Having successfully cleared the background check, I can officially announce that as of next week I will be a Middle Eastern Affairs Consultant for the Anti-Defamation League in New York. The job is basically a dream at this point in my life: I get paid to read, write, and advocate for Jews and the State of Israel. My start date was actually pushed up a bit because of the escalating situation in Israel, so I’ll be hitting the ground running next week, and I’ll be sure to put up links to anything with which I am involved.On a slightly related note, this evening I had the pleasure of hanging out with a bunch of old University of Chicago friends at a New York alumni party. Among the group was another former boss of mine at the Maroon, Viewpoints Editor emeritus and blogger Phoebe Maltz, who assured me that with the new job, if I wasn’t already part of The Israel Lobby, then I certainly am now. Damn right.I’ll be heading away for the weekend, so blogging may be light from me until early next week. Until then, I’d like to point out the fabulous live-blogging from Israel up at Israellycool.