The city of Burlingame, CA, previously famous as the site of a PEZ museum, recently spent $1,600 in order to obscure some shapes on a recently renovated playground. Why? Well because some guy complained that they looked like stars of David and that having little kids walk on them was disrespectful. I figure that Randy Schwartz, director of parks and recreation, who announced the alteration maybe should have known better. I’m also kind of stunned by one annoyed parent’s complaint (the playground was closed for a day), to wit:

“I can’t believe it,” said a Burlingame resident who wanted to remain anonymous. “The kids would not even know what (the Star of David) means.”

Uh… ok. Whatever. Yes, the star of David is currently understood to represent Judaism and Israel but it has zero religious significance, and as Wikipedia is quick to note “The shield of David is not mentioned in rabbinic literature. Notably, not a single archeological proof exists as yet concerning the use of this symbol in the Holy Land in ancient times, even after King David.” So should I be all “Hurray! Thanks for respecting our religion!” or should the proper response be “Yow. Chill. It’s just a playground.” I have no idea, so instead of discussing this really pressing issue further, please allow me share with you this totally gratuitous photo of Israeli soldier women out of uniform…

Soldier Babes

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About the author

ck

Founder and Publisher of Jewlicious, David Abitbol lives in Jerusalem with his wife, newborn daughter and toddler son. Blogging as "ck" he's been blocked on twitter by the right and the left, so he's doing something right.

23 Comments

  • Ahh…Israel girls…totally comfortable going out in nothing but a tank top, their boyfriend’s boxers and their M-16, and totally oblivious of the skeezy Moroccan dude behind them taking their picture.

  • Yeah, good luck with that, Michael.

    But that going out in boxers thing is a holdover from the summer I spent in Israel in 1988. What a scary trend. But in Israel, such trends never fully die, because it’s always 1988…

  • Great. I lost my apartment, at least temporarily, in New Orleans, and now I’m going to be homeless in Israel. My mom is starting to give me that “I told you not to trust him” look.

    Damn. I wish I could go out in boxers. Seriously. It’s all about proper ventilation.

  • re. apartment: We have the very best minds on it as we speak. Finding a 2 bedroom joint w/o having to deal with pesky deposits and arnona is impossible. Finding room for 2 people in an already occupied apartment is a matter of serendipity BUT like I said, we have people on the ground now looking. Hey… maybe we can do a Jewlicious post about it?

  • Sabra in white: that carbine on our back is bigger than you.

    michael, homeless in israel ain’t that bad. there’s already a bustling population, from what i remember. trade unions, comedy sketch shows, potluck dinners. and its all kosher too.

  • Oh man, I still have these nightmares about the Heritage House…it’s four in the morning, and unidentified assailants toss me out of bed at 4 in the morning saying over and over, “GO SEE THE SUNRISE OVER THE KOTEL!” and hand me an inedible gray meat pastry in a tin cup and lock the door behind me and then the Israeli police search me for drugs and I wake up screaming…

  • Vicious delicious, scuse me while i sign up for the army. By the by, that’s great advertising for the army, package the idea and sell it to the US army; i hear they’re having difficulty recruiting.

  • Michael, that’s nothing.

    When I stayed at Heritage House, I got SCABIES! Not the sort of souvenier I had in mind. 🙁

    Then there was the hour and a half walk to Shabbos dinner “We’re almost there!” that we dubbed the Haredi Death March. Dinner didn’t even get started until almost 11, we were so tired we barely tasted the greasy, oversalted Ashkenazic food. After dinner, out “guide” blithely announced “You can find your way back” after he had lead us through the Arab Quarter to get there. It was now 1:30 in the morning. I was not amused.

  • Heh, don’t even get me started on the 80 shekel cab ride with the Arab driver. If you really want a good laugh, read my LJ under username Hannahsarah.