We're 60% Jewish, 0% Israeli, 100% Blog
A regular reader, friend, and blogger (who can out himself in the comments or not) nominated our humble Coffeehouse for the second annual Jewish & Israeli Blog (JIB) Awards under the "Best Politics and Current Affairs Blog" category. The rest of the nominees in that category can be browsed on the Jerusalem Post JIB site by clicking the icon.


We're flattered, and we certainly welcome the new readers that this nomination will bring, but we can't in good conscience ask for your vote, at least not until we explain who and what we are.

First of all, we're a team blog. There are five of us. Three are Jewish, Modern Orthodox if you want the flavor. One is a religious Christian. One is not particularly religious. None of us is Israeli; we all live in California. We've never considered this a Jewish or Israeli blog.

We're a conservative blog. We started over a year ago before the presidential elections with the intention to vent right-wing political thought from the depths of a very blue state. We strongly support the war on Islamofascim. We have posted often on the war, its slanted coverage in the media, and the benefits that America and the world have already reaped from it. We are strongly pro-Israel and see the Israeli-Arab conflict as another front on the war on Islamofascism. We wrote frequently and with much apprehension about the Gaza withdrawal, but always with the respect that we are not Israeli voters and that the decision was ultimately (or should have been) in their hands. We were pessimistic about withdrawal but did not fly orange ribbons. We think Israel should do whatever is best for Israelis, whatever that means for the "disputed territories". We think the world would be better off if Israel kept the "disputed territories" and started disputes over Damascus and Tehran. Obviously, Arabs are human beings too, and their rights can not be ignored, for example their right to burn France to the ground.

We've posted about Jewish topics frequently but also about Christian or just generically religious issues. And some of our most interesting threads have involved discussions between members of different religions.

The Jerusalem Post's JIB site explains that nominees for the "Best Politics and Current Affairs Blog"

… should deal predominantly with currents affairs central to the Israeli or Jewish world or should offer an interpretation of world events with an eye towards Israeli or Jewish interests.

And that's the problem. We don't deal predominantly with anything. We've posted about our family life and our work. We've reviewed books and movies. And even our political posts haven't been "predominantly" about Israel or Jewish life. They've been about Terry Schiavo and handguns and the Supreme Court and Ronald Reagan and myriad other topics.

We would enthusiastically and with great pride run for "Best Conservative Blog" or "Blog Most Likely to Support U.S. Invasion of Any Given Country" or "Blog Most Supportive of Tax Cuts and ANWR Drilling", but whether we fit the bill for our current nomination… we'll let you judge.

In the 1960s against very long odds Bill Buckley Jr. ran for mayor of New York City. When asked by a reporter what he would do first if elected, he replied "demand a recount". If we win, we'll do the same.

Meanwhile, we're glad you're here and hope you return. The food is terrible, but the opinions are fresh. - served up by Doctor Bean @ 6:00 AM