the IS in Israel

A high-profile body that liaises between Israel and the Jewish diaspora has reacted with fury at a decision by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to in effect abandon a plan to allow men and women to pray together at the Western Wall.
The Jewish Agency has cancelled a gala dinner with Netanyahu in Jerusalem and is to discuss the ramifications of the decision at a meeting this week.
The Israeli cabinet decided on Sunday to scrap a compromise agreement made 17 months ago, which was intended to resolve a battle lasting more than a quarter of a century over equal rights for women praying at the Western Wall.

The longer I live, the more I appreciate the ethical potential of spiritual life and the less I appreciate its unwillingness to dig deeper and, common-sensically, set aside spiritual life in favor of a life that could not be un-spiritual if it tried.

If you have a god, it is wiser to stop picking his/her/or its nose in my opinion. God, after all, is fine and ascertainably 'true' ... or 'untrue' ... so stop mucking about. Practice, clarify, don't be believer-lazy ... get with the program.

The stupidity among smart people is a marvel of sorts.

PS. As a possible addition to the cheering section, the White House has broken with a 20-year tradition and decided not to host a Muslim meal that marks the end of Islam's Ramadan ... a quasi-fasting ritual of the religion.

For the first time in over two decades, the White House did not host an Iftar or Eid celebration dinner to mark the month of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month when Muslims fast during daylight hours....
Iftar dinners inviting prominent members of the Muslim community to break their fast at the White House were continued each year during the administrations of both President Bush and President Obama.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also broke with tradition by not hosting an Iftar dinner at the State Department during Ramadan, as has happened for the past two decades.

Building bridges and building fences ... how about it?