23rd April 2026
6th Iyar 5786
Shabbat Shalom! A happy St. Georges Day to one and all. St George
is the English patron saint who, according to the legend, fought a dragon.
Today, on St Georges Day, we all need to pledge to fight the dragon of
antisemitism and hatred.
Until when? Until when?
Until the strength of Israel in its land will condemn and defeat in
advance any enemy attack; until the most enthusiastic and bold in any enemy
camp will know; there are no means to break the strength of Israel in its
land..."
Moshe Beilinson
I love this time of year. The trees start to blossom, the gardens
suddenly find their colour again, and as I drive along, the wild mimosa along
the hedgerows seems to wave at me, a bright cheerful yellow, as if there isn’t
a care in the world, uplifting, and for a moment you can almost forget the
chaos that surrounds us, until reality hits us in the face. At times it feels as
though we have too friends in the world, friends turn their backs and some
countries we thought we could rely on are quietly stepping away, internal
politics carrying more weight than friendships. All of which makes it all the
more uplifting that the President of Argentina came to visit, prayed at the
Western Wall, sat next to the PM at the Ceremonies on Mount Herzl and signed
the Isaac Accords, a covenant of Judeo-Cristian nations. It may seem a small step,
but perhaps the beginning of something much bigger in South America.
The mimosa cheerful yellow mimosa and the sense of uncertainty as
our world becomes less stable. Maybe that’s the point, maybe Mother Nature is
try to teach us a lesson about . Even when everything feels unsettled, flowers
still bloom, nature reawakens, quietly reminding us that things can change, hopefully,
for the better.
When I was in school, in the geography lesson, we learned that
there are 6 seas and 5 continents, but since then there are all sorts of
changes and additions. For instance, North and South America are considered two
separate continents; India is still a sub-continent but Australia is a
continent by itself. I could go on and on but then I’d lose you before I
reached the point! So, let’s think a
minute; Asia is made up of predominantly Islamic countries that are not
tolerant to other religions; Africa has either tolerant Christian countries or
Islamic countries that are not tolerant to other religions; North and South America
and Australia are Christian countries that are tolerant to other religions;
Asia is interesting because it has many Muslim countries but most are
relatively tolerant. Europe, including Scandinavia, is a predominantly
Christian continent (still) that has had its moments of intolerance but their
statutes are tolerant. So can someone tell me why, if all of those continents
are jam packed with Muslim, Christian, Hindi countries, why is it that Israel,
a tiny dot on the map, is such an inconvenience? What about India? Well that’s
another story completely. The vote on Indian partition was in 1947, just like
ours, India was split into Muslim areas (East and West Pakistan) and Hindu
India, with India allowing freedom of prayer for all. Today India has the same
situation as Israel without the Iranian element. Strange that no-one ever writes
about it.
Two soldiers defaced a statue of Jesus in Lebanon. I was fuming,
furious at their audacity, their ignorance, their lack of respect for the
Lebanese Christians. The perpetrators (those who watched without acting) were
punished and I thought the punishment was insufficient, but here is the
incredible part; several deeply pious Christian friends, leaders of their
communities, not only wrote to me to forgive the soldier, who they say was frustrated,
in a war situation, but Christian leaders asked President Herzog to forgive
him. The IDF has since replaced the statue with a truly beautiful replacement,
I am still cross, but I loved the reaction of my dearest Christian friends,
friends of Israel.
What should have been a serious and necessary moment at the High
Court of Justice descended instead into chaos on Thursday, as a hearing on
petitions calling for a state commission of inquiry into the atrocities of 7
October was disrupted by attempts to force entry into the courtroom and a
pro-government crowd gathering outside demanding access. Proceedings were
halted and the justices advised to leave for their own safety — an unsettling
scene at a time when calm, clarity, and accountability are so badly needed.
Precisely because of the scale and trauma of what happened on 7 October, the
need for a full, independent state inquiry is not a political luxury but a
national necessity — one that must rise above noise, pressure, and division if
we are ever to understand, and to move forward.
We have not drawn back the huge metal plate that covers our window
in the safe room/study. The cease-fire is just that, not a peace agreement with
Iran, which will never be forthcoming, and I will never trust the Houthi
pirates or Hamas and Hezb-Allah. I can’t quite get used to the idea that the
messages on my phone are just about AliExpress or deals on Amazon. I go to
classes without fear, but make sure I know where the shelter is; strange really
because it was just a month out of all the years that I felt so safe. I still
feel safe, protected, much more than you do. Friends tell me that they have
never felt so unsafe. Applications for Aliya have quadrupled as so many people
are buying properties in Israel. Life for Jews has become unsafe, perilous, and
so many do not yet recognise the writing on the wall.
Despite it all, or maybe because of it all, our athletes have, yet
again, performed miracles. Everyone is talking about that proud Israeli, Deni
Avdija the amazing Allstars basketball player. His baby-face is everywhere as
he scores again and again. Israeli Judoka Raz Hershko has won yet another
championship as she was crowned European Champion with dominant 52-second final
win.
This last week was one of incredible contrast. On Saturday
afternoon, a few friends came for a spontaneous afternoon tea, the kind I love,
and then on Monday evening, after the night siren to remind us of the nearly
30,000 human lives lost in battle and in terrorist attacks, Zvi sang at the
annual evening of sad songs in the Botanical Gardens Plant Nursery to
commemorate Remembrance Day. No matter how many times I hear the siren, the
wail of distress throughout this land, it gives me chills. It is a stark
reminder of the innumerable families that cry, the families that can never be
built, the children who may never know their fathers and the parents who bury
their children. Each and every one of the 30,000+ souls lost appear on our
television screens for 25 hours. Too many wars that we never wanted.
Tuesday night and the mood changes, nay veers in a totally
different direction as we celebrated out 78th birthday. The massive
ceremony on Mount Herzl is the domain of the Speaker of the Knesset, he alone
is supposed to preside over the proceedings, but for the last several years it
has been taken over by the Prime Minister. Nonetheless, it was impressive.
Although more than 2 hours long, it is well worth watching. https://www.youtube.com/live/msBZvw4UjH4?si=25zq9jkCC_HYfvW0
Zvi and I went to the Jerusalem Theatre for a concert, a most
unusual concert with conductor Eli Yafe, the conductor of the Great Synagogue
Choir. Just as our emotions veered in all directions so the musical miscellany was
a pot pourri of genres. From Verdi to Vivaldi, from Elgar to Rimski-Korsakov
with a resounding finale of variations on Shir Hamaalot! The Jerusalem Symphony
Orchestra was out in its full glory, and glory is the only word for their
talent, accompanied by a tenor and baritone.
On Yom HaAtzma’ut itself we went to visit Joanne and Chuck
Greenblatt. Actually, I knew their daughter Hannah from my Movement class (she
is much more lithe than I) and she kept saying that Zvi and her Dad definitely
have a lot in common. Anyway, we went to visit them and what a delightful
surprise it was! They are both over 90 and sharp as tacks, still very active
and although Chuck and Zvi didn’t have that much in common, we found out that
Chuck has been working on essential research, for many years, with Mark
Spigelman, a dear friend! We would have loved to stay longer but we had
promised to go to a showing of a fascinating movie, an all Israeli movie Scenes of Jaffa, a comedy about a group of Eastern Jews
and their quirkiness.
And so to Shabbat. Why am I writing today?
Because tomorrow morning we are driving to Ashkelon to attend the Azkara,
annual visit to the cemetery, for Valeri, Ira’s husband, Sheli and Tomer’s
father, who died so suddenly three years ago. May his soul rest in peace.
Some of the most beautiful songs are sung on
Remembrance Day
When Nomi Shemer heard the Beatles Let it Be
she wanted to translate it into Hebrew as is, but she was persuaded to write
her own, very Israeli version and it is absolutely beautiful. Sung by Hava
Alberstein. https://youtu.be/yDyHGjawbL4?si=Mtu8DQ-QKIwv36Jp
I have talked about Idan Amedi, who went to
serve his country, his Israel, on October 8th 2023 and stayed until badly wounded.
A quiet man, he wrote this song about his pain. Following his recovery from
severe injuries sustained in Gaza in January 2024, Amedi has been actively
involved with existing organisations, particularly those focused on supporting
victims of terrorism and bereaved families.
https://youtu.be/DNEhUrnUo94?si=LhEZy69Grq9zsvdd
Two of my favourite things in Israel,
Jerusalem and Shlomi Shabat, come together in this beautiful song. A tribute to
Jerusalem, surely the most beautiful,
fascinating, spiritual city in the world. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/_kQCTlFuCqQ?si=NXZ_VR8hwtOIr3UF
My wish for you for this Shabbat is that you
find inner peace, time to contemplate, to think of all the incredible blessing
of everyday life.
With much love from Jerusalem and the View
from Our Veranda
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