27th June 2025
Shabbat Shalom.
“In War: Resolution; In Defeat: Defiance; In Victory: Magnanimity; In
Peace: Good Will.”
Sir Winston S. Churchill
So another war is over, or so it seems. The traffic jams are back, parties
abound, the restaurants are full, and Jerusalemites were asked to bake cake for
Shabbat, for those who lost their homes. In fact, so many people answered the
call for cakes that they had to send out a new message to stop baking! Seven
young soldiers killed in Gaza, a hostage whose body was returned from Gaza in a
brave mission, a mother, her son and his girlfriend who were murdered by a
missile just before the ceasefire with Iran. We know that our freedom, our
existence, comes at a very high price but we will not be beaten down, life goes
on and tonight we will celebrate Shabbat by extending the table to accommodate 17
people, yes we are back entertaining the family after cancelling twice. 14
Ravivs, 3 Silvers and lots of discussions with the neighbours about parking
spaces! We aren’t the only ones to get back into family Friday night meals! We
recover quickly but we never forget.
It has been very easy to slip into normal life.
Our sleep is undisturbed by a barrage of ballistic missiles; our phones don’t
suddenly make that dreadful noise warning us to go into the safe room or shelter;
women no longer sleep in their brassieres just in case they have to run to the
public shelter; the snacks have been removed from our safe room and basically
life has returned seamlessly to it regular pattern. If I can go back to the
beginning of this missive, why are we still uneasy? This week alone, seven
young soldiers killed in Gaza, a hostage whose body was returned from Gaza in a
brave mission, a mother, her son and his girlfriend who died in their safe room
from a direct hit by a missile just before the ceasefire with Iran.
Perhaps the uneasiness stems from knowing that the Iranian
people are still under the fanatical theocracy of the Ayatollahs who spread
their poisonous hatred throughout our world, making tiny Israel and the Jewish
people their target. While the Western world falls deeper into Jew-hatred, the
Gulf States in particular are seeking friendship with Israel. A Harris Poll has
just shown that 50% of young Americans support Hamas! The disinformation is
working.
The obvious heroes of the Israeli missions
were the pilots who flew thousands of kilometres with perfect accuracy, night
after night, day after day, but the unseen heroes are those who prepared the
missions; the Secret Service, the scientists, planners, engineers, they too deserve
praise. In fact, the Israel Aircraft Industries and the innovative armaments
have become top earners for Israel. Every country wants our knowledge! Actually,
the sales began before the Iran war. In the 3 months of January, February and March
this year, international orders to the value of $26 billion for the Israel Aircraft
Industry. Innovation in the field was brought on by necessity and became a
major source of income
But the loss was huge. We lost 28 people, many injured
and up to 9,000 people lost their homes/ A vast number for a tiny country and
obviously, each person lost is a tragedy, but on the other hand, our defence
systems prevented far greater tragedies and loss. The safe rooms built into
homes, the public shelters and warnings of incoming missiles all saved lives,
defence against a vast and super-rich country whose missiles blew buildings
apart.
Like it or not, the President of the United States
came through. Britain and France helped on the fringe, he came in feet first
and the B2 bombers finished the job we had prepared, to end the nuclear
facilities. Again. Like it or not, the two leaders, Israeli and American,
formed a formidable team against a demagogic enemy. I am avoiding the F-bomb,
as shocking as it was, hardly the behaviour of the leader of the Western world
but I understood that he was piqued by the insistence of both parties to throw
caution to the wind in order to save face and be the one who threw the last
punch, thus threatening his hard work brokering an already fragile cease-fire
between the two countries. I don’t know if we destroyed the nuclear facilities
or set them back, but the sheer audacity of this tiny country, a real David and
Goliath situation, will hopefully make them think again about starting with us.
Maybe two countries were involved but this war was for everyone in the West. I
am not sure that his statement about ending the Netanyahu trial is fair; not
sure it is his place to make demands from our legal bigwigs, but I understand
where he is coming from. We need closure and we need a government that is
representative of the majority, in other words, if we get another term with Netanyahu,
we just want him to choose his partners carefully, partners who care for the
country, partners who serve the country, who love this country.
Ben Gurion Airport is back in business!
Everyone is on their way home, either to or from Israel. The first “foreign
airline” to return to our runways was Air Dubai, again showing the firm
friendship that has become stronger and stronger On Passover when we read the
story of the 40 year trek from slavery to freedom, we say “B’chol Dor v’Dor” In
every generation they rise up against us, but the Almighty saves us time and
again. Slowly, other airlines will come back when they realise that they’ll
lose the revenue of the intrepid Israeli holidaymaker! Israelis love to travel
and see the world, although it is becoming more and more problematic to speak
Hebrew or wear a Magen David. I really don’t understand the whole upsurge of
anti-Semitism but on the other hand it happens every so often, with the
emphasis on the often. It’s as if it is always under the surface just waiting
to emerge. There are situations that cannot be avoided, overt hatred of Jews as
opposed to tacit hatred of Jews, but why oh why don’t we get the fact that
being self-hating or in denial doesn’t protect us from attack?
I want to understand something. We in Israel have Moslem
politicians, Moslem Mayors, just because they are Moslem doesn’t make them
anti-Israel, but if someone is openly anti-Israel, if he has a tendency to
incite to hatred, why on earth would he be elected as Mayor of a city with a
strong Jewish identity? You know what I mean! The elections for New York’s
Mayor are really disturbing. I don’t want to go into detail because you want to
hear about what is happening here, not what I think of New York!!
It’s time to change the tone of this missive, I don’t know about
you but I want some good news, news that won’t be ruined by the Iranian
Ayatollahs.
For the first time, two Israeli players, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf, have
been drafted into the NBA, both by the Brooklyn Nets. Ben Saraf, an Israeli
league MVP, and Danny Wolf, a standout US college player, join Deni Avdija as
the only Israelis in the NBA. Traditionally there have been Israeli players,
but this is exceptional.
Almost like clicking the light switch, everything reopened, as I
indicated at the beginning. The Creativity Class went ahead, the lectures in
the village hall next to us, the yoga, Mind and Movement, woodworking, all
filled, everyone chatting about how wonderful it is to get back to business,
until we discover that the pain is still there. I hate to keep mentioning it
but until the hostages, alive and dead, are brought home we can’t heal as a
society. I have a feeling that the demonstrations will return, but mostly,
Hostage Square will be overflowing tomorrow night.
I was thinking, the family that will sit around our table tonight
everyone over 18 (except me because I arrived too late) will have served in the
IDF. The fact fascinated me. Anyway, we will sit outside on the veranda in the
wonderful balmy air of Jerusalem. Everyone else comes from, for me, the debilitating
humidity of the shore and the flat lands. Oh how I love the air on a Jerusalem
evening, the breeze through the pine trees is redolent of the scent of Israel,
the unmistakable mixture of pine and heat, a scent that I love. I spent much of
the last housebound time working on the mirpesset and I have to say it is
spectacular. I moved the exquisite camellia into a flower pot worthy of it’s
beauty and tended to the needs of the fruit trees. The seeds extracted from
particularly flavourful tomatoes and ppers are doing very nicely thank you! I
even have some baby green tomatoes! The acorn squash seeds are also growing
well, slowly creeping across the tiles, but no results yet, just glorious
yellow flowers. The little apple tree is doing very well, even though the
Indian Mynah birds seem to get to the juicy apples before I do. The strawberry
tower is also producing fruit, in fact I feel inordinately pleased with my
crops, a farm in a box!
I must go and set the tables, prepare my part of the dinner and
then I am determined to go to Rachel today. I haven’t seen the children for too
long. Talking of children, my amazing grandson, Joshua, graduated from high
school yesterday. Resplendent in his green robes his broad smile representing
his delight at starting a new phase in his life. Rachel and I couldn’t be
there, Rachel’s flight was cancelled due to the war, but Daniel’s father Philip
was there and his wife Barbara faithfully sent us photos. I loved the one of
Joshua and his beautiful Mummy, Karen. It was a mixture of great pride at his
success and deep sadness that we couldn’t be there. This weekend my
granddaughter Olivia has her graduation ball, very different to the American
formality. Liv will receive an excellence award but she’s too humble to tell me
what for!
OK as I said, loads of stuff to prepare and if I don’t take the
meat out of the freezer then we won’t have anything to eat tonight. I really
don’t want 17 hungry folks on my hands.
What music do you want? You really ought to tell me if you have
favourites! I’ll choose today and then I promise that your favourites will
appear.
Mothers, Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians, all dressed in
white, walk the desert hills, hug and love, and pray for togetherness, for
peace, that their children will know peace. I pray that their prayer comes to
fruition. https://youtu.be/YyFM-pWdqrY?si=EF-iXP_cj-rFdlzu
You don’t have to be a mother, a woman, to worry about your
children. Arik Einstein was a father and wrote this song about children leaving
the nest. His feelings are no less just because he is a man.” Oof Gozel”, Fly
gosling. Fly Fledgling. https://youtu.be/ez1e2VPsRFw?si=zCKE-FfSE_F6ti-u
Uzi Hitman wrote and sang simple songs which expressed the thoughts
of all Israelis. No fancy twists and turns of complex musical grandstanding,
just simplicity, honesty and I love them, they lift my soul. “Born for Peace,
is one of my absolute favourites https://youtu.be/4fz18D68Vdw?si=7X428XBqxpe3Nb-V
Shabbat shalom lovely people. Most people in Israel, when making a
wish or just a plan, say “B’Ezrat hashem” or with the help of the Almighty. B’Ezrat
Hashem I will meet with my childhood friends this week. Our meeting was
deferred thanks to some huge missiles and constant alarms on our phones, so
this forthcoming get together will have special meaning.
Thank you for your messages of support and love. A special thank
you to my two sisters, Doreen and Eddie, for their daily calls just to say they
care, to make sure that we are alright. Thanks to the Mexican family who demand
a full update from Zvi every day. His Spanish explanations are exceptional.
Shabbat Shalom and much love from our veranda, overlook the city we
all turn to, we have been praying to for millennia. Shabbat Shalom and love
from our home to yours
Sheila
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