Sayed Goes to the Swamp

I was very excited to read that one of my favorite columnists for Israel's daily Haaretz, the often lonely, fragmented voice of Israel's Arab minority, Sayed Kashua, visited my alma mater, the University of Florida. He was hosted by the Jewish Studies department to talk about his show, Arab Labor, and his books. Meron Benvenisti and the awesomely named Sammy Smooha also attended. Sayed's latest column about his trip made me long for the quaintness and Southern charm of Gainesville. But he got the title wrong. It's not "How About Those Gators." It's "How Bout Them Gators!"

Next time I'll teach Sayed the lyrics from my favorite UF Fight Song, played after the 3rd quarter of every football game.

"We are the boys from old Florida, F-L-O-R-I-D-A. Where the girls are the fairest, the boys are the squarest of any old state down our way!"