100430
30th April 2010.
Shabbat Shalom!
So the Syrians have finally been found out as the suppliers of arms to Hezb-Allah. Of course they deny it but then "They would wouldn't they"! Syria gets the money and the armaments from Iran but somehow the current US government believes Israel should talk peace with Syria. Not likely – not now, not under present circumstances.
Only 1500 people turned up for the Support Israel Rally in New York - and most of those were Christians. Where were the Jews? If we do not support Israel openly then the assumption of the media is that we are against Israel. Support by definition means backing, standing up to be counted. Complacency is not an option –the repercussions are too enormous.
On Tuesday Israelis wore white to honour Gilad Schalit and support his family as Gilad nears his fifth year of captivity. After four long years, being held by terrorists, no member of Amnesty, Red Cross or any of the "humanitarian" agencies has fought to see him or find his whereabouts. He isn't of importance; he is only a Jewish Israeli boy! Imagine it was your child……..
Gilad's Shalit's father Noam made a video clip for Yom Ha'atzmaut. Watch it and send it to family, friends - anyone who will listen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VH9xQbYJP8&feature=related
The Arab world (other than Iran which is not Arab) has chosen not to support the Palestinians financially prefering the West to do so. Is it because they do not have spare cash? Oh no!! See this undoubtedly beautiful fountain in Dubai – which cost $280 million, bet that could feed a few mouths eh? Maybe even prevent a war? http://fun.mivzakon.co.il/video/General/5380/מזרקה_בדובאי.html
Yesterday was a glorious day! We both woke up smiling. I was meeting with old and adored friends in our favourite restaurant where the plants make one feel as if one is eating in a jungle amongst the ferns and palms! There in nothing like being with old friends with nothing to explain and everything to understand.
Zvi returned from his meeting and we headed off to the Municipality to meet with a group of Mormon doctors led by our very best friend Kim. Kim is a doctor, a devout Mormon and the founder of the Children of Israel Foundation which helps the less fortunate in Jerusalem. Though conversations long into the evening, while sitting on our veranda, Kim and I vowed to dispel myths and preconceived notions of both the LDS and Jewish communities' one of the other.
Many of the group were "first-timers" unlike Kim who as been here about 90 or 100 times. They were exhausted from a long bus ride but walked into the Council Chamber with wide-eyed anticipation. Zvi explained the significance of the circle of the council table and the straight lines of the columns and carvings; of the earthly thoughts of the council table influenced by the woven thoughts of the heavenly ceiling; of the twelve tribes represented by twelve lights which point both to the heavens and down to the earth….. his explanations still entrance me. The poetic explanations of my husband were slightly exploded by the truth of council sessions by council member and Deputy Mayor Naomi Tsur, who laughed at the thought that there is anything heavenly at noisy council meetings! Naomi also explained that our one wish is that Arab Jerusalemites will also take part in those noisy discussions by using their legal rights and voting in representatives.
We then waved a magic wand and took them out onto the veranda – undoubtedly the second most beautiful veranda in Israel! Jerusalem surrounded us. Old and new, Biblical, historic, ancient and ultra modern all vied for our attention. Churches and Mosques created a fine horizon – beside the eerily beautiful Mount of Olives. In the distance a huge Israeli flag fluttered in the breeze, drawing everyone's attention. As Zvi explained the mosaic which makes up Jerusalem I watched their faces, enthralled, excited, amazed and above all enchanted.
I was amazed to see, in the years since Ehud Olmert was Mayor, that the near view was cluttered by ugly buildings which had sprung up like mushrooms all over Jerusalem –one right next to the Municipality which blocked the view of Notre Dame Convent preventing Zvi's usual explanation of the Italian Hospital, the Russian Church and Notre Dame (French) vying for greater height – therefore closer to heaven! The bizarre Pieta of Notre Dame is no longer on view. One thing for sure – that would never have happened when we were there.
Next week Zvi will be very involved in the Maccabi World Union meetings and then on Monday night he is off to China, leading the Jerusalem Hora Troupe http://www.horajerusalem.org/english to Shanghai where they will dance at the opening of Israel's Expo pavilion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc6rmT_1BjM If Zvi gets his way you may yet see Hora Jerusalem dancing in Tiananmen Square in Beijing when you switch on your news!! That would be much better than watching yet another miserable item wouldn't it?
As Zvi sat with the young dancers yesterday, he explained the implication of their trip and what he expects from them. "You are representing Israel in a country that barely knows what an Israeli or a Jew is. We are going there as envoys of Jews worldwide and Israel in particular – remember that you are ambassadors to a nation of billions of people – behave with pride and humility."
We are off to celebrate Zvi's littlest grand-daughter Gilis birthday today with a barbeque at eleven – so that we can be back home before siesta time and I can finish my preparations for Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem
With love
Sheila
Rebbe Nahman of Bratslav "Everything in this world has a heart; the heart itself has its own heart."
Jerusalem is the heart of our heart, the soul of our soul.
Showing posts with label 3 years Gilad Schalit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3 years Gilad Schalit. Show all posts
Friday, 30 April 2010
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
Shabbat Shalom letter
100113
13th January 2010.
Shabbat Shalom
Today I choose to talk of cabbages and kings not of terror and anti-semitism. After the first paragraph this is a GOOD NEWS bulletin!!
I have to begin with the sad but inevitable news that Hamas has chosen to insist upon the raised bar and the talks to release Gilad Schalit are at an impasse. They demand the release of prisoners who have wreaked slaughter; planned and caused the deaths of Israeli citizens. The Israeli definition of these prisoners is those "who have blood on their hands". We cannot take the decision which creates such an enormous risk to the safety of all Israelis. As I told you, this is a Solomonic choice and we can only pray that a solution will be found and the family will be reunited.
I am thrilled, excited and delighted to report that George Galloway, the nauseating anti-War politician who was barred from the British Labour Party and walks around with a kaffiyah around his neck, was unceremoniously kicked out, expelled and exiled from Egypt after he took part in a demonstration against the Egyptian Wall along the border with Gaza. Galloway, in his blind defence of Palestinians, believes that Israel is guilty of ethnic cleansing. Israel should take a leaf out of Egypt's book and expel a few of his ilk!
The Tel Aviv Cluster by David Brookes is an Op-Ed in the New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/opinion/12brooks.html?emc=eta1 It is a marvelous analysis of Jewish achievement against all odds. You will notice that in addition to his gathered information and research he refers to Saul Singer and Dan Senor's bestseller Startup Nation http://www.startupnationbook.com/
In a scene which befits the Keystone Cops, runners in the marathon around the beautiful Lake Kinneret were somewhat surprised to meet a full-grown crocodile in the road! At one point the fierce-looking but somewhat inert creature was guarded by policemen as the runners leapt to the sides, only to discover that it was a stuffed crocodile a somewhat inappropriate publicity stunt for the crocodile farm of Hamat Gader!! http://www.hamat-gader.com/eng/Attractions/Live_Animals.html
As I sit here at my computer I can hear the loud music of the "Torah-mobile" as a family in the parallel road beneath us is clearly celebrating a brit-milah, a bar-mitzvah, engagement or wedding with the gift of a Sefer Torah to their synagogue. The torah-mobile, festooned with brightly flashing coloured lights and very large speakers, wends its way slowly from the home to the synagogue---followed by dancing children and adults carrying beacons on sticks to light the way. It is so joyous.
This is my favourite time of year in Jerusalem. The weather is always special and even when it rains we have the promise of sunshine on the newly washed sparkling white buildings. To celebrate my imminent birthday Dana and Betty took me for lunch at a wonderful restaurant in the village of Nes Harim where we ate on a deck suspended high above the Jerusalem Hills. The view was breathtaking as the hills hung like so many horizons in the mist with Jerusalem visible in the distance.
The view was so spectacular that the very next day, after dropping Zvi off at Hadassah Hospital for tests, I took our dearest friend Kim on a trip back to the Hills to see the pink clouds of wild almond blossom (shkediot) amongst the green fir trees as the hills rose majestically above us. Kim who came to Israel to see us, refresh his soul and escape the horrific cold of Western Canada – in that order! I pulled over to the side of the road beside the hikers trail up to Sataf when I saw the ultimate prize…. a group of beautiful wild cyclamen (rakafot) seemingly growing out of the rocks. From the beauty of the rakafot we went to have lunch in the Caffit restaurant in the botanical gardens of the Hebrew University. As we sat in the gentle winter sunshine beside the lake life seemed complete.
Kim managed to pack a great deal into this visit! I took him to see Shouk Ramle which he loved and he went with Zvi to the Old City to see old friends. He had meetings and made arrangements for his next visit – just a few months away this time!
This letter is an early Shabbat Shalom since tomorrow is both my birthday (not saying how old I will be but the Beatles wrote a song about it asking if you will still love me!!) and the day on which my lovely husband undergoes elective surgery which will hopefully change his life and health for the better. Please G-d it will all go as planned and he will be home safe and sound by the next letter. Zvi ben Leah Raviv – please.
In the meantime – Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem with love.
Sheila
13th January 2010.
Shabbat Shalom
Today I choose to talk of cabbages and kings not of terror and anti-semitism. After the first paragraph this is a GOOD NEWS bulletin!!
I have to begin with the sad but inevitable news that Hamas has chosen to insist upon the raised bar and the talks to release Gilad Schalit are at an impasse. They demand the release of prisoners who have wreaked slaughter; planned and caused the deaths of Israeli citizens. The Israeli definition of these prisoners is those "who have blood on their hands". We cannot take the decision which creates such an enormous risk to the safety of all Israelis. As I told you, this is a Solomonic choice and we can only pray that a solution will be found and the family will be reunited.
I am thrilled, excited and delighted to report that George Galloway, the nauseating anti-War politician who was barred from the British Labour Party and walks around with a kaffiyah around his neck, was unceremoniously kicked out, expelled and exiled from Egypt after he took part in a demonstration against the Egyptian Wall along the border with Gaza. Galloway, in his blind defence of Palestinians, believes that Israel is guilty of ethnic cleansing. Israel should take a leaf out of Egypt's book and expel a few of his ilk!
The Tel Aviv Cluster by David Brookes is an Op-Ed in the New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/opinion/12brooks.html?emc=eta1 It is a marvelous analysis of Jewish achievement against all odds. You will notice that in addition to his gathered information and research he refers to Saul Singer and Dan Senor's bestseller Startup Nation http://www.startupnationbook.com/
In a scene which befits the Keystone Cops, runners in the marathon around the beautiful Lake Kinneret were somewhat surprised to meet a full-grown crocodile in the road! At one point the fierce-looking but somewhat inert creature was guarded by policemen as the runners leapt to the sides, only to discover that it was a stuffed crocodile a somewhat inappropriate publicity stunt for the crocodile farm of Hamat Gader!! http://www.hamat-gader.com/eng/Attractions/Live_Animals.html
As I sit here at my computer I can hear the loud music of the "Torah-mobile" as a family in the parallel road beneath us is clearly celebrating a brit-milah, a bar-mitzvah, engagement or wedding with the gift of a Sefer Torah to their synagogue. The torah-mobile, festooned with brightly flashing coloured lights and very large speakers, wends its way slowly from the home to the synagogue---followed by dancing children and adults carrying beacons on sticks to light the way. It is so joyous.
This is my favourite time of year in Jerusalem. The weather is always special and even when it rains we have the promise of sunshine on the newly washed sparkling white buildings. To celebrate my imminent birthday Dana and Betty took me for lunch at a wonderful restaurant in the village of Nes Harim where we ate on a deck suspended high above the Jerusalem Hills. The view was breathtaking as the hills hung like so many horizons in the mist with Jerusalem visible in the distance.
The view was so spectacular that the very next day, after dropping Zvi off at Hadassah Hospital for tests, I took our dearest friend Kim on a trip back to the Hills to see the pink clouds of wild almond blossom (shkediot) amongst the green fir trees as the hills rose majestically above us. Kim who came to Israel to see us, refresh his soul and escape the horrific cold of Western Canada – in that order! I pulled over to the side of the road beside the hikers trail up to Sataf when I saw the ultimate prize…. a group of beautiful wild cyclamen (rakafot) seemingly growing out of the rocks. From the beauty of the rakafot we went to have lunch in the Caffit restaurant in the botanical gardens of the Hebrew University. As we sat in the gentle winter sunshine beside the lake life seemed complete.
Kim managed to pack a great deal into this visit! I took him to see Shouk Ramle which he loved and he went with Zvi to the Old City to see old friends. He had meetings and made arrangements for his next visit – just a few months away this time!
This letter is an early Shabbat Shalom since tomorrow is both my birthday (not saying how old I will be but the Beatles wrote a song about it asking if you will still love me!!) and the day on which my lovely husband undergoes elective surgery which will hopefully change his life and health for the better. Please G-d it will all go as planned and he will be home safe and sound by the next letter. Zvi ben Leah Raviv – please.
In the meantime – Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem with love.
Sheila
Friday, 14 August 2009
Shabbat Shalom from Sheila
090814
August 14th 2009.
Shabbat Shalom
This week President Peres celebrated his 86th birthday. The President retains his mental and physical agility by testing his exceptional, dynamic intellect constantly, surrounding himself with young innovative minds. Happy Birthday Shimon Peres. Your path to popularity was long and hard but you represent Israel with pride, passion and dignity.
Rumours abound concerning the "imminent" release of Gilad Schalit . Zvi and I spent many an hour with Haim and Edna Avraham, parents of Benny, one of three soldiers kidnapped to Lebanon by Hezb-Allah. The Avrahams together with the Souad and Avitan families were promised and lied to by their sons' captors, as is happening now. http://www.jewishcomment.com/cgibin/news.cgi?id=13&command=shownews&newsid=504 When Hezb-Allah promised to send the boys home depending on the Israeli decisions, they waited three years before admitting that their sons were already dead. Gilad's 4th birthday in captivity was honoured by a prayer vigil at the Western Wall. The irony is that according to the Hamas demands, one Israeli soldier is worth 1,600 Palestinians in Israeli prisons including the infamous Marwan Barghouti.
My understanding of recent elections in the Palestinian Authority, especially in Gaza, is extremely limited. Reports suggest that the new guard is less belligerent than the old guard, but I see little difference! Yet again we are fooled into thinking that a democratic election will bring democracy which will filter down to the ordinary people. I believe that the finest writer on the subject is Israeli Arab reporter Khaled Abu-Toameh www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1249418582678&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull
The press is not even-handed – we know and bemoan the fact frequently, complaining that we can do nothing about it – when we can. If we choose to we can change the world. "The power of one" exists. There are many individuals who take that responsibility and respond to or pre-empt articles and news items by ensuring the truth has its say. David Frankfurter wrote an excellent blog this week with some suggestions as to what we can do. David and I are in awe of the effectiveness of men like Maurice Ostroff http://maurice-ostroff.tripod.com/id220.html a fine example of what an individual can do – please watch the video he produced. Maurice took on the United Nations report on the War in Gaza (Operation Cast Lead). This Ministry of Foreign Affairs report http://www.mfa.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/E89E699D-A435-491B-B2D0-017675DAFEF7/0/GazaOperationwLinks.pdf and the IMRA Report of a MFA press briefing http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=45153 can inform YOU. We must be informed in order to respond- and respond we must. I cannot emphasise enough your responsibility to write to your local papers and TV stations giving them facts. It is easy to complain that the Israeli Government does not present the facts yet here we see that they do – it is simply falling on deaf ears, it needs a local presence.
Rabbi Irwin Katsof is a remarkable man. For the last 15 years Irwin has brought top quality groups of politicians to Israel accompanied by movers and shakers from around the world who he believes will put forward Israel's cause by being informed of the facts. Zvi had the honour of mentoring his work during his tenure as Advisor to the Mayor of Jerusalem. Irwin's work is largely unrecognized outside Israel, but the quality of the people his groups meet is testament to his determination to bring only the worthy. The current group, including the Governor of Texas, Rick Perry http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1249418604250
and his invitees met with President Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political advisor Ron Dermer and Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, founder of the Shurat Hadin http://www.israellawcenter.org/ . This is a proud week in Irwin's life as his eldest son, AY, graduates his IDF officers course. The course is tailored for Haredi young men who wish to defend their country. Kol ha Kavod AY – Kol ha Kavod Irwin and Judy.
Our favourite American politician is among Rabbi Katsof's current group. Republican Congresswoman and great supporter of Israel Ileana Ros Lehtinen and her husband Dexter. The Congresswoman has not wavered in any form in her support of Israel. Ileana and Dexter do not just talk the talk, they come to Israel on vacation with their daughters also. Go to Ileana's facebook tell her how much you appreciate her! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ileana-Ros-Lehtinen/6722353315
Last night we drove out with the group to "Eretz Bereshit" http://www.genesisland.co.il/ right in the middle of the barren wastes of the Judean Hills, close to Jericho. The atmosphere is astonishing as "Abraham" welcomed us and took us back to ancient times when the Jews wandered and lived in this very desert. General Effie Eitam http://www.eitam.org.il/info_en.asp?cat=1206224781 spoke to us of his upbringing, parents who lost everything in the Shoah, and his determination to overcome fear in battle in order to ensure a safe homeland for his children, a safe homeland for his wandering people. He pointed into the distance, to the lights of Amman, Jordan, to prove that we can come to a lasting and stable peace with our neighbours, if they will just show willing. General Eitam said "We do not want to fight, we are not an aggressive people, but anyone who attacks our homeland must expect an appropriate response"
Today the group spent the morning learning about the REAL Jerusalem! They went to the centre of town and walked to Shouk Mahane Yehuda for lunch and to the Shouk itself to watch the frenetic buying of fine fruit and vegetables in preparation for the Shabbat meal. I am jealous! I haven’t been to the Shouk for a few weeks and my senses cry out for the pure Jerusalem of the colours, aromas, shouts of the costermongers, cries of the barrow-boys as they close in on unwary shoppers with "Allo Allo Allo" sounding more like a comment than a request! The coffee shops are filled with laughter and the "ptillia" the Yemenite restaurant whose owner arrives at 03:00 in order to cook huge pots of delicious Yemenite food which stands on the "ptilia", the candle flame, until the pots are empty. The array of stuffed peppers, aubergines, vine leaves and artichokes are a treat to the senses to say nothing of the meat-balls and chicken rice, yellow with turmeric and spices. Shouk Mahane Yehuda is the very heart of Jerusalem where all the faiths and denominations meet up with a sole purpose………. To find the best tasting fruit and vegetables, fish and meat in the world presented with humour and chutzpah unknown elsewhere!!!!
Jerusalem is slowing down, working Mum's are cooking the produce they bought at the shouk or the supermarket, houses are being cleaned – often by the men folk since this is an equal opportunity country! Ever lessening amounts of water is sloshed on the marble terrazzo floors to be collected up with the trusty "squeegee" or "sponger" into any appropriate receptacle, such as a dust-pan, before said floor is mopped with a clean cloth to a gleaming finish. The aromas currently wafting around our building are scorched egg-plants and peppers – to be made into salads and rice – mixed with lentils, onion and again the essential turmeric. Israeli tables are always laden, and not necessarily costly……. Shabbat holds a world of traditions which all came home again – home to Israel.
Come and see us soon. With much love from Jerusalem, heart of our world.
Sheila
August 14th 2009.
Shabbat Shalom
This week President Peres celebrated his 86th birthday. The President retains his mental and physical agility by testing his exceptional, dynamic intellect constantly, surrounding himself with young innovative minds. Happy Birthday Shimon Peres. Your path to popularity was long and hard but you represent Israel with pride, passion and dignity.
Rumours abound concerning the "imminent" release of Gilad Schalit . Zvi and I spent many an hour with Haim and Edna Avraham, parents of Benny, one of three soldiers kidnapped to Lebanon by Hezb-Allah. The Avrahams together with the Souad and Avitan families were promised and lied to by their sons' captors, as is happening now. http://www.jewishcomment.com/cgibin/news.cgi?id=13&command=shownews&newsid=504 When Hezb-Allah promised to send the boys home depending on the Israeli decisions, they waited three years before admitting that their sons were already dead. Gilad's 4th birthday in captivity was honoured by a prayer vigil at the Western Wall. The irony is that according to the Hamas demands, one Israeli soldier is worth 1,600 Palestinians in Israeli prisons including the infamous Marwan Barghouti.
My understanding of recent elections in the Palestinian Authority, especially in Gaza, is extremely limited. Reports suggest that the new guard is less belligerent than the old guard, but I see little difference! Yet again we are fooled into thinking that a democratic election will bring democracy which will filter down to the ordinary people. I believe that the finest writer on the subject is Israeli Arab reporter Khaled Abu-Toameh www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1249418582678&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull
The press is not even-handed – we know and bemoan the fact frequently, complaining that we can do nothing about it – when we can. If we choose to we can change the world. "The power of one" exists. There are many individuals who take that responsibility and respond to or pre-empt articles and news items by ensuring the truth has its say. David Frankfurter wrote an excellent blog this week with some suggestions as to what we can do. David and I are in awe of the effectiveness of men like Maurice Ostroff http://maurice-ostroff.tripod.com/id220.html a fine example of what an individual can do – please watch the video he produced. Maurice took on the United Nations report on the War in Gaza (Operation Cast Lead). This Ministry of Foreign Affairs report http://www.mfa.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/E89E699D-A435-491B-B2D0-017675DAFEF7/0/GazaOperationwLinks.pdf and the IMRA Report of a MFA press briefing http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=45153 can inform YOU. We must be informed in order to respond- and respond we must. I cannot emphasise enough your responsibility to write to your local papers and TV stations giving them facts. It is easy to complain that the Israeli Government does not present the facts yet here we see that they do – it is simply falling on deaf ears, it needs a local presence.
Rabbi Irwin Katsof is a remarkable man. For the last 15 years Irwin has brought top quality groups of politicians to Israel accompanied by movers and shakers from around the world who he believes will put forward Israel's cause by being informed of the facts. Zvi had the honour of mentoring his work during his tenure as Advisor to the Mayor of Jerusalem. Irwin's work is largely unrecognized outside Israel, but the quality of the people his groups meet is testament to his determination to bring only the worthy. The current group, including the Governor of Texas, Rick Perry http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1249418604250
and his invitees met with President Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political advisor Ron Dermer and Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, founder of the Shurat Hadin http://www.israellawcenter.org/ . This is a proud week in Irwin's life as his eldest son, AY, graduates his IDF officers course. The course is tailored for Haredi young men who wish to defend their country. Kol ha Kavod AY – Kol ha Kavod Irwin and Judy.
Our favourite American politician is among Rabbi Katsof's current group. Republican Congresswoman and great supporter of Israel Ileana Ros Lehtinen and her husband Dexter. The Congresswoman has not wavered in any form in her support of Israel. Ileana and Dexter do not just talk the talk, they come to Israel on vacation with their daughters also. Go to Ileana's facebook tell her how much you appreciate her! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ileana-Ros-Lehtinen/6722353315
Last night we drove out with the group to "Eretz Bereshit" http://www.genesisland.co.il/ right in the middle of the barren wastes of the Judean Hills, close to Jericho. The atmosphere is astonishing as "Abraham" welcomed us and took us back to ancient times when the Jews wandered and lived in this very desert. General Effie Eitam http://www.eitam.org.il/info_en.asp?cat=1206224781 spoke to us of his upbringing, parents who lost everything in the Shoah, and his determination to overcome fear in battle in order to ensure a safe homeland for his children, a safe homeland for his wandering people. He pointed into the distance, to the lights of Amman, Jordan, to prove that we can come to a lasting and stable peace with our neighbours, if they will just show willing. General Eitam said "We do not want to fight, we are not an aggressive people, but anyone who attacks our homeland must expect an appropriate response"
Today the group spent the morning learning about the REAL Jerusalem! They went to the centre of town and walked to Shouk Mahane Yehuda for lunch and to the Shouk itself to watch the frenetic buying of fine fruit and vegetables in preparation for the Shabbat meal. I am jealous! I haven’t been to the Shouk for a few weeks and my senses cry out for the pure Jerusalem of the colours, aromas, shouts of the costermongers, cries of the barrow-boys as they close in on unwary shoppers with "Allo Allo Allo" sounding more like a comment than a request! The coffee shops are filled with laughter and the "ptillia" the Yemenite restaurant whose owner arrives at 03:00 in order to cook huge pots of delicious Yemenite food which stands on the "ptilia", the candle flame, until the pots are empty. The array of stuffed peppers, aubergines, vine leaves and artichokes are a treat to the senses to say nothing of the meat-balls and chicken rice, yellow with turmeric and spices. Shouk Mahane Yehuda is the very heart of Jerusalem where all the faiths and denominations meet up with a sole purpose………. To find the best tasting fruit and vegetables, fish and meat in the world presented with humour and chutzpah unknown elsewhere!!!!
Jerusalem is slowing down, working Mum's are cooking the produce they bought at the shouk or the supermarket, houses are being cleaned – often by the men folk since this is an equal opportunity country! Ever lessening amounts of water is sloshed on the marble terrazzo floors to be collected up with the trusty "squeegee" or "sponger" into any appropriate receptacle, such as a dust-pan, before said floor is mopped with a clean cloth to a gleaming finish. The aromas currently wafting around our building are scorched egg-plants and peppers – to be made into salads and rice – mixed with lentils, onion and again the essential turmeric. Israeli tables are always laden, and not necessarily costly……. Shabbat holds a world of traditions which all came home again – home to Israel.
Come and see us soon. With much love from Jerusalem, heart of our world.
Sheila
Thursday, 25 June 2009
Shabbat Shalom from Sheila
090625
25th June 2009.
Shabbat Shalom!
Do not make the mistake of believing that Iran is a long way away from where you live and their political instability is a Middle East problem. Iran our problem; Iran is your problem; Iran is the embodiment of what is going wrong in the world.
A young woman was shot before the cameras and the American President is sad but it just isn't enough. The riots have nothing to do with whether Mousavi or Ahmedinejad won the elections – they are both evil and they are both puppets of the Ayatollahs. When one listens to the reason and logic of the Shah's son Reza Pahlavi in this interview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHdfkLsIosk one recognises that these riots express a frustration which has nothing to do with voting or politics. The Iranian people lived in relative freedom, before James Earl Carter deposed the Shah and introduced the Ayatollahs to the infinite corruption of absolute power. The people of Iran want their freedom back; freedom of action, freedom of speech, freedom of dress; freedom for women and most of all freedom of prayer. If they succeed then maybe it is the tiny window of light in a very long tunnel which may be the turning point of Islamo-facism in this world. http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20090622/wl_mcclatchy/3257877
While horrors are committed all over the globe, President Obama, through Hillary Clinton and George Mitchell, has demanded the halt of all building over the green line, especially in Jerusalem; Jewish building that is. Even supposed "friends" of Israel, Berlosconi of Italy and Sarkozy of France join the chorus. No-one has criticized illegal Arab building in Jerusalem, which receives full (Jewish) Municipal services. This from a world that accused Israel of disproportionate response!
See Yaacov Kirschen's view! http://drybonesblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/obamas-3am-phone-call.html
Ben Caspit and Ben-Dror Yemini wrote a brilliant article in the Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv, commenting on the disparity in judgment of Israel and of the Moslem world; the article is called "Where is Everyone?" talking of the lack of condemnation of the Iranian situation. Here is a small taste, and a link to what I believe to be an accurate translation from the Hebrew.
Now of all times, when the Basij hooligans have begun to slaughter innocent civilians in the city squares of Tehran? Aren't they connected to the Internet? Don't they have YouTube? Has a terrible virus struck down their computer? Have their justice glands been removed in a complicated surgical procedure? How can it be that when a Jew kills a Muslim, the entire world boils, and when extremist Islam slaughters its citizens, whose sole sin is the aspiration to freedom, the world is silent? http://israelagainstterror.blogspot.com/2009/06/where-is-everyone.html
Our dear friend Canon Andrew White sadly reported the deaths of two British hostages in Iraq, despite his tireless, 2 year, fight for their freedom. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/21/iraq-british-hostages . His tragic report emphasised the plight of Cpl. Gilad Schalit who was kidnapped and taken to Gaza in a bloody attack three years ago today. Three years of pain for his family, three years of intense political and diplomatic efforts on Israel's part and he is still held in unknown conditions, unknown danger. Neither the Red Cross nor Amnesty has seen him despite the clear breech of the Geneva Convention. Shame on them that it goes unremarked, again the expectations are disparate and the results a disgrace. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/Behind+the+Headlines/Behind+the+Headlines-+Six+months+in+terrorist+captivity+11-Jan-2007.htm
Dr. Yoram Blachar, longstanding President of the Israeli Medical Association, was appointed as President of the World Medical Association. A petition was created to depose him because he is an Israeli. The petition to depose him is a test case for an Israeli since he is due to end his term in October. Support Dr. Blachar, the IMA and
Israeli medicine. http://www.petition.fm/petitions/ima Please sign and send this letter on to anyone you feel might be interested in expressing support. It cannot be that an Israeli is hounded from his position for being an Israeli – the country whose contribution to medical research far exceeds proportion. Racism, pure racism.
Today democracy worked. The correct decision was taken at the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency when Natan Scharansky (who Dr. Len Cole describes as "the tallest short man he knows") was chosen as the new Chairman of the Jewish Agency. There were attempts to scupper his election, for all the wrong reasons. I believe that he is the right man in the right place, respected and respectable, the epitome of everything the Jewish Agency stands for. His accent in English is irrelevant since both his heart and his brain are in the right place and he has paid his dues. Mazal Tov Mr. Scharansky; from Anatoly to Natan- from the gulag of Siberia to leader of the Jewish world.
G'day Shalom Salaam Israel On Tuesday evening we had the honour of attending the grand dinner of the Australia Israel Cultural Exchange http://www.aicec.org/ . Albert Dadon is the driving force behind the AICE, and with our lovely friends Paul and Vivienne Zimmet and the inimitable Saul Same, we experienced the warmth which poured forth from the Australian politicians and artistes. Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Senator Peter Costello exuded understanding and love toward the Jewish State. They are proud that Australia was the first YES vote in the UN for Resolution 181 on November 29th 1947 - the founding of the State of Israel. Time and again it is the Australians who stand up for democracy and justice, including self-criticism for what happened to their own indigenous peoples. It was a joy to sit and listen to politicians who had nothing to gain from their kind words other than ensuring their own integrity. Senator Guy Barnett of Tasmania was particularly moved by the story of the ANZAC brigade in Beersheba and their fight against the Ottoman Empire. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22681087-25209,00.html
Those of you in the New York area should take note of a very important symposium in which Dr. Leonard Cole will participate. The symposium on Terror Medicine and Security to be held on July 15th at the UMDNJ- New Jersey Dental School www.umdnj.edu/ccoe/medical
So that was my week! No time for the Shouk! To tell the truth I wasn't too keen to go anywhere without air-conditioning as the temperature soared. We celebrated our anniversary several times!!! We were taken to a Sarit Haddad concert in Jerusalem by Rosa and Bernardo Romanowsky http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhK5wLAEWy8 ; Zvi took me for a romantic sushi meal in Jerusalem's gorgeous German Colony and then last night we went for Italian with Saul Same and his sister Sarah. Saul is such an amazing man, in his gentle and kind manner he has ensured the Australia-Israel connection is solid and endless.
I wish you all a fine and peaceful weekend. Shabbat Shalom and much love from Jerusalem, the incredibly beautiful and much maligned capital of Israel – heart of our world.
Sheila
25th June 2009.
Shabbat Shalom!
Do not make the mistake of believing that Iran is a long way away from where you live and their political instability is a Middle East problem. Iran our problem; Iran is your problem; Iran is the embodiment of what is going wrong in the world.
A young woman was shot before the cameras and the American President is sad but it just isn't enough. The riots have nothing to do with whether Mousavi or Ahmedinejad won the elections – they are both evil and they are both puppets of the Ayatollahs. When one listens to the reason and logic of the Shah's son Reza Pahlavi in this interview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHdfkLsIosk one recognises that these riots express a frustration which has nothing to do with voting or politics. The Iranian people lived in relative freedom, before James Earl Carter deposed the Shah and introduced the Ayatollahs to the infinite corruption of absolute power. The people of Iran want their freedom back; freedom of action, freedom of speech, freedom of dress; freedom for women and most of all freedom of prayer. If they succeed then maybe it is the tiny window of light in a very long tunnel which may be the turning point of Islamo-facism in this world. http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20090622/wl_mcclatchy/3257877
While horrors are committed all over the globe, President Obama, through Hillary Clinton and George Mitchell, has demanded the halt of all building over the green line, especially in Jerusalem; Jewish building that is. Even supposed "friends" of Israel, Berlosconi of Italy and Sarkozy of France join the chorus. No-one has criticized illegal Arab building in Jerusalem, which receives full (Jewish) Municipal services. This from a world that accused Israel of disproportionate response!
See Yaacov Kirschen's view! http://drybonesblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/obamas-3am-phone-call.html
Ben Caspit and Ben-Dror Yemini wrote a brilliant article in the Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv, commenting on the disparity in judgment of Israel and of the Moslem world; the article is called "Where is Everyone?" talking of the lack of condemnation of the Iranian situation. Here is a small taste, and a link to what I believe to be an accurate translation from the Hebrew.
Now of all times, when the Basij hooligans have begun to slaughter innocent civilians in the city squares of Tehran? Aren't they connected to the Internet? Don't they have YouTube? Has a terrible virus struck down their computer? Have their justice glands been removed in a complicated surgical procedure? How can it be that when a Jew kills a Muslim, the entire world boils, and when extremist Islam slaughters its citizens, whose sole sin is the aspiration to freedom, the world is silent? http://israelagainstterror.blogspot.com/2009/06/where-is-everyone.html
Our dear friend Canon Andrew White sadly reported the deaths of two British hostages in Iraq, despite his tireless, 2 year, fight for their freedom. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/21/iraq-british-hostages . His tragic report emphasised the plight of Cpl. Gilad Schalit who was kidnapped and taken to Gaza in a bloody attack three years ago today. Three years of pain for his family, three years of intense political and diplomatic efforts on Israel's part and he is still held in unknown conditions, unknown danger. Neither the Red Cross nor Amnesty has seen him despite the clear breech of the Geneva Convention. Shame on them that it goes unremarked, again the expectations are disparate and the results a disgrace. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/Behind+the+Headlines/Behind+the+Headlines-+Six+months+in+terrorist+captivity+11-Jan-2007.htm
Dr. Yoram Blachar, longstanding President of the Israeli Medical Association, was appointed as President of the World Medical Association. A petition was created to depose him because he is an Israeli. The petition to depose him is a test case for an Israeli since he is due to end his term in October. Support Dr. Blachar, the IMA and
Israeli medicine. http://www.petition.fm/petitions/ima Please sign and send this letter on to anyone you feel might be interested in expressing support. It cannot be that an Israeli is hounded from his position for being an Israeli – the country whose contribution to medical research far exceeds proportion. Racism, pure racism.
Today democracy worked. The correct decision was taken at the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency when Natan Scharansky (who Dr. Len Cole describes as "the tallest short man he knows") was chosen as the new Chairman of the Jewish Agency. There were attempts to scupper his election, for all the wrong reasons. I believe that he is the right man in the right place, respected and respectable, the epitome of everything the Jewish Agency stands for. His accent in English is irrelevant since both his heart and his brain are in the right place and he has paid his dues. Mazal Tov Mr. Scharansky; from Anatoly to Natan- from the gulag of Siberia to leader of the Jewish world.
G'day Shalom Salaam Israel On Tuesday evening we had the honour of attending the grand dinner of the Australia Israel Cultural Exchange http://www.aicec.org/ . Albert Dadon is the driving force behind the AICE, and with our lovely friends Paul and Vivienne Zimmet and the inimitable Saul Same, we experienced the warmth which poured forth from the Australian politicians and artistes. Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Senator Peter Costello exuded understanding and love toward the Jewish State. They are proud that Australia was the first YES vote in the UN for Resolution 181 on November 29th 1947 - the founding of the State of Israel. Time and again it is the Australians who stand up for democracy and justice, including self-criticism for what happened to their own indigenous peoples. It was a joy to sit and listen to politicians who had nothing to gain from their kind words other than ensuring their own integrity. Senator Guy Barnett of Tasmania was particularly moved by the story of the ANZAC brigade in Beersheba and their fight against the Ottoman Empire. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22681087-25209,00.html
Those of you in the New York area should take note of a very important symposium in which Dr. Leonard Cole will participate. The symposium on Terror Medicine and Security to be held on July 15th at the UMDNJ- New Jersey Dental School www.umdnj.edu/ccoe/medical
So that was my week! No time for the Shouk! To tell the truth I wasn't too keen to go anywhere without air-conditioning as the temperature soared. We celebrated our anniversary several times!!! We were taken to a Sarit Haddad concert in Jerusalem by Rosa and Bernardo Romanowsky http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhK5wLAEWy8 ; Zvi took me for a romantic sushi meal in Jerusalem's gorgeous German Colony and then last night we went for Italian with Saul Same and his sister Sarah. Saul is such an amazing man, in his gentle and kind manner he has ensured the Australia-Israel connection is solid and endless.
I wish you all a fine and peaceful weekend. Shabbat Shalom and much love from Jerusalem, the incredibly beautiful and much maligned capital of Israel – heart of our world.
Sheila
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