First a bit of history from Molly:
Two years ago, during the heyday of the Angry Arab website's comments section, there was a guy who called himself Heil Bush. Once in a while he would leave some incisive commentary, but to me, he seemed frustrated at not having a better outlet for his ideas. Or perhaps that was just my imagination. In any case, I told him he should start his own blog. Tony will have to remind me what he responded that made me force him and start it for him (I wonder if his wife is annoyed about that, seeing how much time he spends on it!). I put together a list of Palestinian charities (I hope at least one person has donated over the years) and compiled a list of all the good pro-Palestinian books I could think of (I don't remember if the links were compiled by me or another Angry Arab commenter called Truth Addict) and we posted all the lists on the side and we were off! In the beginning, there was another member called Catholic Sunni Shia, who I hope comes back to blogging someday. I often wish I was more of an activist for Palestine (I will always be sad about that one summer I almost went there with the ISM but didn't because I was afraid to lose my job). I quit the Pundit early on so didn't allow myself to be proud of it, but now that I have rejoined and it has lasted two years I will allow my pride to come back. :) I have never seen a picture of Tony (send one?) and don't even know how old he is (how old are you, Tony?), but I have grown to like him a lot and to admire his dedication to the blog. A few words on Palestine. There are many liberation struggles going on in the world, why do I feel such an affinity for the Palestinians'? A few reasons. One of course, is both the warmth and determination of the Palestinian people. The other is more complicated.
Tony:
I know that I repeat myself a lot, but truly I am absolutely indebted to Molly for starting this blog. I know that I did not have the guts to start it. Even after Molly set it up, named it, listed the charities and the books on Palestine, I still made all kinds of excuses for not blogging. But then I felt bad: here, this nice Jewish young lady was more dedicated to Palestine than me! So I started posting. Not surprisingly, the first posts which appeared on July 9, 2006 dealt with Gaza. Little did I know then, but the second post was titled, "No, This Is Not a Warsaw Ghetto; THIS IS GAZA NOW!"
Two years ago, during the heyday of the Angry Arab website's comments section, there was a guy who called himself Heil Bush. Once in a while he would leave some incisive commentary, but to me, he seemed frustrated at not having a better outlet for his ideas. Or perhaps that was just my imagination. In any case, I told him he should start his own blog. Tony will have to remind me what he responded that made me force him and start it for him (I wonder if his wife is annoyed about that, seeing how much time he spends on it!). I put together a list of Palestinian charities (I hope at least one person has donated over the years) and compiled a list of all the good pro-Palestinian books I could think of (I don't remember if the links were compiled by me or another Angry Arab commenter called Truth Addict) and we posted all the lists on the side and we were off! In the beginning, there was another member called Catholic Sunni Shia, who I hope comes back to blogging someday. I often wish I was more of an activist for Palestine (I will always be sad about that one summer I almost went there with the ISM but didn't because I was afraid to lose my job). I quit the Pundit early on so didn't allow myself to be proud of it, but now that I have rejoined and it has lasted two years I will allow my pride to come back. :) I have never seen a picture of Tony (send one?) and don't even know how old he is (how old are you, Tony?), but I have grown to like him a lot and to admire his dedication to the blog. A few words on Palestine. There are many liberation struggles going on in the world, why do I feel such an affinity for the Palestinians'? A few reasons. One of course, is both the warmth and determination of the Palestinian people. The other is more complicated.
Tony:
I know that I repeat myself a lot, but truly I am absolutely indebted to Molly for starting this blog. I know that I did not have the guts to start it. Even after Molly set it up, named it, listed the charities and the books on Palestine, I still made all kinds of excuses for not blogging. But then I felt bad: here, this nice Jewish young lady was more dedicated to Palestine than me! So I started posting. Not surprisingly, the first posts which appeared on July 9, 2006 dealt with Gaza. Little did I know then, but the second post was titled, "No, This Is Not a Warsaw Ghetto; THIS IS GAZA NOW!"
Now I am hooked on the blog (perhaps that is why I resisted at the beginning). That is why I get up most days by 4 am to start blogging. And be assured Molly that my wife, who is not Palestinian, supports my blogging. We do not even fight about the use of the computer.
Since that day in 2006, close to 12,000 items have been posted. We are still small compared to other blogs, but give us time! Now with Molly back, things will get even better. We have had more than 300,000 visitors from 190 countries visiting with us.
Thank you all and in particular those who contribute articles and meaningful and thoughtful comments.
Please do not be discouraged by the comments of some. There is no easy way to please everyone, and that is why I resorted to polling about the ban. Molly and I do not like the idea of banning, but sometimes it becomes unavoidable. We would like to avoid the fate of the comment section on Angry Arab.
Anyway Molly, I thought that you knew that I am 62 years young; close to the age of your dad!
But let us celebrate now, and let us have some cyber cake!
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