the free movement of the leader of the Palestians, but the news media seem to contain the nuance that it is the Jews (again!) preventing the religious worship of Christ. The way it's being covered, there is a distinct implication...
The other thing is that they're showing 'Oliver!' on the prime morning slot. Yes, I love the songs as well as anyone. But the book is one of the most shockingly anti-semitic things I have ever read and the character of Fagin is portrayed in the move as a dirty stinking money-loving souless Jew. No doubts about that.
The musical has one of the best scores of any musical (and I love 'em). It's great family television
but why Christmas morning?
Reading this back, I can hear a Yiddish intonation that I don't usually have in my speech or in my writing. Interesting. Have I taken on the Jewish mantle to complain about things that may not seem significant to others? Did I feel the need to sound stereotypical because paranoia, or complaining too much, is a 'Jewish trait'? I know I feel self-conscious about this entry because I'm not sure it is that important...