Shabbat Shalom letter from Jerusalem

120907

7^th September 2012

The seventh of September is a very, very special day for me because it is the day I became a Mother. 7^th of September 1969 my incredible son Daniel was born and he has been enriching and warming my heart every day since. Happy birthday beautiful man.

Now that I have warmed my heart, and yours, by talking of my son, a just and kind man whose aim in life is to heal the bodies and minds of children, I must, unfortunately move to the unjust and unkind world of journalism. A war is raging against the ordinary people of Syria, Sunnis are killing Shi'as and both are killing Copts in Egypt......earthquakes hit China, floods hit the Southern states of the USA, indeed tyrants wreak havoc everywhere including Ahmedinejad the puppet of the Ayatollas of Iran and who do the media choose for their “shocked” headlines? Israel, of course! Why? Because we built a fence between Egyptian Sinai and Israel because they are two separate countries and after being inundated by work seekers from Eritrea and Sudan we did not break the fence to let another 18 in. We gave them food through the fence, we gave them water but we said enough. British police put illegals into holding cells at the airport before returning them; France – well the French send them to the UK; The USA patrols their fence and shoots at those who climb over or under; indeed every country worth its salt has a problem of people trying to come in illegally and after some 40,000 already came in we are singled out for sending them back home and now for not letting them in. Double standards at their worst.

Another case of double standards is of refugees. Many years ago when Jews who lived in Arab countries suffered terrible oppression we brought them home. We did not claim compensation or rights, we absorbed them into society, just as forlorn and ragged as any picture of modern refugees. Their plight was just as dreadful and their need for succour and a home just as real. 900,000 Jews had to leave Arab lands – time to recognise their right of return and compensation maybe?

Last night Zvi and I saw an investigative programme “Kolbotek” which the State Prosecutor tried to ban – and the Supreme Court allowed it to air. It has long been known that the entire case against former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the “Holyland” building project was built upon the testimony of a known liar but the programme revealed the fact that the States Witness is not only a pathological liar but that Scotland Yard has a series of fraud cases against him and that he fiddled money from the rich and famous claiming to be dying from just about every serious illness and is a totally unsavoury character. This is the basis of the case which forced a Prime Minister to resign. For those of you who understand Hebrew (there are sections in English too) http://reshet.tv/Shows/Kolbotek_video/  Go to the video with "Ed ha medina"

Raphael Shore made a film several years ago, a film which told the story so clearly that it is still utterly relevant. It is the story of Israels relentless search for peace. Relentless http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/relentless

Danny Adeno Abebe was born in Addis Ababa but today Danny is a highly successful journalist. His head is not turned by his success however and he chose to do everything he could to set up an NGO to encourage young Ethiopian Jews to find their way into journalism too. Kol ha Kavod Danny. Proud of you. http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=284154

Alan Dershowitz expressed his anger at the current trend in Germany to ban circumcision of baby boys. They took a poll – I wonder who they asked and what. http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3331/germany-circumcision-ban

 
CNN's Wolf Blitzer was very surprised at the Democratic Convention at the omission of Israel being the US' greatest ally in the ME and Jerusalem being the Capital of the State of Israel. It was partially rectified and while I believe that the Democratic Convention and all things pertaining should be about the USA not Israel – to specifically remove such mentions is somewhat ominous. Glad we are back in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRPy4Qc0Keg&feature=player_embedded

1984 in 2012 United Nations a must watch -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klm2oPcUXwI 

Last weekend Zvi and I met with Anne and Rafi Behar and Orna and Nir Baroz at the Lavan restaurant, sitting on the veranda of the Cinemateque overlooking the walls of the Old City eating outstanding food, great conversations and the inevitable cafe hafuch to finish it off. Who could ask for anything more?

This has been a week of visitors, the most important of all was my nephew Adam who came ot Israel with Birthright and then came to see “Auntie Sheila” and Zvi. It was so much fun!!! We started his visit with a car tour of Jerusalem through Gilo, Beit Tsafafa and then coming down the hill to the phenomenal panorama of Jerusalem from the South. We went to the Botanical Gardens and Caffit for lunch with Becky Guttin and her father Rafael Marena after a “train” ride around the gardens to see the various continents foliage and flora – stopping for a quick and very hot look at the Tropical House and its orchids.

In the evening we all went to the Bloomfield Museum of Science at the invitation of Gideon Sellingerof the Hebrew University. We wen tot a truly riveting lecture by Re'em Sari, a returning scientist who is part of the reverse brain drain. The lecture was , as I said, rivetting, although Sari is a professor of Astro-Physics we all understood every word of his lecture and even found it amusing! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ6o2QBWCsc

From the lecture we made our way to the Ron Arad installation at Israel Museum. It was truly incredible. The 720 degree exhibit (360 within and 360 without) was extraordinary, the Jerusalem sky above us, the view before us and the reflective plastic fibres which form a curtain of pictures, cartoons and music all around us. http://jerusalemseason.com/en/content/event/ron-arad-720%C2%B0

The next day saw us at the Herzl Museum where any cracks in information are filled in a truly entertaining manner followed by an introduction between Adam and his first cousins – my grandchildren. Happy to report they adored their cousin and wouldn't leave him alone!!! Adam and I spent most evenings sitting out on the veranda waiting for the moon to give us a spectacular show as it rose over the horizon and for the geckos to make an appearance for his photographic delight. The moon gave us the usual delight but the geckos stayed indoors!!!

I made two visits to Mahane Yehuda this week – one with Adam to buy fruit and veggies and one with Becky and Rafael. The sounds and sights thrilled them as they thrill me. The noisy fish shops, the fragrant spice shops, the colourful fruit and veg and of course the herbs which emit their aromatic scent over the whole market. On both occasions I went to Cafe Mizrahi, once for coffe and brioche with Adam and once for lunch with Becky and Rafael. The atmosphere, the people-watching opportunities, the hubbub of humanity passing by as one eats a veritable feast of local flavours. Amazing.

Becky and Rafael (Fayo) are here to put the finishing touches to the plans for a beautiful amphitheatre which Becky has designed and her parents are giving to the children of Jerusalem, right opposite the Efron Dance Centre for Hora Jerusalem. The dancers will have a beautiful setting for their performances in the Magen David shaped amphitheatre. Thank you.

I am late writing today because I decide to finish my cooking first. Chicken soup of course, kneidlach, home made challah, real British fried gefilte fish, herby, spicy potato and onion roast, chicken paprika, green salad, chopped salad, courgette salad and beautiful baby aubergines seared, skinned and served with home made tehina sauce.......... and of course a great big bowl of grapes, watermelon and peaches to finish.

Having whet your appetites I looked over the view from my veranda. The mall is already empty and the roads are following suit, the neighbours have finished their Shabbat cooking, the Kurdish neighbours have already eaten their Kubeh soup and gone home to a pre-Shabbat siesta... and so must I.

I wish you a Shabbat shalom from Jerusalem, beautiful, spiritual, contested and oh so Biblical Jerusalem. Our Capital city.

Sheila

Shabbat Shalom letter from Jerusalem

110610
10TH June 2011


Shabbat Shalom dear friends. I hope this letter finds you well.

The Shabbat dinner party I described last week went off like a dream. The conversation was delightful as were the guests and it felt somehow right to introduce our new friends to old friends and mix the past with the present making new future friendships. The mix of origins reminded me of dinner parties in the States, Canada or Australia where many are immigrants from other countries, the only difference is that here we all came home. The guests came from Morocco, Canada, Wales, Belgium and of course right here in Jerusalem, Palestine.

Palestine, Palaestina. The name was changed by the Romans to eradicate all resemblance and memory of the Jewish era of Judea and Samaria; they were less successful with the name Jerusalem, attempting to call her Ilia Capitolina, but Jerusalem is so musical, so prayerful, so powerful that they did not succeed. Now the “Palestinians” are insisting that the prayer “If I forget thee oh Jerusalem” is a Christian prayer and not Jewish at all!!! http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=5133

Rabbi Jeremy Rosen has written an excellent piece about Jerusalem this week – well worth reading the words of a dove, a religious dove but as he says not a suicidal dove. http://jeremyrosen.blogspot.com/2011/06/jerusalem.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+jeremyrosen%2FtAYl+%28Jeremy+Rosen%27s+Blog%29

This week you are getting only good news. I am tired of the Syrian situation whereby everyone shouts and no-one does anything. I cannot but think what they would all be saying if Israel behaved in the amoral and inhumane fashion of Bashar Assad – the highly sophisticated, soft spoken and seemingly mannered tyrant whose cruel regime is still running rampant in Syria – a country created when the entire Middle East “divvied up” this time by the French a country which created the strongest links with Iran and Iraq of Saddam benefitting his country with armaments that no-one quite knows about. The refugees fled to Turkey where they will not be welcomed with open arms. Gosh and I said no politics eh?

Actually there are some good politics too. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is at the forefront af a Congressional move against the declaration of sttehood by the Palestinians and the cessation of American financial aid to any government including Hamas. Prime Minister Steven Harper has yet again chosen the side of moral truth and sided with Israel publicly and openly – KOL HA KAVOD TO CANADA

Danny Adino Abebe is a handsome young reporter who began his journalistic career in the IDF and works with Yedioth Aharonot, one of the 3 majors newspapers in Israel. Danny is from Ethiopia but just as his identity never bothered him so it has never impeded his progress. Easily identified by his dreadlocks and enormous smile at any major event, Danny feels that many Ethiopians use their colour or origin as an excuse not to succeed - read all about Danny in this marvellous article by Ruth Eglash http://www.jpost.com/Features/InThespotlight/Article.aspx?ID=224185&R=R1

Shevuot , the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost was wonderful. We were invited to friend both on Erev Shevuot – the night before Shevuot – and for Shevuot Lunch. It always fascinates me how different families have different traditions all of which include cheeses, milk, quiches, fish, anything but meat- but Zvi raised the question Why?
Why when we are expected to celebrate all festivals with meat and plenteous dishes do we stick to white foods – milk foods, on Shevuot. Most of us learned about receiving the Torah and not knowing how deeply the question of the calf in its mothers milk took us.......but no......... Zvi's response was much more interesting. Halav......... milk..... is made up of three hebrew letters hey, lamed and bet. In gematriah – the mathematical calculations of hebrew letters this adds up to 40. Moses was atop Mount Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights while receiving the Torah. Since Shevuot is the celebration of receiving the Torah – ergo milk!

In a few minutes I will leave for Ramot to collect my little grandchildren Yosef and Talia from their schools and take them home to play for a while before Shabbat preparations take over my mind. From Ramot we drive out to Givat Zeev on the main road, passing Samuels Tomb and driving down the long hill to Givat Zeev – named for Zeev Jabotinsky, one of the major founding fathers of modern Israel. Despite the searing heat of a Sharav or Hamsin, the air atop the mountain is fresh and the views spectacular. Givat Zeev is a pretty town, basically a dormitory neighbourhood of Jerusalem, although CNN and the BBC would call it a settlement! The homes are white, just like Jerusalem, and the local Arabs walk freely and tend their land, crops and animal herds without anyone bothering them – unlike Arab towns which do not allow Jews within a stones throw – literally.

The drive back home is even more spectacular as one climbs again to Samuels Tomb on the opposite side of the road one is taken aback by the panorama – a spectacular carpet of white buildings as far as the eye can see as Jerusalem, Israels Capital City and the the largest by far, spreads out before one in splendour. The number of towers is growing, once only the Augusta Victoria Hospital, St Georges, the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus and those few in the centre of town stood proud of the homes, now one has the Holyland Tower, the Calatrava Bridge, and many hotels and offices – Jerusalem is not only a city of ancient stones – Jerusalem is a thriving, bustling city of three-quarters of a million people whose ethnicities form a glorious rainbow evident in our skyline.

Each and every visitor to our home is mesmerised by the view. Jerusalem is so special, so heartwarming, spiritual, contentious and thoroughly embedded in our souls that to see her laid out before us is a gift of such magnitude that we must never ever forget her “If I forget thee oh Jerusalem, let my right hand becoem useless and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth”. The Palestinians can say what they wish – we know that this came from Psalm 137 "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion." The psalm mourns the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian army in 586 BCE, is part of Jewish tradition and liturgy and has appeared in Jewish sources for thousands of years. Before you consider their statements check out their lies.

I wish you Shabbat shalom and those who are preparing to arrive for the Presidents Conference on Tomorrow – see you there.

With much love from Jerusalem, the most beautiful city in the world.
Sheila