1st August 2024
Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh Tov, the new month of Av. Shabbat Shalom
to all of us who enjoy our freedom to celebrate the Sabbath as we wish, as we
have always done.
300 days and incredibly 115 hostages are still held in captivity, in all
probability in the darkness of tunnels and worse still in the darkness of unimaginable
cruelty and loneliness. Who knows the horrors they suffer at the hands of those
who have been taught hatred from birth, through their schooling, 12 years of
incitement to hatred through their schoolbooks, through the auspices of the UN,
conceivably the most anti- Israel (thus anti-semitic) organisation founded to
ensure peace and freedom for all.
Just a few days ago children were playing football in
the Druze village of Majdal Shams, in the north of Israel. 12 of them died and
37 were injured when a Hezb-Allah missile landed so close by that they didn’t
stand a chance. The video shows that they were running for the shelter beside
the playing field as the missile hit. A huge crater and burned bicycles were
evidence of the force and of the fact that it came from very close over the
Lebanese border. Fate has it that most of the families have relatives in the
Druze villages over the border in both Syria and Lebanon and they are furious,
but to no avail. This could not go unpunished, 12 Israeli children,
irrespective of how they pray, 12 Israeli children playing football had to be
avenged. Thus the pinpoint killing of Fuad Shukr, right hand man of Hassan Nasrallah
was inevitable since Nasrallah himself, Secretary General of Hezb-Allah, doesn’t
emerge from his bunker for fear of death. I’m sure that your news media showed
destruction but in fact it was pinpoint, when I saw the long distance
photograph the only building damaged was the one in which he was hiding away. In
all probability, another evil, deadly mind will take his place but they had to
know that we love our children.
The very next day, Hamas’s evil mastermind of October
7th, Ismael Haniya, felt confident enough to leave his multi-million
dollar home in Qatar to attend the inauguration of the new Iranian President in
Teheran. It was the moment we had been waiting for. Israel had an agreement
with Qatar that none of the Hamas leaders would be eliminated on Qatari territory
so the opportunity was singular and “whoever” performed the task did so with
incredible accuracy, as Haniya lay in his bed, in the “secure area” of the
Ayatollahs, the device, which had been planted some time ago, was activated and
Haniya went to meet his maker. The risk was enormous, in this part of the world
losing face is deemed a deep humiliation and the Iranians lost face. Of course,
there will be repercussions and nobody knows how or where, but part of the
torture imposed by these terror countries is to raise the angst level as we
await the response. Nobody knows where or when but security everywhere must be
increased They may attack the “little devil” or they may attack the “big devil”
the mercurial, volatile minds of these men who oppress their own people and
terrify others is almost impossible to read.
With his usual sang froid Josh Howie puts everything into perspective
https://youtu.be/yd4ERCEnsEA?si=fCDR6sHnoE1qiCHi
On a positive note, perhaps, Anjul Choudry, British
barrister and inciter to hatred on the highest level was released from prison
just a few years ago, but continued his vile path of destroying everything
British, all the high values of King and country, through his publications and
preaching. This week Choudry was convicted of incitement to hatred (by any
other name) and given a life sentence to exceed 28 years in jail. Don’t fear
though, he will not be with other prisoners to poison their minds, he will be
kept separate to stew in his own bitter juice. A huge triumph for the legal
system and for the upholding of British values.
8 soldiers, military prison officers, have
been accused of severe maltreatment of Hamas prisoners, members of Nukhba. A
clear infringement of the rights of the prisoners and they should be tried and
duly punished. However, since nothing is that simple in Israel, right wing
extremists, including members of the Knesset and even Ministers, charged the
gates of the bases in question, forcing their way in and threatening the soldiers
guarding the aforementioned prison officers demanding their release. Their action
shook the rest of us to the very core, to threaten our soldiers is beyond the
pale. We love our miluimnikim but like everyone else they are not all perfect
and if they cross the moral and legal line they must be punished. Chief of
Staff Herzi Halevi “The storming of a military base and the disruption of order
at the site are severe behaviors that are unacceptable in any way. We are at
war, and such actions endanger the security of the state. I strongly condemn
the incident, and we are working to restore order at the base"
A few, a very few of you were surprised or upset by what I
wrote about the PM and his Washington speech last week. I’m sorry, actually, no
I’m not. We Israelis have heard his speeches, heard his empty words about our
current situation for the last 300 days. We are at war, it is not the time for
speeches to Congress no matter how many standing ovations he got, he needs to
convince us, the Israeli people, that he has a plan, that this ghastly war is not in vain, that he is genuinely working
to bring our hostages home, that the constant news that more and more hostages are
dead will stop, that our soldiers can come home to be with their families and
that there will not be any more orphans. So if I offended your sensibilities I’m
sorry but then again, I’m not, because virtually all of you read what I write
because you know that you can trust my words, that I won’t lie to you or paint
a false picture. This country is in tatters emotionally and there is one man to
blame. He chose his government, his cabinet, from those least worthy of positions
of power, men and women who have caused the worst schism in Israeli society yet.
A month after his son Omer was killed by mortar fire in Gaza,
the former Olympic medalist and trainer Oren Smadja joined the national Judo
team in Paris: 'We will go to the competition with our heads held high'. Peter
Paltchik proved him right, winning a bronze medal in Judo and then a few
minutes later judoka Inbal Lanir won the silver in her class! We are on our
way. Nobody can extinguish our spirit.
We won Olympic medals in mathematics and physics too! The Israeli
student national teams earned 11 Olympic medals in the International Mathematical Olympiad in
the United Kingdom and the European
Physics Olympiad in Georgia. The Israeli maths team won two
gold, two silver and two bronze medals amid fierce competition from 609
participants representing 108 countries. The Israeli physics team secured one
gold medal and four silver medals during the competition against 256
participants from 55 countries.
Impact-se does it again!! The Senate Appropriations
Committee confirmed that UNWRA will not receive funding until, at least October
2025, a decision based upon the Impact-se report on UNWRA hate education and
its repercussions.
This week’s reading from the Torah is Mattot and
Maasei, a double parasha or reading and is the longest of the entire year.
It has special meaning for me because it was the Bar Mitzvah reading for my son
Gideon, just before we had to leave our beloved community in in the beautiful
and historic synagogue in Reading, Berkshire. Gideon still had his pure boy
soprano voice, little knowing that he would develop a fine baritone within a
short period! It is an important reading, not only because it recounts the
places where the Children of Israel stopped on their 40 year journey to the
Promised Land, but also the enemies they faced. Today, in today’s woke world,
colonialism and conquering invoke anger yet there is not a country in existence
today that was not won through war, triumph and colonialism. Well worth
reading. https://www.jwire.com.au/shabbat-mattot-massei-rosh-chodesh-av-tuesday-conquering-the-land/
It probably seems strange to anyone outside Israel but basically,
for those of who are still in our homes, have not become refugees, life is
almost normal. Of course, we are all glued to the TV news or checking our
phones, but we go to the pool, do our exercises, shop for everyday foodstuffs
and go to the cinema, theatre and restaurants. To all intents and purposes,
life goes on, until it doesn’t; we are a resilient people, a resilience that has
no bearing on from whence we came or the direction of our prayers. Volunteering
takes many forms, and surprisingly virtually everyone does it to the best of
their ability. Young people learn about volunteering before leaving school and
then many choose to do their Sherut Leumi, a form of National Service, either
instead of or before their IDF service which sets them on an important path in
life. In other words, we may show our love of country through demonstrations in
support of the families of hostages or celebrate our freedom by demonstrating
against the current government which is perfectly legitimate as long as it is
combined with love of country.
Tomorrow, the 301st day after October 7th, I will go to see Rachel and family, Zvi will
go to his parliament in the Botanical Gardens and then we will get ready for
the evening when Leor, Shiri, Amit, Gili, Ori and Yuval together with Amiad,
Noga, Ella and Yonatan will come to sit on our veranda, in the balmy evening
air of the Jerusalem Hills and we will have Shabbat Dinner together. I love
that the children all join in with Saba Zvi’s kiddush (blessing over the wine)
and then rush to be the one to break bread, with the blessing over the Challah.
Traditions over the centuries, honouring our parents and grandparents, knowing
that we are following traditions of many generations and giving the children
something to teach their children. On Shabbat we will go to our friends Meishi
and Dvorit Schreiber, and meet up with old friends for lunch.
Life certainly goes on, we will not be broken and no amount of
induced hatred will stop us from thriving.
Music, for me, represents life. Whether the key is major or minor
depends upon the circumstances, but play on it will. You could say that I was
born to the melodies, born to peace, like Uzi Chitman https://youtu.be/4fz18D68Vdw?si=FHZYNX6d_k6cRh3u
It’s no secret that I absolutely adore Shlomo Artzi, the
quintessential Israeli singer whose songs always carry a message in their
melodic lines. This one is not new to you and certainly not to me, indeed it
helped me learn Hebrew. Here he sings with his son who is now very much an
adult. Under Middle Eastern Skies https://youtu.be/qgqd2VB3TA8?si=I54QRCE9-imf1L1h
Finally Hallevai, which means if only, sung by Boaz Sharabi. Listen
carefully to the words. https://youtu.be/hwEatU285N8?si=CRP4mo3dp0c6DemW
I wish you peace, tolerance, kindness and above all belief in the
future. It is a tough world but if we all stand up and prove that our faith
cannot be broken, this too will pass and our children and grandchildren
will build a better future.
Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem
Sheila
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