210513
13th
May 2021
I don't
know how to start this missive. Shabbat Shalom? Not sure it's appropriate this
week. A Blessed Idel Fitr? Same problem. I can pray for both but my hopes are
not high.
In fact
I'm currently beyond angry, not at the rockets and missiles but rather about
the disgusting, violent yobbos, young zealots, both Jewish and Moslem, who defy
every principle of their religions and fire up hatred that denies dignity to those
they oppress. Oppression isn't only imposed by governments although ineffective
government or bad example can and does invoke a sense of entitlement which
allows young people to believe they have the right to destroy the lives of
others. By legitimizing the far, far right of Ben Gvir and Smotrich, Netanyahu
fell short in his leadership; by not strengthening, nay, criticising the police
and border guard, he fell short in his leadership; by ignoring the warning
signs of internal unrest, he fell short in his leadership; by spending his
precious time determinedly holding on to his seat rather than defending the country,
he fell short in his leadership. A brilliant man with a glowing past, Bibi
Netanyahu fell short in his leadership and the proof is in the riots of
yesterday and the sirens the "Tzeva Adom" every few minutes night and
day.
As if
the tensions caused by clear and present danger with a torrent of rockets and
missiles raining upon the farming communities and small towns of South of
Israel, were not enough; the horror of the violence was more than we could
bear. It began with young Arabs wreaking havoc but then the young, far right Jewish
zealots (sorry it's the only word I can think of) mostly from Jerusalem, went
on the rampage, torching cars, destroying property, in Lod and Jaffa (both
mixed cities) and in Bat Yam, terrifying ordinary folk, beating, clubbing anyone
they deemed "different", if there are two sides exacerbating the rift.
The enemy within is not necessarily the Arab Moslem Israeli, it is the lack of
mutual respect, built so carefully over 73 years, that is the victim of the
last few days. I know every country has its riots, every country has its
racists but here, here in a country filled with those who suffered racism in
all the countries of their dispersion or their grandparent's birth, here we do
not have the right to be racist. I would arrest the lot of them, put all of
them in prison, both sets of criminals, to spend a month together and any
infringement of the rules would involve a further month; I don't want any of
their ilk in the IDF.
Now we
have to re-group, re-educate, and teach our children to be tolerant. We cannot
let a few dozen yobbos influence the lives of normal Israelis, whatever their
persuasion.
As is
my wont, I turned my angst into a positive act and managed to wade through
another dozen or so boxes of our totally superfluous belongings!
Now for
the explanation you've all been waiting for.
Hamas
had an agreement with the Netanyahu Government, that they would not "overdo"
the rockets in exchange for Israel allowing the distribution of Qatari
generosity (!) on the condition that the money be distributed under the
watchful eye of the Qataris at the rate of $100 per family. There was relative
quiet for a while, then came the PA elections and as soon as it looked as if
Hamas was about to win over Fatah, Mahmoud Abbas decided to cancel the
elections. Before you censure his actions you should know that Mahmoud Abbas
has been determinedly fighting terror and all actions are co-ordinated between
the Palestinian police and the Israeli police. Back to politics. The
cancellation of the elections demanded a show of might from Hamas and Islamic
Jihad which, of course, meant violence and terror. Encouraging violence through
the Imams and then the shooting of rockets and missiles over the obvious
scapegoat – Israel – was a no brainer. All they had to do was incite a return
of fire from the IDF and the world was back on the bandwagon of condemning the
Jews for defending themselves! The IDF, through our Air Force's pinpointing the
arms factories, intelligence and internet intelligence centres successfully
killed several of the main players but our major problem is that we will not
target homes and they ensure that their HQs are in residential areas, schools
and hospitals.
So, if
we don't target homes why did we see a building collapse, a tall residential
building in Gaza? Neri Yarkoni is a retired fighter pilot and he explained. "We
target arsenals, in this case we hit the arsenal but it was apparently
underneath a residential building so the arms inside exploded bringing the
building down" This is the Middle East where nothing is as it appears.
What about
Bibi's agreement with Hamas I hear you ask. Well, as I said it's all about
power, a show of might, chest beating, so Hamas decided to join the Gazan
branch of Islamic Jihad and between them they shot over 1,300 rockets and
missiles, more than 200 of which fell inside Gaza. The constant declaration of
poverty and claims of being under siege (despite the Qatari money and the 120
truckloads of staple needs from Israel daily) begs the question "How on
earth can Gaza afford billions of dollars of arms, rockets and missiles, lobbed
willy nilly over the Jews"? The
answer is easy, most Western countries and for that matter most of the Islamic
countries, send money to finance education and feed the people, money which
never reaches the poverty stricken people of Gaza.
Gosh
that was quite a rant, but you needed to know, you needed to hear because the
news you get is so slanted that Israel, the few square metres of land, is the
mighty oppressor of the poor Moslems. If you are sick and tired of CNN, BBC,
Sky etc etc….just watch https://www.i24news.tv/en
or Google search 124 news and you can choose your language of preference.
The
best explanation so far https://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/israel-is-under-attack/2021/05/12/
The
situation has nothing to do with who is President or his intentions, but for
all you doubters, President Biden reiterated that Israel has every right to
defend herself, he understands.
The
Free Gaza "demonstrations" are held by those who have no inkling of
the facts. We left Gaza 20+ years ago, we are the only country bordering on
Gaza which has not locked its gates and thrown away the key. Egypt and Jordan
do not allow Gazans to enter nor do they attempt to feed them– Israel is their
only source of staple foods, so why, why us? It's simple, The Jews
"occupy" Moslem lands, a tiny country the size of Wales surrounded by
enormously large Moslem countries is something these zealots cannot bear, but,
still, in NYC a Jewish man was attacked by screaming women who tried to beat
him with the Palestinian flag.
I have
now depressed myself so I will tell you a little about where we live. It's a
whole community, not just old people (I know how you think!) but people of all
ages. I go for walks to make sure my fitness watch is happy. Parents and
children now know my face and everyone calls out "Erev Tov" – Good evening
– as I pass. The boys stop their soccer game to let me pass and I get to see
the TV's in the ground floor apartments so I can walk and watch the news!
Anyone who came to Israel around the early to late '60's travelled from Tel
Aviv to Jerusalem on the Old Road, not as far back as the Burma Road of Mickey
Stone fame (I'm sure you remember the movie Kirk Douglas in To Cast a Giant
Shadow) but nonetheless before Road 1, so before 1967, we came in on a narrow
road with tortuous hairpin bends, getting our first glimpse of Jerusalem in the
distance; well that's where we live! Opposite our entrance is a wonderful
walking area, totally unspoiled, and just over the ridge is the beautiful reservoir
in Beit Zayit. I know, I can't reel off all the neighborhoods as I did from out
old veranda, but I can still tell you about the various trees and birds, and of
course the Presidents Avenue that I told you about last week.
I'll
tell you something funny. Most of the President's trees are dried out or just
plain dead, but Herzl's tree, a mere stump, instead of replacing it they put a
plexiglass cover over it with the sign noting that he planted it. I have a
feeling that very soon we'll see mushrooms growing where the tree didn't
succeed!
While
wading through box after carton after packing case we have found some real
treasures. Children's books from Zvi's childhood, hundreds of LPs (for those
who remember the 33rpms), photos that brought back happy memories and photos that
made one stare and say "Who on earth is that"?
I am
actually sitting in our Mamad (safe room) which is also our study, for a change
with the window covered by the heavy metal protective cover. Who knows if the
siren will go off for us as it has umpteen times for Zvi's boys and families,
for all our friends in the Coastal plain and the adults and children of Otef
Aza – the farmlands, kibbutzim and towns that border with Gaza – who have
suffered the destructive power of Hamas and Islamic Jihad for 20 years. This week
as if the rockets were not enough they have returned to sending incendiary
devices carried on the breeze underneath children's party balloons which have
destroyed thousands of acres of crops and wild animals.
I'm so
happy that I went to Rachel earlier in the week when we took Yosef to Yonatan's
7th birthday party in Tel Aviv, those two have a lovely relationship
,a little boy who looks up to his 16 year old cousin, both of them love a challenge,
both want to be Ninjas! It was so much fun to watch the little boys trying to
whack the living daylights out of the football piñata that Rachel made for
Yonatan. It also gave me a chance to see the panorama over Jerusalem from
Samuel's Tomb, such an amazing sight on our way back home. I may have moved to
the other side of Jerusalem but my heart will always be there….just a few miles
up the road.
So
that's it for now, hopefully there will not be need for an update, we have lost
too many this week, children and adults, may their souls rest in peace.
Two
weeks ago I chose Shlomi Shabbat's song about Jerusalem and today it is the
turn of Omer Adam. Jerusalem https://youtu.be/GzhiZLPrNHc
Psalm
137, written by King David thousands of years ago, is so relevant today as we
are yet again threatened. Here Dudu Fisher sings "If I Forget Thee Oh
Jerusalem" in the very language in which King David wrote it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GBVaUPTTSw
What we
need more than anything else is for someone to act as a Bridge Over Troubled
Waters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIbc7PL8VZ8&list=RDMM&start_radio=1
with the beautiful singers and musicians of the Shalva Band, Tareq al Menhali,
Arqham and the Jerusalem Symphony.
I wish
you a peaceful weekend, a beautiful Shabbat and please put us in your prayers.
With
love from right next to Jerusalem
Sheila
Every
event that Zvi organised, every event that I went to ended with just one song
and today I cannot break that rule HATIKVA
- The Hope, the National Anthem of Israel sung by the youngsters of the IDF
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQCu9kl68Tg
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