5th May 2012
Yes I know it isn't Shabbat but I wish you a happy Wednesday!
Last
night I wrote an article for the Times of Israel talking about Yair
Lapid, son of Tommy Lapid, who is the new face on the Israeli political
scene and uses the old slogans of his father about religious Jews and
the IDF. I agree that the Hareidi community must be part of our society
but it cannot be the only item on ones political agenda. I felt the
possibility of a new party was simply splitting the face of Israeli
politics into even more factions and compared his new party's name, Yesh
Atid (there is a future) to Obama's Yes I Can. I wrote of how we need a
safe and moderate coalition not even more parties. This morning I
ditched the article for a simple reason, speaking until the small hours
last night the Prime Minister and new Kadimah leader, Shaul Mofaz,
reached an agreement bringing Kadima into the coalition, which is what
Kadima voters wanted in the first place and Tsippi Livni refused to do.
The
brilliance of the political manouevering, presented as a fait accompli
to a surprised nation, disappointed journalists and politicians alike
when they suddenly lost their bete noir and their trauma was
breathtaking. I am so happy with the situation while those politicians
left behind are shouting “anti-democratic government” I actually believe
that this is the ultimate expression of democracy because now the
majority are represented in the new order.
I
don't now what the media is going to do now that they can no longer say
“Prime Minister Netanyahu's Right Wing Government”. Now that the PM has
a wider government the probability of successfully passing new laws to
include our entire society in the responsibilities of democracy and
ensure that everyone “gives back” have increased enormously. Finally a
government that has the ability to change the mistakes made by a very
naïve David Ben Gurion.
Of
course Israel isn't the only country to ring in changes of government
but in France we enter the unknown. Hollande is a socialist, we know he
is against boycotts of Israel and intends visiting the area and more
specifically Israel. We know that he supports the ideal of Two States
and a secure Israel but then one must also ask about the future of the
French economy and the drain on French society that its huge immigrant
community presents. It will be interesting to see how this new chapter
in European history plays out. I wonder how quickly the EEC will fall
apart as an economic entity where the strong countries support the weak
bringing the entire deck of cards tumbling down.
This morning we had a fascinating meeting with Nir Boms to discuss aspects of IMPACT-SE (www.impact-se.org).
I am so proud to be part of such an important organisation which
presents academic research into tolerance (or not) in the schoolbooks in
our region and worldwide – acceptance of the “other” according to the
criteria of UNESCO. The information gathered and the resultant reports
are used by our own governmental bodies and international organisations
as an outstanding research tool to respond to the constant false
accusations against Israel. What countries teach their children speaks
of the nature of their society and the future they bring to our world.
Nir is involved both as a representative of one of the donors and a
member of the board and he brought us up to date with current research
and events. Our new Chairman of the Board, Jean-Claude Nidam is indeed a
fine, upstanding and brilliant choice who will undoubtedly bring even
greater honour to the organisation. As usual (this is Israel) we had our
meeting in the kitchen over home-made Shakshuka!!!
After
our meeting we made our way to the Mamilla open air mall where we had
the pleasure of lunching with Zvi's wonderful cousins Gina and Jorge
from Mexico City. Gina and Jorge are here with Aish ha Torah and have
really been on the run for 10 days of touring and learning. I loved them
the first time I met them, warm and intensely Jewish, giving their
children a traditional Jewish life without extremes. Their son is now
studying for his medical specialisation in Tel Aviv and they ensured
that their children understood the importance of Israel in their lives.
It is such a pleasure to sit with people who have no doubt as to their
identity, and as such are tolerant to all they meet. Tomorrow is a day
of meetings and then on Thursday we drive north for a family wedding
stay over in Haifa to absorb some of the gorgeous scenery on Mount
Carmel and maybe visit the Bahai Temple Gardens. We then wend our way
back to Jerusalem in time for Shabbat.
On
Shabbat we expect a very special guest! Canon Andrew White is coming to
sit on our veranda, enjoy the view of his beloved Jerusalem and talk
about our lives and his incredible work in Baghdad. His understanding of
reality coupled with his deep belief in G-d and Christianity coupled
with tolerance of the beliefs of others makes him an exceptional man and
I am proud to call him friend. I am so excited!! Among our other guests
will be Prof. Gabby Barkay who is not only a dear friend and of course
my hero for his work sifting through the mounds of earth taken from the
Temple Mount by Sheikh Raeed Salah, Gabby also helped Canon White in his
work on the renovations of Ezekiels Tomb in Iraq after I endangered his
lived by asking him to go and see if it was intact and ended up
enriching his life through what he found! Also coming is Deputy
Jerusalem Mayor Naomi Tsur who wants to meet the Canon and tell him how
much we Jerusalemites appreciate his work and hopefully gina andjorge
will join us. I wish that Bob Simon could be here too – he could fill
another 60 minutes with the truth of the situation of the Christians in
the PA with the full backing of Canon Andrew!!!
So
dear friends, this morning we awoke to a new beginning. I for one am
hopeful that what was already a successful government will reach new
international recognition and national success. As former Speaker of the
Knesset and member of Kadimah Daliah Itzik said of the new coalition-
“Maybe this new marriage will produce wonderful children”. I certainly
hope so!
With
love from Jerusalem where the huge, golden moon is just peeping over
the horizon above Kibbutz Ramat Rachel, climbing fast and growing in
brightness lighting this amazing city from above.
Be well and be strong – it's a new day..................... every day!!!
Sheila
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