29th August 2025
Shabbat Shalom dear friends. Shabbat Shalom, two words that hold so
much hope, so much love.
"A lie that is half a
truth is the darkest of all". Alfred Lord Tennyson.
Too often, fear of repetition makes us downplay the impact of lies
and half-truths spread by the media, yet their consequences are immense,
fueling global anti-Semitism. Goering mastered this in the 1930s, and the same
tactics are at work today. A letter from my dear (distant) cousin Nina Collins
reminded me how vital it is to keep restating the facts. As Garry Kasparov
observed: “The point of modern propaganda isn’t only to misinform or push an
agenda. It is to exhaust your critical thinking, to annihilate truth.” The
internet, from TikTok onward, has only accelerated this problem, but it began
long ago with the Gutenberg Press. Once texts became mass-produced and literacy
spread, humanity became vulnerable not just to truth, but to the manipulation
of opinion.
How did disinformation spread so quickly after the October
7th massacre? Qatar, the modern-day Goering, had already laid the groundwork,
buying influence across youth, universities, and media. From owning the most
British of institutions like Harrods and The Savoy to major stakes in Barclays,
Sainsbury’s, Boeing, Newsmax, Porsche, and U.S. universities like Georgetown
and Cornell, Qatar bankrolls power in the West. Even its sports empire is part
of a deliberate strategy to secure the regime’s future and expand its global
reach. Qatar funded Hezb-Allah and pledged $100 million to UNRWA, including
$4.5 million designated for the organization’s activities in Judea and Samaria.
So dear friends, don’t believe everything you read or watch. Israel is not perfect,
but neither is wherever you chose to live, but it is a great deal better than
the society that want to change it or destroy it.
By the way, I am currently entranced by a TV series called
Outrageous, about the Mitford Girls, two of whom became close to Adolf
Hitler. As a Brit I knew the basic story but this is brilliant. The story is
close to the truth, relevant and riveting. (Netflix and BritBox in North
America)
Another misinterpretation by the media which really annoys me
is the insistence that Israel is starving the Gazans. Two more organisations have
been set up to distribute food, probably to distribute the stockpiles of staples
that are already in Gaza, and the world is furious with Israel. Obviously the day
to day existence of most Gazans is unbearable, but what about all the African
countries where starvation is absolute but no-one cares? The hunger in Gaza is
caused by the democratically elected body – Hamas.
Australia has broken its diplomatic ties with Iran and expelled
the Iranian Ambassador. You didn’t know that Australia has diplomatic ties with
Iran? Neither did I, but at least the naïve Australian government has made a
move in the right direction. Diplomatic ties severed with Iran after it was
named behind antisemitic attacks - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-26/iran-behind-antisemitic-attacks-asio-says/105697762
The United Nations has decided to end UNIFIL, the United
Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, (15,000 troops at its height) which has
existed since 1978. While effective at its inception, especially when the force
included many Finnish and Fijian troops, but later became a defunct force which
stood by and watched as United Nations Resolution 1701 was ignored. 1701 called
for the disarmament of Hezb-Allah and a buffer zone between Lebanon and Israel.
This week, both in protest and as support for the English
sports teams, English flags, the flag of St George, were flown, then taken down
by the police as incitement! Once, flying a national flag, be it British, Canadian,
United States, Australian, indeed anywhere, was a sign of pride and gratitude.
My Polish father would hang bunting on Empire Day or the Queen’s Birthday to
honour Britain, his a safe haven. Today, flags are seen as “right-wing,” and
too often those granted refuge seek to change the country instead of cherishing
it. Indeed, the UK wheelchair basketball team turned their backs on the Israeli
National Anthem at a competition in Germany. A complaint has been lodged with
the Olympic Committee.
Yesterday the leaders of the rebel Houthis gathered in a location
outside Sanaa, Yemen, to hear a planned speech by the group’s leader, Abdul
Malik al-Houthi. In a clean air strike the IAF succeeded in wiping out most of
them. Yemen’s Al-Jumhuriya channel reports that the Prime Minister of the
Iran-backed Houthi rebels, Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed (PM of the Houthis not
Yemen) alongside 10 others.
Christians have lived in Gaza for 2,000 years. The
number of Christians in Gaza has dwindled over the last 25 years and only about
600 remain, mostly in the Greek Orthodox churches in Gaza City. Little publicised
is the persecution of Christians in Gaza and in the Eastern part of Jerusalem.
Sadly, few leaders of the Christian denominations have come out publicly to
condemn the persecution of Christians in those areas. I tried, believe me I
tried to get the story publicised when about 20 years ago many Christian girls
were kidnapped and married off to Moslem young men, I gathered proof and testimonies,
but nobody listened. At that time a dear friend, a Christian in the very lovely
neighbourhood of Bet Hanina fled to the USA for his Western way of life and his
mother spoke to me very clearly of her fears for the Christians of Bet Hanina.
Another Christian friend, who lives in Bethlehem, yes I wrote Bethlehem, is
suffering from an embargo on his work and his son, despite a university degree,
cannot find work. They both work in Israel when they can find. As I return to the subject of Gaza, those who
have not fled over the border to Egypt (where the Copts are persecuted) are now
in danger as the war enters Gaza City. Caught between a rock and a hard place. Incidentally,
Israel is the only country in the world where the Christian community has
grown!
Amir Shurush is an actor who plays the part of Ramsi, Ramsi
Abed Ramsi, in a very funny Israeli series about life in a local supermarket.
His part requires him to wear a constant happy countenance and a somewhat
hapless personality. Over the last few weeks, in “Dancing With the Stars” Ramsi
became Amir, brilliant Terpsichorean. Amir, whose mother is Jewish and father a
Christian Arab, is utterly Israeli in every way. He served in the IDF and this
week the actor who had never danced, came first in the final of Dancing With
the Stars! I tried to find you a video
of the phenomenal performance with his co-star Sanah but failed.
Yes, Israel is ranked eighth in the 2025 World Happiness Report, placing it in the top
10 happiest countries globally, despite dropping three spots from its previous
position in 2024. The report, which uses data from the Gallup World Poll, considers factors like social
support, personal freedom, generosity, and GDP per capita to determine
rankings. Of course many of my readers objected when I wrote about it,
saying that it is not logical that a country still at war, unhappy with its
leadership and mourning those we lost and grieving at the videos of the
remaining hostages, but look at the criteria! We may have dropped from 5th
place to 8th but we are still there. Never forget that Sweden,
always up there in the top 3, has the world’s highest suicide rate! What do I
think? I believe, strongly believe, that despite it all, there is nowhere else
that I want to be. This is home.
The Sydney, Australia, Marathon will take place on Sunday and the 50 strong
Team Shalva has arrived to a warm welcome by the Sydney community. I’m sure you
remember about Shalva, the world class centre for adults and children with special
needs; the place we chose to create the Studio for the Performing Arts in
honour of my amazing son Dr. Daniel Cammerman z”l. https://www.shalva.org/
More Israeli wins in sport. Nativ Bittane won
Gold in the U19 50m butterfly at the World Virtus Swimming Championships
in Bangkok!!
What a week! I have been home with the workmen most of the time whereas Zvi has managed
to escape to various meetings and rehearsals – not because he wanted to but
rather because he had to. On Wednesday, Rachel came to stay in the apartment
while Zvi and I met with friends (Gad Moda’I, Rivka, Gideon and Aliza Alon) in
the wonderful restaurant “Derech haGefen” (Path of the vineyard) in the nearby village
of Beit Zayit, thus name for the hundreds, nay thousands of olive trees that
surround it. The lunch was truly delicious, each of us taking something
different and the conversation, of course, centred on the government and
religion. I am not a religious person, although very traditional and deeply
Jewish, but believe that without Judaism we really have no business being here.
After all there are many countries that are predominantly Christian and uphold
Christian values (although I fear that they are in danger of losing those
values) and about 57 Moslem countries. I made it very clear that I don’t feel
that this tiny dot on the world map should have anything but Jewish values and
traditions while showing respect to all other faiths.
Ein li Eretz Aheret – I have no other country – expresses everything. Listen
and love https://youtu.be/rJIXzk4DC9Y?si=MO6pB59LX6FR_ajR
If you thought that the original Leonard Cohen
rendition of Halleluya was emotional, try this one! Sung during the Israeli
Star is Born Valerie Tamati (a Christian Israeli) and Tamir Greenberg (a Jewish
Israeli)
They gave the performance of their lives. https://youtu.be/irEpp0NsgkI?si=HOx6xELQ5AvyiNJs
“Sakhki Sakhki” I believe in man -This great social protest song is now
120 years old! Written by the poet Shaul Tchernichovsky in Odessa at the age of
19. Performed wonderfully by Rona Kenan,
https://youtu.be/DtbxBdgsuEw?si=_3Kzpc2XkXD_RBFL
Every time I complain that this is hard or that
is tough or why do I have to clean the floor again because there are workmen here,
I stop myself and think of the parents of those two captives, hostages, whose
videos we saw last week. It is beyond any imagination to understand the
incredible emotional anguish of those parents, indeed of all the parents and
families of the hostages, past and present; not forgetting the parents, wives
and children of soldiers. Our day to day concerns diminish into the banal (even
those which are genuine) in comparison. To support them is to speak out; to
support everyone affected by this ghastly war that was thrust upon us one day
in October nearly 2 years ago don’t hide who you are, show it, as I wrote last
week, send letters to the media and write comments on articles that demand it.
Shabbat. How wonderful that we were given
Shabbat, a Sabbath on the seventh day of creation when the Almighty rested and “was
pleased with what he saw”. Shabbat, a time to rest, a time to reflect, a time
to understand what we have however meagre or however opulent, to bring us down
to the fact that it makes no difference, we are human beings who need to
commune with something much bigger than ourselves. To believe that we are the
be all and end all of existence is too painful to imagine.
I want to end with a quote from Marianne Williamson
“Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we learn. The spiritual journey is
the unlearning of fear and prejudices and the acceptance of love back in our
hearts. Love is the essential reality and our purpose on earth.”
Shabbat Shalom dear friends. Shabbat Shalom
with love from Jerusalem, so beautiful in the distance as I look over the tree
that Herzl planted, all the way to the glistening white of the City of Gold.
Sheila
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