Aliyah to Har Habayit-- Temple Mount Today

Yes, today was a big celebration for me... I ascended Har Habayit-- Temple Mount today for the third time. As with the first time, I joined my neighbor Rachel Sela and a variety of women from Shiloh and further afield. It has been a few years since

Actually I was involved in an attempt to ascend Har Habayit which failed due to anti-Jewish government orders. I had forgotten about it completely until searching my blog for the links of my successful aliyot.

My second aliyah to Har Habayit was with my husband, one of our sons and his son, yes, three generations. It was very thrilling.

This week, the beginning of the Jewish Month of Elul, is a double anniversary for us, aliyah to Israel, 56 years, and aliyah to Shiloh, 45 years. So when I saw that Rachel was saying that she's going up today, I decided that I'd join.

Rachel ascends Har Habayit relatively frequently and invites women to join her. This time there were a few young ones who brought their children, even nursing babies. This was amazing to me, who took decades to make my way there, because it wasn't all that suitable aka safe at first for a young mother. Also, conditions for Jews were awful and dangerous. And then... it took me a long time.

Regulations have changed, even over the few years since my first visit.

Even though siddurim (prayer books) and Tehilim (Psalm) books are still officially forbidden, they offered us printed papers with prayers. And nobody stops anyone from praying from their phone.

We sang and danced to religious texts we knew by heart. We also got down on the holy ground facing the holiest spot praying our own private prayers silently.

There were also men in the group "supervised" by the same police officers. Yes, that's Yehuda Glick, well-known for his ascents to the Temple Mount and his miraculous recovery from an assassination attempt a number of years ago. 

This visit was more relaxed than my previous ones. At one point, the men who were assigned to our group had had enough, but we hadn't. We were allowed to stay with a newer one. The police were very accommodating. That began only in recent years, since Itamar Ben-Gvir became Minister of National Security, which includes the police on Har Habayit.  

Just to make things very clear. All of the Land of Israel, including Jerusalem and the Temple Mount have a long documented history as Jewish. Islam was invented thousands of years after Judaism, and Jerusalem isn't even in its early narrative and books. But on Har Habayit-- Temple Mount all the signs are in Arabic. Israel has failed to protect its most precious place, where both the Jewish Holy Temples were located. Thank Gd there is a bit of improvement, though we have a long, long, very long way to go.

Our group today on Har Habayit (with permission from Rachel Sela)

Hamas/Gaza War Musings #32- Har Habayit, Temple Mount- What Took Me So Long?

Selfie with me and my husband

On Sunday, during Succot, I ascended Har Habayit-The Temple Mount for the second time. I'm embarrassed to say that it was only the second time. Here's something I wrote about my first, though for some reason the photos don't show. In another post, you can see the photos, though none of me.

A few days ago, I decided that I just had to ascend Har Habayit. One year of war. The world is so against us. The physical spiritual center of Judaism is Har Habayit, Jerusalem. I felt the need to be there. When my husband said he planned on ascending this Sunday, I told him that I'd be accompanying him.

Honestly, although I'm totally in favor of Jews ascending Har HaBayit, I'm not a "regular." Decades ago, my husband had had some "bad" experiences, which caused me some trauma. I did go a few years ago with friends but found the "security" inspection and unpleasant atmosphere for Jews too disturbing. My hang-ups...

On Sunday, it was a different world. I didn't have to go with an empty bag. It's not that those in our "group" took out siddurim* for prayers, but if we had siddurim we didn't have to leave them outside of security.

Jews aren't allowed to wander freely around Har Habayit. We're grouped by the entrance staff and then escorted by a few policemen. Most or possibly all of ours were Jewish. The policeman in charge was definitely religious. Not only was he wearing a kippah, but he had long peyot**. 

One person in our group led some prayers, something that only a few years ago would have been forcibly stopped. The only response was that we were told that our time up on the Holy Temple Mount was timed, and that standing still meant that we wouldn't get the "full tour."

Friends of mine, who ascend frequently, have been saying how much more pleasant and spiritual it now is. I now agree and hope to ascend more frequently. There is no place in the world holier for Jews. The First and Second Holy Temples were up there. We pray fervently that the Third Temple will be built במהירה בימינו speedily in our time...

*prayer book
**uncut hair on the part of the his face where Elvis grew his sideburns

Davidson Center, Old City Jerusalem, Recently Reopened

A few weeks ago I spent an enjoyable few hours at  The Jerusalem Archaeological Park - Davidson Center. It's newly reopened after being totally redone as an archeological, educational and tourist center. I must admit that in my fifty plus 50+ years in Israel, I have no memory of ever visiting it, though I certainly passed by many times, as it's near the Dung Gate, not far from the Kotel.

 

The people who invited me to join them had hired one of the center's guides, who ended up being a charming multilinguist doing Sherut Leumi, National Service. 

Not only did our guide know the material very well, the history of everything we saw, but she tried to make some of the walking easier for us.

Yes, if you're going to go the Davidson Center, be prepared for serious walking and quite a lot of steps. 

We were impressed by groups of elderly tourists who seemed braver and more agile than we were. Some of you many know that I'm a walker, but I'm not a climber. I even have a bit of a phobia when it comes to walking down hills, especially when the ground is smooth or has gravel. The route was doable for me.

Considering that you have to reserve one of these guides, I'd suggest being very upfront when reserving to find out if there's an easy or shortened route.

Of course, in my mind, I was constantly comparing it to Tel Shiloh, Ancient Shiloh  the archeological site just about a mile downhill from my house. Until rather recently, it, too, required lots of walking, but in recent years, they've made access roads, so even the furthest sections are accessible by car. For a "handicapped" tour you have to arrange the guide and driver in advance.

As you can see in the photos, the Davidson Center is beautiful. Our guide kept telling us that all that we see on display is the genuine article, not reproductions. Yes, these artifacts are what had been unearthed and cleaned up over the many years of excavations.

Here and there, there are places to sit, but I'd recommend carrying one of those lightweight folding chairs, such as they have in many museums. The Davidson Center should offer them, even if it requires a small deposit to remind people to return them.

There were a couple of things that did bother me. One should be easy to remedy. I caught a few spelling errors in the English subtitles in some movies they showed. 

But the thing that bothered me the most was in the movie about Jerusalem. It was fine that they had it in three languages according to who was speaking, Hebrew, English and Arabic with English and Hebrew subtitles. (I didn't notice Arabic subtitles, though that may be a fault of mine.) 

I was very bothered by the fact that the timeline of the History of Jerusalem seemed to be purposely muddled in an attempt to hide the truth about Jerusalem's History. 

Any honest objective historian would agree with me. 

• Jerusalem was first the National Capital and Religious Center of the Jews. 
• After the destruction of the Second Holy Temple of Jews and the development of Christianity, Christian theologians began to call it a holy city, but there was no independent government. The Vatican is in Rome.
• Islam began after Christianity, and Jerusalem is its third holiest city.
• To confuse people, both Christianity and Islam have adopted some of the Jewish Biblical narrative as their own, but those religions weren't contemporaries of Judaism's Biblical characters.

This is the story that should be told, not the distorted one I saw in their movie.

Despite my above complaint, I really do recommend visiting the Davidson Center if you are looking for something to do in the area of the Kotel. It's possible to travel by bus or taxi, and there's a kosher dairy restaurant near the entrance for light meals.

For tickets and more information call 02-6277550 or click.

Har Menuchot, Givat Shaul, Jerusalem, Walls of Graves

Yesterday I was at a funeral in Har Menuchot, Givat Shaul, Jerusalem. Unlike the usual noontime summer funeral, we didn't bake in the heat, nor get sunburned. After the ceremony in the airconditioned hall, we got into vehicles and traveled to the newly constructed graves.

 Yes, constructed; it's a building with wide, long corridors decorated by graves stacked four high. 

Each wall is labeled/coded to indicate which floor, section and level, so that the grave can be easily located. Yes, these are today's and tomorrow's graves. People can still request and pay more for an outdoor grave in more natural dirt, rather than the soil added by the Chevra Kadisha, but in a small country like Israel, where land is limited and expensive, these graves make more sense. If you believe in ecology and "saving the earth and natural resources," this type of cemetery is what you should request for yourself.

While walking down the long corridor, following a friend to her "final resting place," I couldn't stop mentioning how lovely it looks. As you can see in the photos, people have found ways to decorate and individualize the plaques. 

The older "stacked" section of Har Menuchot, Givat Shaul, Jerusalem is much less attractive. They remind me of "office drawers" in some archive. But this new section is actually lovely in the way that the Military Cemetery in Mount Herzl is attractive, though this one is indoors and Mount Herzl is a well-tended garden.

Apparently the administration of Har Menuchot, Givat Shaul, Jerusalem is constructing kilometers of buildings like these instead of wasting the Holy Land on the dead rather than the living.

Thankfully Not All Israelis Embarrassed Themselves Over Biden's Visit

Everyone who heard that I would be in Jerusalem today thought I had lost my mind; even I had doubts. But since cousins were in from the states, and this was their only day...

Why was this considered a ridiculous irresponsible day to be in Jerusalem?

Street closings for the Biden visit were expected to wreck havoc in Jerusalem. Well, that may have been true in some neighborhoods, but not the routes I and my cousins would be taking to meet each other. 

Israel always goes overboard when top American officials show up, and I'm not just talking about closing major roads and highways. Prime Minister Lapid and President Herzog were smiling so broadly, you'd think they just won the lottery, Nobel Peace Prize and had been crowned Kings of The World.

The so-called pundits on television stupidly took Biden's speech seriously confusing a "speech" with policy. Every time an American President comes they make the same idiotic mistake, and that includes the visits of Clinton, the Bushes and even Obama. Each president, no matter how little they think of Israel comes armed with an amazing pro-Israel speech. And each time we hear the same dumb commentary by pundits and reporters who think that these "I love Israel" speeches are actual policy. It's all cosmetics, like hair dye and plastic surgery.  

The young and memory challenged in the media either forgot or never knew and didn't research that it was davka Biden who was nasty to then Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Besides that, the United States has never really supported the State of Israel when we were in danger. To be honest, I don't care, since Gd's help from our prayers is what we really need. I'd just prefer that our government officials understand it, besides not making up stories about "friendship." We're not allies. We can't rely on the USA. The State Department makes real policy there. Donald Trump overrode it in favor of Israel, consistently going against State Department demands. That's a major reason why he is so hated in Washington DC. But that's another story.

Davka, today I walked through both the Arab shuq in the Old City and the Machaneh Yehuda Market besides taking the lightrail. 

It was business as usual in the Jerusalem I visited. There was no sign of the Biden visit until I got on the bus going home, and the driver was listening to the radio. But I don't pick fights with the bus drivers... I just took out my book and read it.

Touring Beit El, Kfar Ivri, and More

Last week I joined a group of women from various parts of the country under the leadership of my neighbor Rachel Sela for an amazing tour.

There were only three stops/locations, and each was special representing our undeniable connection to the Land of Israel and Bible.

First we went to nearby Beit El, where they have a visitors center dedicated to the story of Jacob's Ladder. But for us the significance of Beit El concerned the split of the Davidic Dynasty, long after our Forefather Jacob slept and dreamt in Beit El.

Next stop was the real Givat Shaul, Hill of Saul, where archeologists have found remains of palaces from Biblical times. But this structure has nothing to do with the bible at all, though it was meant to be a palace. In the mid-1960s Jordan's King Hussein wanted a summer palace in  eastern Jerusalem, which he illegally occupied at the time. We were there on a very hot day, but the winds blowing through the incomplete shell were strong.

The Hashemites are long gone, and Jerusalem has grown tremendously under Israeli sovereignty.

Afterwards we visited Beit Hashivah, which although is in an Arab neighborhood and part of Jerusalem, the land is really owned by Jews. Prior to Israeli Independence there had been a Jewish farming village there, Kfar Ivri, near the present neighborhood of Neve Yaakov, which also has a history of being a Jewish farming village. 

We met some of the Jewish residents, new and old who told us the story and how they are trying to revitalize this Jewish neighborhood. A number of young families now live in the building, and there's a yeshiva where men learn during the day.

Over fifty years ago, my husband and I spent a few Shabbatot there as guests of one of the original families, so it was very moving for me to finally return.

The oldest and most veteran of the Jewish residents is the well-known Ezra Yachin, pictured on the left. In his youth is fought in the pre-state underground Lechi, aka Stern Gang. He has written many books about his experiences and related topics. His memoir, Elnakam is published in both English and Hebrew.

Ezra still travels around the country talking to young and old about his life and Israel's history.

We ended our tour with dinner on the roof of Beit Hashivah. It was truly a wonderful day.

Sort of Locked-down Jerusalem, Corona COVID Life

Yesterday I escaped to Jerusalem for a few hours. To be honest, it's rather risky. For me, my age makes me one of those who should be avoiding people. And in terms of corona COVID statistics, Shiloh is much, much greener/safer than Israel's Capital Jerusalem. But I'd been home for over a month and a half. To say I was going stir crazy is no exaggeration. As "jails" go, Shiloh may be rather benevolent and friendly, but waking outside, zooming with friends and family, facebook, whatsapp etc just aren't enough. 

Following are photos, some with captions of sorts to illustrate what I found in the Holy City of Jerusalem.

Body language says it all. 

No eye contact. People are masked in more ways than one. No unnecessary touching of anything. It's like we're all within our personal portable jails, even when on the lightrail.

Depending on where you're looking, life looks almost normal, but for after 10am too many stores are totally shuttered.

With typical Israeli ingenuity, these fabric and notion stores are trying to sell their wares. Those who know how to sew are the lucky ones, because clothing stores were boarded up. 

Shopping for fabric required explaining to the sales staff what you wanted, choosing and then "ordering" for immediate "delivery." I discovered that many storeowners adopted this method of sales, as if they were pizza or felafel places.

Very lonely Jerusalem street with most stores totally shut until the government allows them to open.

Even some shoe stores have adopted the immediate order/delivery system, though I presume they permit people to try on their shoes first.

I just can't imagine buying shoes I haven't tried on. My feet and body are just too unique and delicate to trust online shoe shopping.

I almost bought a few packs of these gorgeous masks, but then I ran into a good friend who told me that she bought the same ones much more cheaply in Rami Levi. I must find someone to buy me some pretty colored masks there.

One thing for sure, disposable masks have dropped dramatically in price.

Prices have dropped, but the stores are locked. I guess you can order online, but I like to see and touch items first. That's how I judge quality.

Just in case those trying to get into the main post office have no idea of what two meters, aka social distancing, means, there are little boxes on the sidewalk to show you where to stand. 

People were very obedient. It's taking awhile, but Israelis are beginning to accept the concept of physical distancing when downtown doing errands.

After filling my backpack with Israeli craft beer, Shapiro's to be exact, I was overjoyed to discover that HOBBY was "open." Of course "open" meant that customers couldn't enter.

I stuck my head and phone in as far as I could to see the colors of the jersey yarn HOBBY was selling. Then the salesgirl had to bring them to me. 

Not all of them looked the same up close, but I had no time to have her run back and forth the way I would have chosen. Also there were people lined up waiting to "shop." I'm glad to have a new stock of jersey yarn to crochet more bags.

In all honesty, I think that these craft, sewing notions and fabric stores should be open the public just like pharmacies are. For many of us crafts are valuable medical tools, occupational therapy. And this is a great time to teach children these wonderful arts and crafts instead of their just using computer apps to make "works of art."

Gd willing corona COVID will disappear quickly, and everyone should be healthy and healed. Let this lockdown nightmare be quickly over. 

I'm glad to have accomplished a lot in my Jerusalem escape. And in case you're wondering, I ate nothing while there, but I walked a lot.

Celebrating Fifty 50 Years in Israel, Part 2

Yes, I was pregnant that first year in Israel, and before the
year was up, we became parents.

Many of you have been asking for more of my stories about our early days in Israel, fifty 50 years ago. So here goes...

If you've walked to the Kotel from Jaffa Gate, or reverse direction, by following the inside of the city walls, you'll recognize where I'm standing.

Living in the Old City of Jerusalem, which wasn't referred to as the Rova Yehudi, Jewish Quarter, in those days was thrilling. It was both a tourist site and building site.

Some days we'd open the door of  our home the Maon Betar, corner of Rechov Plugat Hakotel and Rechov Hayehudim and discover it blocked off by swarms of tourists. Once some tourists got all excited to see us, because they were friends of my parents and had promised to look for us.

Another day, when I was already close to my due date with our first child, I discovered that the pathway had been dug up, and it was a deep drop to the planks of wood that had replaced it. I closed the door and turned around. That was the end of my shopping, or I had thought. One of the guys living in Maon Betar insisted it was safe and helped me down. Later that day when he stepped down, the wooden plank broke. I'm so grateful I hadn't fallen; I would have needed the Emergency Room.

The photo on the left is from a few weeks after we had docked. If you look carefully you'll notice that my jaw is a bit swollen. No I wasn't hit.

About half way through our voyage to Israel, I began feeling what I suspected was an impacted wisdom tooth. I was in terrible pain. Our table mates in the dining area gave me a bottle of strong booze and instructed me in simple pain control. I'd dampen some cotton with the booze and keep it where the pain was. It got me through the rest of the boat ride.

Soon after we docked, we began inquiring about top notch dental care. While today's Israeli dentists are on a high level, fifty years ago, the situation wasn't as good, to put it mildly. A friend possibly Emanuel "Adam" Hanegbi, the father of Tzachi Hanegbi ,or David Federman, the father of Noam Federman, recommended that I go to Hadassa Hospital in Ein Kerem which had a dental clinic considered the most modern in the country.  They agreed with my guess; it was an impacted wisdom tooth. That's where I had it operated on. When the surgery was over, I was told to keep ice on my jaw. The only problem was that I didn't have any ice. So when we got off the bus we asked for some in a restaurant. And when we got back to the Old City, we got more from our neighbor Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Segal.

These two photos are from our first Chanuka. The guys in the Maon Betar took the mitzvah of pirsum haness, publicizing the miracle very seriously. With the help of cans and kerosene thy lit up an "impromptu" Chanukiya (menorah) using the rooftop domes of our building.

Further installments will get harder, because I don't have too many photographs.

I'd love to hear your reactions to these stories.

PALESTINE POSTS, Book Review

PALESTINE POSTS: AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE BIRTH OF ISRAEL By Daniel S. Chertoff is an amazing book. Chertoff found a collection of his father's correspondence written between 1947-1949 when Mordecai S. Chertoff (his father) was here witnessing the end of the British Mandate and the beginning of the State of Israel.

Mordecai Chertoff came to "Palestine" officially to study in Hebrew University but was quickly drafted to the staff of the English newspaper, The Palestine Post, now called The Jerusalem Post. In addition, he joined the Haganah, and later after the establishment of the State of Israel, he became a citizen and was subsequently drafted into the IDF.

The letters Daniel found were from his father to the family in America and letters sent to him from them. Besides the correspondence, Daniel had an incomplete memoir of the time, his father had once started writing. Besides all that, there are many of the articles Mordecai had written for the Post and other publications. Daniel's job was to weave these all together along with a historical narrative informative enough for those less knowledgeable to follow and not too simplistic for those who already know the history. He did a very good job. I can recommend the book to all.

I had a personal need to read the book very carefully. My Uncle Izzy, Israel Shanks "Red" Shankman, was also here in Palestine-Israel at the time. He was in the Palyam, the naval branch of the Palmach as high level crew, medic plus, on some of the ships that defied the British in an attempt to bring Jewish immigrants to safety. It's very possible that they had been acquainted, though my uncle isn't mentioned. My uncle also left Israel for New York, around the same time.

Mordecai's letters are invaluable in describing what life was like in Jerusalem during the long, difficult siege. There was rationing, since water and food were almost impossible to find. The only road Jews could take to Jerusalem, for deliveries of all sorts, went through enemy Arab territory. Attacks were frequent. It's amazing that people survived on such small quantities, but they did.

Due to Mordecai's status in the Haganah and Palestine Post, he got to Tel Aviv on occasion. He writes of the plentiful food and being able to leisurely bathe, both luxuries in Jerusalem. From his letters I discovered that there was a real lack of unity between Jerusalem and "Israel" in the early days of the state. One reason was that the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan Jerusalem was to be a separate entity, not part of Israel. And even after the 1949 ceasefire, travel from the coast to Jerusalem was difficult until Israel's victory in the 1967 Six Days War.

There was only one thing that mars the book. Daniel criticizes his father's words about Arabs fleeing the Jewish State, page 338. Nobody's reading PALESTINE POSTS to discover Daniel's 21st century PC opinions. If another edition is printed, I suggest deleting those comments.

PALESTINE POSTS is a very readable, well-written book. Daniel Chertoff succeeded with a very difficult task. This is a History book, Biography, family memoir and more. The fonts and print-size are easy on my elderly eyes. I highly recommend PALESTINE POSTS: AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE BIRTH OF ISRAEL By Daniel S. Chertoff.

Buttigieg's Butting in, Not Trump

Democratic presidential candidate calls US recognition of Golan ‘interference’ in Israeli politics

Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., and a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, denounced on Tuesday U.S. President Donald Trump’s official recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights as an “interference” in the State of Israel and its politics.

No surprise, but the American Democratic Left is totally fokokt wrong, yet again. Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and one of the recent presidential wannabes doesn't understand simple terminology.

Interference is the noun of interfere:

interfereverb [ I ]​B2 to involve yourself in a situation when your involvement is not wanted or is not helpful:

 UK ​ /ˌɪn.təˈfɪər/ US ​ /ˌɪn.t̬ɚˈfɪr/

That means when a foreign government, leader, NGO etc. affirms, recognizes, states agreement with a policy of another country, that isn't interference. But when a foreign government, leader, NGO etc. insists on a contradictory policy to that of a sovereign country, that is interference.

For example U.S. President Donald Trump’s official recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights shows proper diplomatic support and respect for the State of Israel, in contrast to the interference in internal Israeli affairs of Buttigieg who won't recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Trump's official recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's Capital City shows proper respect for the State of Israel, while foreign governments, leaders, NGOs etc. who refuse to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's Capital City are exhibiting interference in Israel's basic policies.

We Israelis are enjoying the fact that for the first time in the History of the State of Israel, the United States of America has a pro-Israel President.

Buttigieg doesn't know bupkis.

American Embassy, Jerusalem, celebrates United States Independence Day

2019 American Embassy, Jerusalem, Independence Celebration

What a difference!

In the past my husband and I had been invited to the receptions held by the American Consulate in Jerusalem. They predated US President Donald Trump, and that was when the American Government had its embassy in Tel Aviv.

Last night's party was amazing and so totally different from the American Independence Day events we had attended in the past. First of all, this was an official embassy event and in Jerusalem, in Binyanei Hauma. All the food was kosher, including the menu, meat, fish and parve, instead of a table or two of kosher food. In prior years we'd see lots of Arabs, a few men in kippot, and sometimes I seemed to be the only woman who covers her hair.  The 2019 celebration felt Jewish and Israeli, even YESHA.

Yes, my husband and I

Here is Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion with me and my husband. The mayor took the selfie of us and publicized it.

The YESHA crowd, some of us at least

The String Chords Bridge was lit up for the occasion.

Here in Israel, we are very happy with the policies of US President Donald Trump. Last night's event was one of the reasons. He's the most pro-Israel American President ever. That's the truth.