31st
October, 2019
Happy
Halloween, Shabbat Shalom – strange that the two wishes stand so well beside
each other! The meaning of Halloween or All Hallows Eve, is pretty much lost
today but Shabbat, yes Shabbat is still going strong.
All our
guests have gone, the sheets washed and the beds remade for the next visitors.
It was a crazy time but now to relax. The Jewish Agency meetings are over, as
are the WZO and the Herzl Seminar. I admit that I didn't go to most of the
meetings but Zvi has been working hard to put forward new ideas and solutions
to problems. The new World Chairman of the Jewish Agency is Isaac Boughie
Herzog who after the last leader is like a breath of fresh air. It isn't just
his boyish appearance and pleasant manner, he is a mensch. Actually as he met new
people he told everyone that Zvi gave him his first public appearances when he
was just 24 years old. Seeing the potential in the young man, the son of the
Israeli President, Zvi sent him on a lecture tour of the UK and Boughie has
never forgotten who set him on his path. Very important, Boughie has known Zvi
for ever and knows how crucial Zvi and Yonah Yahav were in starting the world
struggle for Soviet Jewry, so he has decided to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of their incredible initiative. Finally a politician who keeps his
promises and doesn't try to hijack a brilliant initiative. I will tell you more
about that and the meetings I managed to attend later but I have to get to the
news items first.
In a
well-planned attack, ISIS leader Al Baghdadi was eliminated. His compound was
bombed and he ran into a cave/tunnel with two of his children and blew himself
up, apparently chased by a military canine. It became very popular to berate
the President's description of his death as dying like a dog, whimpering. What
was not understood is that the description was not for Western ears and
sensibilities, it was meant for Middle Eastern fanatical ears. Understand that
one of the worst insults for an Arab is to be called a dog and to be described
thus and die being chased by a dog strikes horror in the hearts of his followers.
Al Baghdadi was a vile terrorist, a rapist and a murderer. As to the victory
speech; Trump is not eloquent, he is coarse and gauche, but he did the job. Actually,
neither Trump nor Obama "did the job" it was the bravery of the men
and women of the Special Forces and their canine division. https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Baghdadi-rapist-led-genocidal-caliphate-died-in-tunnel-606053
Turkey
is dominating the area more and more. The slaughter of the Turkish Armenians led
to Turkish leader Mutafa Kemel Ataturk's revolution of Turkish laws, taking
religion out of the equation and establishing an open society. Ataturk must be
spinning in his grave at the backward slide of his beloved country into
fanaticism and slaughter. The Turkish and now the Kurds are oppressed under Erdogan's
posturing and megalomania which he hopes will lead to the re-establishment of
the Ottoman Empire.
Mahmoud
Abbas is denying Palestinians the right to come to Israel for treatment
despite bewailing the fact that he doesn't have the wherewithal to treat them
in the PA. First question is if he doesn't have the wherewithal for medical
treatment, what has he done with all that international funding? In contrast Syrian
Kurd children are being treated in Israel and are welcomed with open arms at
the Sheba Medical Centre. https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Kurdish-children-being-treated-at-Israeli-hospital-605599
The
very welcome peace treaty with Jordan is now 25 years old. Despite hiccups the
peace is working. Remember that Jordan now has over 50% Palestinian citizens
and King Abdullah may just be losing his hold. I find it sad because on the
several occasions that Zvi and I met him we found him a reasonable man who
recognised the strong ties with Israel.
British
PM Boris Johnson's
Brexit plans have gone awry, very much so. The Europeans are proving an even
tougher nut to crack than he thought. Elections loom and here again we have a "however"
choice between a bad hairdo and a bad man.
The
wonderful Brenda Katten wrote about our electoral system and possible leaders
from our point of view in a manner far better than I. So do click and read https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/The-2019-election-merry-go-round-606454
Now,
to the Jewish Agency meetings to which an impressive group of attendees represented
their communities. I only went to the final plenaries, yet as soon as I went into
the Orient Hotel I felt the change in atmosphere from previous years, under the
new leadership of Boughie Herzog and the World Chair Steven Lowy give a sense of
working together that I hadn't felt for years.
One of
the first people I met, actually one of the first people I sought out, was the
wonderful Marlene Post, mentor and former President of Hadassah. I was
so honoured that she chose to sit with me for lunch and just talk about our
families and life in general, while watching my other Hadassah friends on the
next table; outgoing President Ellen Hershkin who I love and the
incoming President Rhoda Smolow who we all wish great success.
Lieutenant-General
Benny Gantz
was the first speaker and spoke extremely well; to the surprise of the audience
who all took their translator packs, he spoke in clear English! Much like
Yitzchak Rabin, he isn't slick like the Netanyahu who lived and studied in the
US for years, but he got his message across with rare sincerity and received a
standing ovation. He
told us that Boughie's father, as a British soldier liberated Bergen Belsen
freed Benny Gantz' mother, 16 years old and weighing just 28 kilo, together
with Yair Lapid's father who was also a child
in Bergen Belsen. "Look at us now, Israel won not Germany". Going
forward we must unite and he wants a government that represents ALL sectors of
Israeli society equally.
I
love the Australian community! They are active, involved, staunch Zionists
and send their children for a year of Academy in Israel. I was so proud to see Rebecca
and Harold Finger at their first BOG as representatives of Australia, the
lovely Jack Smorgon and Danny Lamm, a long serving member of the
BOG and Zvi's beloved cohort in change and last but not least, the new JABOG World
Chairman Steven Lowy. Steven gave the introductory speech for Former Australian
Prime Minister John Howard, and what an amazing speech it was. Steven spoke
about the 3 million Jewish Diaspora outside the USA, of the fact that Australia
has been a true ally to both the USA and Israel through all their wars, indeed
Australia was the first to declare and support the State of Israel; of the fact
that Australia as a nation has never shrunk from speaking out for Israel in
every forum especially the UN – and then he introduced John Howard.
I
have an admission to make, I actually met them before they went into the plenum!
I went outside to have a quick cuppa during the boring budget discussions and a
small, powerful man with a big smile walked up to me and introduced himself
"I'm John Howard, who are you"? and shook my hand. He was accompanied
by a younger man who also introduced himself "My name is Steven Lowy"
Instead of shaking his hand I responded that I was Zvi Raviv's wife. Steven was
so pleased he hugged me and spoke of his admiration for Zvi! What a mensch!
Then
came John Howard's speech. I knew he was a huge supporter of Israel, before,
after and while in office, but didn't realise the scope of his work for Israel.
He spoke with enormous humour, deep understanding and love of this country that
came from his heart. It was Australian soldiers who liberated Jerusalem 100
years ago and the relationship has remained strong and bipartisan, Australian politics
do not include berating Israel unlike most other countries. He admires Israel understanding that she
can only rely on herself with the lurking existential threat and remains an
inspiration to the world. He visited Hadassah Hospital and was in awe of the
fact that we treat Palestinians with such loving care despite the fact that
Abbas tries to stop them coming.
That evening the
delightful Paul Israel of the Israel-Australia Chamber of Commerce invited us
to a reception for the Australian Bipartisan political visit led by John
Howard. Again it was a time to enjoy dear friends, those above mentioned and Rachael
Risby Raz and Arsen Ostrovsky both of whom have been incredibly active since
making Aliya.
The next morning,
while Kim and Zvi went to the WZO meetings I met with one of my very favourite
people, Simon Klarfeld, a Londoner who as a very young man organised student demonstrations
and the first "Hands Across the Embassies" from the Israeli to the
Russian Embassy in London. When I told Simon about my delightful day at the
Jewish Agency, waxing lyrical about Marlene Post, I saw a huge grin cross his
face and knew that yet again Simon and I had the same taste in people! That's
when I discovered that Simon is the CEO of Young Judea, the youth offspring of
the Hadassah Ladies.
This has been a crazy
couple of weeks and through Billy and Ruth we discovered many new museums in
Jerusalem! This is a fascinating city, although one could easily do a
"people watching" tour, a culinary tour, a Judaica tour or a market
tour…….. the vast number of museums of such diverse interest is fascinating.
The weather has
changed. It begins with the cooler evenings and progresses to gentler, balmy
autumn days. The trees are beginning to drop their leaves, the green kumquats
are starting to change to their bright orange colour and the pomegranates are
bursting, filled with luscious, healthy red seeds; the air is redolent with the
scent of rosemary, the favoured plant for hedgerows and the aromas rising from
our neighbours kitchens as they prepare the Shabbat cooking changes from salads to warming
soups and cholent – aka hamin. Another herald of autumn is the migration of
cranes and white pelicans who stop to feed at the Hula Valley Reserve. No less
than 56,000 cranes have been counted thus far!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehW53bGbt1M
Tonight I am not
cooking, we are going to spend Friday night with Zvi's boys and their families
and they decided to give me a week off! I admit it sounds wonderful and will
give me more time to spend with Rachel and her family.
To honour the
"Let My People Go" demonstration of 2nd December 1969, here
is Israeli tenor Yevgeni Shopavalov singing Shir HaMaalot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAxTTq_1cRY
Arkady Duchin made Aliya from Russia as a child and he
still remembers being teased for his accent, today he is one of Israel's most
prolific songwriters "Who loves you more than I" is my favourite, sung
by Shlomi Shabbat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Uvj1aDXVNI
The epitome of our
survival and enormous success, the Phoenix of Israel, is the thriving city of Jerusalem.
Nomi Shemer understood and when she wrote the song Yerushalyim Shel
Zahav for the 1967 Jerusalem Song Contest, and won, little did she know that
her words were prophetic and within a short time she would write a final stanza
to the song, a stanza describing our return to the Holy sites and the road to
the Dead Sea through Jericho. Sung here by the late Ofra Haza https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH8gtdDA5x0
Time to say goodbye. I
sincerely hope that you will receive this missive because gmail is being
difficult and I must use a server to send future newsletters out. I really miss
you! Don't foget that you can always read my words and catch up on past
newsletters on my website http://www.theviewfrommyveranda.info/blog/
With
much love from Jerusalem, the most incredible city in the world, or as Zvi
describes it "A city from wall to mall"
Sheila
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