Iceland cometh and goeth

Meeting with the group from Rekjavik was fascinating. Half of them said that I was the first Jew they had ever spoken to. After my presentation one student wanted to know "How America, which is such a religiously diverse nation, could elect such an 'extreme Christian' to the White House?" That led to a wider discussion about religious tolerance (and intolerance) in America. They were not aware of the campaign by Bush post 9-11 to get across the message that Islam is a 'religion of peace' - they had only heard of Lt. Gen Boykin's demonization of Muslims. Tommorow night they are going to Bnai Jeshurun for Purim. I wish I could go to see their reaction.