23rd of August 2024
371st of October, more than 10 months of anguish and
heartbreak
Shabbat Shalom! I wish you a peaceful Shabbat.
A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner
and outer life depend upon the labours of other men, living and dead, and that
I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I received and am
still receiving."
Albert Einstein
This quote by Albert Einstein, the man who felt he was
not worthy of becoming the First President of Israel, reminds me of our
dependence upon the soldiers, officers, volunteers, warriors and pioneers
without whom none of us could survive, indeed we would not be here in this
wonderful, resilient country. Of late we need reminding that Israel is the
country she is because of the people, the ordinary people who despite the
government have continued giving and giving and giving back.
The recent recruitment statistics to the IDF reflect the
true patriotism, the good type, of young Israelis who have surpassed the recruitment
expectations to the IDF combat units. Young Israelis are motivated and we’re
proud that they will form the next generation of leaders.
It was a difficult week for so many reasons. Imagine a
beautiful, peaceful, rural town on the slopes of the Golan Heights. Hardly a
modern town, Katzrin is an ancient Talmudic town with the remains of synagogues
built in the 4th and 6th centuries. Formerly Syria, taken
in a famous battle at the end of the 6 Day War after Syria attacked Israel.
This week, Katzrin suffered a barrage of 50 missiles in one day and homes were
destroyed. Hezb-Allah again. It is constant. In just one day over 180 missiles
fell on this area.
The IDF found 6 bodies in a tunnel, no, not 6 bodies, 6
Israelis who were kidnapped, held in dark tunnels, tortured and then after
months of suffering, shot and left where they were. It is small consolation
that their families were able to hold funerals. The bodies of hostages Nadav
Popplewell, Yagev Buchshtab, Yoram Metzger, Haim Peri, Alexander Dancyg and
Avraham Munder most of who were what we call peaceniks who used to help bring
Gazans to Israel for medical treatment and ensured that Gazans found work here
too. The reward for their kindness and trust in the power of love was a death
one would not wish on anyone. https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-815465
Talking of misplaced anger against Israel – can you
imagine any other country that ensures that 90% of its enemies’ citizens are immunised
against polio? Yes, 90% of Gazans were immunised by Israel in the first quarter
of 2024 hopefully preventing a catastrophic outbreak.
I am not sure if you remember but Lebanon was intended as
a Christian country, a Christian haven among the Islamic countries that
surround them, abutting the proposed Jewish State. Beirut was known as the Pearl
of the Middle East and life was good until two things happened. In order to
make the two states contiguous, the two borders were joined with a Moslem area
in between, then, Yassir Arafat arrived on the scene and the Christian dream
was lost. In a cynical speech a Lebanese pro Hezb-Allah journalist wrote the
following https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-815412
I still remember, during my first visit to Israel in
1963, visiting the border which was nothing more than a car park type barrier
and we all had photos taken with the Lebanese border guards! The equilibrium of
the entire area changed as borders were changed and created after the
Sykes-Picot agreements.
Talking of changing borders and creating countries, look
at Europe! Right up until the end of the 19th century, indeed after
1945, countries switched and changed borders, fought and stayed. Apparently,
their self-righteous attitude to Israel’s borders is not based on
self-reflection.
History has a tendency to repeat itself if the warnings
are not read and acted upon. Tomorrow, Shabbat, the 24th of August, is
the anniversary of the Hebron Massacre. Hebron was still a predominantly Jewish
city, indeed the original home of King David before he chose to live in
Jerusalem. It was still the time of the British Mandate, the year 1929 and the
local Moslems massacred over 60 Jews, destroyed synagogues and burned homes. Pogroms
were not only in Europe, they happened time and again in the Middle East
Since I always try to be honest with you there are three
facts that many people don't understand and distress normative Israelis. The
situation and the government have not only given birth to but encouraged Jewish
bullies who take the law into their own hands and have terrorised Palestinians.
I believe that they should be arrested, tried and serve a prison sentence just
like any terrorist.
After the conscription of haredi young men was brought
into action, young men of the Jerusalem Wing rioted in the streets outside the Recruitment
offices in Jerusalem. Their demonstration became violent and despite their
small numbers they managed to wreak havoc with workings of the entire city.
More and more young Israelis are turning away from religion thinking that these
hooligans are representative of Judaism while they are burying their friends
who fight to save our country.
The third admission is much harder. War is cruel and
people die, innocent people die. The claim that everyone who died in Gaza is a
terrorist, a member of Hamas, cannot be justified. We do everything in our
power to prevent the killing of innocents, to keep the number of civilian
casualties as low as possible but when the enemy uses children as human shields,
it isn’t possible. We do not celebrate the deaths of Gazans, we mourn their
suffering too. Eytan Chitayat explains “Tactical Civilian Sacrifice” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUmEA-yG70g
One of the sad aspects of this war is that none, not one
of the Moslem countries, indeed any country, despite their verbal or political
sympathies, has taken in any refugees from Gaza! Oh except for Canada.
John and Rachel Goldberg have campaigned ceaselessly, as
have all the parents of the hostages, for the return of the hostages and for their son
Hersh to come home. Standing proud, Rachel has spoken to Presidents, Prime
Ministers and Kings to free their son from the cruel captivity of Hamas. They
stood before the Democratic Convention this week, fearing that they would not
receive a warm reception but the entire stadium, Convention Hall, burst into “Bring
Them Home” leaving Rachel bent and sobbing in emotion. https://youtu.be/timEH-JIslI?si=PkiZoAt9-KdpZvBw
Their reception was warm and sympathetic, but will the future Democratic leader
be as kind and sympathetic to Israel?
As I have observed in the past, aside from an obsession with
the news, life has taken on a surreal quality of “life as usual”. We had dinner
with our neighbours in the second round of our local “Come Dine With Me”, a
delicious dinner with our new friends. We went to the Jerusalem Theatre to see
a wonderful play by a local playwright, where we met with old friends. We saw
friends, went to the pool, indeed led a normal life, but a life on the edge of
concern, distress and anger. If you came to visit you probably wouldn’t notice
any difference in our attitude, unless you delved deeper. Carmel Sarano, my
kind-of niece/cousin, travels back and forth from the UK, spending her time
visiting soldiers to see what they need and Sheba Hospital Rehabilitation Unit,
sitting and talking to the recovering soldiers. I suppose that life as usual
has built us into the most resilient people.
I visit Rachel during the week too, whenever we both have
time. Givat Zeev is, in the words of the usual BBC or CNN line, a settler town,
but in fact it is just a couple of kilometres from Jerusalem and a fine example
of cooperative living. At the entrance of Givat Zeev sits a petrol station and
a parade of shops. The businesses there, the plant nursery and the huge car
wash, are owned by Palestinians from “over the green line” their cars with
Palestinian number plates and all. The guards at the entrance are Druze and
most of the residents Jews, it can work!
As I drive back from Givat Zeev toward home, I pass two
cities on the road, to my left is Ramallah and on my right is Jerusalem.
Ramallah is growing at an incredible rate, skyscrapers, spanking new buildings
everywhere and on the right Jerusalem. Never a word is said about the growth of
Ramallah, now right up to the border, yet every building in Jerusalem is
criticised and analysed. It brings double standards to a new level.
Anyway, I was thinking about that view of Jerusalem, from
the vista point next to Samuel’s Tomb. The view is breathtaking, the white Lego-like
buildings stretch as far as the eye can see, a complex mosaic of human
activity, trees everywhere. Before houses or buildings are completed, trees are
planted along the new roads, giving a warmth to the scenery and a sense of
beauty to the residents. Beauty, sculptures, parks, playgrounds with
multicoloured slides and swings are an essential part of new neighbourhoods.
The first thing many Israelis create, sometimes before
they furnish their homes, is a garden, even if their balcony is just one square
metre! We are so proud of our greenery! In fact, the friends we ate with this
week have a tiny balcony which was jam packed with greenery and they managed to
grow the tomatoes and runner beans that we ate with our dinner! Our veranda (a
larger version of a balcony) is doing very nicely thank you. The little lime
tree is bending under the weight of the 20 or so fruits that I found yesterday
and there’s even a simultaneous second blossoming. The orange tree, no bigger
than the lime tree, has about 12 fruits and the apple tree is in full bloom;
the fruits of the kumquat and little lemons are too small to count but they
will be on their way by the time I get back. Get back? Oh didn’t I tell you? I’m
flying with Rachel to see my British and NYC family! I’m so excited and very
happy that we booked El Al because the other airlines are somewhat erratic in
their flights to Israel!
Yahoram Gaon is an icon of Israeli song. Here he sings about
his beloved country. Shalom Lach Eretz Nehederet which means Shalom to you wonderful
country. https://youtu.be/__oEmwpEmTc?si=OLXpOmW6bKxJWlkJ
If there is a song that epitomises the people of Israel,
Jew, Bedouin, Druze, men, women everyone, it’s this song. Hopefully you will be
able to see the subtitles. It’s all about how everyone, from bus drive to
teacher, from students to CEOs, from farmers to barmen, all change into volunteers
in the IDF. https://youtu.be/aYGd4HOend4?si=BHjN1BXwd6iSuoDO
Satchmo, Louis Armstrong, just to hear his name brings a
smile to the lips of even the toughest human being. He reminds us that despite
it all, this is a wonderful world. https://youtu.be/CaCSuzR4DwM?si=AtvJypQ2nEdmY5l4
Shabbat Dinner tonight will be just the two of us. I will
have Zvi’s harmonious Kiddush (blessing over the wine) all to myself. Next week
I will hear Gideon’s baritone sing the Kiddush in their home in London, my grandchildren,
now really grown up, smiling at the idea of being together and wishing that
Yosef, Talia and Ayala were with us too. Me? I’ll be smiling, perhaps a tear or
two, but proud of the way that each and every one has turned out. Sammy, definitely
the most beautiful of all. Sammy who cannot express his feelings in words but
manages to let us all know exactly how he feels toward us, Sammy who taught us
what unconditional love means, will just look sideways at his Daddy, happy with
the familiarity of the prayer. Tradition. Tevye the Milkman understood that our
survival relies upon traditions that are handed from generation to generation,
the simple things. May your home be filled with tradition that you learned at
your parents table and will proudly pass down to future generations.
Shabbat shalom from Jerusalem which shone like the star
she is, under this week’s huge full moon.
Sheila
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