8th,
November 2019
Good
Shabbes, Shabbat Shalom! Hope this missive finds you well and not too disturbed
by the state of our word.
I don't
normally discuss the politics of other countries, unless it directly affects
Israel, but an article in the long established British community newspaper "The
Jewish Chronicle" caught my eye. The Jewish Chronicle is very
moderate, sometimes too much so, but the concern about Jeremy Corbyn and
today's Labour Party has forced even the JC to reach out to Jews and non-Jews
in the UK to think very carefully before voting – especially since the former
ethos of the British Labour Party attracted the votes of many centrist voters.
Attached, an important article addressing those who still consider voting
Labour, an article applicable to other countries too. https://www.thejc.com/comment/leaders/to-all-our-fellow-british-citizens-1.491812
US president Franklin
Roosevelt was perfunctory to say
the least about rescuing Jews from the Nazis, he obstructed rescue
opportunities presented by Sir Winston Churchill, that would have cost him
little or nothing and spurred by his eugenist policies also interned some
120,000 Japanese Americans as potential spies in WW2. FDR’s role in preventing
the rescue of European Jewry is detailed in a new book called, “The Jews Should Keep Quiet: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Rabbi Stephen S. Wise,
and the Holocaust.” FDR was assisted in his eugenist policies by one
sycophantic Jewish leader, one Rabbi Stephen Wise, who sold his soul for
invites to the White House. Essential reading and a sharp reminder that a
leader choosing to ignore the fate of others is far more dangerous than making
mistakes.
Blaming Israel, or more precisely the Jews, for everything that happens is
not a new occurrence; it didn't begin with Shakespeare nor end with
Arafat. So it has been throughout
history and so it is today, just look at the accusations of Jewish control,
both fiscal and political of both the Democrats in the USA and the Labour Party
in the UK. Conor Cruise O'Brien was a diplomat, politician, editor and
historian and very Irish. In his book https://www.amazon.com/Siege-Saga-Israel-Zionism/dp/0671633104 he outlines day by day, year by year, the history of this
region.
Brazil is football mad! By football I mean the game that involves kicking the ball
with your foot – hence foot-ball! In memory of Kristallnacht the players of Corinthians
Football Club wore a small yellow star on their football kit and every seat in
the stadium had a Yellow Star on it. In London, Chelsea Football Club initiated
a Holocaust Education Programme for their fans with great effect. Sport is the
ideal way to send a message which reaches a wide audience.
Yes, I know, you want to know what is happening about forming a
government in Israel. I'm doing my best to avoid the subject! I put a question
up on Facebook, "Who do you feel is responsible for the lack of
government" and the responses were wide-based but fell clearly on the
shoulders of Benjamin Netanyahu. His determination to hold on to power while
rendering the government powerless is a major element because Blue and White
have clearly stated that if he will step down or take the second rotation as PM
(until his legal issues are solved either way) they will form a broad unity
government tomorrow. My prayer is that Blue and White will succeed without
including the extremist parties. I believe that all sectors of Israeli society
should be included in a broad based government and have a minorities
representative in the wide Cabinet if not the Security Cabinet. If an agreement
is not reached in the next few days then it is back to the polling booth!!!
In the meantime the Prime Minister's "Air Force One" equivalent
has taken its maiden flight, amongst much debate as to the wisdom of spending a
huge amount on Prime Ministerial comfort when hospitals are desperate for
funding.
The Shin Bet, Israel's internal Secret Service, has thwarted no less
than 450 terror attacks in the last year (check your own country's list, it is
happening everywhere). Despite the obvious horror of the attack on 17 year old
Rina Shnerb, the leader of the terror cell responsible, who was injured after
his capture, was treated in Hadassah Hospital and a full military inquiry took
place as to why he was injured during his interrogation. This is a country of
clear moral standards and we do not under any circumstances accept violence from
our soldiers.
Iran claims that a United Nations inspector "went to the
toilet" and put explosive nitrates on himself so that he could accuse Iran
of nuclear research activity. Of course it had nothing to do with the fact that
it has been proven that Iran has reestablished nuclear testing in Fordo.
Really! You couldn't make this up if you tried! To understand the complexities https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50300952
Twitter has banned Hezb-Allah and Hamas from their site. Finally a website with a
conscience!
We tend to whine and moan about our politics and how they affect our daily
lives but think about the politics in Mexico, Venezuela, Uruguay and take your
pick of African and Middle Eastern countries and we really are lucky! Moaning
about the weather? Remember there is a terrifying waterspout over Genoa,
Tornadoes in Spain; Bush fires in Australia and forest fires in California;
Volcanic eruption in the Tongan archipelago; heavy floods in North of England
to say nothing of Japan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Colombia where thousands
lost their lives, and an earthquake in the Philippines. It's all about
perspective. The only real thing we can do, as individuals, to reverse some of
the disasters is to plant trees. Trees =rain and rain prevents wildfires….. or
limits them anyway. One of Israel's greatest achievments has been the work of
KKL or JNF in planting trees – Israel is the only country in the world to have
increased her tree population consistently. Former Prime Stephen Harper is in Israel to open the new
state of the art visitors centre in the Hula Valley Game Reserve yet another
major ecological project which has welcomed over 60,000 cranes and white
pelicans each year as they migrate from cold to warm waters.
It is common practice among secular Jews, to complain about the Haredi community
but I believe that there are situations where secularity is more damaging. I am
with a foot in both sectors as a Masorti (traditional) Jew, but here in Israel
the pseudo feminists cause major disruptions of society on various levels. HaRav
Firer has created a world wide organisation to help people who need medical
care that is either unavailable, too expensive or they do not know how to reach
the right doctors. Most of the medical care he requests is given gratis. It was
haRav Firer that helped Kinneret Chaya and my daughter Rachel. A true Hassid.
Since his organisation depends upon donations his admirers decided to create a
gala evening and Israeli stars of a very high calibre donated their
performances. In deference to the Rav's religiosity it was decided that the
performers would be male although the audience was mixed. Feminist groups
forced the performance and the gala to be cancelled because there were no women
performers and I am furious! The Rav gives help to everyone irrespective of
social or religious leanings or indeed religion, why do these women feel
justified in causing such pain?
Josh Aronson is the seventh of fourteen children of Rabbi Aronson of
Manchester. Nobody could work out why Josh wasn't doing well in school and
clearly had some major learning and social difficulties, but nobody knew how to
address them and being the seventh of fourteen did not afford him the attention
he needed. At 16 he was sent to Israel to a special course to find out what was
wrong. Despite lack of clear diagnosis he began to flourish, only later did his
"problems" have a name, Josh has Asperger's Syndrome. Proving that
determination plays a huge part in success, Josh is a journalist for Maariv and
the Jerusalem Post and gives lectures wherever he is invited! Zvi and I had the
joy of meeting Josh through the auspices of our mutual friend, the wonderful
Rachael Risby-Raz at the Biblical Zoo although we were so fascinated by his
story that we didn't really notice the flora and fauna around us! Josh was on
his way to the airport to fly to Budapest on a family search with his cousin,
the owner of Katzy's restaurant in Sydney, who is unquestionably Josh's best
friend. Josh's story of success over all odds proved yet again that we cannot
put people into "boxes" and declare them "disabled" because
given half a chance they can blossom and become important members of our
society.
I changed the order of events today
– for a very good reason. Today is my amazing daughter Rachel's birthday, so I
collected Talia from school and we went to choose a huge colourful bouquet of
flowers for her Mum for Shabbat. The aromas emitted from their home on Friday
are stupendous! When Rachel and her brothers were children they loved the aroma
of freshly baked Challot as they returned from school and now it is a reversal
of roles as I climb the steps to Rachel's apartment and collect my Challot for
Shabbat!!! She had seared red peppers and aubergines all ready to make scrummy
salads; the roast potatoes were all set to go onto the "platter" the
Shabbat hot plate; her veggie chicken soup and kneidlach and the big pot of
thinly sliced, long stewed beef made a visit to her kitchen a special treat.
The children were listening to
Eastern music and Yosef was singing along, karaoke style, oblivious to the fact
I recorded him! I popped into the little shopping centre at the entrance to
Givat Ze'ev and once again was delighted by the mixture of both shop owners and
shoppers – quite the opposite of what you read about
"settlements". I then drove
back home over the hill and the fabulous panorama atop Samuel's Tomb to our own
panorama, the View from our Veranda!!
And so to music.
Yes, I know I've played this song
for you several times, but I loved the fact it is translated into Chinese!
Wonderful explanations on each verse. Shalom Aleichem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szSb2abAaWU&list=PLpQVRY8CUKvJ4Jsvr2k7B5lFzEq4inUeZ&index=3
Lecha
Dodi is sung in the Synagogue on a Friday evening service to welcome the bride
of Shabbat. Here are 3 distinct versions. First Mizrachi (Eastern Jews) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5WMPx1o2uM then American https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWmcQpzUMHY and Ashkenaz
traditional https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNhUv0UpSVE then there's Shlomo Carlebach! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC19kaPCMYM and the one I grew up with https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5U9NoYKiJU
So
that's it! Zvi is at his parliament in Kiriat Anavim and he will come home soon
so that we can go to spend Shabbat with his grandchildren in Tel Aviv. So in
the meantime I wish you a beautiful Shabbat filled with family and love.
Shabbat
Shalom and love from Jerusalem, the most fascinating city in the world.
Sheila
We just
received the news that Greg Masel has retired as the Chair of Keren Hayesod. I
wish him well on whatever path he has chosen.
No comments:
Post a Comment