23rd January, 2026
5 Shevat 5786
Shabbat Shalom to one and all. Today I am going to dive right in
with the Trump plans for our area.
Trump is not the first to say it or do it. The famous phrase
"Speak softly and carry a big stick" was popularized by U.S.
President Theodore Roosevelt, who used it to describe his foreign policy
approach of peaceful negotiation backed by the credible threat of military
strength, embodying "Big Stick Diplomacy". While he presented it as a
West African proverb, it's likely he coined the phrase, which became a
cornerstone of his assertive but diplomatic international relations
strategy.
“The Board of Peace” sounds very far-fetched, perhaps illogical and
yet for the first time the word peace has been used in relation to Gaza. Since
its inception after WW2, the UN needed a replacement, an unbiased positive
replacement and this may just be the answer. Perhaps, just perhaps the strange
bedfellows put together by a President who doesn’t take no for an answer could
just work. This week has brought ideas and solutions which have never been
tried before and the principle in business of keeping your enemies close is not
as crazy as it may first appear. Perhaps, just perhaps (I will use “perhaps”
great deal in this missive) this President of the United States is sufficiently
unpredictable as to worry our enemies into some form of submission. It will be
a very expensive operation but the Gaza rehabilitation and reconstruction plan set
forward by Jared Kushner (maybe not the Las Vegas part on the beach) could just
be an answer, not the solution but one which brings hope. The demilitarisation of
Hamas brings a tiny flicker of light to a deeply complex society. “Perhaps” is
an awful lot better than the deep dismay and inevitability of continued warfare
that we Israels have known in the past.
The second major “perhaps” is Iran. Iran was once ruled by a
secular autocrat who, by the region’s grim standards, governed with relative
restraint. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, ruled until 1979, when
he was overthrown in the Islamic Revolution led by Khomeini. The monarchy was
abolished and replaced with the Islamic Republic, ushering in extreme Sharia
rule whose consequences are plain today. President Jimmy Carter’s
administration played a pivotal role in this outcome, shifting from public
support, famously toasting the Shah in Tehran in 1977 and calling Iran an
“island of stability”, to quietly “encouraging” his departure as the regime
collapsed. What is too often overlooked is the extraordinary bravery of
Iranians now protesting this theocracy. To demonstrate is to risk death, and it
is believed that tens of thousands have been killed in recent months. Perhaps
only the pressure of a leader unwilling to accept intimidation will help Iran
reclaim its freedom and, one day, its former dignity.
Perhaps another “perhaps” we should hope and pray that President
Trump’s team truly understands the constants shaping our region and the wider
world. These are not isolated threats, but interconnected ones, extending far
beyond the Middle East to include Russia and China, and rooted in ideologies
that openly aspire to global dominance. Plans to undermine the United States
were articulated years ago, openly and methodically, as documented in the
material presented in Philadelphia. https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs5746/files/2023-10/the-hamas-network-in-america.pdf
Hamas’s reach, we now know, extends well
beyond Gaza, into towns and cities across the US, the UK, Australia, Canada,
and much of Europe.
None of this is comfortable to acknowledge. Nor is it comfortable
to say that, in this moment, an unpredictable, blunt, and even bullying
president may be precisely what is required. I know—without a hint of perhaps—that
many of you will recoil at this, convinced I have crossed some invisible line
into cheerleading. That is not the point. This is not about affection or
admiration. It is about urgency, realism, and resolve. And if we can move from
endless “perhapses” to a clear-eyed “definite maybe”, that alone would feel
like progress.
Another, less hopeful issue is the matter of Kurdistan, or the
fragmented parts thereof. Don't look at this area through the lens of the west,
look at it through the lens of it geopolitical influences. following the
post-WWI collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. With a population of 40-45
million, the Kurds are a major stateless nation, Kurdish homeland across four countries,
Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria none of whom acknowledge, or are willing to
relinquish their claim or give autonomy or sovereignty to the Kurds who are
rising up in anger at the lack of international recognition of their plight.
And so to Israel. One issue now dominates the thoughts and
conversations of Israelis, at least those who are proud of their country,
prepared to serve it, defend it, and raise their children to do the same. It is
the growing anger at a small but vocal sector that abuses Judaism itself,
making declarations that verge on treason while blocking major roads into and
out of Jerusalem with their demonstrations, preventing those who actually go
out to work and pay their taxes, from earning a living, while chanting, “Better
to die than serve in the IDF.”
For me, the deepest tragedy is not only the disruption or the
rhetoric, but the damage this distortion of Judaism has done to young secular
Israelis, pushing many further away from their heritage altogether. At the same
time, we must also confront another hard truth: there exists a very small group,
tiny, but destructive, of violent extremists who terrorise ordinary
Palestinians whose only “crime” is living nearby.
These two pathologies are not equivalent, but they share a
corrosive effect: both undermine the moral fabric of Israel, and both demand
honesty, courage, and firm leadership to confront them; that leadership is
sorely missing right now.
I would hate you to think that everything is doom and depression
here. Nothing could be further from the truth. The restaurants and coffee shops
are still full, wedding and function halls burst at the seams, their loud music
annoying anyone within a kilometre! We enjoy life a fact that may seem strange
when many countries have declared us “red” a no-go advisory, and the aforementioned
Iranians threaten to launch a bombardment
of ballistic missiles if the USA threatens their regime.
My lovely friend Jill and her two daughters, Ilana and Rebecca were
undaunted by the news (especially the BBC known in this house as the Biased
Bigots Collective). They walked and wandered happily and freely in Jerusalem
old and new, visiting Shouks (markets) Jewish and Arab, the Kotel, generally
amazed at the freedom of all faiths and races. Of course, their visit to Mahane
Yehuda included buying and eating (obviously) wonderful delicacies from the now
famous Tzidkiyahu family stall right at the beginning of the market. Jill and I
enjoyed everything at a somewhat more sedate gait, neither of us exactly
running around! We had delicious Shakshuka in Motzeleh with Rachel, who loves
Jill as I do and yesterday we set off for Kibbutz Be’erot Yitzchak where Jill lived and learned for two years to
see Tzippi and Eliyahu.
On Sunday night we were in Tel Aviv to celebrate the Golden Wedding
of Harold and Rebecca Finger. They must be doing something right, or married in
the cradle, because they both look amazing!!!
I nearly missed telling you the sheer joy of being with my amazing
son Gideon who came back for a few days, this time relaxing and resting in an
Airbnb in Tel Aviv, a well earned rest, given with love by his incredible wife
Stephanie.
Now for the best part. As I wrote last week, I am now 80 years old
and still going strong. Unwilling to allow anything to stop me. What I am about
to tell you was the height of my achievements. I organised my own birthday
party, keeping its contents basically secret from everyone except Rachel without
whose help I couldn’t have managed. Please please, don’t be cross if you were
not on the list of invitees, I was limited in my numbers. So let me tell you
about it. The event was appropriately held in the events hall in Shalva, my
home from home. As people walked in, they saw a big sign announcing the party
with a photo of me as a baby on it, then to the stand with all sorts of gifts
for them, the best of all were Rachel’s “seed bombs”. Everything related to my
love of gardening. As people walked into the room they were greeted with the
sight of gold and white balloons on each table and the exquisite violin of
Sasha, aka Alexandra Babakhanov, a beautiful and highly talented dear friend
who played as they mingled and then ate from the delicious buffet and great
wines including Yossi’s wine called Blind Taste, explanation to follow. A few people
asked to speak but one I insisted that she speak, my Kinneret Chaya. I felt so
proud and overwhelmed by the words of Gaby Hirsch, Marcus Sheff, Gideon
(Israelis were staggered by his prowess and eloquence), Zvi’s son Leor, my Zvi,
our grandchildren all of those in Israel. Yosef, Amit, Tomer, Sheli, Gili,
Ayala, Ori, Yuval, Ella and Yonatan, stood in front of my friends and said
beautiful things, Zvi, Shaiela, Ehud, Ronit sang my two favourite songs
(Lelechet Shevi Achariich and of course Al Kol Eleh) accompanied by Sasha. Then
Kinneret Chaya told of her/our story; of her injuries and recovery and our deep
friendship including many tears and laughter. She ended it with words I have
been waiting to hear since the 30th of March 2002, she had decided
that she wanted us to write a book taking the constant reports of her progress
from near death to mother of four. Watch this space.
The incredible number of blessings and messages that I received for
my birthday left me dumbfounded, or as one says in the UK, gobsmacked! The
donations to Dr Dan’s Room have enabled even more activities and programmes and
honour the memory of a very special man. Messages sent to Rachel rady to
surprise me on my birthday ay came from my siblings, friends and family and
very special ones from my daughter-in-law and granddaughter in NYC. Callie did
a beautiful drawing! I was deeply moved by Kalman Samuels’ and the video he
made for my birthday including Dr Dan’s Room. https://youtu.be/ILotk4B86nw?si=GQPW7NPGkzzWfGbf
I promised you the explanation of Yossi’s wines, the story of Yossi
Samuel, son of Kalman and Malki, founders of Shalva. Yossi, despite being blind
and deaf communicates with presidents, film stars and Prime Ministers and is a
fully fledged sommelier! This video is long but watching it one understands
that even with the most extreme of tragedies, a beautiful place, a refuge and a
beautiful man can emerge. https://youtu.be/TKbN5d3qUTQ?si=z45tdQmuqNyGNzIh
Music, beautiful music, is what we need in our lives to guide us
through the best and worst of times.
My first choice, as you can imagine, is one of Sasha’s favourites, playing
as she stands in the vineyards in the South . https://youtu.be/_c_u5uo6RZs?si=fvDLygDJOr2Kj7Kw
The next song, the beginning of an incredible ride of fame for the Shalva
Band. A Million Dreams could well be an anthem for everyone who refuses to just
sit back and allow their fate to be decided by others. https://youtu.be/4HWaldJt5Bc?si=vvrEe-3n6gcsjSzm
Valerie Hamati and Tamir Greenberg sang together in the finals of
the choice for Israel’s Eurovision Song Contest. They didn’t win, although I
adored them. Valerie sang in Arabic, Hebrew and English and Tamir Hebrew and
English. Halleluyah as you have never heard it before. https://youtu.be/irEpp0NsgkI?si=pEqgEnK_mcj-LWue
That’s it folks! Jill and I are off to see Rachel and family, to
attempt to push my way through the masses to reach the challot in Nehama
Bakeries. I don’t have to cook today since Amiad decided that I shouldn’t
prepare for the family after a very busy but fabulous week.
I know there are things I didn’t get to this week but I don’t want
to tire you out before Shabbat!!
If I have anything to add before Shabbat it is – Don’t refuse to
accept ideas that may come from a source that you may dislike. One doesn’t have
to love the source to accept a chance of hope in a hopeless situation. Of course,
that covers life in general, but especially our confused and angry world of
today. Open your minds to every train of thought hat brings hope to us, to
others and to those who until now thought their lives were not worth living. As
John Lennon said “All You Need Is Love” It may sound banal but, hey, life is banal
without it!
Shabbat Shalom from beautiful Jerusalem, the ever breathtaking
sight from our Veranda.
Sheila
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