25th July 2025
The 658th of October
Shabbat Shalom dear friends. Today is also the Feast of St. James
for the Catholic and Anglican Churches and Jews are in the second week of the
three weeks of penitence which lead up to Tisha b’Av, the commemoration of the
destruction of both Temples.
During the 3 weeks we rue the internecine hatred which led to the
destruction, Sinat Hinam.
Hate is not a word, it is a disease
If I were to fulfil my dream, it would be that even those to whom
my beliefs are diametrically opposed, be it politically, religiously, indeed
any way, that we can talk about our differences, quietly and politely. To sit
and have a delightful meal with people that I like even though they are very
different, even opposed to my way in life, then my dream would come true.
Today I don’t want to concentrate on the news because most of you
read and try to interpret the biased information that you get from your local
media so you don’t need me to tell you, unless of course, there is something
specific that one cannot untangle from the massive knot of lies told about
Israel. Today I want to concentrate on what it means to be an Israeli right
now, in the current situation.
We feel abandoned, misunderstood, helpless in the
face of obscene criticism from countries whose history tells of vile racism,
the murder, nay slaughter of minorities and political corruption. I don’t
attempt to support the statements of some of our Cabinet members and as you
know I am not a fan of our current government, but on the other hand I am angry
at the opposition which instead of unifying, creating a shadow cabinet and preparing
a manifesto, a political and national trajectory, they concentrate on infighting as to who is the leader of which
party – a power struggle between similar ethics.
It is hard when our fellow Jews and Christians
suggest that we should keep quiet, don’t speak Hebrew in public (in the case of
Israelis) hide your crosses and stars of David, don’t wear your kippot in
public, etc etc etc…. don’t be obvious Jews. I have to admit that although I no
longer live outside Israel, it makes my blood boil! Why in heaven’s name should
we hide our identity? We still have the most amazing way of life, for all
Israelis, not just the Jewish ones. Why should we all, Jews, Christians, Arabs,
Druze indeed all of us, why should we be ashamed of the most incredible
advanced society in the entire Middle East and far-flung places.
I have to refer to the incident of the French youngsters
returning from camp in Spain, on a flight home. The way it was reported, they
made a noise by singing in Hebrew and were thrown off the flight. In fact, the
pilot had a Palestinian flag on the armrest beside him (there is a photograph),
before the flight they were told to hide any identifying Stars of David or
skullcaps, and then when they sang in Hebrew and they were thrown off the
flight; their 21 year old madricha (leader) thrown to the ground and
handcuffed. They were not Israeli, they were French and I want to hear the
French government react angrily. I don’t have all of the details and there are
many rumours about who the pilot was and whether the youngsters were somewhat
rumbunctious, but it was an ugly scene. Before their flight began their male
leader gave the following instruction (recorded by one of the youngsters for
Instagram. “Hear me out. The rules are very clear. Everything here that is
religious, sign, trail, orange things, kippahs, we take off, tzitzit we put
away in our pants, tefillin we put in your suitcase. We leave nothing religious
on show. You will listen to the rules. We will embark. There won’t be one word.
Not one sound. No one gets up, without permission. Even if it’s to go the
washroom. We will not give them the opportunity to kick us off for these
Jew-hating acts. Even if you have to go to the washroom, ask permission. And I
count on your maturity to play the game.”
Israel may not be perfect, although the people are better than
those who currently lead us; we are a country of creators, of innovators in all
spheres, from medicine to biochemistry, rocket science, civil engineering and agriculture,
spheres that we share with third world countries, predominantly African, to
help them feed their millions and live a better life. Our innovation in the
field of hi-tech is well known, but I wonder how much is known of our
humanitarian work https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashav
Someone who never hid his roots, indeed he was
proud of his roots, proud of the fact that he emigrated from Iran to the UK as
a Jewish refugee, made good and became a Member of the House of Lords for his
contribution to education in his home city of Manchester. When we were taken to
the House of Lords by Lord Stone, Lord Stone of Blackheath, (my former youth
leader in Habonim) we sat in the visitor’s section and heard the maiden speech
of Lord Alliance, David Alliance. In every sentence he emphasised his
Jewishness, how he was welcomed to the UK, of the importance of education and
it was all with a heavy Iranian accent which he didn’t attempt to hide. David
Alliance passed away this week, may he rest in peace, a man who celebrated who
he was and never gave in to those who turned their hate on him.
Now to explain what is happening in the USA (and elsewhere) on campuses
and streets.
On October 1, 1993, about 20 senior leaders of Hamas, most
of whom lived in the U.S., gathered at a Courtyard by Marriott airport hotel in
Philadelphia in order to undermine the Oslo Accords, what they viewed as an
agreement made between “infidels and infidels.” Unbeknownst to them, the F.B.I.
was listening in. I don’t want to write
a long tirade of their actions but it was clear in its intention to slowly,
carefully, infiltrate universities, media and government creating
disinformation. Read for yourselves https://airmail.news/issues/2024-8-10/hamas-in-america-the-untold-story Students for Justice, in Palestine, just one
outcome of that meeting, is a pro-Palestinian college student activism
organization in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. Their example? The
Enabling Act Of 1933 which allowed the Reich government to issue laws without
the consent of Germany’s parliament, laying the foundation for the complete
Nazification of German society.
Back to good news
First and foremost, we had a good week! We were woken just once,
the usual Houthi wake-up call, but despite their best efforts nothing even reached
Israeli skies, we shot it down beforehand. On Sunday afternoon we went to the
beautiful Cinematheque, opposite the walls of the Old City to see a brilliant
documentary film called October 8 (October H8te) which explains so much of the
explosion of antisemitism in the USA. It is a must see. On Monday we met
friends for breakfast in Ella Restaurant opposite the Botanical Gardens then on
to Givat Ze’ev to buy the fish for tomorrow. What is tomorrow? Well, in the
morning I had a fascinating meeting with
Marcus Sheff who caught me up on the latest miracles of Impact-se (www.impact-se.org ). Marcus, the CEO of
Impact-se, managed to fit the incredible advances of education in our region
and beyond in the few minutes that he had before the next meeting! That evening
we had a “Come Dine With Me” in our home with another two couples. We had
already been to their homes and so there were hugs and renewed friendship as we
sat around the table talking about who we are. On Wednesday we met with the
Silvers, Ira, Tomer and Sheli, in the Music Square in the Centre of Jerusalem
for a get-together before Sheli flies off to Canada to be a leader in a youth
summer camp for the third year running. Yesterday I went to my movement class.
We don’t just move, we talk about whatever bothers us, mostly about what is
happening here in Israel, and then we danced, together and individually, to the
wonderful Dolly Parton and the Beatles! Talia and Rachel arrived and Talia sat
to talk to Saba Zvi and then we went off to Motzeleh where Rachel and I had
their phenomenal shakshuka, all made on the spot! Today we are basically relaxing.
I don’t know if you have ever heard of Blessing Afrifah,
proud Israeli, who became the first athlete to win back-to-back European U23
200m titles since 2013. Blessing climbed on to the winner’s podium flying the
Israel flag. Blessing was born in Tel Aviv and grew up in Ramat Gan. His father
worked in the Ghanaian Embassy. Blessing has a sister, also born here, with the
beautiful name Mercy. When he received his full Israeli citizenship he said
that now he could win even more medals for Israel. Blessing served in the IDF.
There is a song from Les Miserables which gives you an inkling of how
we feel. Harel Skaat sings Empty Chairs at Empty Tables. https://youtu.be/CV4SRV07wg8?si=-3GhWhR2eTo9qqZQ
You may not recognise the name Keren Peles. Keren Peles is a singer
songwriter and her most recent work is “New Day Will Come” the song which
represented Israel in the Eurovision song Contest. Here Keren sings with Miri
Mesika in a rendition that brought tears to my eyes. Two incredible Israeli
women singing together in Keren’s home studio https://youtu.be/WT7WFPgtx08?si=7evg4QDEX0QKlVAk
The Banai Family is huge, originally from Jerusalem, an entire generation
born near Mahane Yehuda, has influenced show business, through song, theatre,
comedy and social consciousness. This song sung by Ehud Banai many years ago,
tells a very important story https://youtu.be/YiNrTJbJ1eA?si=9la5_SrdgxZkM_bo
That’s it! Zvi went to two parliaments today, he is still at the
second one, his usual gathering in the Botanical Gardens. They sit and talk
about our “situation” and try to come up with answers, which of course will
never reach the powers that be, but they can at least influence their
surroundings. I am off to Rachel and the
aroma of freshly baked Challah! I love it! I have the chance to talk with
Talia, who is mostly in Netanya doing her Sherut Leumi (a form of national
service whereby young people literally serve communities and individuals) Of
course I will pass my second favourite view, the absolute favourite is the View
From My Veranda!! I have to admit that the view from Nebe Samuel (Samuel’s
Tomb) is spectacular on a clear day, the entire city laying before us as far as
the eye can see. I will then come home and collapse into bed for my “shlafshtunder”
my siesta, before getting everything ready for Shabbat.
That’s it! I hope you enjoyed your introduction to life here in
Israel, our worries, our joys and our fears. I wish you a beautiful Shabbat, a
calm weekend, and some very good news, it’s high time.
With much love from our veranda and it’s view
Sheila
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