7th of March 2025
7th of Adar, 5785
518th of October
Shabbat Shalom, Ramadan Mubarak, have a peaceful weekend
David ben Gurion said “If Jerusalem will fall there will not be a
State.” Not Tel Aviv, nor Haifa, Jerusalem, the City we should not forget.
I want to begin with a quote from our dear friend Dr. Kimball
Taylor who is here for the JAFI (Jewish Agency for Israel) meetings. We had the
rare opportunity of a few extra days with him due to the crazy demand for
flights! I was talking to Kim, as they say “of cabbages and kings” and he told
me about an interview he gave to promote the cause of JAFI and Israel in the
world. I quote Kim directly, as he spoke in the recording, because I feel that
it encompasses so many elements of our life here in Israel.
“I love the story of father Abraham and his tremendous faith in
being willing to offer his son Isaac up to God. At that point he did not know
that there would be a ram in the thicket, but fortunately there was and he was
spared the agony of losing his only son. Today, in Israel, tens of thousands of
parents, every day, are called upon to lay the lives of their sons and
daughters upon the altar of freedom not knowing if there will be a ram in the
thicket to save them. Sadly, for many of them, they are not offered such a
reprieve. We owe these people our freedom. We need to pray for these parents
and to pray for all of Israel that they will be protected that they will come
home safely just as Isaac was able to return home to with his father Abraham”
There are more than two sides of President Trump and this week we
saw both of them. A belligerent Zelensky
showed us that the meeting he had with President Trump was probably staged but
he knew his role, not a happy one, as Ukraine became the Czechoslovakia of the undeclared
war with Iran. The other side of Trump was when the former hostages were
received in the Oval Office and he sat listening to every word they said, not
interrupting, clearly moved by each of them.
I think that we were all shocked by the interchange between Vance,
Trump and Zelensky. By siding, or appearing to side, with Russia, the USA then
opens a channel to Iran. Putin's ego is massaged by making him central to such
channels. Through Putin Iran can be persuaded, through promises, to stop
financing their proxies, thus securing Israel and Jordan. Iran no longer has
access to Lebanon since Syria fell.
A convoluted scheme indeed. Sometimes, if the situation calls
for diverse tactic one needs to deal with the devil to reach one’s goals.
Talking of dealing with the devil, Eli Sharabi was over 500 days in
captivity by the cruellest of cruel captors, Hamas. His story captured the
hearts of anyone who has a heart as he returned home, haggard, skeletal and
broken by the news that his beloved wife and daughters were killed on the Black
Saturday. I say broken but Eli is an exceptional man, capable of looking beyond
his pain and tragedy and finding strength in his love for everyone. Ilana Dayan is a strong and determined
investigative journalist on Israeli television. While a gentle soul in her
private life she is unwavering is seeking the truth. Eli Sharabi asked her to
interview him and the result was highly emotional and brilliant. I was
entranced by this man who came out of the gates of hell and has no need for vengeance.
Please, take the time to watch and listen, the English subtitles are excellent.
https://vimeo.com/1062681067/e63e614963?share=copy
The students of Michigan University reached the depths of odious,
repugnant behaviour when they desecrated a memorial to the Bibas family. The
sheer evil reflects much more than ignorance.
Ramadan is an important festival in Islam, fasting during the day
and feasting by night. It should be a period of contemplation and prayer, but
the current wave of incitement to hatred has changed all that. This week they
have been Terror attacks in Sweden, German and Austria as well as those in
Israel. The whole of Europe is on high alert as Islamic Jihad, Isis and other
Hamas supporters “celebrate” Ramadan in a manner not known to any rational
religious thought. Those who still believe that Israel is the reason, even the
cause, have a rude awakening as they learn that extreme Islam has simply put
Israel as the arch enemy to hide the real purpose. Believe you me I have the
honour of knowing many Moslems, not in the “some of my friends are….” but real
friends who abhor the realm of terror as I do. The Gulf States despise the perpetrators
of terror, maybe excluding Qatar, and are doing whatever it takes to take hate
education out of their children’s schools.
Talking of terror (yet again my lateral thinking takes you places
you never thought you would go). What about Islamist Extremist terror against
Christians? A Report from the Gatestone Institute disturbed me beyond sadness. After
forces from the al-Qaeda affiliated Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) terrorist group
conquered Damascus and overthrew Syria's Assad regime in December 2024, they
urged the residents of the Valley of the Christians to surrender any weapons
they kept for self-defence, telling them that civilians would not be harmed.
Since the jihadists' takeover of Syria, however, around 500,000 Christians in
the country have been faced with increased persecution and abductions. On
February 16, more Christians were abducted from another village in the area.
Their kidnappers, according to sources on the ground, are torturing them. Christian
clergy are not allowed to walk outside in any clothing that makes them
recognisable as priests or pastors. Crosses have been removed from church
buildings." So when you see the reports that it is all about Israel, it
isn’t. It’s not only about Jews either, it is everyone that does not conform.
The Syrian leader may now wear a suit and tie but his heart is still in the
garb of dissent.
My week began by singing “Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau” with an
assorted group of about 25 proud Welsh people in a busy shopping mall in
Jerusalem. Actually, we sang several Welsh songs with gusto while shoppers
looked on in confusion. We all looked normal but then they had no idea that you
can take the Welshman out of Wales but you can never take Wales out of the 500
Jews who made Aliya!!!
From our meet I went off to the airport to collect Kim and come
home to hear the tales of an LDS family in Western Canada! Kim is everything I
write about him. Friend, brother, listener and having him to stay with us is a
joy.
We all had Shabbat lunch with our lovely friends Ronit and Yossi
Dagan and then after Shabbat we went to Hostage Square with our friend Ruth
Tamir who kindly let us park in their car park. There were thousands upon
thousands of people there, but since we arrived fairly early Ruth and I moved
toward the front and people moved aside to get me a free place on the railings
next to the stage. It was deeply moving as the families of those still in Gaza,
under diabolical conditions, stood together with the placards holding pictures
of their loved ones. After standing for over half an hour I needed to find a
chair! I realised that I had to get from our wonderful perch at the front all the
way to the back, through a sea of people. I started walking and that sea of
people parted like in the Bible story! Nobody pushed, people just extended
hands to help me through until I found the tent with chairs. I believe that my
little story illustrates the kind of people that come to Hostage Square. It isn’t
political, there were people of every political belief, it is all about the Hostages
and supporting the families. Yes of course there were determined cries of “Achshav”
NOW! Concerning obtaining the release of those still in captivity and the
bodies that the Hamas body snatchers took with them to Gaza. The parting of the
people to let me through said so much about those who go to Hostage Square.
Most of this week was our usual insane schedule but last night was
spectacularly joyous! Zvi decided to have an early birthday party for his 80th,
because he celebrates together with three other friends, all of whom celebrate
their 80th, born within days of each other. Yolli Zonszein, Samuel
Bettsak and Daniel Liwerant plus the ridiculously young Yitzik Lev who has a
couple of years to go! Zvi ordered Mexican food (he’s so generous that we
couldn’t manage even half the amount) and then Rachel, Ayala and Yosef arrived
with the biggest balloons I have ever seen pronouncing 80! It gave me so much
joy to see the warmth and love that they exude which is returned by all they
meet.
I’m sure there will be lots of birthday parties, Zvi already
mentioned bringing friends from his various parliaments to come home instead of
to the coffee shops to chat and celebrate. Sounds good to me! Any chance to
celebrate to forget the dirty politics that are dragging us down further and
further into depression. We have to take the example of Eli Sharabi and find
joy even through the tragedy.
Tonight I will see an old friend, Bryan Isaacs, the big brother of
an even older friend Stephen Isaacs, and the Uncle of a wonderful young woman,
a baker whose support for Israel warms my heart, Tami Isaacs! Generational
love! Bryan is coming for dinner to catch up on the 60 years since I last saw
him!!
My goodness I’m late today but for a very good reason. Actually two
very good reasons! One is because the electrician came back because last night,
as we were about to sit down to dinner, we the electricity decided to leave us
in darkness. Thanks to our neighbour we managed to get some light but something
was seriously wrong with the system and this morning Michael came to put it
right. Then my wonderful, fascinating neighbour Yael popped in and as usual we got chatting and I lost all sense of time.
So much as I would love to continue our conversation, I have to get the table
laid for Shabbat, have a quick clean and prepare to light the candles so excuse
me if I run.
Songs and music warm my heart even in the darkest days so here we
go
It is 25 years since the beautiful Israeli singer Ofra Haza passed
away. Perhaps you all know her rendition of Jerusalem of Gold which she sang at
the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem. https://youtu.be/L8Co7IzOyhw?si=XG_XQxiTEvcitul0
What does an Israeli, held in captivity in a tunnel for 490 days,
beaten and starved, loses the use of his right hand, do when he is released? He
sings a song about the sunshine in his life. Use the cc button for translation https://youtu.be/nflbvTepb4k?si=2dW5PS2faKOEWw7r
Omer Adam is one of the most popular Israeli singers who spends a
lot of his time singing for injured soldiers and in this song he prays for a
return to love and joy. https://youtu.be/uhSZKAcJs38?si=1LohGGuvsr8xIl-_
I wish you a Shabbat shalom, a shabbat of peace and love while the
world continues in its uncaring manner. Remember how you feel is up to you, the
world around you, your personal space depends upon how you make it.
With love from Jerusalem, glimmering in the distance.
Sheila
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