356

 27^th of September 2024

 

Shabbat shalom to everyone, each and every one of you. Perhaps the greeting Shalom has deeper meaning now than almost any time in our history.

 

I thought about writing a tirade about the farce playing out in the current session of the United Nations, but it has become boring, not worth the time it would take to describe the lack of credibility, the inanity of the speeches and the voices that are given a microphone to express their lies and calumny toward this tiny, really tiny, stretch of land. Josep Borell is a disgrace and when the Palestinian Authority Chairman/President Mahmoud Abbas, the representative of a non-existent country, stands before the plenum and declares that Israel should be stripped of her membership, I believe that the UN reached the end of its useful life.

 

Time and again we hear that our war is with Lebanon, but that is not true. I have been reading about the Hezb-Allah take over of that once beautiful, free, Christian country. It makes fascinating reading. Not only the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri but the gradual insertion of the extremists into the Lebanese government. The agreement was to split the Premiership, that is Prime Minister and Presidency, between the Christian sector and the Hezb-Allah and Shia Moslem sector to make for even handed governance. Nasrallah has been the leader of Hezb-Allah since 1992 and it is their growing presence in southern Lebanon that has time and again created conflict. Why? Hezb-Allah is Shia Moslem and has the unwavering support of Iran, inn fact, their policy and arsenal come directly from Iran. We do not, I repeat, do not have a war with the people of Lebanon, unlike Gaza, there is a firm and strong opposition to Iran and her proxies within the country as both the Christian (who want their country back) and Lebanese Druze are against the conflict. Because this is the Middle East, it is complicated but I hope it has helped you a little bit.

 

I’m sure you have heard that Hezb-Allah has a huge arsenal provided by Iran, nothing new in that but this week we found out, predominantly through the Israeli media and the IDF, that they built huge homes, luxurious home with pools and hot tubs in the manicured gardens, installed families in those homes, but with a twist. Each family that moved into that home had a large space on the top floor in which, wait for it, there was a cruise missile! Seriously, families with children living in specially built launch pads for cruise missiles aimed at Israeli towns and villages, capable of reaching Tel Aviv and the South. Unbelievable.

 

The pinpoint killing of Hezb-Allah leaders shows the accuracy of our Air Force as one sees a specific apartment in a large building is the only one damaged. Among those targetted this week, Ibrahim Awil who was responsible for the 1983 bombing of US embassy in Beirut in which 63 people died including 17 Americans. If you thought that we, Israel is the only target for these killers, you are wrong. We are the excuse, you are the target.

 

Did you know that the Mossad, that much maligned Israeli security service whose name translates as the “organisation”, succeeded in preventing no less than 50 major incidents worldwide, attacks on Jews and Jewish communities? Well, they did!

 

Hannah Arendt was one of the most influential political commentators of the 20^th century. I quote

This constant lying is not aimed at making the people believe a lie, but at ensuring that no one believes anything anymore. A people that can no longer distinguish between truth and lies cannot distinguish between right and wrong. And such a people, deprived of the power to think and judge, is, without knowing and willing it, completely subjected to the rule of lies. With such a people, you can do whatever you want." 

 

It is almost a year since the tragedy, the massacre at the Nova Festival and the farming communities of the South of Israel by drug and religion crazed Hamas terrorists who laughed and sneered as they committed unbearable savagery. The National Library of Israel has created a visual exhibit of each and every one of those killed to make sure that each has a name and a face. https://www.nli.org.il/website/VIDEO4K_3840X2160_SIFIRIA_MEMORIAL%20SLIDSHOW_23_9_EN.mp4 

 

356 days. Almost one year, and there are still hostages in dire conditions, barely surviving if at all. 356 days since they have seen the light of day. Why were 1,200+ terrorists freed for one soldier, which resulted in October 7^th, but none for 101 human beings?

 

Rabbi Jeremy Rosen so often expresses my/our thoughts in his posts. This is just one thought that has been going through the minds of even the most pious of Jews over the last year

“There is a well-known story of The Court Assembled to Judge God in Auschwitz. A story attributed to several different sources and locations and maybe myths, but powerful, nevertheless. It was assembled to judge God for what was happening around them at that moment of humanity’s utter shame. They found God guilty for what was happening to the Jewish people. But having done that, they all got up and went to pray the afternoon prayer. “ https://jeremyrosen.com/2024/09/should-god-atone-too.html  

 

I’m sure it’s an age thing but I had never heard of Montana Tucker, but now that I have I will follow her. Here she stands together with Loay Alshareef carrying signs calling for peace and understanding. Sounds like all the others. Just watch this and I promise you will be surprised. Both Montana and Loay are polite and thoughtful. https://youtu.be/ZuxesbLMkvY?si=vZ2sMBU9zXGMuGK2

 

Today Zvi went to his granddaughter Ella’s school to tell her class about the invention of his father, the exceptional Kalman Raviv. Kalman was a sports teacher in Jerusalem and he used to take the children for a run in the mornings but was concerned about the traffic, even in 1950! He had the idea to place the older children at all the crossroads on their route, with sticks in their hands to stop the passing traffic and let the children pass by. So it was and it became the “Mishmeret ha Zahav” all over the country, 3 years before the legendary Lollipop Ladies of Britain and 4 years before crossing policemen in the States. Apparently the usually somewhat verbal class sat in rapt attention at the story and even requested a photograph with Zvi at the end!!! It’s a fascinating story and I am happy to send it to those who request.

 

I had so many thoughts I wanted to express today. How I sit on our veranda and life in our area continues in its natural pastoral manner while our friends in Haifa, Timrat, Khawaldi, Daliyat al Carmel, are being bombed in a constant terrifying manner, but something happened today that changed my thoughts and direction. My dear, dear friend, Saville Martin Myers, aka my children’s Uncle Mart, passed away in the night. I am grateful that I got to see him while I was in London and we talked about being family, our children more like siblings than friends and his wonderful wife Valerie, Val, was my closest friend, and always will be. Ever hopeful, ever kind, Martin z”l was the epitome of friendship, always ready with a smile and a kind word, which made me think about what that word, friendship, means. I am unbearably sad, finding it hard to write about him in the past tense but grateful that my memories, every memory, is sweet. My heart goes out to my amazing friend Valerie, to their boys Gary and Julian and families, and the wish I could be there to hug them all, although that would hardly take away their pain.

 

Friendship means support without judgement, standing up for your friends when they are attacked, either verbally or physically, in fact just being there whenever you are needed. Friendship is a smile; friendship is listening; friendship is caring; friendship whether for a person or for a people, is caring enough to find out what they need and fight against bullying, lies and calumny. Friendship goes both ways, something many forget.

 

Valerie, Martin and our family spent our High Holidays together. In fact we saw each other virtually every day and cooked together for every festival, bar mitzva and synagogue event. So when I think about Rosh Hashanah, which begins on Wednesday night, I think of the joy of being our family.

 

I must concentrate on what I wish you, what I wish our upside down world, this Head of the Year, this time of contemplation, contrition, repentance and absolution. What does it really mean in our everyday lives? When we say the Selichot (forgiveness) prayers do we suddenly become a forgiving, generous person or do we have to work at it?  As we reach the Day or Atonement (Yom Kippur) is it like entering the confessional and a priest giving us a task to clear our souls of sin? Actually no, we are only forgiven our sins if we truly repent and change. It’s a bit like a promise that we make without thinking about its consequences and then choose to forget to fulfil. While Rosh Hashanah is joyous, we are constantly reminded, in the service, of our duty to be a better person. So here goes, my wish for you.

 

I wish you patience with those who are less quick, less able

I wish you kindness, to those who differ and those who disagree

I wish you a world where listening is equal to speaking

I wish you the ability to dispense love, because it is far more effective than any drugs

I wish our world a greater understanding of what is important; for our youth to realise that Tik Tok isn’t real life; that just because someone is popular it doesn’t make them right.

That dissent be replaced by unity, especially between the different sectors within our own faiths

That we learn to be brave and ensure that the world knows that we are proud of who we are and where we come from.

Indeed, I wish you peace of mind and leaders who will bind us, unite us, teach us how to behave and not cause greater divisions which embolden our enemies.

If you want to add some good thoughts please do, I am always ready to receive your thoughts.

 

Leonard Cohen was a proud Jew and his love of Israel was apparent. He wrote lyrics for Rosh Hashanah to the music of the Sound of Silence https://youtu.be/5u_0EvgQYp4?si=bTPCnDaX_T0Q41YF

 

B’Shana ha Baah, In the coming year. Hopeful, upbeat, something we need so much. The Maccabeats with one of my favourite songs https://youtu.be/5WsWouCsbaQ?si=LJ3galwBFYZmy-Ap

 

Harel Ska’at sang this song in the Israeli song contest. It isn’t new, it is a love song to our beautiful land, our Israel. Hineini kan, I am here. https://youtu.be/RtisIZhaiag?si=ap25H2vlsZGa8V7H

 

Shabbat shalom dear wonderful friends. Shabbat Shalom in the true sense of the words, Shalom Aleichem, Alsalam Alaykum, la paz sea contigo, la paix soit avec vous,  may peace be with you.

 

With love from Jerusalem, the centre of our world.

 

Sheila and of course Zvi who returned from Mexico where he met all his family and old friends 

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If the media does not inform us we must inform the media

My Website http://www.theviewfrommyveranda.info/

Facebook      Sheila Silver Raviv
Involvement   http://www.impact-se.org/ 

Back to Jerusalem

 

6^th of September 2024

 

Shabbat Shalom to one and all

 

I’m back and want to thank all of you who wrote asking where I was last week.

 

I had a truly wonderful trip to the UK, managing to spend time with loved ones, both family and friends, to catch up on both good and bad news and of course to answer the myriad of questions about Israel.

 

Last week I understood you. Last week I felt what you feel being so far away when tragedy hits. As the news spread about the 6 hostages who were murdered just moment before the IDF reached the tunnel in which they were held, I felt that all I wanted was to get on the first plane home. There is a sense of needing to be together, even though everyone around me had the same sense of dismay and deep sadness, somehow being here in Israel one is surrounded by others who understand, have been to the demonstrations, walked in Hostage Square, spoken to the families, probably a sense of family. Don’t get me wrong, my family and friends in the UK are totally involved and aware, read up on every word in the news, feel deeply about the last year (yes nearly a year) but even so, being here is different.

 

One experience that stands out in my mind took place on a Great Western Railway train to Cardiff. I was very happy to find that my booked seat was right near the gate, at the rear of the train, and plonked myself down next to my fellow passenger. Looking to my left I saw a young man, tattooed from head to toe, as his short trousers attested, a nose ring completed the picture. As we arrived in Bath most of the passengers disembarked and I moved to an empty seat opposite. I can’t remember why we started talking, but we did, and what a surprise. He told me that he lived outside Cardiff, my home town and the destination of the said train, and asked where I lived. I told him and he immediately perked up and asked so many relevant questions, basically saying how he had never believed the one-sided BBC version of the news! It was an eye opener on every level, particularly “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”. I was to find that attitude from virtually everyone I met, including Moslems. I fact the El Al ground staff at Luton airport wore Hijabs! But I digress!!

 

If I may, I want to go back to the murdered hostages, the most recent of too many. Perhaps because his mother, the incredible Rachel Goldberg-Polin, spoke so clearly in English, was able to take the international stage, we were all familiar with her son Hersh z”l. Hersh became symbolic for anyone with a heart as his face came up on newscasts all over the world and then, moments before freedom, obviously bruised and battered, pale from almost a year of captivity in a dark tunnel he was, no, they were cruelly murdered.  Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, and Almog Sarusi  (you can find out about each one by clicking on their names)  The Israeli response was clear in the subsequent demonstration in Kaplan Square in Tel Aviv as an estimated 600,000+ poured into the area, carrying Israeli flags and photographs of the hostages.

 

Rachel and Jon Goldberg Polin spoke at Hersh’s funeral. As one who lost a son, my beautiful Daniel, I felt every single word that she uttered with the same level of strength that she has shown for the 330 days of hope https://youtu.be/YoSxbKzvIxA?si=FZXFcAYIcEWo8lUK  

 

The sympathy from the news media is short lived, as it was following the horrors of October 7^th, and it set me thinking why. They know only too well that Hamas/Hezb-Allah/ISIS/Islamic Jihad are bad people, really bad people, in fact theocratic villains, yet still continue to tell half truths making Israel the bad guy. My thought process took me to the story of David and Goliath. There's David, little shepherd boy, who rises to the challenge from a big huge bully. They chose the site for the meet and Goliath, confident of his brawn and stature, struts onto the field while David, shepherd boy and poet, takes the time to find the perfect round stones for his little catapult. They meet and David, the young underdog, swings the catapult around his head aiming carefully, and the stone finds its mark on Goliath's temple; the huge man crumpled and fell to his death. The shepherd boy went on to be a great king, lover and poet whose writings would be ready every day until now, by Jews and Christians around the world. The comparison, the moral of the story is clear but David is not the hero any more, for some reason, Goliath is the hero of the story. The enormity of the extreme Islamic countries (predominantly Iran) and the duel between the giant and the shepherd boy is the story of Israel.

 

As you know I try not to be too political, democracy has its faults, but it must be said nonetheless. The leaders of all branches of the IDF have said, time and again, that while the Philadelphi Corridor is of utmost importance, it can wait. It can wait for the eyes of the world to be on another war, another mass slaughter. We have missed so many chances to retrieve our hostages but this government is stuck in the determination to win. Nobody wins wars, everyone suffers in war, both the aggressor and the defender, in all wars. Let’s face it even in WW2, more than 500,000 people died in the British bombing of Dresden and other German cities. When asked why he attacked cities rather than military instillations, Churchill responded with one word “Coventry” which was the worst hit, nay destroyed, by the Luftwaffe. Again I digress, the point being that this government has made too many tactical mistakes, has not paid heed to the military leaders has never taken blame and has lost its moral compass. We do not have a Churchill and I fear that the Churchill brilliance is lost, he has no equal in today’s world, no leader brave enough to risk his political career by taking the high road, building the moral of his people as they spent long days in shelters and the underground as the Germans bombed many British towns To win a war, one must not only have definite strategic plans but must make your own people believe that you are capable of keeping them safe. Enough said.

 

335 days, 335 emotionally exhausting, confused and helpless days. We have a strong democracy, fantastic people who have risen to the call for volunteers, both in the IDF and in everyday life, given of themselves where the government has failed, but 335 days of deep emotional stress is too long, too much and proven that democracy doesn’t always work. Back to Winston Spencer Churchill who said “Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others” Democracy has nothing to do with elections, it has to do with the personal freedom and security. The Ayatollahs and Hitler were elected!!!

 

Qanta Ahmed, a British/American physician, a Moslem, writes a blog, this one in the Times of Israel, a blog that expresses so much of what we feel. https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/islamisms-assault-on-israel-is-a-crime-against-all-of-humanity/

 

Of course I loved being with family and friends, too many to mention, and the walks around the Cyncoed Reservoir with my beautiful big sister Doreen who can walk faster than anyone I know and was thrilled when I kept up! Of course it was so wonderful to enjoy the glorious weather, the green green grass of home (yeah Tom Jones); the hugs, stories and the reminiscing of old times; loving my grandchildren from NYC and London; having Olivia do my fingernails and hearing about her and Zackary’s first day back at school; watching four of them (Olivia, Joshua, Zachary and Callie)racing around playing sardines or splashing each other in “Olivia’s Folly” a big put-you-up pool and just being family.

 

Announcing that I love El Al elicited disdain from many but I do! I love being greeted by “Shalom, brucha ha baah” Shalom and welcome, as I step onto the plane, I love knowing that El Al will keep flying even in the most extreme circumstances for Israel and………. Wait, let me explain. Rachel and I flew to the UK the afternoon after the huge Hezb-Allah barrage on the north of Israel and our response. Would we fly? Yes. Were we scared? No. On our arrival in the UK we found that that night Rachel’s daughter Ayala went to a huge open air concert in the Sultan’s Pool in Jerusalem that very night! While the world was running away from us, we knew that our IDF was taking care of things! I suppose that day was the epitome of Israeli life – existential danger in the early hours of the morning and young people dancing on the stones of Jerusalem in the night!!!

 

Many of you have asked how you can help, which organisations support the survivors, the injured and their families and the families of those murdered through terror and although there are many, there is one which was founded by a Canadian/Israeli couple, https://onefamilyfundus.org/  Marc and Chantal Belzberg. One Family has been supporting and helping all of the above since the second Intifada and their warmth and love extended to those families is unmatched.

 

I’m home and very happy to be home, but one foot is still in the UK with the family and dear friends. So I will quit while I’m ahead and go for music!

A song of hope, an Israeli song of hope with Jews and Moslems singing together about what binds us https://youtu.be/5d_i2F2LlF8?si=liKMi35nnexYkgAb

 

Yavo Shalom Aleinu – This video has no translation but the meaning is simple, “Peace will come to us, to all of us. Shalom to us and to the whole world” Moshe ben Ari wrote it and sings for us https://youtu.be/L4Uzxn0lV6g?si=cu2n0Yf94hd9bYmo

 

David Broza is one of my favourite singer-songwriters. Yihyeh Tov is also one of my favourite  songs. So here it is Yihye Tov, it Will Be Good, form his mouth to God’s ears. https://youtu.be/qtI7h5A9eEQ?si=axPoFbBC4zMx-sFM

 

Zvi is in Mexico City with my grandson Yosef, Rachel’s son, and I am here! It’s really strange! Tonight I will spend Friday night with Rachel and the girls, with a very different kiddush. Last week Gideon sang kiddush (the blessing over the wine) with a very familiar tune and very Ashkenazi pronunciation, this week it will be kiddush with a very Middle Eastern Jewish pronunciation! After all diversity is the name of the game.

 

I wish you a good Shabbes, a Shabbat Shalom, a good weekend, from the every beautiful, breathtaking city of Jerusalem, gleaming in the distance as I look at the View from Our Veranda. Jerusalem, City of David, Ir Shalem, Ariel, Shilo, Zion, City of David, indeed the city with 70 names in the Bible. https://israelforever.org/programs/israelinmyart/70_names_of_jerusalem_resource.pdf

 

With much love

Sheila