It is Rosh Hashanah again. Another year has come and gone & I have grown older (my hair greyer), and hopefully wiser with it. We now are starting our second year in Israel. I hardly ever post a new blog, and for that I am sorry. It's not that I'm less inspired, certainly I am more busy.
At this time of year we are to take an accounting of ourselves. Makes ammends to all we injured. make repairs to ourselves, recheck our footing, are we headed in the right direction?
To all of you, my dear friends and family, I heartily and sincerly offer my deepest regrets for any wounds I may have inflicted. Please call me or write me and tell me if I erred towards you in some way so that I can make true ammends, not this generic splatter of words across the page.
And how is myself? Where am I headed?
Our lives have changed dramtically in the last few months - seems only yesterday that we were facing the changes of living in a new land, now we are again living in a new home, a new community and JDC has new jobs (yes plural!). Ari has a new school and new friends, Tzachi has a new commute and a new mandate for study and personal application. So the land is requiring more of all of us these days. But I know that with hard work and perserverance we will find our peace here in this new place again.
I've been feeling a bit lost, not having purposed this move ahead of time, we just needed to find a place & this place found us. It was unexpected and unplanned this coming to a new community. But the people are very warm, they have welcomed us with open arms, the house is very comfortable and hugs us every night. And now for the first time we are really living in the land like we are supposed to - struggling to make ends meet, and meeting the ends themselves sometimes!
We are still in-between a bit. Half of our stuff in storage hither and yon in Modiin, but with JDC working so many hours we haven't had time or energy to get it all moved. Now we have to though, Sukkot will be upon us before we know it & my psyche needs to be settled all in one place by then. It will help with the lost-ness in my mind.
The weather has changed already - suddenly on Rosh Hashanah evening the clouds and the winds came up & blew summer away. So it still gets hot during the day, but not as hot, and the air has a bit of sparkle in it. Mornings tend to be cool and there's often a hint of leftover rain in the air as I go out on the 3rd floor mirpeset on my way to wake Tzachi up every morning. And sometimes in the evening you need a sweater. It reminds me I need to say goodbye to last year. Thank it for all the goodness it brought me, take to heart the lessons it shared. Be grateful for the time it gave me and all my loved ones. Of course all those gifts are really from HaShem, and all my gratitude belongs to him.
And the future? So much is going on in the world these days, I look at the economy in the U.S. and then worldwide, and so many people I know are struggling as much as we are. But my hopes and dreams are just as big as they ever were - maybe bigger because I know that somehow, someway, HaShem's plan will play itself out in all this craziness we humanity have built.
We made some new friends recently and they asked us why we came - I remember recanting a story that I have come to love because it tells so much truth of what is in my heart, things we don't necessarily talk about everyday, but it's still there. So I will tell this story again here and then leave this blog for more serious pursuits... And I promise not to stay away so long next time.
In February of 2008 we and the boys took a pilot trip here to Israel to scope out the land and choose a community to move to. When we finally headed back to the states after an extended trip (we stayed a month) I felt so lost on the plane going back to the U.S. I knew it was only for a short time & that we would be returning permanently very soon, still my heart burned. On the flight back we all got divided up on the plane and I found myself sitting next to a young Israeli man, heading home to New York. He asked me if we had been on holiday to Israel. I told him we had come on our pilot trip and that we had chosen a city to live in and a shul to attend & schools for our sons. He was amazed. "You are Americans, you live in the U.S? " Yes, I said. "But why would you move to Israel?! Life there is so hard!" I told him, it's my home. It's the only place my heart is happy. I told him that he and his family have had their turn. That they had been standing in the gap & watching on the walls for all these years and the hope in their hearts had withered and dried out. He nodded agreement. I told him it was now our turn, our hearts are filled with hope and purpose. And we will now take our turn standing in the gap and watching at the walls. We will take our turn to try to live holy in the land and fulfill the purposes of G-d. We will dance and sing and daven on the holidays. We will say a shekeanu when the figs on the tree in our back yard are ripe. We will wonder at that glorious sunset over the Medditerranean. We will dance in the first heavy rain of the season. We will laugh at the scurry of the white gekko on the white stone wall beside our garden. We will stand on the Palmachim Beach and gaze at the millions of sea shells on the shoreline. We will go to Beit Guvrin and listen to the melodic echos as we sing in the bell caves. We will climb the mountains of Ein Geidi and thrill at the cold water in the pools when we jump in. We will listen and then join in with the chanting and singing of morning prayers at the Yeshiva where Tzachi goes to shcool. We will stand in awe at the central bus station in Jerusalem when we realize that everyone in the massive crowd is Jewish like us. We will wonder why the traffic into Tel Aviv is so horrible on a Sunday morning. We will honk at the guy in front of us before the light turns green. We will say to ourselves what in the world was I thinking coming to shop at Rami Levi on a Thursday night!
We, yes even we will be Israelis.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Blame it on Ignorance, not the Jews!
I have been contemplating the world lately. Looking at different countries and listening to their leaders, their news, current events, and searching for the "little items" on the back pages of the media outlets that really tell the truth.
Following are a few of the items I have found that I feel are worth sharing.
One news item from JTA reports that 7,000 French Jews signed a petition and sent it to the US Congress requesting political asylum in the US due to fear of religious persecution in France following the racial murder of a young Jew.
http://jta.org/news/article/2007/03/20/100725/Frenchpetition
Spain currently reports that 46% of it's population hold negative opinions of Jews. That figure more than doubles the 21% reported in 2005. Focus that 46% against the 37% who think favorably of Jews and it explains why the 12,000 Jews living in Spain are very quiet about their faith and heritage. It also explains why you have to contact someone in the community before they will tell you where the synagogue is, a building with no address listed and no outward markings to show what it is.
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/spains-jewish-problem/
Of course, anyone who listens to the BBC can have no doubt of the political mood towards Israel from that front. Perhaps I think, many people confuse the idea that anti-Israel bias may not be the same as anti-semitism. But if the two are unrelated then it makes it difficult to explain the report that anti-Semitism is on the rise as of 2009, averaging 7 events per day in England.
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.2546/pub_detail.asp
In Germany, there are two recognized neo-Nazi poltitical parties. The NPD and the HDJ. Although the HDJ was recently "banned" many in the country feel that the move was only a bandaid on a flooding dike. Germany plans to attend the Durban II conference, which many nations (including the US and Israel) have rejected for it's anti-semetic stance. The Muslim community in Germany is growing, while not all German Muslims are radical, there are certainly centers that preach that "the Jews are the Enemy of Allah" deserving of death. Germany's Catholics have had their struggles recently with anti-semitism also. I've attached several links supporting all of this.
http://news.scotsman.com/world/Germany39s-Jews-claim-fight-against.5163090.jp
http://www.eurojewcong.org/ejc/news.php?id_article=3774
http://www.faithfreedom.org/2009/02/05/the-radical-muslims-of-germany/
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,605542,00.html
Similar accounts can be found all over Europe, of course Africa, and even Asia.
http://zionism-israel.com/israel_news/2009/03/anti-semitism-in-east-asias-jewish.html
And in the America's
Well Mr. Madoff didn't help us any:
http://www.adl.org/Anti_semitism/financialcrisis.asp
Did we think that Louis Farrakhan would just go away?
http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASUS_12/5493_81.htm
How about those college campus forums?
http://www.hudsonny.org/2009/03/on-campus-the-pro-palestinians-real-agenda.php
http://octaskforce.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/muslim-student-union-at-uc-irvine-rolls-out-its-carnival-of-haters/
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/04/we_are_all_antisemites_now.html
I'm sorry for all the links, I hope you can sit down and take some time to read through them all. They are important windows into the mindset of the world.
So what does all this mean? Things seem to be getting really crazy! Many have said that anti-Semitism is the barometer for the world's political climate. When things seem to be getting out of control blame the Jews. It certainly takes the focus off the mistakes of our current and past political leaders (in every nation).
http://www.jcpa.org/phas/phas-26.htm
http://www.thetrumpet.com/index.php?q=6071.0.114.0
But how does this insanity spread?! Simple, ignorance. It's not because there is a lack of accurate information. It is is because too few people access that information. We are in a war, but not one that includes bombs and bullets (though we in Israel are surely familiar with those!) It is a war of words. And the media is the battle front. Any Media, every media. So where we can mount an offensive, present the truth, cause people to read & think, we have an obligation to do so.
Please I ask that each of you search and study and read and share with everyone you know. Find the truth, don't just settle for opinion. There are historical records that support the Jewish past of Israel. There are historical records that support the establishment of the modern day state of Israel, Mediterrean to Jordan. There are historical records that prove the existence of the Holocaust. There are historical records that prove when a society is ignorant genocide is the result.
Israel is so tiny, and yet so bright. All the world is fighting about Israel. It is a remarkably beautiful place. There is something elusively different about it. I haven't met anyone who can accurately describe that difference, but everyone who comes here feels it. Could it be that we really have been touched by the hand of that higher power? I certainly ascribe to that belief. Frankly, there appears to be no other reasonable explanation for why all the world is in a dither over what happens on these 8,522 square miles, when compared to the other 196,991,478 square miles of the planet.
Think about it!
Following are a few of the items I have found that I feel are worth sharing.
One news item from JTA reports that 7,000 French Jews signed a petition and sent it to the US Congress requesting political asylum in the US due to fear of religious persecution in France following the racial murder of a young Jew.
http://jta.org/news/article/2007/03/20/100725/Frenchpetition
Spain currently reports that 46% of it's population hold negative opinions of Jews. That figure more than doubles the 21% reported in 2005. Focus that 46% against the 37% who think favorably of Jews and it explains why the 12,000 Jews living in Spain are very quiet about their faith and heritage. It also explains why you have to contact someone in the community before they will tell you where the synagogue is, a building with no address listed and no outward markings to show what it is.
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/spains-jewish-problem/
Of course, anyone who listens to the BBC can have no doubt of the political mood towards Israel from that front. Perhaps I think, many people confuse the idea that anti-Israel bias may not be the same as anti-semitism. But if the two are unrelated then it makes it difficult to explain the report that anti-Semitism is on the rise as of 2009, averaging 7 events per day in England.
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.2546/pub_detail.asp
In Germany, there are two recognized neo-Nazi poltitical parties. The NPD and the HDJ. Although the HDJ was recently "banned" many in the country feel that the move was only a bandaid on a flooding dike. Germany plans to attend the Durban II conference, which many nations (including the US and Israel) have rejected for it's anti-semetic stance. The Muslim community in Germany is growing, while not all German Muslims are radical, there are certainly centers that preach that "the Jews are the Enemy of Allah" deserving of death. Germany's Catholics have had their struggles recently with anti-semitism also. I've attached several links supporting all of this.
http://news.scotsman.com/world/Germany39s-Jews-claim-fight-against.5163090.jp
http://www.eurojewcong.org/ejc/news.php?id_article=3774
http://www.faithfreedom.org/2009/02/05/the-radical-muslims-of-germany/
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,605542,00.html
Similar accounts can be found all over Europe, of course Africa, and even Asia.
http://zionism-israel.com/israel_news/2009/03/anti-semitism-in-east-asias-jewish.html
And in the America's
Well Mr. Madoff didn't help us any:
http://www.adl.org/Anti_semitism/financialcrisis.asp
Did we think that Louis Farrakhan would just go away?
http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASUS_12/5493_81.htm
How about those college campus forums?
http://www.hudsonny.org/2009/03/on-campus-the-pro-palestinians-real-agenda.php
http://octaskforce.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/muslim-student-union-at-uc-irvine-rolls-out-its-carnival-of-haters/
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/04/we_are_all_antisemites_now.html
I'm sorry for all the links, I hope you can sit down and take some time to read through them all. They are important windows into the mindset of the world.
So what does all this mean? Things seem to be getting really crazy! Many have said that anti-Semitism is the barometer for the world's political climate. When things seem to be getting out of control blame the Jews. It certainly takes the focus off the mistakes of our current and past political leaders (in every nation).
http://www.jcpa.org/phas/phas-26.htm
http://www.thetrumpet.com/index.php?q=6071.0.114.0
But how does this insanity spread?! Simple, ignorance. It's not because there is a lack of accurate information. It is is because too few people access that information. We are in a war, but not one that includes bombs and bullets (though we in Israel are surely familiar with those!) It is a war of words. And the media is the battle front. Any Media, every media. So where we can mount an offensive, present the truth, cause people to read & think, we have an obligation to do so.
Please I ask that each of you search and study and read and share with everyone you know. Find the truth, don't just settle for opinion. There are historical records that support the Jewish past of Israel. There are historical records that support the establishment of the modern day state of Israel, Mediterrean to Jordan. There are historical records that prove the existence of the Holocaust. There are historical records that prove when a society is ignorant genocide is the result.
Israel is so tiny, and yet so bright. All the world is fighting about Israel. It is a remarkably beautiful place. There is something elusively different about it. I haven't met anyone who can accurately describe that difference, but everyone who comes here feels it. Could it be that we really have been touched by the hand of that higher power? I certainly ascribe to that belief. Frankly, there appears to be no other reasonable explanation for why all the world is in a dither over what happens on these 8,522 square miles, when compared to the other 196,991,478 square miles of the planet.
Think about it!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Where are we now???
Supposedly the war is over. Hamas has declared a ceasefire, but rockets continue to fall in Southern Israel from Gaza, and there has been continued sniper fire that have hurt our dear soldiers.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,486345,00.html
Earlier in the conflict a word coming out of Gaza from Abu Obeida, the leader of Hamas’ military wing, has reported the Islamists would kill Jewish children anywhere in the world in revenge for their own young who have died in the devastating assault.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5454204.ece
Originally we heard outrageous reports regarding the number of Gazans killed in the conflict.
The reports included more than 1,000 killed including 355 children.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/17/content_10673025.htm
But new word is creeping out of Gaza.
An Tal al-Hawa resident told the newspaper's reporter, "Armed Hamas men sought out a good position for provoking the Israelis. There were mostly teenagers, aged 16 or 17, and armed. They couldn't do a thing against a tank or a jet. They knew they are much weaker, but they fired at our houses so that they could blame Israel for war crimes."
"The number of deceased stands at no more than 500 to 600. Most of them are youths between the ages of 17 to 23 who were recruited to the ranks of Hamas, who sent them to the slaughter," according to the newspaper article....
http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/45884734/critiques/new/Gaza_Doctor_Says_Death_Toll_Inflated.asp
And then we have former President Jimmy Carter making inflamitory statements regarding the conflict in an interview on the Today show just last week. He advised that Hamas was justified in it's conflict because Israel was refusing aid to the Gazans. That Hamas is only considered a terrorist group by some, [obviously not himself]. He claims that we should trust Hamas & in his newest book advocates for the release of Marwan Barghouti as a possible partner for peace.
Currently Barghouti is serving 5 consecutive life sentences for the murder of Israeli citizens, and was named as a suspect in the murder of 33 others - though the charges had to be dropped for lack of specific evidence against him. Marwan Barghouti was serving as senior Fatah leader in the West Bank at the time of the murders.
And anyone who is really wanting the facts of the matters regarding the supply of aid to Gaza from Israel, can find that Israel has continually supplied medical aid, food, water and other supplies in spite of the constant rockets coming across the border.
http://outtamymindwithworry.blogspot.com/2009/01/humanitarian-aid-to-gaza-fact-vs.html
Many thanks to the blogger above for her marvelous post and great references!
One wonders why Egypt does not provide aid to their brothers... since they have such a porous border with Gaza.. if arms can flow so freely why cannot aid? In fact - why doesn't the entire Muslim world band together to provide aid that is shuttled thru the Egyptian border. Where is the humanitarian response from that side of the conflict? Doesn't anyone recognize the absurdity that Israel has to provide her enemy with food and aid???!!!!
On the political front here in Israel we are gearing up for national elections. Bibi Netanyahu (Likud) has publicly delared if elected he will do everything in his power to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/ml_israel_politics/2009/01/31/177143.html
Olmert and Livni (Kadima) who are currently in power have both declared that Israel will continue to retaliate to any new rocket attacks from Gaza - but there has been no response to the continued attacks since the "ceasefire".
Obama is now president of the United States. His repeated rhetoric claims that the reason attempts to reign in Iran's nuclear arms ambitions have failed was because of President Bush's unwillingness to talk directly with Iran. He has proclaimed his desire to sit down at the negotiating table and talk to the terrorist Ahmadinejad. Of course, Ahmadinejad's response has been to call for an official U.S. apology for past U.S. crimes against Iran. I'm not suprised. Obama's policy is seen as a sign of weakness by the Muslim world. How is it he is not savy enough to understand that & I, a lowly Israeli citizen, am???
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/ahmadinejad-calls-for-obama-apology-20090129-7s6d.html
So where are we now? In the same place we were before the recent activities in Gaza. We still need to spend our time in prayer.. seeking our G-d and His direction for our lives. We still need to struggle to find the right way between the angry armed response (which I advocate!), and the need for mercy to that Arab family that literally is our next door neighbor, not involved in the conflight & embarrased by the lies their brothers tell. We still need to look & listen for the bias in the media, write the authors and editors providing references that prove their error (thank you HonestReporting.com and CAMERA for your continued work!)
http://www.honestreporting.com/
http://www.camera.org/
We still need to live with emunah and kavana here in the Land, and encourage our brothers and sisters in Galut to join us.
Some would say that I live my life with rose colored glasses on. I hope by reading this post they will see that I have a very clear view of what is going on in the world. I love my life in Israel. Each and every morning I look out at my beautiful view and thank HaShem that I am here. I am working and living in the land, raising my sons with the understanding that they too will serve in the army. I love Israel and I have put my life where my words are. Life is serious here, life is full here, life has real meaning here. Life is precious here.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,486345,00.html
Earlier in the conflict a word coming out of Gaza from Abu Obeida, the leader of Hamas’ military wing, has reported the Islamists would kill Jewish children anywhere in the world in revenge for their own young who have died in the devastating assault.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5454204.ece
Originally we heard outrageous reports regarding the number of Gazans killed in the conflict.
The reports included more than 1,000 killed including 355 children.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/17/content_10673025.htm
But new word is creeping out of Gaza.
An Tal al-Hawa resident told the newspaper's reporter, "Armed Hamas men sought out a good position for provoking the Israelis. There were mostly teenagers, aged 16 or 17, and armed. They couldn't do a thing against a tank or a jet. They knew they are much weaker, but they fired at our houses so that they could blame Israel for war crimes."
"The number of deceased stands at no more than 500 to 600. Most of them are youths between the ages of 17 to 23 who were recruited to the ranks of Hamas, who sent them to the slaughter," according to the newspaper article....
http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/45884734/critiques/new/Gaza_Doctor_Says_Death_Toll_Inflated.asp
And then we have former President Jimmy Carter making inflamitory statements regarding the conflict in an interview on the Today show just last week. He advised that Hamas was justified in it's conflict because Israel was refusing aid to the Gazans. That Hamas is only considered a terrorist group by some, [obviously not himself]. He claims that we should trust Hamas & in his newest book advocates for the release of Marwan Barghouti as a possible partner for peace.
Currently Barghouti is serving 5 consecutive life sentences for the murder of Israeli citizens, and was named as a suspect in the murder of 33 others - though the charges had to be dropped for lack of specific evidence against him. Marwan Barghouti was serving as senior Fatah leader in the West Bank at the time of the murders.
And anyone who is really wanting the facts of the matters regarding the supply of aid to Gaza from Israel, can find that Israel has continually supplied medical aid, food, water and other supplies in spite of the constant rockets coming across the border.
http://outtamymindwithworry.blogspot.com/2009/01/humanitarian-aid-to-gaza-fact-vs.html
Many thanks to the blogger above for her marvelous post and great references!
One wonders why Egypt does not provide aid to their brothers... since they have such a porous border with Gaza.. if arms can flow so freely why cannot aid? In fact - why doesn't the entire Muslim world band together to provide aid that is shuttled thru the Egyptian border. Where is the humanitarian response from that side of the conflict? Doesn't anyone recognize the absurdity that Israel has to provide her enemy with food and aid???!!!!
On the political front here in Israel we are gearing up for national elections. Bibi Netanyahu (Likud) has publicly delared if elected he will do everything in his power to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/ml_israel_politics/2009/01/31/177143.html
Olmert and Livni (Kadima) who are currently in power have both declared that Israel will continue to retaliate to any new rocket attacks from Gaza - but there has been no response to the continued attacks since the "ceasefire".
Obama is now president of the United States. His repeated rhetoric claims that the reason attempts to reign in Iran's nuclear arms ambitions have failed was because of President Bush's unwillingness to talk directly with Iran. He has proclaimed his desire to sit down at the negotiating table and talk to the terrorist Ahmadinejad. Of course, Ahmadinejad's response has been to call for an official U.S. apology for past U.S. crimes against Iran. I'm not suprised. Obama's policy is seen as a sign of weakness by the Muslim world. How is it he is not savy enough to understand that & I, a lowly Israeli citizen, am???
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/ahmadinejad-calls-for-obama-apology-20090129-7s6d.html
So where are we now? In the same place we were before the recent activities in Gaza. We still need to spend our time in prayer.. seeking our G-d and His direction for our lives. We still need to struggle to find the right way between the angry armed response (which I advocate!), and the need for mercy to that Arab family that literally is our next door neighbor, not involved in the conflight & embarrased by the lies their brothers tell. We still need to look & listen for the bias in the media, write the authors and editors providing references that prove their error (thank you HonestReporting.com and CAMERA for your continued work!)
http://www.honestreporting.com/
http://www.camera.org/
We still need to live with emunah and kavana here in the Land, and encourage our brothers and sisters in Galut to join us.
Some would say that I live my life with rose colored glasses on. I hope by reading this post they will see that I have a very clear view of what is going on in the world. I love my life in Israel. Each and every morning I look out at my beautiful view and thank HaShem that I am here. I am working and living in the land, raising my sons with the understanding that they too will serve in the army. I love Israel and I have put my life where my words are. Life is serious here, life is full here, life has real meaning here. Life is precious here.
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