Day 17

Day 17 23rd of October 2023 Good evening. I admit it, I was so overwhelmed by everything that I didn’t intend writing tonight, then I saw Yosef Haddad crying on the evening news and as I listened to the reason for his tears I knew I had to write to you. Yesterday you saw him dealing with a stupid girl on the Palestine Club at Aukland University, today he took my heart anew. Although he is an Israel, he was invited to a press conference for the foreign press, because his audience is all over the world, especially the Arab world. Yosef is an Israel Arab who is, arguably, one of our best proponents, he tells the world exactly what it is to be an Israeli, an Arab Moslem Israeli who served with honour in the IDF. I digress; why was he crying and what was it that he said, or saw, that made me realise that I had to tell you. In the press conference for the foreign press, they were shown pictures and clips of things that happened on that diabolical day, things that no human should have to see, in order to shock the foreign press into understanding what happened. He saw a terrified little boy begging the terrorists to kill him after they shot his father and they simply continued looking through the family refrigerator for snacks, enjoying themselves before yes, killing him, they themselves filming it. That was one of the least horrific things they showed, every part, every depraved move was recorded and many times sent to the cell phones of the families. I will not tell you any more for fear of the nightmares that will follow, but how can I say that I am tired, after working all day trying to get the truth out there, how dare I say that I haven’t got the energy or the emotional strength to write? Yosef Haddad is not the only one to have cried this week, everyone I talk to, journalists and spokespersons alike, including one American VIP that I will not name, are broken, utterly broken by what they saw. I want you to know that we are on it. We will make UNWRA pay for teaching hatred, not just hatred but teaching tiny children that they should search out Jews and slit their throats. I promise you, right now, that they will pay. The European Union has already decided to cut their funding for 2024, 2023 already passed and several other countries have already done so. Impact-se has everything on file, files that we pass to the EU, USA, UK, indeed any country that wants it and we are ensuring that they will never teach another child to hate. It won’t be instant, we know that, but I, we, promise it will come about. I hate to tell you but that feels so much better. Rather than keeping it all inside I know that I am reaching an audience that will pass the information on. Thank you. When I, yet again hear the “proportional response” banality, I think about Winston Churchill after the bombing of Dresden in February 1945. Not just bombing but the utter destruction of the city of Dresden. He was asked why he ordered the bombing of a city full of civilians to which he answered with a single word “Coventry” Look it up and you will understand. It was also a turning point in the war. Noa Tishbi was the official spokesperson against anti-Semitism of the Israeli government until the current Government chose to end her position. This speech shows how wrong they were. She is phenomenal, a strong, eloquent Jewish woman, a true Israeli https://youtu.be/7dZRvg13rp8?si=vdV6DiBaWdwVzlNn I told you that we try to continue a normal life, when we have time! So today Zvi invited some friends that he sings with and of course his beloved musical director. They are very special people and have become my beloved friends too. I decided that I would cook and bake, it’s what I do when I’m not working, writing or….. anyway. I decided to bake bread rolls, the kneading gets rid of lots of frustrations, cut some salads and of course, what is the Israeli staple brunch? Shakshuka!! There is one problem with my industrious food preparation, the guests, being Israeli, came loaded with pastries, croissants and other goodies that I have to find room in the freezer or, perish the thought, eat them! Please understand, I’m not being flippant and despite our best efforts our conversation still went to the “situation”, how could it not, but we spoke of how we cope with it. One dear friend who is relatively frail, spoke of her frustration at not being physically able to go and pick fruits and vegetables to help the farmers and kibbutzim bring in the crops; then he admitted that she spends six to eight hours a day manning the emergency telephone line for people in distress at the situation. What an incredible thing to do. Tomorrow I will go to my art studio and try to put my emotions onto canvas and in the evening I will go to the movement group. Last week, if you remember, we went outside to the deck of the new hall and danced in the moonlight. We laughed at the thought that anyone seeing us would decide we were insane, but no, our teacher had a few phone calls from neighbours saying that they saw us dancing and it gave them hope, understanding that music can heal almost anything. Thank heaven Zvi is not on “shmira” guard duty tonight and I have convinced him not to take the dreadful middle of the night shifts. Tomorrow he will be on duty from 11:00 to 01:00, much better. Friends, I thank heaven for people like Yosef Haddad and our other friends, who are able to cry over babies bodies, the unbelievable videos taken by the terrorists themselves of their own degenerate, vile acts. I thank heaven for everyone who cries with us and one day we will laugh again, together. I told you that you give me strength, you really do. Your quick notes, emails and WhatsApps are the oxygen that keeps us breathing when our chests are so tight with stress that each breath comes with difficulty. When I hear from the former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, or Canon Andrew White who would give anything to negotiate for the release of the hostages and the Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem who offered himself in exchange for the hostages, I know that we are not alone. If you suddenly stop getting these missives you can always go to http://www.theviewfrommyveranda.info/blog/ and find me there but please let me know. Gmail has problems because of the recent frequency of my mailings, but we will overcome, I promise. They say that you can take the girl out of Wales but not Wales out of the girl. The song that I chose for today is “Bless This House” by Sir Harry Secombe. Harry Secombe had the voice of an angel and the giggle of an innocent child, comedian and Welsh tenor this song is what I wish for Israel, our home https://youtu.be/hD9omDrTafE?si=QBq0JLCEAm8XUeUJ Goodnight, sweet dreams and may God bless you and keep you safe from harm Sheila