7th August 2026
Shabbat Shalom, dear friends. As we wish one another Shalom, peace,
let’s join Yarden Bibas in remembering the seventh birthday his son Ariel which
should have celebrated this week. Instead, we remember that wonderful, cheeky
red-headed little boy, his mother, Shiri, and baby brother, Kfir, after being
taken hostage on 7th October 2023 and murdered by his captors. May we never
forget the Bibas family, nor any of those whose lives were stolen through
hatred.
I was horrified to read this week that antisemitism has become
what one report describes as a "normalised and systemic feature of campus
life" at Canadian universities. According to the newly released Campus
Antisemitism and Student Experiences (CASE) report, commissioned by the
Canadian Government, an astonishing 96% of Jewish students said they had either
experienced or witnessed at least one antisemitic incident during the past
year. Sadly, although I have given you the Canadian example, it is the
experience of Jewish students all over the world. How did we reach the point
where young Jews go to university to learn, yet instead find themselves having
to defend who they are?
One of the saddest sights on Israeli television today is
seeing young soldiers interviewed with their faces hidden behind balaclavas.
Not because they are engaged in secret operations, but because they fear being
identified when travelling abroad. Only recently, a young Israeli who had
completed his military service was reportedly attacked while on holiday in
Greece after being recognised by a group of pro-Palestinian “activists”.
Imagine that for a moment. Young men and women who served their country now
feel compelled to hide their faces, not from terrorists, but from those who
seek them out simply because they wore the uniform of the IDF.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani appears deeply offended that
Israel defines itself as the nation-state of the Jewish people. Yet I have
heard no similar criticism from him of other countries that define themselves
by religion, where citizenship, public life or family law are shaped by
religious identity. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates,
Oman, Bahrain, Yemen, Mauritania and the Maldives allow citizenship to Muslims
only. Liberia, by contrast, has long maintained constitutional provisions
restricting citizenship to those of "Negro descent." The double
standard is difficult to ignore. Israel is repeatedly singled out simply
because it is the Jewish state, while countries that define themselves by
religion or ethnicity rarely provoke the same level of outrage. Ironically, Mayor
Mamdani himself is the son of a Muslim father and a Hindu mother—a marriage
that would face significant legal and religious obstacles in the countries
listed above, yet it is Israel that attracts his particular condemnation.
The grandparents of Theodore Herzl,
the man whose dream became a Jewish State, were brought to Israel from Serbia
and re-interred on Mount Herzl, bringing the last remains of the Herzl family
home to rest.
Dr Mike Evans is an exceptional man. His determined love of
Israel and the Jewish people is legendary. He is a prolific author on the
subject and has now proven himself as a fine poet too. I’m not going to tell
you his secret but an incredible music video is on its way. Mike, with his son
Michael, created the Friends of Zion Museum which details the closeness of Christians
to this little country. This week he published an article in the Jerusalem Post
and these words caught my eye:- “I will never forget sitting with Mother Teresa.
During our conversation she shared the truth that has stayed with me for
decades. She said, “You cannot love Jesus without loving the Jewish people
because Jesus was Jewish”.
These words were not political. They were biblical. They reflected
an understanding that Christianity did not replace Judaism; rather Christianity
was born from God's covenant relationship with the Jewish people. Jesus was
born a Jew, lived as a Jew, worshipped in the Temple, celebrated the biblical
feasts, and fulfilled the promises God gave through the prophets of Israel.”
That simple conversation captures the heart of Christian Zionism. Mike, who Zvi
and I have known for 30 years, lifted my spirits in this otherwise cruel world.
I have to tell you a short Mike Evans story. In 2002 he asked us if
he could come with us to see Kinneret Chaya who was home from the
rehabilitation centre for the first weekend since the terror attack which
changed her life. We all went together with Martin Lindenfeld and Mike uttered
these words which Kinneret Chaya lives by until today “Turn your scars into
stars and bitter into better” Words we can all live by Mike.
One piece of genuinely encouraging news comes from IMPACT-se,
the educational research organisation I am proud to serve as Chair of the Board.
Its latest review of Saudi Arabia's school textbooks reveals that, after years
of steady reform encouraged by Impact-se’s activities, antisemitic content has
now been removed from the curriculum and attitudes towards Israel continue to
moderate. At a time when hatred has intensified across much of the region, this
is a reminder that education can still build bridges and that real change is
possible.
Maybe there is a recipe for peace after all. At the
“Cooking Peace” culinary camp here in Israel, Jewish and Arab teenagers from
across Israel spent their time cooking, laughing, listening to music and
discovering they had far more in common than they had imagined. Sometimes the
shortest journey between two people begins with sharing a meal rather than
sharing an argument.
Zvi’s week has been full of rehearsals for various concerts
with his two choirs, but one event made me smile and burst with pride. Zvi was
presented with the Pioneers Award in Yad Ben Zvi, Jerusalem. The award, which I
hinted at last week, is for his pioneering the world battle to free Soviet Jewry,
amongst many other achievements including establishing Keren Hayesod Young
Leadership around the world. Well deserved recognition for a lifetime of work
for the Jewish community worldwide and establishing strong ties with the
Christians for Israel.
I loved the fact that a very few close friends and our neighbours
Yael and Naftali came to the ceremony.
Here I paraphrase the weekly explanation of the Torah
reading by my friend and mentor Rabbi Jeremy Rosen. His words are of
ultimate importance to our understanding of life’s moral code. “This week’s
Torah reading starts off with the themes of Blessing and Curse. In Hebrew bracha and klala.
It has always bothered me that the Torah talks repeatedly as if some malignant
force is punishing us, or that some benevolent force is rewarding us. Growing
up in a Christian world which proclaims love even if it has not always lived up
to that ideal, we Jews were often accused of being overly concerned with laws.
Moses is indeed descried as the lawgiver, as if the obligation to love is not
constantly reiterated in the Torah, which introduced the command to “Love your
neighbor as yourself.” Consider the line in the 10 commandments that we
repeated a couple of weeks ago, that talks about visiting the sins of the
fathers onto their sons. It is describing the impact that one generation can
have on the next. For better and for worse. Life is made-up of consequences,
which affect our children. And the way we educate them and set examples.
Instead of punishing or rewarding, we are being asked to remember the impact
one generation can have on the next for better or worse. It is up to us.
Instead of thinking of God as a superhero dishing out rewards or punishing us
for our errors, we should rather think of the mystical force behind the
universe, our relation to it and our responsibility for the consequences of our
actions.”
I haven’t been particularly busy this week. Well, we were 14
for Friday night dinner, and apart from my oven baked salmon, roast potatoes,
plain rice and various salads I created the simplest dish imaginable which
everyone loved. Sea Bream fillets and put my own charred peppers on top! That’s
it apart from salt and pepper! I managed to see friends but generally at home
which I love. I picked the apples from our little apple tree and gave half of
the crop to our upstairs neighbours because each week, after the 7th
of October, Yoram used to drive south to help pick crops and bring me some of
the rewards.
On Monday I will be back on an aeroplane, this time with our grand-daughter
Shelly. I am flying to London to meet up with all my non-Israeli grandchildren,
all 5 of them and of course my son Gideon and daughters in law Stephanie and
Karen. Hopefully I will also get to see 2 of my 3 siblings who will come to
London. Shelly, whose parents made Aliya just one year after I did, is an
incredible companion and I really want her to meet all the family. I wanted to
write from London but Stephanie explained that their computer is more of a
statue than a useable means of communication!
So now we can move on to music and I promise to choose carefully.
I dedicate this song to Yarden Bibas who returned from his tortured
captivity by Hamas to discover that his wife and babies had been slaughtered in
captivity. Mishehu – Someone. https://youtu.be/BcjLIACFiXM?si=8Yyc_U_JajB5Ix8z
The late Matti Caspi sang from the heart but also sang about
life in Israel This song is about warm summer evenings https://youtu.be/PNOn-7m-O24?si=p9_XR08BFO_FBOKY
I know how much you love Koolulam as do I! In this song they
have outdone themselves. Honouring eight brave and exceptional women who have
proven their exceptional bravery in many spheres are honoured in this song. I
wish you could understand their names and achievements but their pictures tell
their stories. A perfect way to end this missive. https://youtu.be/pB8LhGTvI5c?si=H5Qst1wjmCnaXoV5
I wish you all a Shabbat Shalom. I will miss you but I am so
thrilled to see my grandchildren from both NYC and London.
With love from Jerusalem
Sheila
