Baruch HaShem. or Making the World Better by Kidnapping

Understand that during the High Holy Days, there is an extra emphasis on performing mitzvahs (doing good deeds).

Understand also that those mitzvahs are supposed to be in the service of a Jealous God.

And understand that Jewish lineage is matriarchal.

But also remember that the recent invasion and bombing of Lebanon was allegedly provoked by the kidnapping of two adult soldiers.

Consider This:

[M]embers of Yad L'achim...snatched the girl during a night-time raid on a house in Tulkarm, in the north of the Israeli-occupied West Bank...the Yad L'achim unit, armed with assault rifles, [forced] the father and daughter into a van and [drove] off.

Good thing they aren't a terrorist group:

"We turned to the police and other services, but none of them was able to help us. So we used one of our undercover units," Mati Dushenski, a spokesman for Yad L'achim, told Reuters, confirming Wednesday's operation.

"We have done many similar operations in the past," he said.

And they certainly helped where there was no other recourse:

The mother was said to be preparing a legal suit to maintain custody of the child.

Which presumably would be heard in an Israeli court. Where both parents live.

So a case of "he said, she said" has turned into a kidnapping. Certainly, this will improve relations in the country, and lower any chance of future violence.

Duncan can wait until next year

With due respects to Mr. Black(who also appears to have found out from The Colbert Report that they were awarded today), I am thrilled to see that John Zorn has been awarded a grant as a MacArthur Fellow.

And not only because he's one of the few people this year who is older than I.

Time to play the Shelley Hirsch version of "What's New, Pussycat?" from Great Jewish Music: Burt Bacharach again.