The Unthinkable is Happening in The USA

This is a sad post. What I must write is not something I had ever imagined could happen in the United States of America, the USA. It's no longer Jew friendly.

Read carefully, please. I'm not saying that the USA is like Nazi Germany in the mid-late 1930's, but today unabashed antisemites* and those who support the destruction of the State of Israel have now been easily elected to the United States Congress as Democrats. The media is publishing and broadcasting even their most antisemitic statements and policies.

 all Photos all by me, Batya Medad when accompanying a Nefesh B'Nefesh flight from JFK International Airport to Israel over a decade ago

Photo by Batya Medad

I find it most frightening that as smart as Jews are supposed to be, too many can't connect the dots.  The Democratic Party has gone far Left and supports a Palestinian State over the State of Israel. This has not stopped the majority of American Jews from supporting the Democratic party and its candidates. American Jewry still professes support for Israel, but they refuse to see that their support for a "State of Palestine" means the destruction of the Jewish State.

The Arabs who would govern "Palestine" are unabashedly pro terror against Jews and Israelis. Their envisioned country would be  Judenrein, cleansed of Jews. These policies won't change one iota if those Arabs had a state. 

At present, convicted and jailed Arab terrorists and their families get payments from the PA-Palestinian Authority. They are also lauded as brave heroes to be idolized. Children are taught in their schools to follow those terrorists, even if it leads to death. 

So, honestly, how can anyone claim to support Israel and the establishment of a Palestinian State?

In the past, American public officials would claim support for Israel at the same time that they promoted "Palestine." In the newly elected Congress, there are members who don't even bother with that carefully worded preface. They accuse Israel of being immoral and propose reducing or totally stopping all support and aid to Israel. They said this while campaigning and beforehand.

You can check it in all the news sites. I can't bear to quote them on my blog.

I have two requests:

1. Americans, please connect the dots. Recognize that support for Palestine means the destruction of the State of Israel. There can never be a Two State Solution, sic. Palestine=terror and instability for the region and the world. 
2. American Jews, your welcome mat in the USA is badly ripped and won't be replaced or repaired all that soon. It's time to move again. I suggest moving to Israel for many reasons. Contact Nefesh B'Nefesh to consult with them.

Photo by Batya Medad

*And please don't give me the double-talk about Arabs being semites, so an Arab or pro-Arab can't be anti semitic. I specifically wrote the term antisemite as one word which means "The hatred of Jews; an antisemite is one who promotes policies discriminating and/or endangering Jews and Jewish life."

Wonderful Aliyah Story, "From Big Whine to Big Grapes"

We bloggers do consider ourselves writers and journalists, but very few of us take the giant step into publishing actual books. Ruti (Mizrachi) Eastman has taken that great daring leap and published "From Big Whine to Big Grapes" not that long ago. It's a collection of blog posts supplemented by essays specially written for this book. Ruti blogs on two blogs, Ki Yachol Nuchal! and  Never Ruthless.

Ruti writes a lot about her and her family's aliyah, move to Israel. They came from the United States, and she's not shy about admitting that without the assistance of Nefesh B'Nefesh, they never could have afforded to make the move. At no point does Ruti ever complain. Ruti only sees the good. And good things do happen to the Eastman family, whether it's an amazingly helpful clerk, a ride in the middle of no-place to where they need to go or finding someone they know to lend them cash when the only nearby ATM is empty.

I have no doubt that one of the reasons that people are so nice to Ruti is that she greets them with a smile and is so friendly and upbeat. We do make our own luck. Ruti doesn't go into details, but she does mention that she and her husband chose to be Jewish. Yes, they are converts, and that whole story would no doubt make a very compelling book.

Because Ruti divided "From Big Whine to Big Grapes" into chapters of essays that are connected by content, there isn't a clear chronology to the narrative. It jumps around, which is both good and bad. For the reviewer, like myself, who needs to finish reading the entire book as quickly as possible, it got confusing at first. After reading a couple of chapters, I "got the rhythm." But I think that most readers will, davka, enjoy it, since you'll have the chance to savor various topics and choose what you're interested in, even skipping around the book and rereading when necessary. I'm sure that those dreaming of aliyah or actually planning it for real will really love "From Big Whine to Big Grapes." You can get some very good advice from reading it. And it's also a great book to give friends and relatives of olim, to make them feel better concerning the new lives chosen by their loved ones.  And even though my husband and I made aliyah decades before the Eastmans, I really enjoyed reading "From Big Whine to Big Grapes." Some things never change and others have changed enormously.

Those who claim that aliyah is too hard, frequently have money complaints. The Eastmans seem to to have made their Israeli life suit their finances and not attempt to reproduce their American life in Israel on an insufficient budget. They rent an apartment unit in a house and don't have a car. They are happy to be here in Israel and consider the "sacrifices" a good trade-off. The relations with the Hebrew-speaking landlords and hitchhiking adventures make great reading.

Ruti is still struggling to master the Hebrew language, which adds more humor to life here in Israel. Advice to potential olim, immigrants to Israel from Ruti, which I agree with completely, is to learn as much Hebrew as you can before you make aliyah.

You can purchase "From Big Whine to Big Grapes" from Amazon, Lulu, Book Depository or here in Israel, email rutimizrachi@gmail.com directly. Ruti has revealed that there's another book in the works, so stay tuned... I can't wait to read it.

I must confess that Ruti and I are friends. We have a lot of mutual friends, and we sometimes meet at IFL football games. But at the games we cheer for different teams. My son used to tackle her son, but now my son's opponent is Ruti's husband; they are both coaches. We both root for a fair and safe game, one without injured players. We want to see them play like "mensches." 

Ruti wants to "coach" me into writing a book (or books) from the material in my blogs. What do you think?

Aliyah, Moving To Israel

Is Aliyah, Moving To Israel the "elephant in the room" for Jews who live abroad, in Chu"L, out of the Land of Israel?

To be perfectly honest, I'd say "no."

I grew up like most Jews, totally ignorant of the concept of "Aliyah." I also didn't know about Shabbat, kashrut and most of the Jewish Holidays. Jewish History was also pretty much a blank in my mind, as was the Bible, stories and Land. I was made vaguely aware of a bit of it in the Hebrew School I went to six hours a week for five years, in the Conservative Oakland Jewish Center. The teachers there were between a rock and a hard place, as the saying goes. The vast majority were actually strictly practicing and believing Orthodox Jews, but they had to dilute their teaching to suit the Conservative theology and the even less Jewishly committed parents, who would have had them fired or pull their kids out of the school if there were signs of "brainwashing."

But I knew very well that I was Jewish, even if I couldn't define exactly what that meant.

As ignorant and oblivious as I and my Jewish peers were in the 1950's and early 1960's, I know that today's young Jews, with the very minor exception of those who are strongly committed to their Jewishness, know much less than we did.

Many diaspora Jews today either have no real idea that they are Jewish or think they are Jewish and don't realize that there are halachik (Jewish Law) complications which make their Jewish identity very problematic. Assimilation and intermarriage are causing a bloodless Holocaust, which shouldn't be ignored. The big problem there is that there really isn't a solution, simple or otherwise.

The actual percentage of olim chadashim, new immigrants to Israel of diaspora Jews is horrendously minuscule. We all do our best to make olim chadashim feel as welcome as possible, but the actual success of one's aliyah depends more on the oleh/olah (immigrant) than it does on the welcomers, veteran Israelis and the systems here.

We're here in Israel for almost half a century, and I've never been sorry about our move for even a second.

Following are photos I took a number of years ago of a Nefesh B'Nefesh charter flight to Israel.

Life in Israel: Once an Oleh, Always an Oleh?

The other evening I joined a few dozen olim, ascendants/immigrants to Israel, mostly from English-speaking countries, some recently arrived and others here for about half a century. Actually, at my table we probably had the highest sum total of years in Israel. One friend has already celebrated fifty years since her aliyah. My half century is just a year and a half from now, and my other friend came not all that long after I did. Some of the audience only made aliyah after retiring in order to fully enjoy their freedom from work and to fulfill the dream of living in the Jewish State of Israel, the Land of the Jewish People.

Benji Lovitt, Joel Haber, Hani Skutch and Liami Lawrence entertaining Anglos of South Jerusalem.

About a hundred years ago, my grandparents, great-grandparents and others, who had escaped eastern Europe and moved to the United States had been active in landsmanshaft, clubs/societies of those who came from the same towns, cities or areas. My father's parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and even some cousins are buried in the Neshelsk Cemetery in New York. Nasielsk, Poland, near Warsaw was the city they came from. And I remember hearing how excited my two grandmothers were to discover that they were both from the same city in Belarus, Rogotshov. My father's mother confirmed this in a way, when she told me that my coloring is like my other grandmother. She remembered seeing her in Rogatshov as a young woman.

All of the comedians at the event based their routines on the immigrant experience, which is natural, since we all have it in common. My friends and I see a big difference between our aliyot to Israel way back when and that of many of the newcomers, but we still all laughed at the jokes. I guess that's because you do need a good healthy sense of humor to adjust to the differences we've encountered and enjoy our lives. Baruch Hashem, Bless the Lord, we are so happy we came to Israel to live and just can't imagine living anyplace else!

Aliyah: Not The "Ultimate Sacrifice"

Not long ago I heard a speaker say something that I found so outrageous, sacrilegious, 'חילול ד chillul Hashem, disparaging of Gd and the Land of Israel, that I searched him out afterwards to tell him how upset he had gotten me. He had called Aliyah "The Ultimate Sacrifice."

Of course I understand that Aliyah, the move to Israel is sometimes more difficult for others as it was for me, but to call it The "Ultimate Sacrifice" puts a value on living outside of Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel over living here that has no place in Judaism or reality.

Of course there are adjustments one must make in any move, whether from Brooklyn to Monsey or Monsey to Jerusalem. Most people find any change traumatic, especially when the decision is made by someone else. And sometimes parents don't "market it well" for their kids or find the right educational framework. In any move, parents must be sensitive to their children's needs and advocate for them. I'm still upset with my parents' oblivion to my suffering when we moved from Bayside, NYC, NY to Great Neck, NY. Even though the physical distance was just a few miles, the educational system was totally different. I was put back a grade, and my parents hadn't a clue or didn't care. Maybe it was the parenting style of that time, but nobody, neither parents nor school guidance counselors, ever spoke to me about it.

Moving to Israel, making Aliyah, is totally different from any other move. First of all, Gd commanded us to live in Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel. Many of the mitzvot, Torah commandments can only be done here. Besides that, there are government offices and Nefesh B'Nefesh which are dedicated to facilitating the absorption, adjustment, of olim chadashim, newcomers to Israel.

Unlike when my husband and I made aliyah, came here in 1970, Israel is on the same if not higher technological, standard of living as any place else in the world. Today's Israel also has one of the world's strongest economies.

Every move demands change and adjustment. But if you are angry about the decision that had been made for you, learning to see the good and adjusting will be near impossible.

Israel is a wonderful, beautiful country, full of goodness, miracles and chessed. To me it's a sacrifice living any place else.

Before one of my sons went into the IDF he was in a program which had a very good fitness trainer who always said:

הכל בראש
Hakol barosh.
"It's all in your head."

The meaning is that you actually can control your feelings and capabilities. If you look at Aliyah as  The "Ultimate Sacrifice," then you will always feel victimized by it, rather than a privileged beneficiary of living here in Gd's HolyLand.

Aliyah to Israel, The Big Move Up... Photos from NBN 2006

Forty-six 46 years ago, just after our wedding, when my husband and I were "packing" our few paltry possessions to take to Israel by boat, we had no role models, no experienced experts to ask advice. Not only was it decades before the advent of Nefesh b'Nefesh, email, internet, cellphones etc, but an overseas phone call to and from Israel was a complicated procedure.

forbes.com

station to station
or
person to person

amazon

Both options were via an operator. There was no "direct dialing" for overseas calls, and many Israelis didn't have phones at home. We had to trust that our Jewish Agency shaliach had given us correct information, and all communication to friends in Israel was by mail and the iconic aerogramme.

And even worse for our parents was the fact that they didn't know anyone whose children had made the move to Israel. For my parents, it had been hard enough about five years earlier when I had announced that I was going to be "religious," meaning keeping kashrut and Shabbat, among other things. But the idea that I'd be leaving the country, leaving America, was definitely not something they had ever imagined one of their children would do. Remember that this was in 1970, when we made aliyah, and since World War Two the American economy had been booming. Nobody in their right mind would leave it. Yes, obviously, we were nuts, and may still be...

Queen Anna Maria

So when we boarded the boat, the Anna Maria, Greek Line, we really hadn't a clue. It certainly didn't help that we were pretty young and very ignorant/naive. We didn't even know that a ship like that was more like a town, in terms of "population" and services. Considering that there were different areas for different "classes" on the ship, different kitchens, dining rooms, pools etc, it was like a resort town with various populations, that didn't mix.

NBN chartered flight
photo by Batya Medad, yes me

We were with the four hundred, yes- four hundred 400, other American Jews on their way to make aliyah, move to Israel. There was a small staff of shlichim, Jewish Agency workers, whose job it was to keep us busy and together. We even put on a show the last Thursday night on the ship. My husband and I even performed some Israeli folk dances together. It was a great vacation, a buffer, between leaving family and starting new lives in Israel. I had always felt sorry for those who flew to their aliyah in Israel by plane, since you land totally exhausted and jetlagged.

JFK Airport before a NBN flight, photo by Batya Medad

JFK Airport before a NBN flight, photo by Batya Medad

But then, just over ten years or so ago, our good friend Charley Levine, Z"L, arranged for me to fly with a Nefesh B'Nefesh flight as a journalist, which I ended up doing two years in a row. Nefesh B'Nefesh managed to turn the hectic pre-flight madness, the actual flight itself and the post-flight exhaustion into an amazing fun experience for all.

NBN in Israel photo by Batya Medad

NBN in Israel photo by Batya Medad

So, why davka today am I blogging about aliyah and Nefesh B'Nefesh? Two reasons, one is that my young friend HaDassah has been bombarding us on facebook about her third son's aliyah which is right now. Here's the post she wrote about son #2. And another reason is that well-known comedian Benji Lovitt recently blogged about his ten 10 year aliyah anniversary, and I first met him on the plane coming to Israel. Here are some pictures I took then:

Benji Lovitt

me

guess who

The Real Jerusalem Streets and friend

תפילת הדרך T'fillat Haderech, Jewish Traveler's Prayer, Public or Private?

The Jewish Press has a poll up about whether or not it's a good idea for El Al to have someone say the  over the loudspeaker system when the plane is ascending.

Should T'fillat HaDerech (The Traveler's Prayer) be said on El Al flights over the loudspeaker? 

• Yes. El Al is a Jewish Airline. It's the Jewish thing to do. 
• No. It's religious coercion. 
• Yes. I like it. It adds a positive feeling of authentic Jewish culture to the flight. 
• No. It's offensive/annoying to some people. 
• Yes. But a real person should be saying it, not a recording, so that the blessing is real. 
• No. Because it won't be taken seriously. 
• They should 'Bench Gomel' after landing. View Results

Read more at: http://www.jewishpress.com/

I honestly wish every airline would do it some how.  I always have trouble reading the tiny print.  And on some airlines and flights, the lights are turned off by then so we can get some sleep.  The little airline reading light just isn't enough for my elderly eyes.

A number of years ago, I was privileged to accompany a couple of Nefesh B"Nefesh immigrant flights.  From the pre-flight excitement, the flight itself and the great production, including lots of nosherei after landing, the cheering, speeches etc, both times I felt that there was one thing missing.  I hope that short element is now included.

Yes, you guessed. I think we should have heard T'fillat Haderech over the loudspeaker system.  I can't imagine anyone finding it offensive. No doubt that most people won't listen carefully.  They don't pay attention to the safety and emergency instructions.

It should be part of the "El Al experience," like that hand-clapping when the plane lands.