210108
8th
January 2021
Shabbat
Shalom to you all
I have
been trying and trying to think of a way to open this letter after the horrific
mass lunacy in Washington. I remember being
stunned by the riots after Donald Trump won the elections 4 years ago https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-inauguration-protests-idUSKBN1540J7
but those riots were tame in comparison. Extremism,
that is opinions that reach the outside acceptable thought of both right and
left, have become the order of the day and when those thoughts are not controlled
the average citizen is forgotten in the fury that spills over. One thought kept
running through my head over the last couple of months. As child I, like most
Brits, was taught, "It isn't if you win or lose, it's how you play the
game" or "Don't be a bad loser always congratulate the winner"
"That behaviour isn't cricket" Simple good manners in everyday life,
accepting losing "the game" are a part of life and clearly essential
in a leader.
Israel
has now vaccinated nearly 20% of the population with the first Pfizer
vaccination, as opposed to Britain and the USA who are nearly 2% of the
population
Our
friend Dr Joel Zonszein, former Head of Endocrinology at Albert Einstein
Hospital and recent Oleh Hadash with his wife Nattie, wrote this excellent
summation of why Israel has succeeded so brilliantly in vaccinating the
population, and I would add a few words. Israel has universal health care
rather than socialized healthcare and it was the early Zionists who created the
healthcare system in 1911 long before any other country even thought of it.
"The
success of mass vaccination in Israel, it is because it is a small country and
because of its socialized medicine.
The
health fund Clalit (the general fund that serves ½ of the
population), was created during the Ottoman rule.
It had
doctors and nurses in communities, so that patients would not have to travel by
cart for hours (and be killed), before they received medical care.
The
farmers, teachers and clerks, organized a second fund in the 1930s, different
from Katznelson’s socialist worldview; the network became Leumit (the
national fund)
In
1941, a group of athletes broke away from the labor union and they created
their own fund Maccabi, named for the sports-based youth movement and a
nod to the Maccabees of Jewish history. It provided care mostly in the big
cities and is the second-largest kupa in Israel with 2.3 million members,
including Nattie and I.
Meuhedet, the
third-largest HMO was founded in 1974 through the merger of two veteran HMOs,
Amamit -founded by Hadassah in1931 for the Farmers' Union to provide services
to settlements (the pre-State of Israel "Yishuv") and Merkazit,
founded in 1935 by the General Zionist Workers', to provide medical care to
independent employees, and freelance professionals.
Healthcare
in Israel is universal and participation in a medical insurance plan is
compulsory.
All
Israelis are entitled to health care. Everyone in Israel gets affordable or
gratis medical care. https://www.ynetnews.com/magazine/article/SJtkaOg0D ”
Now
for a "Good news, bad news" session
Obviously
we must begin with the very bad news of the utter abuse of the freedom afforded
by the democratic process in the United States. I believe that demonstrating
and expressing one's human rights is a wonderful thing, irrespective of views,
but violence, destruction storming the Capitol is beyond the pale.
Bad
news,
but expected is the closure imposed upon Israel and the UK, thanks to those who
do not understand that their behaviour kills. Good news, Israel's Health
Funds have done a brilliant job and the PM thought ahead and ordered millions
of doses of vaccine
Bad
news
is that the UK Covid variant arrived in Israel with travellers, the good
news is that the Pfizer vaccine covers it.
Bad
news,
the supply of Pfizer vaccine finished before many of the essential workers,
teachers and chronically ill have been vaccinated; good news, there's
lots more on its way!
Better
news,
Pfizer chose to send millions of vaccines to Israel in exchange for the
research we have performed on the effects of the vaccine.
Good
news,
the Oxford University vaccine is now in production and is infinitely cheaper
than the commercial vaccines, giving poorer countries availability.
The
good news
is that the Israeli medical care is phenomenal and available for all; the
bad news is that the medical staff are exhausted, their numbers depleted by
those either sick or in isolation, working to their very limits without the
usual help from the patients families. This is a disease which forced scared
patients to cope alone and lonely.
Bad
news,
there are still idiots who refuse to wear masks, refuse the vaccine and refuse
to limit their activities, the good news is………..but even here there is good
news because more and more people are socially aware and go for Covid tests.
The
good news
here is that the weather has been absolutely glorious and we have taken
beautiful walks in the Deer Park, the Railroad Boardwalk and Valley of the Cross;
the bad news is that the weather is glorious, temperatures of up to 20
degrees C, sunshine and we can't go further than 1,000 metres from home!
I don't
want to break the flow of words by talking politics. It is said that we get the
leader we deserve, but I'm not sure that is true of many Western countries at
the moment. However, if we are in a "Good news, bad news" mood, we
should really be grateful for our freedom. Too many countries are so corrupt
that they become either demagogues or cruel dictators. We may have created
demi-gods but luckily we also have the power to change.
The
Torah Reading this week is Shemot, or names. It tells the tale of the
thriving Jewish community in Egypt who do so well the Pharaoh decides to
imprison most and orders the Jewish midwives to kill all the male Jewish
babies. We all know the story of Yocheved who hides her baby boy in the bulrushes
and he's found by Pharaoh's daughter and grows up to be a great leader who
after seeing an Egyptian soldier beat a Jew understands the cruelty of the
leadership and leads the Jewish people to freedom and the Promised Land. OK, I
know that's the short version that everyone knows, but the late Rabbi Jonathan
Sacks saw the ancient portion in a very different light, bringing the clear
moral story up to date. Here he writes but as I read his words I could almost
hear his beautiful dulcet tones in every wise word. https://rabbisacks.org/shemot-5774-women-leaders/
Thanks to my friend Rosa Romanowsky for
sending it to me.
Two
days ago we went to see the progress on our new apartment and meet the project
manager. While there we discovered that several friends are also moving there
and then we joined the WhatsApp group of new neighbours and discovered that
there is a wonderful advice there – buying white goods as a group, telling each
other about good carpenters, ari conditioning experts, plumbers etc, and of course
Zvi discovered that he knows the parents of half of them! We found a sense of
community that is heartwarming and rare. Unlike most places that one lives we
already have a community. I can already imagine meeting friends for a chat on
one of the many benches along the walking path after our morning
constitutional! Next to the entrance door of our building is a reasonably sized
garden plot, as yet without purpose. Zvi suddenly came up with the idea of a
communal herb garden! The project manager loved the idea, said he would create
whatever we want…… I was so excited, that I volunteered immediately and already
designed it with raised beds of all the herbs any cook could desire! Parsley, sage,
rosemary and thyme are just a beginning!
Last
night, before the midnight closure, Zvi turned to me and said "Go now to
see Rachel, Igal and the children because it may be as much as 3 weeks until
you see them again" I suddenly realised that I will have no need for the
frozen pizzas that they love much more than my home-made food, not for a while,
so I jumped in the car and set off, but not through Samuel's Tomb, I went
through the highway which is much faster but not nearly as interesting! I
didn't tell them I was coming so when I knocked on the door I was greeted with
"Safta's here", and delighted faces and many "Covid hugs".
Actually I don't need to worry because they have been really careful and of
course not been to school. The funniest was to see Talia's face when she found
out that I had brought a frozen roll of her favourite cookies! I make the dough
and freeze it in a roll ready to cut into discs and bake for unexpected guests
who no longer come. Wonderful mixed sweet spice flavour and raisin cookies she
goes crazy for! I think Ayala was upset I didn't bring her favourite veggie
"ktsitsot" or patties, but my arrival was a spur of the moment
decision!
Looking
out from our verandah this morning was quite eerie, quieter than even a regular
Shabbat. The roads are almost empty, so my eyes were drawn to other things. The
beautiful trees of Keren Kayemet creating a triangle of green on the right;
cyclists and walkers along the path which follows the Ottoman railway line;
walkers up and down the street beneath ours……… suddenly the hustle and bustle
of everyday life has been forcibly halted.
I loved
the song "Katan Aleinu" which has no direct translation but
means It's Easy from my first hearing and I think I even gave it to you a
couple of weeks ago. My friend Elizabeth Gelb sent me this recording with
English subtitles!! Love it. https://youtu.be/58AjdhGSaTU
On March 12th, 2019, Koolulam came
together with Link20 movement of the Ruderman Family Foundation at Menorah
Stadium. 8,000 people sang ‘Shiro Shel Shafshaf’ with Stephane Legar to promote
a message of accessibility and equality between people with and without
disabilities. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZitrjOnyTzE
Before Covid
Mahane Yehuda Shouk (the Jewish market) was a meeting place for young and old
before Shabbat. Here is a taste of those days, we are all impatient for their
return https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHg2qu38jlE
Please,
please take care, you are very special to me even if we have never met. I wish
you a good weekend, wish you a fruitful future very soon and good leadership
which will teach tolerance
Shabbat
Shalom with love from Jerusalem
Sheila
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