Tel Aviv Diary: Karen Alkalay-Gut

Somehow I imagine Obama like the biblical Joseph in Egypt. He’s certainly got the character of one of the biblical heroes. He is doing all the things I dreamt of in the past 20 years and whether it works out or not, it is wise, heroic, and kind. The idea of talking first and then making war only if all alternatives fail makes sense. It begins in the assumption of the fundamental human possibility to learn reason – homo est animal rationis capax. i would also add homo est animal amoris capax
Would you agree?
the above was written before his speech. Later I was at work and couldn’t hear the talk, even though it was broadcast all over the place, so i asked people how it was. The reactions were completely antithetical. Some were euphoric and others terribly depressed. I thought again of Joseph and what he did to Benjamin.