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14th June 2013
Shabbat Shalom! I hope this missive finds you well.
Isn't it strange how history is re-written? The songs and love-beads of the sixties belie the truth that there were violent demonstrations which brought about enormous changes. Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr were assassinated and university campuses were cauldrons of change. The demonstrations and rebellions of the past bear little resemblance to the horrific demonstrations of the so-called “Arab Spring” but Turkey is different. Turkey has gone from democracy and religious freedom to a suffocating dictatorship in the blink of an eye. The Turkish demonstrations during the day are those of freedom loving ordinary folk and at night they metamorphose into........ watch the bloody truth hear the words. http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Canada is proof positive that a great leader can bring about a force for freedom and justice. This video is short and shows how a country can be principled as Canadas representative stands up to condemn Richard Falk and his foul lambasting of Israel http://blog.unwatch.org/index.
Hon. Jason Kenney (Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, CPC):Mr. Speaker, Richard Falk is an embarrassment to the United Nations Human Rights Council. He has praised 9/11 conspiracy theorists repeatedly. He has suggested that the United States provoked terrorist attacks against it. He is now attacking Canadian-led UN Watch. We call on Richard Falk to be fired as a special rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council. He is a disgrace to that body and the United Nations.
The plight of the Christians in Gaza seems ot be of no concern for most of the leaders in the Christian world . They seem not to care as they cared not about the Christians of Sudan, Lebanon or most Islamic countries. http://freebeacon.com/hamas-
Hamas is miffed with Iran because Hamas refuses to side with Assad so the Iranians moved their funding of Hamas – and in Lebanon Hez-Allah is on its way to a similar fate! Gosh this is a complex situation!! Until the Western Leadership understands that it is first a Sunni-Shia issue and then an anti-West issue they will never reach any solutions. It is so easy to point at Israel because this is the only country they all hate equally! Their success until now has been a clever subliminal racism against all Dhimmi and Infidels by choosing Israel as the focus of their vitriol – after all – as Tom Lehrer said “Everybody hates the Jews” http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Things are no better in the Palestinian Authority. Khaled Abu Toameh wrote this “The Fatah thugs are regularly sent by the Palestinian Authority, which is funded by the West, to threaten and batter journalists, writers, university students and political opponents -- driving them into the open arms of Hamas and other extremist groups.
Until recently, the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank used to arrest Palestinians who criticized its leaders, especially Mahmoud Abbas. But now the Palestinian Authority has resumed using thugs to break the bones of its critics.” http://www.gatestoneinstitute.
And so to sweeter thoughts.................
I told you Waze was incredible. When in the States we used Waze because the American GPS got us lost and didn't tell us about speed traps, traffic jams or road works! Now Google has bought Waze and each and every one of the workers is a millionaire as the owners share their good fortune!! It is a free app (download) for your phone or tablet.! http://www.timesofisrael.com/
Nicky's Family, possibly in a theatre near you. It is the story of Nicholas Winton, an incredible man who saw no obstacle as too high or too hard to save thousands of Jewish lives during WW2.http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Cliff Richard is coming to Israel. It isn't his first visit however. He made this recording of Jerusalem of Gold some time ago. Needless to say Cliff doesn't need to have the relevance of Jerusalem explained to him.....he is a devout Christian!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?
This has been a full week of wonderful friends and family. We went to Tel Aviv to see Kitty and Peter Hammerman who are here from Australia. They are such wonderful people and we had an extra treat when Petter came to Jerusalem and we met in Mahane Yehuda – yes he was thrilled by the noise and aromas, the colours and the spices, the Felafel and the oh so Jerusalem flavours!!!
We saw Barry and Cristine Slawsky who are still on their extended honeymoon and loving every second – they are so in love!!! They are thrilled to be here during the Presidential Conference and loved their invitations. In the meantime they are off on the yacht for a short cruise.
Sandra and Moi had a day of Zvitours – going to the amazingly beautiful Supreme Court and back to the Israel Museum then meeting for lunch at …...... Mifgash ha Aish. They have now gone back to Mexico and we miss them. Of course the Presidential Conference and the Hebrew University have brought a whole slew of friends too. I love it. We met with Avraham and Mindeleh Jasqui last night although our attempts to see our beautiful Saul Same failed since the streets of central Jerusalem were humming loudly with the sound of Formula One and supercharged saloon cars racing around. It was so exciting for my beautiful grandchildren who couldn't believe that they saw a Maserati, a Lambourghini and a Ferrari all within moments!!! It was fun but completely froze the centre of town!
Last night I went to a Board Meeting of the incredible organisation that I am so proud to be part of. I am a very small part – the real work is done by Professors and post-grad students of the Hebrew University poring over and analysing the schoolbooks of the Islamic world and Islamic schools around the world ensuring that the standards of tolerance set by UNESCO are adhered to. We also check Israeli schoolbooks. The Board is a group of very special people, experts in the Arab world whether through legal, diplomatic or academic routes. I am so proud to be part of IMPACT-SE and each and every project. http://www.impact-se.org/
We went to a wedding two days ago. It was an incredibly Jerusalem wedding despite its location – near Nes Zion (which means Standard of Zion not miracle as they thought!). What is a Jerusalem wedding? Well, As the time neared for the Chuppah, suddenly all the young men began to dance around the groom ultimately bringing him to his bride who was seated on a flower bedecked chair to “bedecken hakalah” to check that the bride is really Rachel not Leah as Jacob was “deceived” in the Bible story. After the girls had danced round the bride. The highly enthusiastic boys/men took the groom to th Chuppah as the parents of the bride gently led their daughter to the fun chuppah with music and hippie style musician playing their way through the 7 blessings....... it was fabulous! What made it so much more exciting is that most of the young people involved in the wedding – including the bride and groom – are the future politicians and diplomats of Jerusalem and of Israel. They care, they are involved and they matter.
So we come to the end of another week. Tomorrow we have the family coming for lunch, also David and Libi Efron, Saul and Joshua Same and with a bit of luck maybe Barry and Cristine will come too. On Sunday Nancy and Harry Bloomfield and our friends the Gandels arrive... and Kim is flying all the way from Calgary!!! In the evening Zvi and his choir “Hakol Yachasi” will perform at the opening of the KKL/JNF Directors Conference and Zvi, who is the MC, will introduce them to Yaakov Shtrizhak, our wonderful new friend, new immigrant, brilliant singer. They will sing Israeli songs that made aliya and Yaakov has learned the Ladino song Adio Querida, which laments the expulsion of the Jews from their beloved Spain, of their dismay that Spain betrayed them http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Shabbat is coming and this wonderful city is getting back to readying herself for Shabbat – a slightly traumatised bride after the roaring success of Formula One!! It promises to be a beautiful evening, not too hot, just perfect.
Jerusalem will be bubbling this week with the Hebrew University meetings, JNF/KKL, and of course the phenomenal Presidential Conference – with Barbra Streisand, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair,Robert de Niro, and so very many other incredible people all of whom believe in this country and come to support her........... and to wish President Peres a Happy 90th Birthday! http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Judaism reveres the woman so much so that part of the Friday night home service includes this beautiful poem called Woman of Worth http://www.youtube.com/watch?
I say goodbye with my favourite of King Davids Psalms – the psalm of my childhood, the psalm written right here on the very streets of this incredible City – Jerusalem. You know the words and here the Cantor sings in the original language, the language of our forefathers. Hebrew.
With much love
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