Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel » Rolene Marks

Comfortably Dumb?

Rolene Marks — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:35:29 +0000

Calling all Pink Floyd fans! It is time we demand that the band reunites. It is clear that Roger Waters needs a hobby besides letter writing and Israel bashing. Last week former band member, Waters admitted to writing a letter to fellow recording artist and UN Ambassador, Stevie Wonder, asking him to not perform at a benefit [...]

The post Comfortably Dumb? appeared first on Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel.

No Rabbi Boteach, the Jews of South Africa have NOT been muted

Rolene Marks — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 04:28:41 +0000

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach’s blog post Getting the Apartheid-Israel Equation Right covers a number of interesting if contentious points. He certainly does dispel some of the Apartheid accusations leveled against Israel and raises important issues like the conditions of dhimmitude that Jews lived under in Arab land, which were tantamount to Apartheid, but he also makes some [...]

The post No Rabbi Boteach, the Jews of South Africa have NOT been muted appeared first on Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel.

Hate-a-Palooza – Apartheid Israel Week Begins!

Rolene Marks — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 13:06:52 +0000

It is an annual event held on university campuses around the world. An anticipated festival featuring clowns and jokers and a whole bunch of magic tricks. The rock stars of hate finely tune their instruments for the tour that covers over 250 cities across the globe and occurs in February and March every year. The [...]

The post Hate-a-Palooza – Apartheid Israel Week Begins! appeared first on Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel.

Surviving Aliyah – A-musings from an Olah-not-so-Chadesha

Rolene Marks — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 05:45:55 +0000

They say that time flies when you are having fun. This is so evident when one makes Aliyah and seeing that today is my second “Aliyahversary” I thought it right to mark the occasion by sharing some of my observations or a-musings….with a little advice sprinkled on top! When one decides to make Aliyah, apart [...]

The post Surviving Aliyah – A-musings from an Olah-not-so-Chadesha appeared first on Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel.

Gideon Levy and the dangers of the apartheid canard

Rolene Marks — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 04:27:45 +0000

As a young child growing up in Apartheid South Africa I witnessed the daily humiliation and persecution of my fellow citizens who were denied their basic human rights. I cannot forget the ominous visuals of armoured vehicles or “Caspirs” as they patrolled through the city streets enforcing “law and order” during the state of emergency [...]

The post Gideon Levy and the dangers of the apartheid canard appeared first on Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel.

The Silence of the Lambs

Rolene Marks — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:02:46 +0000

Over the last 24 hours, Southern Israel has been the target of a barrage of over 60 rockets and mortars that have been fired on her civilian population by terrorists in Gaza. Not militants, not freedom fighters but TERRORISTS. Five civilians have been critically injured and homes have been destroyed. Schools have been closed sending [...]

The post The Silence of the Lambs appeared first on Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel.

The curious case of Rob Davies, the label whore

Rolene Marks — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 03:51:34 +0000

It would appear that South African Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies is something of a labeling whore. But not designer labels, rather his penchant or his obsession with Israel. This began as a declaration of intent to label goods produced outside of the 1948 armistice line as “goods made in the Occupied Palestinian [...]

The post The curious case of Rob Davies, the label whore appeared first on Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel.

Tales from the South…

Rolene Marks — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 08:30:50 +0000

For a teeny country that is squashed into space smaller than New Jersey or the Kruger National Park, Israel is a study in contrasts – be it the ever changing landscape as you travel the length (okay, so Israel doesn’t have much breadth) of the country or the kaleidoscope of different cultures made up of [...]

The post Tales from the South… appeared first on Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel.

Guiding the Perplexed…..

Rolene Marks — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:21:12 +0000

Israel is a wonderful hodge-podge or mosaic of different cultures and a hotbed of innovative ideas. Hey, we have become the people of the book. Not just the Facebook (thanks Mr. President for that comment) or the bible (we have some of its prime real estate over here) but that fantastic best-seller, The Start Up [...]

The post Guiding the Perplexed….. appeared first on Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel.

It only takes a minute…

Rolene Marks — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 08:03:05 +0000

Israelis are used to the visuals. The solemn flag draped coffins that bear the bodies of those that return home to Israel, killed because hatred knows no borders. Targeted because they are Jewish. This past week, our collective hearts were shattered when terror struck a group of Israeli tourists who had just arrived for their [...]

The post It only takes a minute… appeared first on Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel.

Label This!

Rolene Marks — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 13:06:20 +0000

Last Thursday, Christian and Jewish South Africans marched together in a show of solidarity against the SA Department of Trade and Industry’s proposal to start re-labelling Israeli goods as “made in the Occupied Territories”. Close on 1 700 enthusiastic marchers participated in this “Africans for Israel” march, telling the DTI where they could effectively stick their labels! [...]

The post Label This! appeared first on Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel.

Driving Miss Crazy – The Sequel

Rolene Marks — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 13:29:16 +0000

I am finally a licenced meshuggah Israeli Driver. After, ahem, having to do my driver’s licence a second time, I have been given the green light to terrorise fellow motorists. I feel like an 18 year old again! Some of you are familiar with the first post I wrote about the challenges that Olim face [...]

The post Driving Miss Crazy – The Sequel appeared first on Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel.

A Rainbow Nation

Rolene Marks — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 11:53:14 +0000

Israel can be proud of many things. Advanced ground breaking technology, the ability to combine the ancient with the modern, cramming people from 82 different countries into a tiny space and citizens that have no less than four opinions on any given subject! But Israelis can truly take pride in the country’s record on gay [...]

The post A Rainbow Nation appeared first on Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel.

South Africa – STILL Practicing Apartheid

Rolene Marks — Sun, 20 May 2012 08:02:34 +0000

During the Apartheid years, South Africa was seen as the world’s number 1 pariah state. Officially excluded from the family of nations, South Africa was subjected to harsh policies of academic, economic, sporting and other boycotts. Many, including poster-child for the BDS movement against Israel, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, have claimed that thanks to international policies [...]

The post South Africa – STILL Practicing Apartheid appeared first on Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel.

I Am Woman. Hear Me Silenced?

Rolene Marks — Tue, 08 May 2012 08:31:42 +0000

I am woman, hear me roar, in numbers to great to ignore, lala la … Does anyone remember the Helen Reddy song I am woman that was released circa 1971? It became a rallying anthem for empowered women. The other day I was reminded of these lyrics when viewing the You Tube clip, a little [...]

The post I Am Woman. Hear Me Silenced? appeared first on Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel.