Of the many historic firsts marked by Tuesday’s inauguration, one of the least compelling is the fact that we now have a Crackberry addict as our commander-in-chief. Shameless e-mail checkers and headline watchers around the country were validated as Obama’s assumption of the highest position in the land signaled the official enshrinement of the Web-and-media culture that defines so many Americans.

Several issues drive the media debate about the situation in Gaza and Israel. The primary one is inevitable, created by the competing narratives of history that have shaped the conflict since its beginnings. The “Palestine Solidarity” community and their “We Stand With Israel” opponents will always quarrel about who started the violence. They argue further over which side has followed international law, which side is the victim, which side is the aggressor and who lays claim to the land.

Though both Israel and Hamas have agreed to stop firing at one another, the war that lasted for three weeks between the two groups in the Gaza Strip has profoundly affected the lives of millions, including some members of the Cornell community.

Many Cornell students and staff members, especially those who were born in Israel, the West Bank or the Gaza Strip, have close ties to the region. They have endured weeks of restlessness and concern for family members who still live in the war-torn state.

Think back to seventh grade when you and your friends attended bar-mitzvahs every weekend. You all felt like you should be dancing, but couldn’t be the first one to start it. So instead, you and everyone else just kind of stood there bopping your head awkwardly.

Now imagine that one of those bar-mitzvahs was in Noyes, with a bunch of Cornellians in attendance and a really awesome Israeli band playing. That is what the Hadag Nachash concert felt like last Thursday night.

Hadag Nachash (“Snake Fish” in Hebrew) is one of Israel’s most famous hip-hop bands — and beloved the world over, by Hebrew speakers and non-Hebrew speakers alike. Sun News Editor Jasmine Marcus ’10 called up Sha’anan Streett, the band’s lead singer and songwriter, and spoke to him about their tour, politics and why even non-Hebrew speakers can “get down to the groove”.

The Sun: How’s your tour been going so far?

Sha’anan Streett: It’s been going great. Right now we’re in Los Angeles. We were in San Francisco, D.C., Ann Arbor, Michigan, New York City and we’re going to hit Cornell tomorrow!

Sun: And what are your plans for after the tour?

S.S.: We’re gonna go back to Israel and rest a little. Then we’ll start rehearsal and writing for the new album.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's Cabinet on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved an emotionally charged deal to trade a Lebanese militant convicted of killing three people for two Israeli soldiers captured by Hezbollah guerrillas and believed to be dead.

The swap is due to take place on Wednesday under U.N. supervision at a seaside border crossing.

Hezbollah has given no evidence that Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev are alive, and has not allowed the Red Cross to see them since they were captured in a July 2006 cross-border raid. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told his Cabinet last month that Israel believes the men did not survive.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian militants on Tuesday fired three homemade rockets into southern Israel, the first such attack since a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza militants took effect last week.

Israel condemned the attack as a "gross violation" of the truce, but did not say whether it would retaliate.

The barrage wounded two people and capped a day of violence that presented the truce with its first serious test.

Just before midnight, Palestinian militants fired a mortar shell into an empty area in southern Israel. And in a pre-dawn raid, Israeli troops killed two Palestinians in the West Bank city of Nablus.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel and Hamas pledged to start a cease-fire Thursday in a bid to end a year of fighting that has killed more than 400 Palestinians and seven Israelis. The deal comes as Israel also urged Lebanon to open peace talks.

The cease-fire is expected to be followed next week by an Israeli easing of its blockade of Gaza, Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said. Talks to release an Israeli soldier held by Hamas will then intensify, Regev said.

Egypt, which brokered the talks, announced a six-month agreement on Tuesday, saying it would begin Thursday at 6 a.m. Hamas confirmed the deal shortly afterward. But there was no official confirmation from Israel until Wednesday.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice criticized Israeli settlement activity in exceptionally harsh language on Sunday, saying new construction projects on disputed land were having a "negative effect" on Mideast peace talks.

Rice made the comments during her latest attempt to prod Israelis and Palestinians toward a final peace deal by the end of the year.

After a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Rice said the U.S. remains committed to the target date. But she said Israeli plans to build thousands of homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem were hurting the negotiating atmosphere. Last week, Israel said it would build 1,300 new apartments in east Jerusalem.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Senior Israeli officials expressed support Monday for the transfer of Arab parts of Jerusalem to Palestinian control, offering a concession on one of the most contentious issues in the Mideast conflict. The offer appeared to fall short of Palestinian calls for a full Israeli withdrawal from key areas of the holy city.

The officials spoke as Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were to begin talks in Jerusalem to work out a joint document they hope to issue at a U.S.-sponsored peace conference next month. The meetings were closed.