Spotlight on the News: A Valid Nobel Candidate

Last week, as Israelis and Jews from all over were once again filled with pride that yet another one of ours - Professor Ada Yonat - was awarded a Nobel prize, Americans and others the world over were somewhat embarassed and at a loss for words to describe how they felt about Obama's prize.

It was an odd choice, made even odder by the fact that his candidacy had to be submitted for consideration before he'd even spent a fortnight in the Oval Office. It would appear that, as others have already said, the award was a giant in-your-face to the Bush Administration, showing them what Europeans truly thought of the past 8 years of American leadership; an expression of the sheer joy felt on the continent about the changing of the guard at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Personally, I view the episode instead as an expression of the schizoid way Europe views America. This one odd, strange award to Obama wraps up quite nicely the way "the Leader of the Free World" is viewed in Europe: there's more than a little resentment, but in the end they still look to the New World for leadership and a moral compass. Seemingly without realizing it, they hold America to a higher standard, and are quite disappointed when the Americans fail to deliver according to expectations. Now that I think of it, it reminds me just a bit of the way the World looks at the Jews.

Of course the funniest part of the whole affair is that the Pressident of the United States just won the Nobel Peace Prize ... and he got no political capital from it whatsoever. The idea that he won is just so outlandish that nobody takes it seriously and if anything, it's actually hurt him as far as the public's perception. Personally i think that his advisors missed an easy "gimme" - Obama should have refused the award by quite truthfully admitting that he didn't deserve it. That would have least gained him points in my opinion anyway.

When I first heard that Obama won the Peace Prize, I, like most people, thought it was a joke. After the initial shock wore off, I began to think of ways to quantify how incredibly stupid a choice it was. What I came up with was this: Everyone should make a list of people that they have personally met who are more deserving than Obama. It shouldn't be that hard - all you need to do is find someone who has actually done something to make the world a better place.

Accordingly, my first candidate for the Nobel Peace Price is Doris Mainzer z"l. Doris was "the mouse that roared" that founded the Keren Yosef volunteer organization in 1999. In six years the organization that Doris had founded in memory of her husband became known instead as a monument to one woman's tenacity and determination. Keren Yosef provides medical equipment and first aid training in Beit Shemesh and other areas in Israel. In less than a decade the organization has contributed to significantly raising the standard of immediate medical care available in a number of Israeli communities.

Doris passed away about 4 years ago, but her work continues today and Keren Yosef is as active as ever. She may not be as famous as Barack Obama, and she certainly wasn't as good a speaker. But she made a difference for thousands of people and she got things done. All in all, I think that she would have made an excellent Nobel Laureate.

Please feel free to submit any of your own candidates that you have actually met. It'd be nice to give us all a chance to give credit where credit is due.