090710
10th July 2009.
Shabbat Shalom!
Israel is often the target of the frustration of the West who fail to understand the Arab States. Before considering the condemnation of Israeli troops on the battlefield read what Col. Richard Kemp, former military advisor to the British Government, has to say. His views are diametrically opposed to those put forward by the media.
http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DRIT=0&DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=111&FID=378&PID=0&IID=3026&TTL=International_Law_and_Military_Operations_in_Practice
Maurice Ostroff does not just sit back and complain that the world is against us – he acts. Maurice has been corresponding with Judge Richard Goldstone of the UN Fact Finding Mission on Gaza (Operation Cast Lead), he also created an exceptional video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx-CW3UKoIg which was presented to the UN Committee. I want to congratulate Maurice on his outstanding contribution and for approaching the UN team with such honesty.
Are you aware of the incredible initiative of Israeli medical and technological research? Many supposed academics wish to boycott Israel, believing her to be an apartheid state (how far from the truth can one get?). For those who wish to boycott Israel or denigrate her in the public eye – this is our response http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbIQto3KPUM
Just a few days to go before the second largest gathering of athletes in the world (over 7,000) will take part in the 18th Maccabiah Games. They said we wouldn't have a country, they never believed we would become athletes ( who bothered with Harold Abrahams and Mark Spitz) and here we are, in Israel with strong, athletic, proud competitors of all ages taking part in this celebration of who and what we are.
In between his activities for the 18th Maccabiah, Zvi found a certificate from June 1935 declaring (in Polish) his late father's participation in the Maccabiah Games which took place from the 7th to the 9th of June in Bialystok, Poland. He also found a certificate from 19th of September 1950 appointing his father, Kalman Rybak (Raviv) as a referee for the 3rd Maccabiah athletic competition to be held on the 6th of October that year. Finally there was also a certificate of excellence for his active assistance in the 5th Maccabiah in 1957.
Kalman had a brother, Joseph, who was a fine athlete and a physician. Joseph Rybak played for the Polish National Soccer Team. His social and sporting successes made him decide to stay in Poland, believing he was protected from the horrors of 1938, despite the fact that his brother Kalman came all the way from the nascent Jewish State to persuade his family to leave Poland and join him in Palestine. Joseph went on to become famous, but not for his sporting prowess; Joseph Rybak became the doctor of Treblinka – taking care of the 600 Jewish workers. He is famous for responding to their thanks when he cured them "Do not thank me for sending you back into hell" Joseph did not survive the Holocaust.
Kalman's sportsmanship and determination to be part of the Jewish world imbued his eldest son with the will to become part of the Maccabi family – and family it is. Zvi is luckier than I because he has been part of this incredible organization for decades, but his friendships and involvement allowed me to understand the incredible influence Maccabi has on the lives of youngsters and what an amazing social tool it is for Jews all over the world – young and old. You don't have to be super athletic, you can always play bridge or golf, but the energy of the next week or so is phenomenal. http://www.maccabiah.com/
For me one high spot of these games is the appearance of my sporting hero, Bobby Charlton, as a leader of the British Team. http://www.maccabiah.com/showText.asp?num=353&serit=Charlton Bobby Charlton was not only a great footballer, a gentleman and a man of peace – he is remembered for his survival of the fatal plane crash in 1953 which decimated the English football team.
Mahane Yehuda stands above all other Israeli markets! Netanya is good, Shouk haCarmel in Tel Aviv is OK but only Mahane Yehuda represents the epitome of all that is Israeli. This week there was a culture programme on the television, with a very "Tel Aviv" presenter. He was amazed to discover the cheese store with kosher cheeses of the highest quality from around the world (including one which costs 800 NIS a kilo); the Indian restaurant; the superb coffee shop; the spices piled in mountains and the herbs in deep sacks; the fish so fresh it is still a-jumping (really); the little "Bet Knesset" (synagogue) so that the costermongers can always pop in for a quick minyan (quorum). This covered market has the freshest fruit and vegetables, dried fruits to die for and halva of every possible flavour that you can even taste!!! For one supposedly sophisticated Tel Aviv television presenter, this was the biggest eye-opener imaginable….. Jerusalem has everything!
The Dead Sea is still dead, but it can become one of the 7 natural wonders of the modern world rather than curing psoriasis! Go to http://www.new7wonders.com/hp/ and vote, vote, vote – I think it has to be at a specific time, and you can also suggest that they hold the ceremony to announce the 7 natural wonders of the world in Jerusalem, Israel!!
The opening concert for the Maccabiah (Emceed by my husband) will take place on Motse Shabbat at the Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv. This Gala salute to the Maccabiah Games with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Zubin Mehta and with solo US pianist Murray Perahia will kick off the greatest Jewish celebrations ever!!!!! Good luck to all the contestants, participants and fans.
Shabbat Shalom and much love from Jerusalem heart of our world.
Sheila
Showing posts with label maccabiah 18. Show all posts
Showing posts with label maccabiah 18. Show all posts
Friday, 10 July 2009
Friday, 27 February 2009
Shabbat Shalom from Sheila
090227
27th February, 2009.
Shabbat Shalom
One of the only disadvantages of living in Israel is that I am unaware of the timing of Christian Festivals, which is distinctly unfair on my Christian readers. Rather belatedly I hope you had a fun Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, and didn't eat too much – and that Ash Wednesday led you into Lent and a time of reflection.
Since we are on the subject of Christianity, Israelis are rather embarrassed at our king of satire, Lior Shlein, who made highly unfortunate references on his nightly show, while referring to the apparent acceptance within the Catholic Church, of Richard Williamson, an avowed Holocaust denier. The skit was in very bad taste and Schlein has since publicly apologized for his gaffe, so I do not see any reason for this incident to harm the Popes intentions of coming to Israel in May. Various Moslem groups jumped on the bandwagon calling upon His Eminence to cancel his upcoming visit. The humour was inappropriate, but remember that it comes from a people who survived through humour and thinks everyone has the same sense of the absurd. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/161096
I promised you a report on the Conference of Presidents here in Jerusalem, which was immediately followed by the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency – known locally as BOG!!! It would bore you horribly if I were to report upon each and every aspect of both but my general impression is that while funds are falling, many projects are lost and people have lost their jobs in the Jewish world- there is a greater sense of togetherness than I have seen in many a year. Suddenly, Americans North and South, Canadians, Europeans, Antipodeans and Brits have something in common – the momentous realisation that anti-Israeli bias is not against Israel, it is, as Dr. Martin Luther King Junior said, another name for anti-Semitism. We are all in this boat together and while it is overt in Venezuela, it is tacit everywhere. We are not vocal enough, we are too apathetic and too self-satisfied. Our enemies, and that is what they are, are more vocal, less indifferent and much more willing to go out there and tell what they perceive as their side of the story – often through statements which bear little resemblance to truth. We cannot sit back and rely on Alan Dershowitz, Irwin Cotler and Daniel Pipes to fight our fights. Get out there and get your pens poised, but write with at least a modicum of good manners so that incidents such as those reported in the British Medical Journal do not recur. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1235410704498&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
As a result of the banning of Shahar Peer from the Dubai tennis championships, http://dailystrength.org/c/War_Terrorism_Violence/forum/6444568-dubai-no-match-israeli some companies and individuals stood up and took action, including the Tennis Channel viewerresponse@tennischannel.com and Andy Roddick, who pulled out in protest. Barclays Bank said nothing and did nothing. If you have a Barclays account you know what to do! sustainability@barclays.com
I am sure that many of you received an email proclaiming to be a Congressional paper with directions from President Obama to absorb Palestinian Hamas into the USA…..HOAX of course!!! www.snopes.com - but this video is not a hoax, it is deadly serious and essential viewing of a Kuwaiti Professor and his dreams for the USA.
http://mliberalguy.blogspot.com/2009/02/kuwaiti-professor-fantasizes-of.html
The Two-State solution keeps rearing its head, over and over again. I agree that this is, was and always has been the answer to the violence and subsequent poverty of people on both sides of the proverbial fence. In fact it was such a brilliant idea that it was enacted in 1948 by the "Partition of Palestine" into a Jewish State and an Arab State – the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. If Jews are banned from living in the Moslem part of Palestine why are Moslems protected as part of Israeli society. I don't want them to go anywhere, don't misunderstand me, but I want to know why it is acceptable for vast tracts of land to be "un-Jewed" but unacceptable for us to do the same to others? Why does the Christian world silently accept the tragedy of what is happening to Christians in Gaza and the PA, yet create a world wide to-do over a not very funny Israeli satirist? Beats me!
We now have a Prime Minister (probably) but still don't have a government. Tsippi wants a two state solution on the agenda and surprisingly Lieberman accepts that but Bibi doesn't. Shas won't accept civil marriages but Kadimah does. Bibi has a long way to go! Negotiations are taking place in Kfar Maccabiah where we were discussing far more positive events with Eyal Tiberger, Director General of WMU. We talked of the fabulous events which will mark this years 18th Maccabiah. Zvi will be in charge of the Jerusalem section – and all the events, no matter where they are held, sound amazing. It is such a brilliant opportunity for young Jews from around the world to meet in the spirit of friendly competition and sport. As I said last time, this is the second largest international sports event in the world. Don't imagine that it is only youngsters and VIP's – parents and sports fans of every variety will come. If you haven't booked your tickets yet you really ought!!! http://www.maccabiah.com/
By the way, we didn't get the best foreign film award in Hollywood!!! Waltz with Bashir did brilliantly to get as far as it did but didn't quite make it. Never mind – next year!!!!
Yesterday Zvi and I were stuck in traffic on road 443 from the airport to Jerusalem. I had time to study the roadsides, the incredible amount of greenery, provided so many years ago by the KKL. One really notices the difference between the PA and Israel by their bare, stony, uninviting hillsides and the Israeli greenery – it all depends upon how one chooses to use ones money. The previously barren lands, deforestation was so devastating during the Ottoman period that the top-soil eroded, is now covered with many types of fir trees which have encouraged the growth of wild mimosa, shkediot (almond), rakafot (cyclamen), calaniot (anemones) and of course where there is a break in the trees spikey cacti – sabras grow with the promise of their juicy fruits. The flowers are responding to the rain which has finally arrived. Indeed it rained cats and dogs last night – interspersed with some very loud thunder, and early this morning my friend Judith called me begging me to go out onto my veranda and just "smell the air". She was right, the clear air, so freshly washed by the torrential night rain, was refreshing and crisp as the entire city seemed to gleam in the sudden burst of sunshine before the next downpour.
My Shabbat meals are cooked since I woke up early this morning to an exceptionally loud clap of thunder. My Eastern fish on red pepper and tomato base, the tuna and celery salad, the cottage pie, the root vegetable soup, the bread pudding, poached pears and fresh Israeli strawberries in orange juice bode well for a warm belly on a cold night!!!! Their aromas vie for attention on our hallway, but I think I did OK this week!!!!
Shabbat Shalom to you all. Remember to be proud of what you are. As Rabbi Jeremy Rosen used to say in his morning assemblies at Carmel College "Remember that, as Jews, you are as good as, though no better than, anyone else"
With love, from the thankfully soggy heart of the world.
Sheila
27th February, 2009.
Shabbat Shalom
One of the only disadvantages of living in Israel is that I am unaware of the timing of Christian Festivals, which is distinctly unfair on my Christian readers. Rather belatedly I hope you had a fun Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, and didn't eat too much – and that Ash Wednesday led you into Lent and a time of reflection.
Since we are on the subject of Christianity, Israelis are rather embarrassed at our king of satire, Lior Shlein, who made highly unfortunate references on his nightly show, while referring to the apparent acceptance within the Catholic Church, of Richard Williamson, an avowed Holocaust denier. The skit was in very bad taste and Schlein has since publicly apologized for his gaffe, so I do not see any reason for this incident to harm the Popes intentions of coming to Israel in May. Various Moslem groups jumped on the bandwagon calling upon His Eminence to cancel his upcoming visit. The humour was inappropriate, but remember that it comes from a people who survived through humour and thinks everyone has the same sense of the absurd. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/161096
I promised you a report on the Conference of Presidents here in Jerusalem, which was immediately followed by the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency – known locally as BOG!!! It would bore you horribly if I were to report upon each and every aspect of both but my general impression is that while funds are falling, many projects are lost and people have lost their jobs in the Jewish world- there is a greater sense of togetherness than I have seen in many a year. Suddenly, Americans North and South, Canadians, Europeans, Antipodeans and Brits have something in common – the momentous realisation that anti-Israeli bias is not against Israel, it is, as Dr. Martin Luther King Junior said, another name for anti-Semitism. We are all in this boat together and while it is overt in Venezuela, it is tacit everywhere. We are not vocal enough, we are too apathetic and too self-satisfied. Our enemies, and that is what they are, are more vocal, less indifferent and much more willing to go out there and tell what they perceive as their side of the story – often through statements which bear little resemblance to truth. We cannot sit back and rely on Alan Dershowitz, Irwin Cotler and Daniel Pipes to fight our fights. Get out there and get your pens poised, but write with at least a modicum of good manners so that incidents such as those reported in the British Medical Journal do not recur. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1235410704498&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
As a result of the banning of Shahar Peer from the Dubai tennis championships, http://dailystrength.org/c/War_Terrorism_Violence/forum/6444568-dubai-no-match-israeli some companies and individuals stood up and took action, including the Tennis Channel viewerresponse@tennischannel.com and Andy Roddick, who pulled out in protest. Barclays Bank said nothing and did nothing. If you have a Barclays account you know what to do! sustainability@barclays.com
I am sure that many of you received an email proclaiming to be a Congressional paper with directions from President Obama to absorb Palestinian Hamas into the USA…..HOAX of course!!! www.snopes.com - but this video is not a hoax, it is deadly serious and essential viewing of a Kuwaiti Professor and his dreams for the USA.
http://mliberalguy.blogspot.com/2009/02/kuwaiti-professor-fantasizes-of.html
The Two-State solution keeps rearing its head, over and over again. I agree that this is, was and always has been the answer to the violence and subsequent poverty of people on both sides of the proverbial fence. In fact it was such a brilliant idea that it was enacted in 1948 by the "Partition of Palestine" into a Jewish State and an Arab State – the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. If Jews are banned from living in the Moslem part of Palestine why are Moslems protected as part of Israeli society. I don't want them to go anywhere, don't misunderstand me, but I want to know why it is acceptable for vast tracts of land to be "un-Jewed" but unacceptable for us to do the same to others? Why does the Christian world silently accept the tragedy of what is happening to Christians in Gaza and the PA, yet create a world wide to-do over a not very funny Israeli satirist? Beats me!
We now have a Prime Minister (probably) but still don't have a government. Tsippi wants a two state solution on the agenda and surprisingly Lieberman accepts that but Bibi doesn't. Shas won't accept civil marriages but Kadimah does. Bibi has a long way to go! Negotiations are taking place in Kfar Maccabiah where we were discussing far more positive events with Eyal Tiberger, Director General of WMU. We talked of the fabulous events which will mark this years 18th Maccabiah. Zvi will be in charge of the Jerusalem section – and all the events, no matter where they are held, sound amazing. It is such a brilliant opportunity for young Jews from around the world to meet in the spirit of friendly competition and sport. As I said last time, this is the second largest international sports event in the world. Don't imagine that it is only youngsters and VIP's – parents and sports fans of every variety will come. If you haven't booked your tickets yet you really ought!!! http://www.maccabiah.com/
By the way, we didn't get the best foreign film award in Hollywood!!! Waltz with Bashir did brilliantly to get as far as it did but didn't quite make it. Never mind – next year!!!!
Yesterday Zvi and I were stuck in traffic on road 443 from the airport to Jerusalem. I had time to study the roadsides, the incredible amount of greenery, provided so many years ago by the KKL. One really notices the difference between the PA and Israel by their bare, stony, uninviting hillsides and the Israeli greenery – it all depends upon how one chooses to use ones money. The previously barren lands, deforestation was so devastating during the Ottoman period that the top-soil eroded, is now covered with many types of fir trees which have encouraged the growth of wild mimosa, shkediot (almond), rakafot (cyclamen), calaniot (anemones) and of course where there is a break in the trees spikey cacti – sabras grow with the promise of their juicy fruits. The flowers are responding to the rain which has finally arrived. Indeed it rained cats and dogs last night – interspersed with some very loud thunder, and early this morning my friend Judith called me begging me to go out onto my veranda and just "smell the air". She was right, the clear air, so freshly washed by the torrential night rain, was refreshing and crisp as the entire city seemed to gleam in the sudden burst of sunshine before the next downpour.
My Shabbat meals are cooked since I woke up early this morning to an exceptionally loud clap of thunder. My Eastern fish on red pepper and tomato base, the tuna and celery salad, the cottage pie, the root vegetable soup, the bread pudding, poached pears and fresh Israeli strawberries in orange juice bode well for a warm belly on a cold night!!!! Their aromas vie for attention on our hallway, but I think I did OK this week!!!!
Shabbat Shalom to you all. Remember to be proud of what you are. As Rabbi Jeremy Rosen used to say in his morning assemblies at Carmel College "Remember that, as Jews, you are as good as, though no better than, anyone else"
With love, from the thankfully soggy heart of the world.
Sheila
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