28th March, 2025
30th Shvat, 5785
1 year, 5 months and 20 days since October 7th
Shabbat Shalom, Chodesh Tov (new month) the month of Adar is
almost behind us and Nissan comes in tonight. A holy Eid-l-Fitr
If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill;
may my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you; if I do not consider Jerusalem My highest joy. Psalms
137
Some people I met recently forgot the words of the psalm and
believe that Jerusalem is the source of the problem rather than the source of
jealousy and our enemy’s belief, understanding, that if Jerusalem falls then
Israel falls. The government is irrelevant to our enemies, they understand that
Jerusalem is the heart of all our prayers, all our hopes and has been for three
thousand years. The stones upon which we walk today are the very stones where
the words of the psalms were written by King David, thousands of years ago, the
stones where Jesus walked, the site of the test of Abraham with Isaac, in other
words, the very basis of our two faiths. To refuse to come to Jerusalem is to
give in to the existential threats which surround us.
In a lighter mood, I forgot that our clocks went
forward, or is it back, no forward, and when I looked at my phone and it said 08:00,
I leapt out of bed to bring in the newspaper, scan the news, to see what is
relevant for you, do the puzzles, then wordle. I then go out onto our veranda,
check all the plants, trees and flowers, look at Jerusalem glistening in the
distance and here I am. A little late, but with you 100%.
As I’m sure your news outlets reported, we
are still in a state of political chaos. I am not sure why they ignore the
horrific situation in many Asian and African countries, but they seem intent
upon demonizing our government in general and Benjamin Netanyahu in particular.
I’m no fan of either, as I have expressed in the past, but this concentrated
defamation of Israel and the Israeli government is out of all proportion to its
importance. As war rages in Ukraine, Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia, Iraq,
Afghanistan and so on, the media seems obsessed with Israel. Our war is
defensive and yes, Gazans die, yes life is tough in Gaza, but there are too
many lies told, such as Gaza is the densest population, no it isn’t; there is a
siege on Gaza, no there isn’t (most African countries would be thrilled to
receive that amount of food aid); that Israel started the conflict, well we all
know the answer to that one; and worst of all, they all seem to have forgotten
the darkest day of Israeli history, October 7th 2023. There is only
one way to change their view, apart from changing their advertisers, that is to
write to them! My motto is “If the media does not inform us we must inform
the media
It never fails to amaze me how different countries choose their
allies, those with whom they wish to have friendly relations. Since the cooling
of relations with Turkey, did I say cooling of relations? I should have said
the relations of Turkey with our enemies, our relations with Greece have warmed
considerably. The most recent example of this warmth, even understanding came
when the Greek Embassy in Israel chose to hold the national day celebration in
kibbutz Be'eri.
Al Quds is Jerusalem in Arabic. Last Sunday
Moslems all over the world “celebrated” Al Quds Day. I put celebrated in
inverted commas for a very good reason. Celebrations usually entail extreme
anti-Israel elements and the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and
Australia needed to strengthen their security as thousands “celebrated”
anti-Israel rallies. Surprisingly, the turnout was disappointing for the
organisers, I wonder why?
Daniel Hagari, the highly effective IDF spokesperson who
coped with the toughest period in Israeli history with dignity and respect, has
been fired. Why? Possibly because he made a one sentence statement criticising
the administration. His firing follows others in highly sensitive positions
including Head of Intelligence Ronen Bar, and Chief of Staff Herzi haLevi, probably
because they disagree with the Netanyahu government. Both admitted making
miscalculations before October 7th and took full responsibility.
They all demanded a Commission of Inquiry into the Gaza war in general and October
7th in particular. The new Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, is a highly
experienced and decorated soldier and will certainly do an excellent job, which
has nothing to do with why HaLevi was fired.
Apart from thoughts of his family, one thing ran
through the mind of Keith Seigal, for the 484 days of dire conditions and
starvation. Keith dreamed of pancakes! Not just any pancakes, but pancakes made
to hus own special recipe. Keith’s pancakes were made by Israelis to honour him
during his captivity and something very special is happening as I write. In
Sarona, in Tel Aviv, “Keith’s Pancakes” has opened, just for two days, and
Keith himself will make them together with his wife and daughter. That’s so
Israeli. Instead of lemons to lemonade we choose the sweetness of pancakes. By
the way, slowly Keith has gained weight and is much healthier.
The incredible emotional strength of Eli Sharabi is
legendary. Here he speaks of his ordeal in English. A true gentle-man, an example
to us all. Next time we whine about little things, remember Eli. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHbJVR6NIhd/?igsh=MnZjOHk1ZW84NHhp
I remember the days when brilliant raconteur and actor
Stephen Fry denied his ancestry, but my goodness things have changed. This week
I watched his film “Treasure” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9462944/
If you remember, I wrote early last week because we
were off on a trip to the North, to the area around the Kinneret, the Sea of
Galilee. It was amazing. Our friend Noam chose random friends to join the tour
which was highly successful; our driver, Ibrahim tackled the winding roads from
Druze village to museums and fascinating churches……. But let me start at the
beginning. Our first stop was at a miniature museum in Yokneam. After
retirement, Moshe Samter began creating tiny synagogues, churches, mosques,
pharmacies, in fact minute versions of may wonderful places, all from bits and
pieces he found. From there we went to a Druze village and met the owner of the
restaurant who is an IDF injured soldier. He proudly told us of his time as a
soldier in the paratroopers, with his brigades flag behind him on the wall. We
visited the archaeological site of Magdala where a wonderful Irish nun told us
of the meaning of the various aspects of the ancient synagogue and the origins
of Christianity in Judaism. Gosh Its’s hard to remember it all! We went to a
Neo-Catholic site. Fabulous architecture, obviously Italian in its
sophistication, and the Hebrew speaking priest who sang Shema Yisrael to us in
Hebrew. In all, wonderful people, exquisite views, and to cap it all a story
from our friend Mickey Cohen about his grandfather who came to the nascent
state in 1891 as a teenager, got together with others and formed one of the
first official villages. All in all, a highly successful visit.
A few years ago, I told you about an exceptional man by the
name of Israel Twitto. An autodidact, barely schooled from a poor home, Israel
built himself up, studied life in general and innovations in particular; he now
has over 150 patents in his name, but that isn’t his true claim to fame. Israel
created a different society, a microcosm of the perfect society. His factory, which
began producing parts of air conditioners, is in the Barkan Industrial Park,
near Ariel, which many would call in the settlements. Israel Twitto employs
workers from the PA and new immigrants. They all receive excellent salaries,
full social and medical cover and are able to live good lives. If a young man
shows promise Israel pays for his education and he returns to the factory as a
departmental manager; if a worker is ill or his child falls ill, he pays for their
treatment in Israel; indeed a fine man, a humble man, a brilliant man and I thank
the day that Prof. Shimon Shetreet took us to visit him. This week Israel Twitto
reached the fine age of 80, just like Zvi, and Shimon was at both their celebrations!!
Yesterday Zvi and I made a rare trip to the city, not
because we don’t like it, it’s just such a hassle parking and the traffic jams
are impossible! We had a good reason though, to meet our friends Alan and
Bonnie Cohen. Our political views are diametrically opposed but they are such
good people. Alan has a wonderful way of controlling Zvi’s emotional objections
to Alan’s views, he simply says he can’t hear Zvi if he raises his voice. Zvi
tries so hard to quote historical proof of his point of view but even though I
love Alan, his explanations do not convince.
Just a quick reminder for those who say, Israel and the west bank
or that Israel commandeered land. I found this fascinating photo from an
archive. A map from 1922 outlining the territories of this area as outlined by
the British Mandate. https://www.flickr.com/photos/am-jochim/37123876645/
As I sit writing to you, I look out of our study window and
see the beautiful green almonds on the little tree outside. Our study doubles as
a safe room which comes in handy when the Houthis decided to send long range
missiles! Actually, a couple from Gaza added to the excitement. Anyway, back to
the green almonds. Actually not the Almonds because I’m not responsible for the
common ground, only for our veranda! Everything is either blooming or producing
new leaves, and blossom promising a good crop this year. The little orange tree
is covered in blossom and despite still bearing last years crop, the kumquat
tree is also in blossom. The limes are a bit behind but the apple tree (my
favourite apple, Ana, has a short shelf life and if picked immediately from the
tree, still warm from the sun, is like a sunburst of flavour) already has baby
apples on it. The freesias make for scented evenings and the really unusual
Irises stand tall, a combination of pale blue, yellow and white, they are
magnificent. Each time I step outside I feel a glow of pleasure.
I’m not trying to avoid the renewal of demonstrations; it
just hurts too much to talk about it. What were once political became
demonstrations for the return of hostages rather than anti-government, but the
sacking of Ronen Bar and Daniel Harari turned the corner and while always
fighting for the return of the hostages, whose lives are clearly in greater
danger with the return to Gaza. It saddens me deeply that the voice of the
people is not heard. Democracy may be upheld in democratic elections but all
too easily those elected can turn the tables and become an autocracy.
Back to Shabbat, the weekend and normal Israeli life. When I finish
our chat I am going to see Rachel and the children. It is a rare chance to see
everyone at once, now that they are not children they are not always at home.
Their happiness and hugs at my entry are worth the world. I love the drive over
to see her. The almond blossom is still out and the view of Jerusalem from the
heights of Samuel’s Tomb is spectacular, like a white jigsaw puzzle
interspersed with a million trees; then down the hill to Givat Ze’ev. Coming
home is just as wonderful. As I pull in to the car park, the aromas of Shabbat
begin. From chicken soup with kneidlach to Hamin, just starting its journey to overnight
in the oven. I love the mixture of cultures, of food cultures that make up the
real Israel and as I go up in the lift, the aromas change continent!
And so to song!!!
Since I began with psalm 137, why not continue with psalm 137?
Yaacov Shwekey with “If I forget the O Jerusalem” https://youtu.be/fAFWMQnrU9E?si=mEW8gq_o59GVtiPz
Idan Amedi, Jerusalemite, soldier, singer, songwriter, lyricist
from the heart, wrote this song 12 years ago. Since then, since October 8th,
he served as a reserve soldier in Gaza, was seriously wounded, physically
recovered but every world of this song explains the pain of those who served,
many of whom face years of rehabilitation, physical and phycological. https://youtu.be/DPeCNCkydXc?si=dUpg6QRaegWlso1w
Uzi Chitman z”l, as opposed to Idan Amedi, wrote simple, hopeful,
almost childlike songs. This one is a favourite of mine. Born for peace. https://youtu.be/06FEj7FYEsE?si=sWeio7f7hegDjuiL
I wish you a peaceful weekend, a Shabbat Shalom and remember the words
of the Talmud “The highest form of wisdom is kindness”
With much love from Jerusalem
Sheila
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