The Inevitable Concession Post

Well, we all knew this post was coming.  :-)

On Friday evening the polls closed on the final round of voting for the Weblog Awards... and not surprisingly, the best man won. 

Since 'discovering' him back in July during the Lebanon war, I have been an avid reader of the Sandmonkey's blog.  It is, admittedly, a bit humbling to see someone from outside the country routinely demonstrate a better grasp of local events than we Israelis... but that is exactly what I said was happening back then... and continue to say today.

Does this mean I always agree with the Sandmonkey?  Of course not!

But there is something refreshing about reading someone who isn't personally invested in either the Palestinian or Israeli myths/legends that always seem to crop up whenever the ongoing conflict is discussed.  It is also instructive to have an Arab writer (albeit one who was educated in the west) taking Israeli and Palestinian extremist to task with equal fervor... and humor.

No, this is one race in which I was delighted to have been the runner-up.  We Israeli bloggers can certainly learn a lot from Mr. Sandmonkey... and I, for one, intend to study the lessons well.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2006 Weblog Awards: The bloggers who wrote (and continue to write)... the voters who voted... and of course, the loyal readers who continue to show up every day to make sure we navel-gazers don't end up sounding like a bunch of lunatics talking to ourselves.