26th April, 2024
October the 203rd
Shabbat Shalom, Moadim le Simcha (what one says in the middle days
of a festival wishing joy) I hope that your Passover Seder was meaningful and
introduced a little joy into our complex lives. I promise to tell you all about
our later, but want to begin with the news and a little story of birds.
The Indian or Common Mynah bird has a
beautiful song, a song so loud that it drowns out the songs of others. It has the
ability to mimic the songs of almost every bird they hear and their numbers are
growing rapidly. However, the Indian Mynah is not indigenous, began with a very
few and despite its beautiful song its bright yellow beak, yellow being a sign
of danger in nature and tells the story of its aggressive nature. The fact is
that during the mating season it will attack anything in its path from small
creatures to humans. This morning, as I sat outside on our veranda, waiting in
vain for the tiny, exquisite sun birds to visit the flowers as they do every
day, I realised, they would not come to gather the nectar out of fear of the
Mynahs sitting on our wall. My lateral thinking brain immediately understood
the parallel, that the Mynahs are an absolute analogy for our situation. The
song of our enemies is louder than ours and others fear to sing.
Avigail Idan was just 3 years old when she was taken
hostage by Hamas alone, after seeing her parents slaughtered by Hamas.
Yesterday, she sat upon the knee of a caring President of the United States,
the one who promised to bring her home. To see the little girl playing and
laughing in the Oval Office was almost surreal, but not unexpected from a rare
politician, one who actually does what he promises. I have some friends who are
blinded by politics, but whoever you vote for it is irrelevant, President Biden
has stood by Israel, despite his feelings toward our Prime Minister. His
unwavering support since October 7th has given courage to other
nations to support Israel verbally, militarily and morally.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin is alive, or was alive as of two
days ago. The video clip filmed by Hamas shows a very different Hersh, but he
is alive. His mother, the phenomenal Rachel Goldberg-Polin, a true Jewish
lioness, fighting with everything she has for her son’s return, sat with her husband
and spoke about her fight after seeing the Hamas video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1plXbypGuk
Rachel was declared one of the world’s most influential people. Here she talks
about what it means to know tha tone’s loved ones are hostages to Hamas https://time.com/6968288/rachel-goldberg-polin-interview-israel-hostages/
Columbia University, right there in New York is a
hotbed of hatred and anti-Semitism. Even a few months ago even our worst nightmare
would not have imagined an Imam calling students, students just like your sons,
daughters and grandchildren, calling them to prayer on the front lawn of a
premier university and shouting “Kill the Jews” “Free, free Palestine” and
other twisted cries. It is utterly mind-boggling, terrifying the speed at which
it happened. Young, naïve, pliable minds have been taken in by the lies, the
Goerring-like lies which surround them. Not only Columbia, similar scenes can
be found all over the USA. Entrepreneur Robert Kraft has withdrawn his funding
of Columbia University. Why has it
reached this point? Because University Presidents and Deans thought that
freedom of speech was more important than stopping the demonstrations at
source. Remember the Mynah birds.
If you think it is only happening in North America, think
again. Australia was the chosen country of so many Holocaust survivors who
wanted nothing more than to be as far away from the cruelty of Europe that they
went half a world away to find peace, and they found it. Melbourne has a
thriving community that has given unwavering support to Israel as proud
Australians and has given so much to Australia in every field, but this week
the unthinkable happened. Young anti-Israel activists went around a school
asking the students for a show of hands as to whether they agree with their
view (anti-Israel) and taking photographs to identify those who responded. I
can think of nothing more terrifying for a community that really doesn’t
deserve it. So sad when it happened so close to Anzac Day.
It is irrelevant as to whether one is Jewish,
Christian, Hindi, Buddhist, Atheist or Agnostic, the tide is becoming a
Tsunami.
The United Nations investigation into UNWRA
found that there was no proof that UNWRA workers were involved in the Hamas
attack on Southern Israel and the rapes that occurred Well, did you expect a
different decision? Impact-se (www.impact-se.org ) had given the EU, UN,
USA, UK, indeed every relevant country and organisation, proof that UNWRA
workers not only taught hatred but they themselves were involved. We will fight
this tooth and nail and our obvious allies are with us all the way. Again, I
ask you to open the link to Impact’s work, not only the introduction of
tolerance to the schoolbooks of many countries in the MENA region, but fighting
our cause with blind and deaf countries in Europe.
To understand the anomaly in the funding decisions of the United
Nations one must look at simple numbers. Rwanda, a war and famine struck
country in Africa with a population of nearly 14 million souls received just $631
million in the period 2018-2023 where as Gaza, not the whole Palestinian Authority,
just Gaza with a population of fractionally over 2 million souls received $2.3
BILLION JUST THIS MONTH! Are black faces, black African lives less important or
is it the fact that there are 56 Moslem countries making decisions in the United
Nations?
Not everything is bad news however! Yosef Taktuk from Kfar
Yarka, a Druze village in the north of Israel, won first place in the European
Kickboxing Championship, proudly representing Israel. Well done Yosef!
The Atid Cramim Binyamina High School won First place in the world in robotics,
out of 6,000 competitors, in a competition initiated by the Technion University
in Haifa.
I went to the fabulous Israel Museum
this week. It really is exceptional, the permanent exhibits of both archaeology
and Judaica are worth a full day of viewing, but this time I went with my
friend Ronit who insisted I see a few small temporary exhibits. She led me to a
couple of small side rooms which held a very special exhibit all about an
exceptional man but the name of Erich Brauer. Erich Brauer was born in Germany
and came to the nascent state of Israel in the 1930’s with one firm intent, to
record the various Jewish ethnic groups in Jerusalem. Erich Brauer was an
anthropologist who specialised in ethnology. I didn’t know that there was such
a thing as ethnologist, if I had only known that would have been my choice of
career. Anyway, as usual I digress. Brauer’s works are phenomenal. He was an
outstanding artist, photographer and scientist, his records impeccable. He
recorded the Bukharian community but found them to snobbish to respond and he
particularly loved the Yemenite community for their archetypical Middle Eastern
Jewish traditions and dress. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Brauer
And so to Seder Night! I will not bore you with the preparations, the
switching of dishes and utensils, the level of cleaning etc even before
starting to cook; oh dear, I just did! Anyway, the table was set, the seder
plate ready holding its symbols reminding us of our time as slaves in Egypt,
but I felt something was missing, just didn’t know what. Zvi came home with the
answer, yellow paper napkins. I sat and made 16 yellow paper symbols of the
yellow ribbons of the hostage families, one for each person and felt that the
table was not only beautiful, it was complete. Our guests began to arrive and
we sat down to sing the songs of centuries, the children asking four questions,
beginning with “Why is this night different to all other nights” and so the
story begins, some in Aramaic and some in Hebrew, two languages that have
survived the test of thousands of years and are still in use today. Four languages
around the table, Hebrew (obviously), Russian, English and Spanish but then
came the meal and all conversation in all four languages turned to other
things, when not enjoying the Chopped liver, salads, Chicken soup, beef,
chicken and fish, roast veggies, etc etc etc…….of course all home-made. We then
said grace after meals, opened the door for the herald of better things Elijah,
and then the part that the children waited patiently for, the songs! The one
they love most is Chad Gadya – Only one kid, which in our home is accompanied
by many appropriate animal sounds, ending with boooooooo for the Angel of Death
and a huge communal cheer for the Almighty!
Not satisfied with 16 guests of Seder night,
the very next day, lunchtime, we invited other loved ones. Zvi’s cousins Rachel
and Yossi Ribak and Samuel Bettsak who was with us the night before too. Samuel
is a Panamanian who has lived in Atlanta for many, many years and is a regular
visitor and volunteer here in Israel and a long time friend. His wife Debbie
went to Colombia to spend her lovely Mother Marianne’s 95th birthday
with her and Samuel chose to spend his Seder with us! Our friend Sam Albaranes
made up the numbers. Tonight at our Friday night table we have friends. Irit
and Yitzik Lev, Irit and Uri Dotan and Nattie and Yolli Zonszein. It will be
lovely, especially since Zvi rushed out this morning to buy me a new soup
saucepan since I suddenly realised that I don’t have a milky saucepan for
Passover – I told you it’s complicated!
Music speaks to me in a way that simple words cannot
and this week I chose songs that speak tomes
Rami Kleinstein is a very special singer, a good man, and he wrote a
song that really tells the story of how Jews survive even the worst of
situations. Called “Little Gifts” Matanot Ktanot in Hebrew he reminds us of how
much we have to be grateful for. Beautiful https://youtu.be/5JmZqEf_4w0?si=hcBfIyradgn4uRK1
Eden Golan will sing at the Eurovision Song Contest this week. The lyrics were changed
as being too political in reference to October 7th and now meet the
rules of Eurovision and this brave, amazing singer will stand proud with
changed lyrics and her amazing voice https://youtu.be/lJYn09tuPw4?si=aMVgRpvjBd1a-ynI
Al Kol Eleh, Above all this, is my favourite Israeli
song, I am always deeply moved by Naomi Shemer’s words, the Honey and the
Sting, written long ago, about life in Israel. The young soldiers and IDF
orchestra together with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in a very special
rendition https://youtu.be/tLjucRUyd4Y?si=YXyQnQsvV8YX8oJZ
That’s it lovely people. I hope you remember
to see the beauty around you, to take a break from the TV news media which
seems to only talk of doom and gloom. Remember to feel joy with your family and
thank heaven for your friends. Walk in the countryside, look out from your window
and enjoy the view and best of all, plant a tree, a bush or just spring flowers
because remember what Martin Luther (the original one) said when asked what he
would do if told the world would end tomorrow “I would plant an apple tree
today” in other words, don’t necessarily believe the words of doom, and do
something positive to ensure our future.
I send you love, a lot of love, and strength. Think
of those hostages tonight, when you light the candles, be they Shabbat Candles
or just to light your life a little. Remember our view over Jerusalem and that
wonderful golden glow at sunset.
Shabbat Shalom
Sheila
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