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When talking about homophobia and horrible countries that pass anti-gay laws we often think about Putin's Russia, Uganda, Mugabe, and such. These places are more or less far and their society are perceived as traditional, old fashion, nothing like our Western society that is so amazing. Yet we needn't look so far from home... We forget homophobia is on the rise everywhere, even in Europe. I feel awful whenever I tell my girlfriend I can't hold her hand when we're walking in the centre of Brussels, the capital of Europe. She doesn't hold it against me but I get angry at our society where I can't feel safe because of who I love. A week after Kansas almost did the same but gave up at the last minute, Arizona passed a bill that would allow businesses to refuse to serve or give medical treatment to gays on religious grounds . First off if you want to get biblical, according to the scriptures, you should hate the sin, not the sinner (Matthew 5:43-44, 6:14-15, ...

I randomly came accross the BBC reality tv show "The World's Strictest Parents" the other day on youtbe so I watched a few episodes. The story line is simple: in each episode, two British "problem" teenagers are sent to very strict families over the world for one week. The chosen teenagers a first shown back home with their family and then they meet at the airport where they leave from to get to their final destinations. I watched a couple of episodes in which the teenagers go to American cities and one in which they go to South Africa. In all the episodes I have watched so far, the host families are of Christian faith, some are more involved in their religious communities than others but they basically all gave blessings before family meals versus the British teenagers who don't appear to be religious except for a couple who are Muslim but do not practice their faith (they drink, smoke, don't go to mosque etc.). So this makes me wonder, is the BBC ...

The sun is slowly going down, Shabbat is coming. The candles have been lit, the TV is running in the background. The kettle is on, everything is peaceful. If I compare it to home it'd be one these Sundays when you stay in your pyjamas all day just wandering about, reading, watching tv, drinking tea but not doing anything productive. The atmosphere is very still. It's raining. Not like the Indian monsoon but like a heavy rainy day in Britain or Brittany. "I can't remember the last time I was stuck at home because of the rain! We haven't had rain like this in ten years! This is very good for Israel!" I have been put under house arrest by the Jewish Mother Police. I only have Converse AllStars with me and a pair of crocs and I don't have a good enough raincoat. It doesn't matter that the world is ending and that it is our last chance to go out ever, I'm not going out because my feet would get wet and cold. There is no arguing with a Jewish mothe...

Je suis peine. Combien de personnes auront partagé ce texte de Florian Henin sur les réseaux sociaux ? Combien de personnes se sont dit « bien dit ! » ? Florian Henin qui fait des amalgames et qui n’a sûrement pas entendu parler de cet Anversois (blanc) qui a tué une jeune nounou (noire) et ce bébé de deux ans à peine dans la rue. Il n’est sûrement jamais allé à Jérusalem dans le quartier Orthodoxe o ù les enfants jettent des pierres sur les passant seraient-ils un tant soit peu découverts et s’en donnent à cœur joie et à Hébron ce ne sont pas les touristes qui sont visés mais les Palestiniens (Arabes et sans doute Musulmans). Tu te souviens l’été passé, il y a eu des émeutes en Grande-Bretagne. Sur les vidéos, on pouvait voir des blancs (athées ?)voler un noir, blessé, gisant au sol, en prétendant l’aider. Dans mon quartier de Preston, il y a des Pakistanais (Musulmans) et des blancs (athées). Quand les blancs arrivent, je te promets, tu...

Very busy interesting week it has been and still not over yet. Saturday - I was at a charity ball (I danced with 70-year-olds, there was an old man dancing like John Travolta in Pulp Fiction and I just wanted to take my heeels off and dance with him but I did not). I met Amy who told me about this week's events. Sunday - I accompany a friend to Church. We get to see an architecture exhibition then we run away during the service because it was just not cool. People there weren't friendly like a congregation usually is and they let their toddlers run around - there must have been at least 13 children under the age of ten, Monday - nothing. Tuesday - I visited a Buddhist temple, the Central Methodist Church and a Hindu temple where there was a giant picture of the Sun God Surya (it's my name - yay) then attended an intro to the Bahai Faith. Then got free curry. Father John who is an Italian missionary dropped me at University. Father John made me recite his address by...

!! שבת שלום I met so many people in Jerusalem, from the weird guy selling bread at Sha'ar Iafo to that homeless free spirited religious man who hangs out near the Kotel and the Golden Menorah Replica who invited me for a walk around the old city ramparts before buying me tea. And his friend who lives underneath his shop on Rehov Chabad who gave me a picture of an aerial view of the Old Jerusalem and a large bottle of water for no apparent reason then invited me inside to watch french tv which he did not understand. I am glad I am writing this, in a certain way it allows me to relive things I did not especially wrote down in my diary. At the hostel, I met David who was volunteering there and told me about a Rabbi (of whom I have forgotten the name unfortunately) who welcomes anyone that shows up for Shabbat dinner on Friday night, Saturday at lunch and Saturday night for the Havdallah. And the word is on the street so sometimes the house located in Mea Shearim is too sm...

Where was I? On my way to Jerusalem. Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem, one hour by bus. I was never so happy to take a bus. During my trip I kept coming back to this magnificent, so unique city. After just two days, I knew my way around the old city which still had plenty of secrets for me to discover, but at least I knew where to go. This city... it just made me feel like no other city never had. The history behind it, the legends, the atmosphere, everything just attracted me like a very strong magnet. The view from my hostel rooftop. It felt so great. I won't tell you about what there is to see in Jerusalem because that is what travel guides are for and they probably have a better idea, I'm just going to talk about my experience of Jerusalem. A hello here, a hello there as I walked the hundreds of year old steps of the Old City, as sellers were trying to get my attention and eventually my money. I never stopped. I was not there to buy made in china souvenirs, I was t...

Before leaving Tel Aviv for Jerusalem, I went to Jaffa. I didn't spend too much time there as everything was closed, I think it was Shabbat and I was leaving first thing the next morning to Jerusalem, but I still got to see many beautiful things that made me want to go back. And I did later during my trip. I must say I really fell in love with Jaffa. When I went back there I stayed at the Old Jaffa Hostel which was great, I enjoyed their rooftop lounge with the open air kitchen, it is a really nice place. Right across my hostel was the nicest little shop,  Hasadna , where I bought many things. They do a lot of art objects with recycled materials, it's very interesting. A little further in the street, I discovered a very good restaurant where, for some strange reason, the waitress offered me a home made cookie and home made iced tea and I know I was the only customer to get that treatment. Puaa it was called, they have a french and english menu but I took the Hebre...

Last night Steve Jobs died but I couldn't care less so instead I'll write about something else. Last week King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia announced women will have a right to vote in the 2015 local elections (not the elections that were running this week as this would be too big a shock and way too sudden, you gotta give it time so people can get used to the idea). I read the news on the BBC on Tuesday last week and the article was just very dull and reporting facts and that's probably how the news should be reported but I read this and my mind went "wait, this is really funny in a way, they fail to mention such and such". Then I went home in Belgium and bought the weekly " Le Canard Enchaîné " which expressed my point of view in a way I couldn't have formulated better myself. Saudi Arabia is supposedly run according to the Sharia Laws but I find it a bit hypocritical to say that since it is the only country in the World where women don't hav...

Boker Tov from the Holy Land! More tea, more nice people, some creeps,... I am enjoying myself here, I will definitely have to come back, there is not enough of one week to see it all. You really get used to the security checks after a while, it has become an automatism at the entrance of every big public building, public gathering areas,etc to open my bag, sometimes go through the metal detector gate, you don't notice it after a while. On the other hand, I realised yesterday my cutter passed the thorough security check of El-Al, it was in my carrier bag, I seriously thought I had left it home but no. So much for safety... If I'd been a sociopath I would have killed the pilot or something... Yesterday night I went back to the Kotel, there was still as many people as during the day but I found my way to the stones and delivered the prayers and messages I was entrusted with. Today I will walk to Yad Vashem and if I have time when I come back I will do the ramparts walk...

After a bus trip from Tel Aviv, I arrived in the holiest city of all times, Jerusalem. Now I definitely want to stay! I'm in the best hostel ever, in the old city of Jerusalem! No more Germans and Americans keeping me awake at night! I have no words for what I have seen so far and it is far from over! I would gladly spend a few months here and it is possible! My hostel accepts volunteers in exchange of a free bed. I will definitely consider it! Here I get to practice both my Hebrew and Arabic, it is awesome! People keep offering me tea, yum! I will post later! My travel notebook is getting big, I cannot wait to share it with the world once I come back!

"We are not racist" say the EDL members to cover their ass. No, of course they aren't I guess the video footage of EDL members chanting "burn a mosque" or doing the hitlerian salute are fakes. They are not racist. So, if I get it right and from what we gathered today from tha various interviews and from what we witnessed, the EDL stands against muslim extremists and the shariah law, they protect the british values because they love their country and they are proud of it. They are in no case racist well, some of the members are but they are a minority (that's what the team leader told us), they are multi racial, and they have members of many faiths. Yet, I have a hard time believing this. Standing against extremism is one thing, saying it because you are racist and you just don't want to bring this image on you is another. Yeah, don't deny it, many protesters today wore facemasks and scarves over their faces to hide. There is some footage of toda...

The Evil Destructive Lads? The Evil Demolition Lovers? No, the English Defence League. Let me quickly tell you about them and if you know already what they stand for you can skip this paragraph. The EDL was formed one year ago, in 2009. They are a far right group and their main ideology is no-muslim. Okay this is my caricature. They claim to be angainst extreme-muslims and such but people have heard them chanting "we hate muslims" so really, it's to cover their asses, pardon my french. And they march throughout England to protest against Islam. The EDL is supposed to be very ecclesiastical, they have a jewish EDL, a gay EDL,... It seems to me that many social minorities are joining them to unite against one. Hasn't the world learnt from its mistakes? I find it revolting. No seriously, I know not many muslims would stand against an anti-homo march if one was to be organised, but I, being somehow part of a minority and knowing how the rejection feels, will not s...