Joel Schalit

Jerusalem Calling

CBS Records, 1967

With last week’s news of Jennifer’s grandmother’s death, it seems as though all of the sudden, there’s many places to travel. To LA on Wednesday, for Dorothy’s funeral. And then to Manhattan, next Monday, for Jennifer to begin an impromptu six to eight week stay on behalf of her firm. If we can afford it, before the end of the month, I’ll try and join her for a weekend.

All of this talk of traveling is also an important reminder that I am leaving for Israel at the end of this month, and have to start putting my own professional house in order. Flying out there together with Vance, we’ll be spending two weeks conducting interviews and making field recordings for both my book, and our new album. My parents will, of course, be hosting us.

We’ll be arriving a week before the 40th anniversary of the Six Day War, and the ensuing occupation. That will of course add its own hue to the proceedings. I’ve been giving much thought to how we might commemorate this occasion in audio format, by reviewing numerous old documentary LPs I have, commemorating such things as Israel’s capture of east Jerusalem.

Part of me thinks it would be an interesting exercise to simply “cover” one of these records, like one would an older musical recording. Another option, of course, would be to make a facsimile, only with slight differences to indicate the 40 year change in time, as refracted through our own distinct political orientations. We’ll see. Clearly, we have a lot of work to do.

Local Press

San Francisco, April 27th, 2007.

When It Rains, It Pours

This time, it was expected. After suffering a stroke ten days ago, Jennifer’s maternal grandmother, Dorothy, passed away yesterday in Los Angeles. She was 89. Both Jennifer and her brother Miles were immensely fond of Dorothy, and have often spoken warmly of the role she played in their lives.

I first caught wind of the news late Friday afternoon, when Jennifer’s aunt called, sounding tense. I told her that Jen was working late, and would be coming home after eight. Sure enough, the phone rang again ten minutes after Jennifer’s arrival. This time it was her mother, calling to formally break the news.

In the interim, a huge box of flowers had arrived. I held on to it until Jennifer walked through the door. By the time the phone rang, Jennifer was busy putting the flowers in vases. Along with it was a note from my sister Naomi, who, being the diligent reporter that she is, defined what it means to have good timing.

Viva Italia

Shoutout from the Old Country.

Dolph Schalit: 1995-2007

Jennifer and Dolph at the vet, February 2007

Just before daybreak, our eldest dog, Dolph, passed away. He was twelve. Though Dolph suffered from numerous longterm ailments such as Cushings Disease, the cause was congestive heart failure.

Dolph did not have an easy life. Found wandering around San Francisco’s Lower Haight neighborhood in the Spring of 2006, we adopted him, and spent the better part of the past year becoming family.

Abused and neglected, bearing an unfathomable number of bladder stones (25, or so our veterinarian told us), records indicated he was abandoned by someone who’d recently moved up here from San Diego.

I have no qualms about stating that the last twelve months were the best of Dolph’s life. Despite the threats he continued to face, Dolph held them at bay for as long as he could. And, for a short time, was truly happy.

Needless to say, this is a real fucking tear-jerker.

Manna for Your Subwoofer

I finally picked up this outstanding collection of Coxsone Dodd-produced instrumentals on Sunday. Issued almost exactly a year ago to this day by Heartbeat, its an absolute must-have for dubheads and newbies alike.

I first intended to buy Downbeat when I was perusing the stacks at Jammyland in NYC last month. But, like all my trips there, I ended up feeling happily disoriented by the store’s immense selection, and left empty-handed.

Covering Israel

From an essay in progress

Turn to any progressive periodical in the United States today, and in all likelihood, you’ll find at least one article about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. From large circulation monthlies such as Z Magazine, and the American Prospect, to weeklies like The Nation and online dailies such as Counterpunch and Salon, reporting on the region tends to reflexively match events on the ground, either in the form of investigative articles or opinion editorials.

Coverage of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict by America’s left press has traditionally focused on the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, and the plight of Palestinians living under Israeli military rule. This emphasis was sharpened during the course of the two intifadas (1987-1991 and 2000-2005) and the peace process of the 1990s, when settlement building actually increased, and the Israel Defense Forces inaugurated its policy of geographical bisections and closures in the ‘territories.

Since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, this area of coverage has expanded to include analyses of Israel’s relationship with the United States, with a specific emphasis on the role of the “Israel Lobby” in formulating US foreign policy towards the Islamic world. Reflecting ongoing concerns about Israel’s purported impact on the US decision to go to war with Iraq, in the eyes of many progressive magazine editors, Israel is no longer just an occupying power, but an inordinately influential, and frequently manipulative party to US efforts to dominate the Middle East.

When it comes to domestic Israeli politics, progressive periodicals pay little attention to it, except when it holds importance for the country’s peace prospects. Thus, when trade unionist Amir Peretz was elected head of Israel’s Labor Party in November 2005, progressive periodicals welcomed his appointment, hoping that, given Peretz’ leftwing background, he would reinvigorate the peace process. Similarly, when Israel Beitenu chief Avigdor Lieberman was appointed ‘Minister of Strategic Threats’ in 2006, given his ultra-nationalist politics, Lieberman’s appointment was heralded as a threat to peace.

[For my outgoing editor's take on how Tikkun covered Israel, click here.]

Elders of Zion

Bring the goys.

With fellow noisemaker Vance Galloway, Suppenkuche, January ’07.

Talking Negri

From a letter to a friend in Italy

I guess what I sense in Negri’s language is a capacity to recognize and interact with social evil, on a massive scale, with a confidence that it will be eventually overcome, sans any kind of happy communist eschatology or messianic Jewish versions of hope.

There’s a kind of self-assurance that I see in his work, which, while quietly remaining committed to Marx’s concept of contradiction – the ultimate irrationality of capitalist development – nevertheless appreciates the growing complexity of domination.

Is this a coded way of saying that the guy remains dialectical despite recognizing how bad things continue to get? That’d be entirely fair.

In Between Courses

David Schalit and Charlie Bertsch at Lulus, February ’06.

Estupendo: DJ Tomas: Strictly Rub A Dub Volume 1