Christmas, Chanukah and a Prayer for Peace

 

20^th of December 2024

 

Shabbat Shalom! Just four days until Christmas and two day later it’s Chanukah! Days of family, hope and light. Days of celebration.

 

A friend who lives in Malta, her FB name is Cour di Rosa, posted a brilliant explanation of our days of light and I want to share it with you.

“"I saw a beautiful idea that has its roots in one of the famous arguments between Hillel and Shammai. (two great Rabbis) The question arose, “Can you use one Hanukkah candle to light another?” Shammai insisted that you could not. “How can you diminish one candle to light another?” he queried.

But Hillel looked at the situation differently. “When I use one candle to light another,” he posited, “we both benefit.” In other words, if I use the flame that burns within me to light someone else’s flame, the fire within me isn’t extinguished; in fact, it burns ever brighter. I don’t lose by lighting someone else’s candle; I benefit! In helping you, I’m the one who grows!

And in the same way that one mitzvah leads to another, so too one light leads to another, until we have a big flame, until the light of that one original candle is illuminating the whole world.

On Hanukkah let's take the light that shines within us, the light of our souls, and share it with others so that together we can be full participants in lighting up our world!"

So it is with all good deeds, passing the light of kindness from one to another.

 

This has not been the quiet week we prayed for. The signs, the possibility of a Chanukah miracle came close but so far, our hostages are still in dire captivity after 440 days.

 

The war with both Hamas and Hezb-Allah seem to be reaching an end, a tragic end when you look not only at the destruction in Israel but the death and destruction in both Gaza and Lebanon. A tyrant above all others has toppled and run away to Russia, taking much of his wealth with him. The vast arsenals, stores of terrifying chemical weapons, missiles and so much more, have been destroyed by our aerial attacks and far worse, beyond any rational imagination, the mass graves of over 150,000 Syrian citizens have been discovered, in addition to the understanding that an additional 120,000 Syrians are missing. Conceivably one of the cruellest and deadly regimes of modern times and not a single word from the United Nations, the Red Cross or any other international body.   Add Turkey’s attempt to overtake Syria now that they see the opportunity, especially to overtake the Kurds. Erdogan and his dreams of grandeur, or returning to Ottoman rule, has taken Turkey from a thriving country to a falling empire.

 

As we see the terrifying extent of the Syrian weaponry, I thank heaven for the Israeli Prime Minister who went against the wishes of the American President and destroyed the Syrian nuclear facility. Thank you Ehud Olmert. Equal thanks to Menachem Begin for going against a different American President and destroyed the Iraqi nuclear facility. Brave leaders who cared more for their country, this country, than keeping their seat warm. Imagine if those nuclear facilities were still functioning.

 

The Druze people on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights want to be part of Israel. “We are with those who preserve our dignity, we ask to be annexed to the Israeli Golan, we ask to join our kin in the Golan, to be free from injustice and oppression,” to which those present replied shouting: “We agree, we agree!”

 

The Houthis are cruel terrorists. Until now they are known for their piracy at sea, their attacks on British, US and various other ships, causing deaths, but they are armed with very modern and accurate long range missiles which, one at a time, they launch at Israel. Yesterday one such missile landed on a school in Ramat Gan, destroying it.

 

We all understand the effect of the tools of war, be they missiles or pistols, but when one looks back in history, about 90 years ago, and you see the preparation for war that is seen in schoolbooks, the teaching of children to hate enough to want to kill another, it comes as an even bigger surprise to know that Polish schoolbooks still contain references to Jews killing Jesus and even worse. The Impact-se team has taken a look at the schoolbooks and improvements have been made but right in the middle of Europe the blood libel continues. As I have written so many times, the world is upside down. When the Bahrainis put Israel on their maps in schoolbooks, the West is becoming increasingly anti-Semitic. Impact-se is now looking into the Syrian schoolbooks, preparing for change.

 

The Melbourne Jewish community, indeed 99.9% of Australia, is in shock at the burning of the synagogue in Melbourne. How on earth can it be? Australia? Such things don’t happen in Australia. But they do and they did and they are. This is a new phenomenon and must be dealt with firmly and the cause rooted out and the culprits publicly shamed and put into prison.

 

The question of who is a Jew, or whether one should wear a skullcap in public for fear of attack, one fascinating man stood up. The award winning actor Liev Schreiber speaks of his fascinating, multifaceted childhood, and what is means to be Jewish. Absolutely fascinating, very emotional, very worth watching. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDr93BrtLVE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

Before I get to this week’s personal events, I want to address the question of Haredi “gius”, Haredi, Ulta-Orthodox, conscription into the IDF. Quite apart from the fact that our miluimnikim, our incredible reservists who have left home, family and businesses to defend this country, sometimes for the entire 440 day of this war, we need soldiers. The argument of the Haredi Rabbis, whose word is law in their communities, constantly express fear that if their young men go into the army they will come out secular is ludicrous. If their religious belief is so fragile that they would lose it by being in contact with those who are not religious, then their connection to Judaism is tenuous. The IDF is willing to go as far as necessary to make their religious life consistent with being a soldier and defending this country and more importantly, many young Haredi men want to be part of the defence of Israel.

 

It’s Christmas in Israel! Those of you who thought that we just celebrate Jewish festivals and that now we only celebrate Chanukah are very wrong! Nazareth and the Christian Quarter of the Old City are lit up with Christmas lights, and the road to Bethlehem, here in Jerusalem, is lit up with decorations. Christmas Markets in all of the above in the First Station and of course in the YMCA and the Jerusalem Municipality gives free Christmas trees to anyone who wants one. Best of all, I love the story of Issa. What greater example of the Israeli human mosaic than Issa Anis Kassissieh. Why? Because Issa is Israel's most famous Santa!!! He has created a Santa's grotto in his home and each year he welcomes children of all faiths to visit. Issa lives in Jerusalem's Old City, played basketball for the Palestinian team and isn't Christian!  I love the fact that he often arrives on a camel, obviously no Rudolph in sight!

 

This week has been an emotional roller coaster. Incredibly it is 5 years since my incredible, brilliant, caring, funny, adorable and loyal eldest son, Daniel Cammerman, was killed in an accident in Central Park, New York, on his way to work in Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr. Dan was loved, beloved, by everyone who came in touch with him, be they patients, parents, friends and of course us, his adoring family. I said emotional roller coaster because I am not the keening and bawling type, my pain is deep and personal, rarely shared except for those closest to me, but pain it is, deep in my soul. A pain that cannot be eased. However, I have the joy of my daughter in law Karen and my Daniel’s children, Joshua and Callie, watching them grow, seeing how loving and incredible they are. This Chanukah as we light the candles my thoughts will be with them - with him, with Gideon and Rachel and of course Daniel’s Daddy Philip. Daniel brought light into this world just by his being and that light can never be extinguished.
They say that a person doesn’t leave this world as long as his name is remembered. I can only tell you that we, his family talk about him constantly, his friends, especially Poodle and Paddy, speak of him every day and his fellow doctors and his patients do too. In fact, the head nurse of Uptown Paediatrics still has his photos on her wall. It’s all about being a good person and my son was just that, a good man.

 

I’m not going to Rachel today, we spent time together this week, just doing everyday things like going shopping and sitting down for a coffee, but I am sure that we will speak at least 6 times! Tonight I decided not to cancel Friday night dinner with family despite ongoing pain. We will be 15 including Zvi’s son Leor and family and among the diners will be the lovely Ira, whose birthday it was yesterday and Yossi and Rachel Ribak who were with Zvi and I when the phone call about Daniel arrived. Everyone is bringing something so that makes life easier. Zvi has already extended the table to accommodate everyone and most of the food is ready. Two soups made, the essential gluten free foods prepared, potatoes, sweet potato, shallots and garlic ready for roasting and the salmon defrosting. Zvi has gone to get ice cream for dessert so that I won’t have to make and the gluten free dessert is coming with Rachel. I will talk about my Daniel before we sit down to eat because only a very few knew him and it is so important to me that they learn what a fantastic mensch he was.

 

On Monday I’m taking a very few of Daniel’s closest Carmel College friends to the delightful Shalva restaurant for brunch. Linda, Poodle, Abby, Rachel F, and of course my daughter Rachel. We’ll be taken to Dr Dan’s Room by the newly wed Sarah Samuels, daughter of the founders of Shalva Kalman and Malki Samuels. We will talk about Daniel but without tears, only about his exceptional personality, his love of Gilbert and Sullivan and his devotion to his patients. If you want to give to Dr Dan’s Room, the fabulous studio for the performing arts in Shalva  https://give.shalva.org/daniel

 

And so to song.

 

This week Israel lost one of her most loved and brilliant singers songwriters. Corinne Allal. This song, co-written with Ehud Manor, expresses the love of this tiny country. Rest in peace Corinne. https://youtu.be/pyFK0m-OGNo?si=JXsKKuUUhbng5aXR

 

The next song, the next singer is a hero. A hero who lost his life in Gaza. His beautiful voice is lost, his parents broken. I just felt the need to give you his song for Eurovision, his only and last performance. Sadly there is no translation. https://youtu.be/4Pc-lep4J7g?si=0yOAlUoxWiO4WB19

 

I always loved Peter Paul and Mary but had never heard this song which fits both Christmas and Chanukah. Keep the light from the candle lighting the world. Don’t let the light go out  https://youtu.be/StB_ehpZyN4?si=XajzGA9jF1CK542t

 

My prayer this week is that the lights of the Chanukiah (also known as a Menorah) will light this world and bring the miracle of peace and tolerance to a broken and distorted society. May the wounded be healed; their nightmares fly away and the hostages come home. The goodwill of Christmas spread like snowdrops and cover the world with kindness.

 

Shabbat Shalom dear friends. Remember to invite the lonely neighbour, the elderly friend, the lost young person, to join your celebrations. You may just save a life.

 

With much love from wonderfully rainy Jerusalem where it all started.

Sheila

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Churchill, Assad and Renewal

 

13^th December 2024

 

Shabbat Shalom to you one and all.

 

“And now it has come to us to stand alone in the breach, and face the worst that the tyrant’s might and enmity can do, bearing ourselves humbly before God, but conscious that we serve an unfolding purpose, we are ready to defend our native land against the invasion by which it is threatened. We are fighting by ourselves alone, but we are not fighting for ourselves alone”. Winston Churchill

 

Slowly and painfully the wars, the missiles from many countries which have decimated homes and farms alike, are coming to an end. The missile and drone attacks from 7 countries are diminishing, almost ended, but the war cannot be won until the hostages come home. Without their return to their broken loved ones this war has no meaning and no end.

 

This resilient people, the Children of Israel, north, south, Arab and Jew, have already begun to get back to some sort of normal life. Hotels and “Tzimmerim” which sounds much better than B&B’s, are opening in the north, restaurants are filling up and in the South the rebuilding has begun. As one resident of Zikin said “We are tearing down the burnt remains of the past and building ourselves and our grandchildren a new future.” They will never forget October 7^th, but as we always do, they will pick themselves up, build new homes, plant the fields, grow the crops and the children will play in safety and they will make the South beautiful again. Next spring “Darom Adom” will bring the incredible display of red anemones throughout the Southern Desert and we will learn to celebrate again.

 

They say that things change quickly in the Middle East, but the last month or two things have changed at a rate rarely seen in this insane world. The fall of tyrants and terrorists has been fast and furious, true at the cost of Israeli sons and fathers, fighting for the freedom of this country and democracy in the region.

 

The fall of Bashar Assad was swift, one could say a fallout of the war with Hezb-Allah, swift and just. The Assad regime, father and son, was vile, riddled with heinous crimes that hid behind his Western manners and quiet voice, so unlike all the other theocratic leaders. Assad was not Shia nor Sunni, he was an Alawite Moslem, a minority in Syria, he looked like a normal Western leader with his tailored suits, his beautiful wife and the newly discovered collection of wildly expensive fast cars, but he proved to be a foul and cruel leader. Prisons with four and five tiers of dungeons where the prisoners langoured in their cells until they died. Over his term of office he slaughtered 500,000 of his own people, using chemical weapons, some home made some brought overland from Iraq, the supposedly non-existent WMDs.

 

What does it say about our world, about the supposed ICC when this homicidal, inhuman leader stayed in power for 24 years without a murmur from the so-called Justices. Yet another inhuman aspect of the UN.

 

I cannot begin to describe the horrors of his regime but Tom Gross speaks from the heart as a British journalist, speaking for us all. Watch this video, but know that the scenes in the Seraya prison are distressing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bi_5qneeUc

 

Perhaps one of the most ignored aspects of the war both in Gaza and in Lebanon although predominantly in Gaza, none of the humanitarian organizations has in any way helped the hostages the victims who are Jews. They have not checked on the hostages to check their medical condition and their situation in 15 months of captivity. Like the UN the red cross is anti-Semitic and Israel and you just have to visit the headquarters in Switzerland see that wall of action. A blue line goes around the wall of their museum showing every single act humanitarian act of the Red Cross since its founding. The Holocaust is called the war with Germany and doesn't even mention Jews; 1948 is not about Israel’s War of Independence it's described as the killing of Palestinians and the stealing of their land! Why are the two largest human rights and aid organisations in the world are so against this tiny sliver of land on the Mediterranean Sea?

 

The Jews of Australia are very special. They came, predominantly, from the remnants of the European Jews after the Holocaust, and from the pogroms, coming to the beautiful land as far as possible from Europe. The community has given a great deal to Australia, loving Australia and was loved in return, until now. Synagogues are burnt, Jews are assaulted, the smell of burning taking Survivors back to their worst fears. How? How can it happen so quickly? How can the slaughter and rape of thousands of Israelis have an impact on Jews thousands of miles away, especially in Australia, Canada and the US? Why has inverse racism erupted and was it orchestrated? Melbourne is not the only synagogue burned down since

October 7: Oct 17: El Hamma, Tunisia, Oct 18: Berlin, Germany, Nov 8: Montreal, Canada, Nov 18: Yerevan, Armenia.  Nov 19: Lakewood, USA, Feb 28: Sfax, Tunisia, April 5: Oldenburg, Germany, April 10: Moscow, Russia, May 1: Warsaw, Poland, May 17: Rouen, France, May 30: Vancouver, Canada,

December 5: Melbourne, Australia.  I think about that famous quote after WW2, you know, the one about “they came for the Jews”, because like it or not, we are the canary in the coal mine and Christians are next.

 

Prime Minister Netanyahu made history this week as the first Israeli prime Minister to appear in Court as a defendant. Not a matter for pride and just another issue that has split this country.

 

My husband has a knack for predicting political situations. He has been saying for months that while the world is watching the Middle East China will surround Taiwan. Sadly he is right yet again.

 

I’m sorry, those first paragraphs were really depressing, and I know you expect me to be optimistic and full of hope but we have to face facts.

 

I promise that we now switch to my usual optimism, to which I hinted at the very beginning of this missive! The north of Israel has some of the most beautiful scenery in Israel and possibly in the world. Nature reserves, an Israeli favourite, fabulous treks and places to stay; restaurants of every nature, many “Al ha Aish” – Barbecue style, and Kosher Druze restaurants with traditional Druze dishes. The favourite is the “Tzimmerim” which welcome families for weekends in nature. This week, barely 7 days since Hezb-Allah was defeated, all of the above are already up and running and booked to their limit. It isn’t just that we are a resilient people, it isn’t even the fact that we refuse to stop living life to the full, we need this. We need to go out and have fun, to walk in the hills, to pick fruit, to visit all our old haunts and to relax, to finally relax. We don’t for one second forget the hostages or the families or those we lost, but we need time away from the 24\7 newscasts.

 

Richard Gere was generally known for his good looks and acting especially in Pretty Woman but this week he showed that he is much more than a pretty man, unlike most of his fellow actors who run away from any action that may harm their standing, he chose to stand with Israel and met with the families of hostages and former hostages in the USA. This act of solidarity aligns with Richard Gere’s history of advocating for human rights and peaceful resolutions to global crises.

 

I am so proud of my involvement in Impact-se and here’s another announcement. Egypt, which is led by a Moslem Brotherhood President, has changed its curriculum entirely! 80% of Egyptian schoolchildren are now included in multiyear educational reform using our suggested curriculum. Our Egypt report has found continued improvement in textbooks promoting peace, tolerance, and rejecting violence and extremism. In elementary schools Antisemitic and anti-Israel content showcased in previous reports was presented to Egyptian officials and subsequently removed or revised.  www.impact-se.org

 

This has been a glorious week, sunshine and a crispness in the air that has woken our veranda and brought the sense of late autumn. Walking to the village library the scent of log fires brought back wonderful memories of life in Reading, Berkshire, and waking early on a winter’s morning to set the log fire and warm the children’s clothes on the big fireguard. There is something special about certain scents, rather like music, the memories come flooding back.

 

In a short while I will set off to visit Rachel and family, going past some of the most spectacular panoramic views of Jerusalem from the heights of Nebe Samuel – the Tomb of the Prophet Samuel which is holy to Jews, Christians and Moslems, which lies atop one of the highest hills in Jerusalem.  The view is breathtaking as Jerusalem lies before us, stretching into the distance. The tall buildings are popping up like weeds making the landscape even more interesting and the trees, oh the trees. Quite apart from the forests of Keren Kayemet, every new road in Israel begins with the trees, mere saplings, that will line the future housing. Gosh I love it! The drive takes me through the neighborhood of Ramot and over Nebe Samuel then down to Givat Ze’ev with the ever flourishing Palestinian town of Ramallah on my right. When I say ever flourishing, I mean the brand new tower blocks, the huge buildings which house depots of imports and fruit and vegetable markets. Ramallah, a prosperous, modern town.

 

We just had a lovely surprise visit from one of my favourite people, Paul Israel, Executive Director of the Israel-Australia Chamber of Commerce. Paul popped in with a very important purpose. Vegemite!  For the uninitiated, Vegemite and Marmite are yeast based spread that one either loves or hates- vehemently! In addition, Aussies love Vegemite insisting that it is far superior to its original British counterpart Marmite. Vegemite is virtually impossible to acquire in Israel and I have a wonderful Aussie friend who is going through a tough time and “chalishes” really facies Vegemite!  In truth I love Paul but hate both of the spreads!!

 

Sagui Dekel Chen managed to save his family on that dark day but was taken to Gaza. Idan Reichel and his group sing the song the words of which ring true for Sagui’s wife. https://youtu.be/g26H13bQsuI?si=hcaq-jWx3mytYViI  

 

Music, memories flood through our minds with every note. Keren Peles is a much loved Israeli songwriter, singer and teacher who, after the 7^th of October decided to change her lifestyle and concentrate on volunteering her talent and being with her family. Here she sing a beautiful song with the children of hostages and those who lost everything. https://youtu.be/2J9KJ2lOLLE?si=xdb7Viqn4iqGor36

 

And so to something we all know and love. This week I was going through my old Beatles Albums and singles and so many of their songs rings true today, bringing with them the memories of our youth. Here Comes the Sun gave me hope coming from a time when rebelling meant growing your hair and wearing brightly coloured clothes, but one song, one glorious song, beat them all. Paul McCartney, Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton & Rod Stewart and a myriad of British stars singing All You Need Is Love. https://youtu.be/_OuYLGHkrBk?si=pRBrHQlrLMloMuul  That’s it folks, that’s all we need to wipe out hate.

 

The nights are drawing in and Shabbat comes in early. As I light the candles I feel the physical warmth of the flames, but most of all I feel the spiritual and emotional warmth of an age old tradition that represents the change from an ordinary weekday to a different, calmer, wiser, kinder day or contemplation and rest. I wish you all of the above. You don’t have to be Jewish to light a candle, just think, if we all lit a candle and said a prayer it could light the world.

 

Shabbat Shalom lovely people, Shabbat Shalom and love from our veranda where the flowers come out in abundance grateful for the glorious weather.

Sheila

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Good The Bad and 426

 

5^th December 2024

 

Shabbat Shalom and yes, it’s already December!  Did you begin your Advent Calendar? Have you thought about Chanuka which is around the corner and the sufganiyot (special Doughnuts) are already in the shops although today they don’t resemble the simple jam doughnuts we all remember! They are very fancy with all kinds of toppings and liqueur fillings!!

 

This year has both flown by and yet every day we can only think of the hostages who are still alive after 426 days of nightmare conditions and the families who wait for them.

 

Let’s begin with the bad news to get it over with so we can go back to being rational, normal people. There are many news items so I’ll try to make them as short as possible.

 

Young Israeli Jewish thugs went into the Palestinian town of Huwara and set fire to cars and homes

Not in my name, and not in the name of any rational Israeli. I believe that they, who call themselves the Hilltop Youth, should be prosecuted as any terrorist is prosecuted and punished accordingly.

 

As parishioners of Armagh's Saint Patrick's Cathedral were receiving communion, dozens of pro-Palestinian activists silently marched down the aisle demanding that Christian leaders condemn Israel’s “genocide” of the Palestinian people.

 

Hafetz Al Assad was a cruel dictator, President of Syria, but his cruelty is eclipsed by his son Bashar Al Assad who declared war on his own people, a civil war since 2011,, using banned chemical weapons, the results confirmed by the doctors of the Israeli border field hospital. He slaughtered half a million of his own citizens. As foul as Assad is, those threatening a coup d'etat are a hundred times worse. Terrorists all.

 

The Israeli branch of Amnesty International has distanced itself from the International organisation after they claimed that Israel is guilty of genocide in Gaza without taking October 7^th into consideration or the fact that Israel did not declare war on Gazans and until the very last minute had provided Gaza with food, water and electricity.

 

An American internet gaming company created a game whereby Hamas terrorists murder Jews. Steam, a video game digital distribution service, rendered the game titled “Fursan al-Aqsa: The Knights of the Al-Aqsa Mosque” unavailable to users identified as being in the United Kingdom following a request by the Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit. Unfortunately Canada has not followed suit.

 

As we near Christmas I am sad to report that Christians are leaving Bethlehem because under Palestinian rule it is becoming jus ttoo hard to be a Christian. Even more sad because at the last count Bethlehem was already 80% Moslem. Sadly, friends like Boutrus (Arabic for Peter) don't have the money to go elsewhere. His life is hard because he is denied work as a Christian, his son studied at university but they both take whatever decorating jobs, painting houses, in Israeli Jerusalem.

 

The International Criminal Court's governing body will launch an external investigation into its chief prosecutor Karim Khan over alleged sexual misconduct, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. Khan is called on in an internal document circulated to member states to temporarily step down from his role at the world's permanent war crimes court, based in The Hague, while an inquiry is ongoing.

 

World Central Kitchen has investigated and discovered that at least one of their "workers" who was killed in an air strike was found to be not only a member of Hamas, he was a member of the gang of rapists, slaughterers, of Nir Oz. World Central Kitchen suspended their operations in Gaza because they were horrified to find that one of their workers was a terrorist, not because of the airstrike.

 

In my day the incredible humour of "Til Death Us Do Part" (the British precursor of the American show "All in the Family) and the character of Alf Garnett. Alf Garnett was an out and out racist, insulted everyone equally and through his words we learned about racism. The utterly irreverent humour of Monty Python which targetted everyone and everything. Today both would be banned as non-woke. If we lose our ability to laugh at ourselves we are lost.......strangely it is where woke and Islamic leaders agree.

 

 

Then we have some much better news items.

 

I don’t know what the correct address is - President or President-Elect Trump but anyway he has chosen Adam Boehler to be in charge of the hostage negotiations. Boehler was involved in the negotiations which led to the Abraham Accords and understands the region and its complexities. He repeated Trump’s warning that if the Hostages are not released soon there will be “Hell to Pay”  for those holding them.

 

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is giving one million shekels toward rebuilding the destroyed homes in the north of Israel. The Hezb-Allah missiles ploughed whole towns and villages to the ground.

 

This week we celebrated the anniversary of the first Kindertransport children’s arrival in Britain. Devastated parents, determined to save their children’s lives, in Germany, Hungary and Austria put their young children on to trains which left for the UK with just a label around their necks and a small satchel containing their minimal belongings. Families met them the other end, most of whom went on to adopt the children when their parents were lost in the Holocaust. 10,000 children came to the UK and were saved. I had the honour of knowing two such children who went on to influence the world. Hilda Cohen and Eva Gibbor both of whom were adopted by wonderful families in Cardiff, South Wales.

 

Just a quick Impact-se update. The lower house of the Swiss Parliament, the National Council, voted yesterday to omit all funding for UNRWA from the 2025 state budget, effectively approving an end to Swiss aid for the agency. The vote was proposed by MP David Zuberbühler, a close ally of IMPACT-se.

 

Friday and we look forward to a lovely weekend with many visitors. Actually it began today when our downstairs neighbours popped up for a “cuppa” and continues on Shabbat. Our incredible friend Kathleen and Earl Cox are here after a long break and are coming to us on Saturday around 11:00 and ‘m very excited about it. This visit is just to touch base with old friends but in our phone conversation I was touched to hear that Earl is still producing information clips about Israel which go out to Christian broadcasters all over the world. At about 17:00 a group of friends are coming to us, a mixture of two different choirs, and they are all contributing to teatime or as it is known in Hebrew “Ha Seudah Ha Shlishit” or the Third Feast. I cannot promise them a feast but it will be the traditional third meal of Shabbat. Then on Sunday Rebecca and Harold Finger are coming, finally, to see our new (only 3 years) home! I love Rebecca and Harold who at least twice a year make the journey from Sydney in far off “down-under” Australia. Harold, together with his best buddy Stanley Roth, have been leaders in the Sydney and Australian Jewish communities for many years since Zvi went to Oz to create Keren Hayesod Young Leadership. They also support the work of Impact-se.

 

Of course, Friday means that Zvi will be going to the coffee shop in the Botanical Gardens for his main parliament where they will discuss what is happening in our region and expressing their concern with this government. I assume they will also discuss their feelings about both Biden and Trump. When I describe this parliament, the Friday one, it is not just a group of men spouting off their opinions, although it sometimes sounds like it, many of the group are major journalists and several are former secret service people and high ups in the police force.

 

The weather has definitely taken a turn toward winter. The rain has stopped but there is a definite chill in the air which calls for a good soup, a warming soup, the kind that calls for more like Oliver although a long way from gruel. I quite fancy a leek and potato soup, not vichyssoise, just simple good leek and potato soup. I’m always asked why I use leek in almost every recipe, but the answer is obvious – I’m still a Welsh Girl. You can take the girl out of Wales but never Wales out of the girl especially when it was Wales that gave our Father haven when he arrived from the Polish pogroms. For the initiated, the leek is one of two symbols of Wales, the other being the daffodil. On March 1^st, St David’s Day, the girls would come to school with a daffodil pinned to their uniform and the boys a leek, honestly!

 

It's definitely time for some good music.

 

Halleluyah sung by Gali Atari and Eden Ben Zaken. Halleluya was our 1979 winning Eurovision song so many years ago now and has become an essential part of any Israeli singsong. Gali Atari was in the original group Milk and Honey and I can still remember our excitement when the song won. Spain was running equal with Israel and we thought all was lost because Spain was the last country to vote – and they gave us 10 point (out of 12) and we won!! https://youtu.be/Fy3Znz6Vztg?si=VeYizOAu_hb80Onl

 

 

Ana b’Koach is a mystical Kabbalistic prayer, and here Omer Adam sings before an audience for  the Hostage Shabbat. He asks his audience to pray with him, to put their hands on each other’s shoulders, to be united in their prayer to bring them home. Ana b’Koach - We beg you with Your strength - is a medieval Jewish liturgical poem using the acronym of which is said to be a 42-letter name of the Almighty. So powerful. https://youtu.be/OQGLcV_NWds?si=-pc6cYH1-mdoI6aZ

 

I think about Idan Amedi frequently. A huge star in Israel he not only served in the IDF in Gaza in a fighting unit, he was badly injured and after his time in hospital announced that he needed quiet time, to please leave him to recover. Thank heaven he is about to perform in concert, feeling ready. This song has nothing and everything to do with the way he feels, but I wanted to play one of his songs in recognition of a true mensch, a true hero. https://youtu.be/ExuCB1qsSD0?si=nA5CHtGTUoSOBikP In fact many major international stars volunteered, were miluimnikim, including most of Idan Amedi’s friends who are members of the cast of Fauda with him.

 

They say that we are closer to a hostage deal, gosh I hate that description, these are people who have been held in dire conditions for 426 days, they are not Black Friday merchandise, call it negotiations toward freedom, finally for those still alive and the bodies of those who are not so that their families can bury them and get closure. I pray that it will be soon.

 

I wish you all Shabbat shalom, with love from Israel, that tiny dot, so small that her name doesn’t even fit onto a map. Israel, that tiny Jewish homeland whose success is so incredible that it caused unbearable jealousy in her neighbours. We are strong, together.

 

With love

Sheila

 

I’m so glad I didn’t send this early this morning! If I had you wouldn’t know that Rachel and my amazing grandson Yosef came to visit me as a special surprise. Rachel is usually too busy with Shabbat preparations to come to me. Anyway, what I wanted to tell you is that I am so proud of Yosef, my grandson and absolutely thrilled that he not only talks to me about everything but that my heart leaps that a nearly twenty year old still comes in for a hug and says “I love you my Safta” Nothing like it in the whole world!

 

Modeh Ani

 ​29^th of November, 2024

420^th of October

Kaf Tet b’November

 

Shabbat Shalom dear friends and of course Happy Thanksgiving.

 

It is strange but I feel that each and every one of you is a personal friend. You have held me up when life became difficult and I share my deepest feelings with you, my greatest fears for our beautiful country, so friend you are, even though we may never have met.

 

I begin with a declaration.

I am a Jew and I am an Israeli. That gives me a dual responsibility to feel for the pain of others as well as my own pain. It's easy to say that whatever is happening over our borders was brought upon by their own actions, and it's true, however, we have to recognise that even when there is no choice but to hurt our enemies we have to feel some kind of empathy. There are days when I really don't want to and then I remember the first line of this paragraph. I am a Jew and I am Israeli that's a dual responsibility to feel empathy even for my enemies. Most proponents for Israel have a habit of talking about our pain and ours alone and even though our pain is deeper than one can ever imagine, we are human and we have to act in a humane manner so please excuse me if I stand for the morals of my faith and express empathy for the broken people of Gaza.

 

Jewish tradition says that upon waking one says Modeh Ani, a short blessing of gratitude thanking God for giving us back our soul after sleep. It is a fascinating thought and it is a beautiful thought, to say thank you for allowing us to wake up, even to the world as it is today. I suppose it is Thanksgiving every day without the Turkey

 

77 years ago today, 29^th of November 1947, when the United Nations still remembered its role, a vote was taken to create the Jewish Homeland on the Jewish land. The delineation of that State was clear, Arab land and Jewish land. In the war that began almost immediately those lines changed dramatically as the tiny nascent State gained ground, but Israel triumphed, Israel the name chosen by David Ben Gurion when he declared the State in May 1948 against the votes of his cabinet.

 

Did you know that the first ever official camel race took place in the Negev Desert this week! I kid you not! Thousands of spectators arrived to see the spectacle of Negev Bedouin riders on camelback racing through the sands. Thousands of Israeli Jews and Bedouins fascinated by a new sport, a new escape from their recent reality, leaving memories of October 7^th and constant rocket fire behind them. I wonder if it will catch on as an accepted stop on the tourist route!

 

Do you know what Sigd is? It is a festival celebrated 50 days after Yom Kippur. It has become a singularly Ethiopian festival, although it actually celebrates the return to our land from dispersion. Ethiopia’s Jews lived there for at least 15 centuries, arriving as merchants and artisans and lived a normal Jewish life until facing religious persecution over many years. More than 90,000 Beta Israel, Ethiopian Jews, emigrated to Israel, made Aliyah, since 1977. Because they lived in complete isolation from other Jewish communities for centuries, some Beta Israel holidays and celebrations do not exist in other Jewish communities and vice versa. This week the leaders of the Ethiopian community held prayers overlooking Jerusalem.

 

Had the United Nations kept to its founding charter, the world would be a very different place today. It never fails to amaze me how the organisation that was formed to prevent war not only failed on that count but openly and clearly encourages those who wage war. They have not prevented one single war, one single instance of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and cruel and oppressive regimes are often encouraged. I not only speak of UNWRA, HRC and all the other sub-committees and organisations within the realm of the United Nations. Surely any organisation that can include Iran in the Human Rights Council cannot be taken seriously, but it is. The ICC, the International Criminal Court, that chose to single out Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Chief of Staff Gallant is a prime example. We all know that there are too many oppressive regimes in Africa and the Arab world but yet again the Blood Libel rules.

 

The world’s press announced that “A cease fire has been reached in the Israel-Lebanon war”, putting Israel first suggests we started this horrible war, not the thousands of rockets and missiles and drones on October 8th. Anyway, we hope that it will hold. My first thought is that we will not hear the frightening words “it has been announced” which precede the names of fallen soldiers. Secondly, we have no argument with the people of Lebanon, never have, never will, it isn’t the people of Lebanon that launched missiles and drones, it is Hezb-Allah. Hezb-Allah, the terrorist proxy of Iran, has been declared a terrorist organisation throughout the Western world, not Lebanon.

 

We are constantly castigated for fighting back when attacked, even for fighting back after October 7^th. But if any of the so very righteous countries were attacked, what do you think they would do? What would their response be? What do you think your country would do?

 

Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan z”l was kidnapped and murdered while serving in the UAE. It not only shocked the Chabad community, the Jewish community but it shocked and distressed the UAE. They acted quickly and the perpetrators, three Uzbeki infiltrators, have already been caught. May his soul rest in peace.

 

I digress again to the situation in Canada. Canada emerged as a beacon of moral clarity on the global stage under Prime Minister Stephen Harper but has changed utterly since Trudeau’s election. This situation may appear familiar to others but this article was written by Canadians Zina Rakhamilova and Jonah Hart. “The Canada we once knew and loved now feels unrecognizably distant. Since well before October 7, 2023, Canadian Jews – and, indeed, many average Canadians – have been abandoned. Hateful antisemitic and anti-Canadian protests have erupted nationwide, where agitators openly glorify Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists while desecrating the Canadian flag. Calls to “globalize the intifada” and praise for the groups responsible for atrocities have become alarmingly common.” I receive distressed calls and mail from Australians and Brits as well as Canadians, but nobody seems to know what to do about it. Liberal and tolerant have given way to woke, which means one cannot criticise anyone’s right to protest unless you are a Jew. What a frightening world.

 

The fascinating truth is that MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Moslem countries are closer to Israel than ever before, while the West is Woke! The work of Impact-se, particularly since the Abraham Accords, has created a fascinating change in their approach and incredibly the Bahraini textbooks have not only taken anti-Semitism out but will now contain reference to Israel, including a world map with Israel as a recognised country! Of course they are not alone, Impact-se has changed the textbooks of most of the MENA countries, some more than others, excepting (surprise surprise) the PA and Gaza! Changes in East Jerusalem’s schools is of great importance, led by the wonderful Professor Mohammed Dajani Douadi.

 

What have we done this week? Well, it rained! We prayed for rain on Succot (Tabernacles) and boy were our prayers answered! Most of the rain fell along the shore but Jerusalem had enough to clear the air of summer dust and of course the wonderful news of snow on Mount Hermon, together with the ceasefire, heralds the possibility of a good skiing season!

 

Zvi has been busy with parliaments (mini and maxi), his usual choir and now another choir “to help out a friend who needed basses”, and all his work on various Boards of Governors. I am back to my usual activities. I went to the pool to say that I am coming to water aerobics next week and to explain to our instructress my new needs; I went to my craft group which I go to just because I love the ladies there. It should be known that my creation, which most of the people had great success with, was a tangled web of undecided colours!! Oh well, you can’t win them all. Finally, and most importantly, yesterday I went to my mind and movement class. Our leader, teacher and mentor, Gali, explained that she will not be holding the class next week because she has been asked to take classes for the hostage families, to help them through dance and movement, to help them find a tiny peaceful place for a few minutes, to learn how to find peace in torment. She is a wonderful young woman and we are all so proud of her. This quote explains our class

 

“Dancing is not rising to your feet painlessly like a whirl of dust blown about by the wind. Dancing is when you rise above both worlds, tearing your heart to pieces and giving up your soul.”

― Gabrielle Roth

 

Wow, we have arrived at music again! I decided not to refer to the trial of our Prime Minister or the decisions of his Cabinet. Why not? Because sadly our situation is echoed all over the Western world. For some reason we are very bad at choosing those who lead and represent us. It must be said, however, that President Biden has been a true friend to Israel and has acted throughout with great dignity, often going against his party. If you disagree, go ahead and argue, but that’s my opinion and I stick to it!

 

Back to music. It was a hard choice this week because like dancing, music should lift your spirits.

 

Perhaps Modeh Ani? That prayer upon waking? Omer Adam, one of the top Israeli singers, performs this beautiful interpretation of the prayer. Simply beautiful. https://youtu.be/npRw36_Ftmc?si=XoAgUtF9iiG_lkxK

 

The late Arik Einstein was not only or should I say not just a popular singer, representative of our generation, he wrote most of his songs himself. This song, called Song After the War, seems so appropriate now, as we pray for the return of the hostages and an end to this ghastly war. https://youtu.be/yzAuKps9OYY?si=xYTV7t_YIDdaiOYy

 

I love Boaz Sharabi’s voice, and his ability to write and produce amazing songs both for himself and for others. Halleva’i has no direct translation but probably If Only is the closest, Halleva’i is Boaz Sharabi’s most famous song, with lyrics written by Ehud Manor, and has become a prayer for peace and brotherly love. https://youtu.be/hwEatU285N8?si=1vi1zZ9DYGtcdEaZ

 

Brotherly love, such a beautiful expression. Brotherly love between faiths, brotherly love between nations, brotherly love in families, brotherly love between neighbours……Halleva’i. Hate is a choice just as love, but hate destroys and love builds. Let’s build, just as the homes of Northern Israel, Southern Israel and Gaza, yes I want them to have their homes rebuilt too, let’s build anew.

 

Shabbat Shalom. I wish you a peaceful Shabbat. With much love from Jerusalem my favourite place in the world

Sheila​

--

If the media does not inform us we must inform the media

My Website http://www.theviewfrommyveranda.info/

Facebook      Sheila Silver Raviv
Involvement   http://www.impact-se.org/