The NEW Four Questions

With the last name AuH2O, or Goldwater, I’m obviously a little bit Jewish. I don’t go to synagogue much or believe in God or anything, but I identify with Judaism because I like the social justice aspect- as a people, we care about people. We’re required to! We’re also required to do good deeds and take care of the world. So not to generalize, but I’m going to generalize: most Jews care about the environment, education, health care (Fuck you, Lieberman), and support a woman’s right to choose. I’m proud of my religion and community for preaching these values.

But then there’s Israel. I’ve lived there, I love it there, and I think it should exist. But I’m not happy with the way it’s existing now. Not when it doesn’t value peace; not when it isn’t working towards a two-state solution. The new plan to build settlements in East Jerusalem, what would be the capital of the Palestinians’ country, is disgusting. Israel already agreed to work towards peace and STOP building settlements in the West Bank, and yet now they’re doing just that. It’s been understood for some time now that WHEN Palestinians have their own country, their capital will be exactly where Israel’s building Jewish settlements, so they’re basically saying the Palestinians will no longer have a capital- if they ever even get their own country. Read more about it anywhere on the internet, or more specifically here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/world/middleeast/25jerusalem.html

I’ve been really, really torn up about this, and as Jewish person, I want to walk away from the religion. I know Israel’s policy is separate from Jewish tradition, but nonetheless I don’t want to identify with a religion that this country is home to. I’ve tweeted and facebooked that I don’t want to celebrate Passover this year and have been told repeatedly that’s stupid, and maybe it is, but I can’t seem to separate the two. Especially when the central theme of Passover is “Jerusalemjerusalemjerusalem! Next year in Jerusalem!”

This article sums up my position well, and if I WERE to celebrate Passover, I’d want to ask my own four questions taken from this:

“‘We can’t be a critic of Israel, we can’t use our strength as a huge economic actor to pressure the Jewish state. Why? Because of Auschwitz.’ I understand this argument very well. Many of my family were killed in Auschwitz. However, this is ridiculous. Europe can’t live indefinitely on the credit of someone else’s crimes to justify a state that creates and commits its own crimes. If Zionism is to succeed as a representation of the original ideas of the Zionist founders, Israel has to become a normal state. That was the idea. Israel should not be special because it is Jewish. Jews are to have a state just like everyone else has a state. It should have no more rights than Slovenia and no fewer. Therefore, it also has to behave like a state. It has to declare its frontiers, recognise international law, sign international treaties and agreements. Furthermore, other countries have to behave towards it the way they would towards any other state that broke those laws. Otherwise it is treated as special and Zionism as a project has failed. People will say: ‘Why are we picking on Israel? What about Libya? Yemen? Burma? China? All of which are much worse.’ Fine. But we are missing two things: first, Israel describes itself as a democracy and so it should be compared with democracies not with dictatorships; second, if Burma came to the EU and said, ‘It would be a huge advantage for us if we could have privileged trading rights with you,’ Europe would say: ‘First you have to release political prisoners, hold elections, open up your borders.’ We have to say the same things to Israel.”

Luckily, I wrote to a few Jewish feminists about my inner struggle, and they lead me to J Street, a “pro-Israel, pro-peace” organization that listed a NEW Four Questions on “Israel and Our Jewish Values.” These make me feel like celebrating Passover again! But not enough that I’m actually celebrating. Anyway, enjoy:

Q: Israel has held a special place for Jews for millennia, both as a
dream and a reality.  What is Israel?s significance to you?  What do
you love and what would you change?

Q: At the core of the Exodus story is the value of “do not oppress the
stranger.”  In what ways is the State of Israel living out Jewish social
justice values, and how could it carry out these values more fully?  In
your opinion, should these values apply to Israeli policies toward
Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza?  If so, how?

Q: Even today, when Jews are as well established as we have ever
been during the last two millennia, real threats exist and many Jews
still fear being hurt or (heaven forbid) destroyed.  To what extent does
the urge for self-protection, or even pre-emptive action, resonate with
you?  When is this a helpful urge, and when does it backfire?  How
does this relate to the challenges of maintaining Israel?s security?

Q:  Which values do you believe should define world Jewry in the coming years?  How
can we safeguard Israel as a Jewish, democratic homeland—in keeping with
our Jewish and American values—for decades to come?

Happy Passover for everyone celebrating!

Health Care Reform probably passed because of the Health Care Reform Fashion Show

To quote my friend Daniel Ajl Kitrosser: “Happiness is a thing called healthcare. thanks mr. pres, paul krugman, fdr, ted kennedy and hillary rodham.” And the one and only Nancy Pelosi.

I couldn’t be happier about Health Care Reform passing. Well, okay, I could be happier if the Public Option was included, but I’m still incredibly happy it passed. The New York Times has a great piece up today explaining what it actually means for the “consumer,” check it out if you’re confused and interested to see what changes it’ll make for you: http://www.nytimes.com. For the uninsured, like me - even though after breaking my collarbone I thought I’d get insurance, I still haven’t gotten around to it - it basically means we’ll get fined if we don’t get insurance, so I better get it, and though I don’t know how much it will cost yet, I like this part a lot:

Moreover, people of any age who cannot find a plan that costs less than 8 percent of their income would be allowed to buy a catastrophic policy otherwise intended for people under age 30.

I think that sounds totally reasonable.

Also, enough with the Republicans being upset that they passed Health Care Reform without much Republican support. Digby says it best:

It’s fairly clear that Republicans don’t understand how democracy works. You campaign, people vote, you win elections, you get a majority, you pass legislation. They seem to think Democracy means that that elections are irrelevant, majorities are meaningless and that all legislation is contingent upon the permission of the Republican Party.

AMEN.

And finally, Health Care Reform probably passed because of the Health Care Reform Fashion show I hosted. And all the people out there wearing Health Care Reform shirts I made. JK LOL *wink wink.

AuH2O will be closed this Sunday…

BECAUSE THE SUNDANCE CHANNEL IS COMING BY TO FILM A PILOT!

Sort of. Someone from Magnet Media called me the other day to tell me they were interested in filming a business-guru-expert-branding-genius coming to my store, checking things out, and giving me advice on what I can do to make my store/company/brand/life better. And then they’re going to pitch this show to the Sundance Channel. Or something. Anyway, I said I was interested, obviously, and got this follow up email:

“Currently, we’re developing a new television series in partnership with The Sundance Channel based around internationally renowned designer, Brian Collins – www.collins1.com.

Brian normally works with Fortune 500 companies and is usually out of the reach of the small business community - but for our show we want to offer smaller companies the chance to benefit from his expertise. In the series Brian would visit a different company each week and work with them on their look, branding, story and style in an effort to take them to their next level of success.

The project is currently at a development (pilot) stage and we are putting together a 5-minute test tape to show to Sundance. Therefore, we’re looking to feature a small business and film at your location for our test tape and I was hope you and your company would be interested in taking part in this experience and having Brian come and visit you to offer advice on your business.”

SOUNDS COOL, RIGHT? So I’ll be closed for the day Sunday as they film Brian advising me, and hopefully this advice-session and filming fun will be picked up by Sundance and turned into a TV program!

Eco-friendly Skiing

How can skiing be eco-friendly? By buying vintage, of course! I bought some skis on Craigslist for $29, as you can tell they’re from 1986, and I got the poles for an additional $10. Poles don’t match, but are roughly the same size and color scheme…

Then my boyfriend bought us some vintage ski suits from eBay, $15/each:

vintage 80s ski suit for $15= awesome

Keelan thinks he’s a superhero in his faux suede

The group of us on top of Hunter Mountain

Just wanted to share! Ebay and Craigslist are GREAT for inexpensive vintage finds!

Sustainable eating series

One of my best friends, Daniel Klein, who you may have seen on this blog from when we went campaigning for Obama, left the city last year and moved to Minnesota to start up his own local food project. Though I was super sad he left, I was really excited for him to do what he loves. Just like I combined my love for fashion, sustainability and feminism through this store, Danny’s combining his activism and ability to make things delicious in his new documentary series about eating local, sustainable food: The Perennial Plate. I’ll let him explain it, but I can’t stress enough: watch the trailer, you’ll see him kill his own turkey for Thanksgiving.

In Danny’s words:

“I’m very excited to announce my new project: The Perennial Plate, a weekly documentary series about sustainable and adventurous eating in Minnesota. Imagine if Michael Pollan, that guy from Man vs. Wild, and Mario Batalli teamed up to make a show — they would create something like The Perennial Plate.

In addition to my website, check out KICKSTARTER to hear more about the project.”

I’m incredibly happy for him and excited to follow this project, and I hope you will too. Eating and living as sustainably as possible is really important to me, especially when it comes to meat. I rarely eat meat since it’s so hard on the environment. Some statistics you’ve probably heard:

-Of all raw materials and fossil fuels currently used in the U.S., more than one-third goes to raising animals for food.
-The world’s cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people—more than the entire human population on Earth.
-It takes 5,000 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of meat, while growing 1 pound of wheat only requires 25 gallons. A totally vegetarian diet requires only 300 gallons of water per day, while a meat-eating diet requires more than 4,000 gallons of water per day. You save more water by not eating a pound of beef than you do by not showering for an entire year.

Though eating meat that was locally raised and killed is a different story. I can get on board with that. And I AM. You should be too! Check out Danny’s site and watch the trailer, and check back for new episodes every week.

And donate to his KICKSTARTER if you can, it’s a free series and needs funding somehow!