Thursday, 1 May 2025

Fire, Beacons and Song

 

1st of May, 2025

 

Shabbat Shalom

 

As the sun sets on the horizon, Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, is drawing to a close. 77 years and we have built, planted, grown, brought in, helped, fed, initiated, innovated, tended and been a light unto nations despite still fighting our war of independence; we really are an example of how to build a fine, democratic nation, despite the multiple wolves at the door. What the 78th year holds we can only pray that it will be better than the last year.

 

As we left Yom HaShoah behind us, mourned our losses on Yom haZikaron (Remembrance Day) and entered Independence Day with so much hope, but no, we had to cancel all the celebrations because the first responders, fire brigade and police were tied up fighting bush fires all over the country, although centered in the areas on the way to Jerusalem. Bush fires that all started simultaneously.  Simultaneous spontaneous combustion? Sadly, we are not that naive and it is a situation that repeats itself time and again, always when there is a heatwave and high winds. At least 26 arson suspects have been arrested.

 

The celebrations that took place had a sombre side, an inner sadness that was hard to hide while 59 hostages, alive and not, remain in Hamas hands. The beacon lighters both celebrated freedom while echoing the plea for the return of their friends, the only people who can possibly understand what they went through. Something about the need to celebrate brought me to Anne Frank. This quote feels so relevant to everything that has happened.

 

“We’re surrounded by darkness and danger, and in our desperate search for a way out we keep bumping into each other. We look at the fighting down below and the peace and beauty up above. In the meantime, we’ve been cut off by the dark mass of clouds, so that we can go neither up nor down. It looms before us like an impenetrable wall, trying to crush us, but not yet able to. I can only cry out and implore, “Oh, ring, ring, open wide and let us out!”

 

Although the actual ceremony on Mount Herzl didn’t take place, for the reasons outlined above, the dress rehearsal had been filmed two nights previously so after all we got to see Zvi and the choir perform! Sadly we didn’t go to our usual party, a truly magnificent bash at the Lotan’s, partly because I’m not quite ready and partly because most of the roads were closed due to the fires. However, we went to a close friend’s party right here on our estate. It was meant to be most of the choir although many just couldn’t get here or were waiting to know if they need to be evacuated. We kept the television on for the ceremony, so that we wouldn’t miss Zvi, also to enjoy the delicious food laid out on the table, then we sat around and sang beautiful Israeli songs and ended up with “Swing Low Sweet Chariot”, “When the Saints” and Peter Paul and Mary!! There is something special about being with close friends when things look so black.

 

Ronen Bar is an Israeli intelligence officer and the director of the Israeli Security Agency since 13 October 2021. Two days ago he stood before the Israeli people and apologised, took responsibility for everything that happened on October 7th and the 573 days that followed. His measured words and dignified stance did not hide the pain of knowing that there was failure under his watch.

 

The BBC is the unlikely source of this news item. The most prominent Islamic scholar in Gaza has issued a rare, powerful fatwa condemning Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the devastating war in the Palestinian territory. Professor Dr Salman al-Dayah, a former dean of the Faculty of Sharia and Law at the Hamas-affiliated Islamic University of Gaza, is one of the region’s most respected religious authorities, so his legal opinion carries significant weight among Gaza’s two million population, which is predominantly Sunni Muslim.

 

600 Syrian Druze clerics came to Israel to celebrate the festival of Ziyara at the tomb of Nabi Shuaib in the Lower Galilee. The Druze community in Israel welcomed them with open arms. Sadly life for them in Syria, in the land supposedly freed of the despots, is not easy and this week at least five Druze were killed.

 

On Friday night we went to the David’s Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem to meet with a truly amazing group of people from the UIA, the Australian Keren Hayesod. Our hostess, definitely with the mostest, was Michelle Gandel and as we sat at her table we were yet again impressed by the love and understanding of those present with Israel’s situation. We found ourselves deep in conversations, answering such relevant questions that it was a pleasure to be with them. About half way through the evening a young man got up to speak, his name is Levi Simon and he came on Aliya some 9 years ago, served in the IDF and then on October the 8th immediately volunteered, became a miluimnik, his thriving tourism business fell because he wasn’t there, he was in the field of battle. I promised him that I would put his very impressive website up, he is a tour guide and if he is half as good as a tour guide as he was as a speaker you will be in for a treat. https://www.levisimon.com/  Levi made a very important observation that he learned during his Miluim, we are in a war where one’s enemy has no concept of the Geneva Convention but is an enemy that uses brilliant psychological warfare in the guise of guerrilla warfare. Many of the leaders of Hamas have psychology degrees from Western Universities. 

 

We were delighted to see Anita Simons there too, in fact several lovely old friends. At Michelles encouragement Zvi told the story of his involvement in the struggle for Soviet Jewry way back in 1969 and his famous meeting with Golda. Actually I must admit that my favourite part of the whole experience was the fact that Sheli came with us and obviously, everyone fell in love with her!!!

 

Our distress at the fires, at the cancelled celebrations was apparent, yet this morning, the smell of fire in the air, a tiny Tsufit (sunbird) greeted me, darting to and fro, the morning sun glistening on its iridescent feathers. As I watched him, fascinated by his movements from flower to flower, lemon blossom to orange blossom I chose to think of him as the harbinger of better news and so it was.

 

I received excellent news from our CEO Marcus Sheff….. Impact-se ( www.impact-se.org) has opened an office in Abu Dhabi! Yes you heard me! The office will allow us to work more efficiently with UAE government ministries and partners such as the Mohammed bin Zayed University of the Humanities.

More broadly, the office will make it easier to work with interlocutors in the Arab and Muslim world. Our representative in the office will be Alaa Alshimmari

 

So another eventful week and so to Shabbat, to sadness and celebration, tomorrow the one year anniversary of the sudden passing of our beloved Valeri. We will go to the cemetery and pay our deep respects, hug Ira, Tomer and Sheli and talk about the lovely man that he was and he left us far to soon. So many sweet memories together. Then to change our mood completely, that evening we are with Zvi’s family to celebrate Gili’s 16th birthday. How strange that life always shows the honey and the sting are inseparable.

And so, inevitably, to music

 

Turn Turn Turn is actually a quote from Ecclesiastes and it is so fitting for our crazy world right now. I love it. Judy Collins and Pete Seeger with a simplicity and naivete of the ‘60s https://youtu.be/n0xzyhoeu1Y?si=9fkuL1ckSB19Vlr_

 

Mishhu, “Someone” is a beautiful song of hope https://youtu.be/YHx9xDAHOIE?si=lpJPTrHJWXQgnoRX

 

Yuval Raphael is a beautiful young woman who was saved on October 7th because she feigned death while hiding in a shelter, this month she will represent Israel in the Eurovision song Contest with the biggest audience in the world. Good luck Yuval!!! https://youtu.be/Q3BELu4z6-U?si=XcEzsL6V3g54TNw5

 

I wish you a Shabbat Shalom, a weekend of peace and contemplation, a week of good news, we all need it. Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem, that incredible, spiritual, beautiful, fascinating city that is the centre of our world.

 

With love

Sheila

 

PS I loved hearing from you all last week!!!

 

 

 

 

 

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