18 Tishrei 5786
734 days, 7th October 2023 – 10th October 2025
Golda Meir, in 1973 after the Yom Kippur War said “Perhaps it is too
early yet to say in the aftermath of the war for we are actually living and
ceasefire in a war which is not yet ended”
Shabbat Shalom dear friends. Perhaps the first hopeful Shabbat for
two years, putting the Simcha (joy) back into Simchat Torah.
Shabbat is nearing and shalom, that oh so impossible dream, is just
beyond reach. The incredible fact is that, if the dream comes true, it is
through the entry of Turkey and the Arab countries into the picture, and the
determination of one American President. Turkey has spent the last 15 or 20
years looking for acceptance, rejected by the EU, backing the enemies of the
West and now, finally finding an ally for an international cause in President
Trump. Like him or not, President Trump did it; his team, from Steve Witkoff to
Jared Kushner succeeded; where negotiations failed, threats worked.
After the tears of the magnificent 2-year memorial performances in
Tel Aviv’s HaYarkon Park, nobody expected the news that they, the hostages, albeit
shadows of who they were, are coming home to their distraught families. But it
happened, the announcement came yesterday "Reports from Egypt: Hamas
has started to gather the hostages to safe places" and Einav Zangauker,
laughing and crying simultaneously, understood that her Matan was coming home.
Einav Zangauker who kept our heads high, Einav Zangauker, the lioness who took
on the world, learned to speak out with brilliant eloquence and was determined
as only a mother can be. Einav hugged and was hugged by everyone in Hostage
Square.
An agreement was signed by Israel, the USA and Hamas in Egypt and
after two long years they will come home. The hospitals involved have prepared
sterile areas, separate bedrooms with beds for a loved ones too. Food is a huge
element because after two years of starvation their intake must be carefully
monitored and of course their physical scars must be tended as their deep and
terrifying psychological scars. Specialist medical staff returned from vacations;
their expertise gained over and through the previous returns home.
So many heroes. There is no one hero in the war that we have been
subjected to. There is no one hero because our soldiers not only fought to
their last breath, they saw things that no human being should see. Our soldiers
are our heroes, they are our children and they are the future of this
country. Heroes like Zaka, Magen David Adom and the hundreds of paramedics
who have risen to the cause. This country is different from any other
country at war because everything is personal, it is right here in our midst
and on our doorstep. We don’t fly thousands of miles to fight and we go to
every funeral and sit with the families in the Shiva (seven days of mourning).
In the Middle East nothing
comes without a price and that price is the release of almost 2,000 convicted terror
prisoners of which 250 are serving life sentences. They, the 250, will be sent
either to Qatar or to Turkey who will hopefully ensure that they don’t continue
their plans for another October 7th attack.
One incredible aspect of this war, is that young people, be it
young Israelis flying from all corners of the world to come home and defend
this country; volunteers young and old who came from far and wide to support
and help; who have fed soldiers, cared for soldiers wives and widows, cared for
the elderly who have lost their grandchildren and gone south to help rebuild
those houses that were destroyed on that ghastly day in October.
The rampant anti-Semitism throughout the world, may or may not lose
impetus, not because its origins bear no relationship to facts or even to Gaza,
its manipulations clear through clever lies. It is called DARVO (an acronym for
"Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender") is a reaction that
perpetrators of wrongdoing, may display in response to
being held accountable for their behaviour. Research indicates that it is
a common manipulation strategy
of psychological abusers. DARVO
is a tactic used by a perpetrator to avoid accountability for their actions. The
perpetrator denies the harm or abuse ever took place. When
confronted with evidence, the perpetrator then attacks the
person that they had harmed, or are still harming. Finally, the perpetrator
claims that they were or are actually the victim in the situation, thus reversing the
positions of victim and offender. Like in “Free
free Palestine”
There are some friends whose loyalty has never been in doubt. The ICEJ,
the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, was formed all those years
ago when the other Embassies of too many countries abandoned Jerusalem, and
until today they hold the Tabernacles parades and spread the truth about what happens
here. The ICEJ is a worldwide organisation, but then there are the single,
special people, word warriors like our friend Earl Cox and Dr Mike Evans who
not only writes prolifically but created the FOZ (Friends of Zion) Museum in
Jerusalem. These men and women care about Biblical Israel and understand that Jews
are just the hors d’ouevres, Christians are the main course. Which brings me to
Bill Maher. Bill Maher says things that others fear to say https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPaiigKjGsP/?igsh=cnMxNGNudnVxaWh6
and by the way, Aayan Hirsi Ali would agree as
would her husband Sir Niall Campbell Ferguson whose podcast I will listen to
today. https://www.youtube.com/live/X2ijLzeXLSA?si=4PlOtEIo0Y-f_b6v
The Haredi soldiers of the Hashmona’im Troupe are finally leaving Gaza
and they are doing it in style! A feast, dancing and singing they are homeward
bound.
As you can imagine, this has been a week of emotional highs and
lows. Last weekend we were in Eilat with Zvi’s boys and their families. It was
lovely and we chose to celebrate Leor’s birthday then because his actual
birthday is on October 7th. Eilat is a fun place, Israel’s only
tourist centre and it was packed. Israelis don’t want to fly off to their usual
holiday destinations for fear of being physically and verbally attacked –
except for the more adventurous ones who explore Japan, Sri Lanka and the South
pacific. The hotel was full of young families, beautiful happy toddlers
splashing in the children’s pool or racing down the hotel’s long lobby. It
really was enjoyable, especially for the girls who used the excuse that Eilat
is a tax-free city to spend their parent’s money!!
The drive home was a little less enjoyable! We never do the four
and a half hour drive in one go, always stopping for a coffee and to stretch
our legs. At each petrol or charging station we saw reminders of our national
pain – stickers covered the walls of the coffee shop entrance, stickers with
the names and faces and quotes of the hostages. It was a stark reminder that
the nuisance of the long drive was truly irrelevant in comparison to the truth
of our situation.
The day before yesterday was very special. Justin Selig and three
of their four children came to visit! Rachel, Talia and I took them down to our
lovely family coffee shop and the Yemenite fare of Motzleh, where Zvi joined us
and we caught up on all their news. Justin was and always will be my late son
Daniel’s best friend. They were the two “nerds” (studious and not fashionable)
of Carmel College from the age of 10. The two families were close and Daniel and
Justin spent their Gap Year together. A special relationship indeed.
And so to Shabbat with all the anticipation of what the next few
days will bring. Anticipation and trepidation mixed in with hope for the
future. Apparently the main road to Jerusalem will be closed tomorrow although
we thought that President Trump’s visit would be later.
Our songs this week are songs of hope, songs that will lift your spirits
and bring us together no matter where we are in the world.
The first song was written well before the 7th of
October but became an anthem for the hostages. “Bring Them Home” the call “Coming
Home” the song. https://youtu.be/0ieaEZaknss?si=oGlfx9aJQhBb1kwf
Another Anthem for 2 years is “Habyita” Come Home, here sung by a
very special group of people, in Hebrew with English subtitles. https://youtu.be/QzJpEwpYsLA?si=ARHAeSZnjBApG6Mf
As children of the 60’s, Zvi and I remember this song as one of
hope and determination to win the fight over evil. When I asked Zvi which song exemplifies
our time, he immediately said “We Shall Overcome” "I'll Overcome Some Day" was a
gospel music composition by the Reverend Charles Albert Tindley of
Philadelphia that was first published in 1901 and became the symbol of the
March in Alabama of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. https://youtu.be/1osKWCDXl40?si=_zkirYYHhSopn3lP
On the 8th of October Zvi wrote this current war is the
final stage of Israel’s War of Independence, a war that has been a constant in
our lives since 1947 in the United Nations. It isn’t the end but perhaps as
Churchill said in November 1942 “Now this is not the end. It is not even the
beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning”.
Oh my goodness, this promises to be a memorable Shabbat; a
memorable Succot, Tabernacles. Please God by next week I can write about the
arrival of the hostages, no the arrival home of the returnees, home to their
loving families so that they, all of us, can heal.
These two years we have learned the devastation brought about by
hatred. The devastation brought about by vengeance and teaching your children
to hate. The next step is to un-teach, to re-teach the children of Gaza, to
give them back their childhood, to rebuild what is destroyed in Israel and in
Gaza, to try to take hate out of our lexicon and replace it with a prayer for
peace.
Shabbat Shalom from our home to yours, from Israel, Jerusalem,
where it all started 3,000 years ago when King David founded a city on a hill
and began to write poetry which became Psalms which we all recite.
With much love from our Veranda and its view over Jerusalem.
Sheila
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