As much as I would like to support President Bush’s vision for the Middle East, it leaves me somewhat confused. His insistence that the Palestinian people elect a new leader other than Yassar Arafat is clearly undemocratic. I have nothing but contempt for the terrorist bastard Arafat and I too would like to see him out of the picture; but how can the president insist on a democratic election and dictate who the elected leader cannot be? A democratic election means accepting the voters' choices, and the president needs to respect that.

The president also endorses the creation of a provisional Palestinian state that would eventually become permanent. There is no such thing as a provisional state. Either there is a state or there is not a state; you cannot have a sort of state any more than a woman can be somewhat pregnant. His vision fails to spell out a coherent path and timetable for ultimate Palestinian statehood.

We all crave an end to suicide bombings but we cannot allow them to derail peace negotiations. The terrorist organizations that perpetrate these attacks want to prevent any peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Their only goal is to push Israel into the sea. The closer the moderate Palestinian and Israeli people get to a settlement the weaker the terrorist organizations become. The Israelis and Palestinians must tenaciously pursue peace even though the radical factions continue to escalate their brutal attacks. Insisting that all violence stop before peace negotiations begin plays right into their hands.

I share the president’s ultimate goal for the peaceful coexistence of Israel and a neighbouring Palestinian state. Both sides must show courage and determination to accomplish this vision. The Palestinians must find the strength to make the necessary changes in their government and to renounce all terrorist activities. The Israelis, for their part, must allow the peace process to commence in spite of terrorist actions.

I am happy to announce a brand new format for the Gantseh Megillah. Starting this month, the Megillah will become a weekly newsletter. Weekly updates will allow me to share time-sensitive news items rather than waiting until the end of the month when much of the information is out of date. Here is how the new plan works.

Each week I will send an email to all members of the Megillah Family listing links to articles and stories of timely interest to our community. The links will take you directly to the original source of the information. The monthly version of the Megillah will contain features such as my editorial comments, book and music reviews, Eddy’s yummy recipes and heartwarming thought pieces and of course our very popular This and That page.

I am delighted to welcome Brian Corleone to the pages of the monthly Megillah. Brian will be writing a lively column titled BC’s Back Lot, revealing the secret workings of the Hollywood and showbiz world. Of course, this will be done with Yiddishe flair. The first of Brian’s columns appears in this issue.

Welcome also to Marjorie Wolfe who will be contributing a monthly column featuring stories and essays of interest to our family of readers. Marjorie has a great deal of experience as a feature columnist. Her work appears in the Jewish Press and the New York Times, among other major publications. Now she is with us as a regular contributor to the one and only Gantseh Megillah.

We would very much like to include original work in the monthly Megillah. All articles, stories and reviews are very welcome. We are especially interested in adding regular feature columns, and if you have a talent for writing, please do not keep it a secret. Let the Megillah make your thoughts and ideas available to all of our readers.

This month we launch the Megillah Family Photo Album. We’re off to a very good start, and you are invited to submit your photo to be included. Thank you to those who already have contributed their gorgeous punims. Now we will be able to place names with faces and get to know the members of our Megillah family on a more personal basis. Instructions on how to submit your photos are included on the album cover.

As you can see, many changes are taking place with the Megillah. I have been talking for months about the improvements in the newsletter and the glossary and we are finally beginning to see the results of some of our efforts. We would like to express our appreciation to those who make monetary contributions to our work. Every little bit helps and we are grateful for all donations, large and small. Your generosity makes it easier for Arnold and me to pay for the costs involved in creating and maintaining our Yiddishkeit projects on the Web. For those who have not yet contributed to the Megillah fund, please consider doing so. All the information necessary for making a voluntary donation is available at the links below.

Have a wonderful July. Enjoy the Megillah!
Much love to all of you,
Michael
Editor