There were no signs or flags and no political chants, but all the speakers were united in calling for an end to the war, stopping the senseless slaughter and returning all of the hostages and prisoners to their homes or to proper burial.

We marched from downtown Jerusalem to the Jaffa Gate of the Old City, part of the time singing songs of peace and part of the time in silence. By the Old City there was a ceremony with prayers in different languages and different religions.

On the other hand, religion has been at the base of most wars in human history, including the ongoing horrific Israel-Hamas war. So, religious leaders coming together *against* war and hatred is something I will always support.

To be clear, I am an avowed atheist and secularist, but I do have respect for religion in its ability to give people a feeling of purpose and community, and - specifically with Judaism - a sense of historical continuity and belonging.

A candle in the dark.
Today I joined the Jerusalem Interfaith Walk for Peace and Human Rights, including Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Druze and even Buddhist religious leaders and participants.

Lab outing to Gazelle Valley just before the Passover break. This is about 10 minutes from campus.

I'm Trying to avoid current affairs here, but there is an #arthropod connection.
Ohad Yahalomi was taken hostage by Hamas and murdered in captivity. His body was returned last night. A naturalist and arthropod enthusiast, he was co-author of the 2018 field guide to Israeli scorpions.
RIP Ohad. 💔

I am preparing the final exam for my organismic biology course, and I had the idea of generating animal morphology images with AI and asking the students to spot the errors. Turns out it's hopeless. Even with very detailed prompts, the system generates complete garbage.

My way to work this morning.

Old mythologies die hard, and this fills me with hope for the future in these dark times.

Lab Hanukkah party + new lab-member photo.

There are several contenders. Goedel, Escher, Bach already mentioned here shaped the way I think about things as did Stuart Kauffman's The Origins of Order. But the book that shaped my scientific path more than any other is S.J. Gould's Wonderful Life.
d32vymxhv9fq6b.cloudfront.net/images/books...

The Large Sterbergia or yolk crocus, rare but locally abundant in a number of sites in Israel in November. Golden jewels dotting the still dry hillsides.

ICYMI: My book "Organismic Animal Biology - An Evolutionary Approach" came out earlier this year.

If you are teaching an introductory zoology/organismic biology course, this is the textbook you've been waiting for.

global.oup.com/academic/cov...

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Reposting this from the Other Place