I will be in the NY area the second half of July and will be available to speak to groups and the media. Then, G-d willing, I’ll be accompanying the August 2nd Nefesh B'Nefesh flight home.
Musings #129
July 7, 2005
30th of Sivan, Rosh Chodesh Tammuz
Thirty-Five Years
Yes, it’s hard to believe, but thirty-five years ago we were packing our meager possessions to bring to Israel on aliyah. My husband and I had just gotten married, and we sublet an apartment from a young couple that was working in a Jewish camp.
Our life as a young American-Jewish couple was not only short, it had no real meaning. Literally we were just waiting for our boat to leave port. That was in 1970. It’s hard to realize how much Israel has changed since then. Yes, we sailed on a boat for almost two weeks, until we docked at Haifa Port, after Shabbat on the fifth of September 1970. We were among the four hundred American Jews making aliyah, the largest amount of American Jews to arrive at the same time until the first Nefesh B’Nefesh flight over thirty years later. Please correct me if I’m wrong. At least that’s what I’ve understood from the news accounts.
The Israel that received us was so different, far and removed from the New York we had just left. Materially and convenience-wise it was another generation, another world. For example there weren’t enough telephone lines, and a year’s wait was considered good and efficient. My cousin and her family who made aliyah four years after us had to wait over five years for a line.
Many families were still grateful for small electric refrigerators, the size I remembered from American motels. These were an improvement over the “ice boxes” still used in the post-independence 1950’s. A neighbor, my age, who grew up in Jerusalem, tells of having freshly “shechted,” slaughtered, chickens during three day holidays, because it there was no refrigeration. Her mother would salt and soak (according to Jewish Law) and then cook the freshly slaughtered chicken for the holiday meals. In 1970, it much was easier, though I had to be very organized cooking on my two “burner” hotplate. I saw many family kitchens with no more than that and an oven that looked more like a large toaster oven. Delicious cakes were baked in “sirei pele,” “wonder pots.” They are special baking pans for baking on top of the stove. Learning how to bake in them was one of the fun challenges for olim chadashim, new immigrants in my day. My friend, Sybil, is famous for her cookbook, “The Wonders of a Wonder Pot.”
Most travel was by bus; very few people had private cars. And those who did knew that their cars could be called up for military service. Yes, the army didn’t have enough vehicles; so cars did “milu’im,” reserve duty.
Plastic bags were almost unheard of. Going vegetable shopping in the shuk, or open market, was a very different experience. Paper napkins were rare and hardly worth the decorative effect. And I don’t even want to start describing the toilet paper. We bought yellow cheese by the weight, and only when the shopkeeper saw me did he cut it on clean white paper. When I wasn’t around he placed the cheese on newspaper, the cheapest and most plentiful wrapping paper available at that time.
Less than a year after our arrival, I learned about Israeli baby care. Newborns were swathed in diapers and receiving blankets of various sizes. Neither pins nor rubber pants were used on tiny babies. Luckily my mother brought a full layette from New York. Two years ago when my first grandchild was born, I told my mother that we’d shop here, where baby clothes are now better and reasonably priced.
Yes, things have changed. And we’ve changed, too. Materially things are better, but Israel has lost its innocence and confidence. That charismatic chutzpah is harder to find. Nowadays you can only find it in some yishuvim, and it’s strongest in those lofty hilltop communities, the ones that American President Bush and other busybodies feel threatened by. I guess that they don’t like the spark of Zionism, of pure Judaism, because they can’t control those under its spell.
I can’t imagine what my life would have been like if I hadn’t made aliyah thirty-five years ago. It was the most natural thing for us. We came without ever saying maybe, without ever thinking it an experiment, without any backup plans to return to America “if.” It’s our home. No regrets.
I sincerely hope that this season’s olim chadashim will be as satisfied and joyful with their lives as Israelis as we are.
Batya Medad, Shiloh
Copyright©2005BatyaMedad, Contact me for publication permission; private distribution encouraged.
Shilohmuse@yahoo.com
http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/
http://me-ander.blogspot.com/
http://www.shilo.org.il
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Thursday, July 7, 2005
Terror in London!!!
Unclear and mixed reports coming out of London about the well-coordinated explosions, yes in the plural.
Scotsman.com has two conflicting articles. One says that there was warning, and the other says that there wasn't.
An Arab-Moslem terrorist group has taken credit for it.
When will the world realize that the root of the terror is what they call "Palestinians," the terrorists they are coddling. World terror will just increase more and more unless the terrorists here in the Holy Land are destroyed. Instead they are supporting the destruction of Israel.
Scotsman.com has two conflicting articles. One says that there was warning, and the other says that there wasn't.
An Arab-Moslem terrorist group has taken credit for it.
When will the world realize that the root of the terror is what they call "Palestinians," the terrorists they are coddling. World terror will just increase more and more unless the terrorists here in the Holy Land are destroyed. Instead they are supporting the destruction of Israel.
safe?
I thought that the American take-over of Iraq was supposed to make it a safer place. Maybe they should ask the Egyptian Ambassador, if they can find him. He was kidnapped. And that's not the only danger and violence there. Democratic elections aren't like the polio vaccine. It's more like having a nose job and then expecting your kids to have your new nose.
There's an inherent violence and cruelty in the Arab psyche. It may not be "pc" to say such a thing, but "uvdah" as they say in Hebrew, facts speak for themselves.
And things aren't so safe in London either. BOMBINGS! Yes, I'm glad I'm not there.
And Israel is self-mutilating. It must stop. The people patting Sharon on the back, telling him what a hero he is, are the same ones who are insisting that it's good that America and its allies conquered Iraq. They "pooh-pooh" the violence, because it doesn't fit their plans.
There's an inherent violence and cruelty in the Arab psyche. It may not be "pc" to say such a thing, but "uvdah" as they say in Hebrew, facts speak for themselves.
And things aren't so safe in London either. BOMBINGS! Yes, I'm glad I'm not there.
And Israel is self-mutilating. It must stop. The people patting Sharon on the back, telling him what a hero he is, are the same ones who are insisting that it's good that America and its allies conquered Iraq. They "pooh-pooh" the violence, because it doesn't fit their plans.
Think about it..
A relative, who lives in a comfortable American suburb, told us about a family conversation about Disengagement.
One said: "It's like being told that since you're a Jew, you can't live in that building."
Then her grown daughter corrected it: "It's being told that since you're a Jew we're taking away your home."
Exactly.
Just like how the Nazis took people out of their homes and herded them into the crowded ghettos.
No difference.
Think about it!
One said: "It's like being told that since you're a Jew, you can't live in that building."
Then her grown daughter corrected it: "It's being told that since you're a Jew we're taking away your home."
Exactly.
Just like how the Nazis took people out of their homes and herded them into the crowded ghettos.
No difference.
Think about it!
mini-movie about Israel
This is a great little movie about Israel. Take a look and let her know what you think.
Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Police Brutatlity
There's someone who's job it is to "deal with" police brutality. His name is Avi Zelba, and his e-mail is: avizelba@gbrener.org.il. Contact him to report all incidents, ok attacks, by policemen/women on demonstrators. It is important to be able to prove the attacks with video or stills.
You can say something like:
I am contacting you to report the following police abuse, which I document with the enclosed testimony/attached video... or whatever.
It might be a good idea to request follow-up, a report on how the police will be handling this possible incident of abuse. And then keep track and contact him every few days on a regular basis, saying that you expect the report, progress, etc.
Don't be shy; be business-like and efficient.
You can say something like:
I am contacting you to report the following police abuse, which I document with the enclosed testimony/attached video... or whatever.
It might be a good idea to request follow-up, a report on how the police will be handling this possible incident of abuse. And then keep track and contact him every few days on a regular basis, saying that you expect the report, progress, etc.
Don't be shy; be business-like and efficient.
Judith's speech
From: JUDITH NUSBAUM
Sent: Sunday, July 03, 2005 10:35 AM
Subject: Fw: final speech for ACTS, July 3, 2005
Thank Roberta Hromas for inviting me
Welcome you to Israel, and thank you for participating in the final redemption of Eretz Yisrael.
You and I, Americans and Israelis, Christians and Jews, are united inthe battle against the Global Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorism. A war that isbeing experienced throughout the world and must be defeated.
Israel is but one part of the equation!The act of Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorism against the United States on 9/11was horrific. American will never be the same.
But, as you all know, we, in Israel experience the effects of Islamic Fundamentalist
Terrorism on a daily basis.
Your media report the "successful terror attacks,”
NOT of thehundreds that the IDF has prevented from occurring.
We are able to stop the terrorists from entering our cities, our schools, our buses, our cafes, ONLY because we are presently inside THEIR cities, and because the IDF mans the checkpoints.If we withdraw, if we close the checkpoints, the Terrorists will be able to enter our cities with ease.P.A. Chairman Abbas will not stop them. Not only is he a Holocaust denier, he is also the architect of the Maalot massacre of 1973 and the Munich Olympic murders in 1972.
Today, as Arafat's heir, he has not only demonstrated his unwillingness to stop Terrorism, but he has invited Terror groups including PLO leader Farouk Kaddoumi, leaders of Hamas and the Marxist Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine to move their headquarters to the Gaza Strip after Israel evacuates the area. It is obvious that Gaza will become another Terrorist State.
PM Sharon's so called "disengagement" plan, it isn't really a disengagement plan, is a plan to "evacuate the Jews from the entire Gaza Strip.” To cleanse the area of Jews.We are not disengaging from the Arabs, since Israel will continue to welcome the Arabs into pre-67 Israel in mass, to work? Perhaps? To commit acts of terror? Probably. In addition, Israel has agreed to continue to provide the Arabs in Gaza with many of their utilities
This is not disengagement. This is withdrawal under fire, and it will only serve to exacerbate Arab violence.
According to Dr. Kallil Shikaki, Director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Research in Ramallah, the Arabs view "disengagement as a victory for the armed struggle.
The P.A. Minister of Civil Affairs in charge of the Israel Withdrawal Portfolio, Mohammed Dahlan, stated recently that the Palestinian side would deal with any Israeli withdrawal from any piece of land as a victory for the will of the Palestinians.Disengagement is contradicting the U.S. War on Terrorism. Disengagement is perceived, by the Middle East, as cut and run, appeasement and cave-in; in sharp contrast to the U.S. war on terrorism.
Financially, according to Min. of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu, Sharon's plan will cost Israel between 8 and 10 billion shekels; money that could be used for much needed social services. We will be retreating under fire and receive nothing in return. It will turn Gaza into a Terror State of Hamas.Disengagement is a setback to Peace. The only peace attainable in the Middle East is deterrence-driven peace. Disengagement undermines deterrence.General Ya'alon, Israel's previous chief of staff, cautioned that "Disengagement" would be a tailwind to Palestinian terrorism, bringing Kassam missiles and homicide bombing to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Kfar Saba and other major cities.And there is more. Already, missiles from the Gaza Strip have landed near the Ashkelon Electric Power plant putting 35% of Israel's electricity in jeopardy?
Already, the roofs of homes and building in Ashkelon are beingreinforced against missile attacks in preparation for the "disengagement."
Would an American population tolerate this?
The Disengagement Plan is splitting our country apart. Jews are fighting Jews. Our army's mandate is to defend and protect our citizens from our enemies and not to fight Jews, not to remove Jews from their homes, and not to destroy Jewish communities.
Nineteen-year-old Corporal Avi Bieber refused to participate, when he saw his commanders beating Jews. He said that he didn't enlist in the IDF in order to destroy Jewish communities or prepare the ground for the destruction of communities, or to remove Jews from their homes. "I enlisted in the IDF to defend the state, and what the IDF is doing now is not the role of the IDF."
He has been sentenced to 56 days in prison for his decision.I watched on TV the expulsion of 150 young people, mostly families with children, being dragged from their rooms in the Maoz Yam Hotel last week. My cousin Akiva and his family have lived there for several months. I had visited the hotel two weeks ago and met with the residents. They are not extremists. They are against the disengagement, as am I. They are not violent. They are law-abiding citizens. Akiva questioned: Why was it necessary to use such force? Why did the Security Forces have to storm the hotel 1000 strong? I don't know.
But I do know, that the proposed Disengagement Plan is only the first step. Judea and Samara will follow, then parts of Jerusalem, and so on.
We all are aware of what the Arab position is: "From the Jordan River to the Mediterranean, with NO Israel." One has only to look at a map printed by the PA in 2005 to see that Israel does not exist on their map. The word Palestine is imprinted over the area of Israel.This Land belongs to the Jewish People. We have the original deed from the Bible, and we have the legal deed from the League of Nations and the success of defensive wars. Eretz Yisrael belongs to Am Yisrael. We must repeat this every day and in every forum.I know that you do and I thank each and every one of you present today for your support, dedication and commitment to Israel.
If you want to make your voice heard, I urge you to contact your congressmen, senators, and Pres. George Bush. Explain to them why Sharon's plan is immoral and dangerous. Tell them they must not support disengagement, neither financially nor politically.
Thank you.
Sent: Sunday, July 03, 2005 10:35 AM
Subject: Fw: final speech for ACTS, July 3, 2005
Thank Roberta Hromas for inviting me
Welcome you to Israel, and thank you for participating in the final redemption of Eretz Yisrael.
You and I, Americans and Israelis, Christians and Jews, are united inthe battle against the Global Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorism. A war that isbeing experienced throughout the world and must be defeated.
Israel is but one part of the equation!The act of Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorism against the United States on 9/11was horrific. American will never be the same.
But, as you all know, we, in Israel experience the effects of Islamic Fundamentalist
Terrorism on a daily basis.
Your media report the "successful terror attacks,”
NOT of thehundreds that the IDF has prevented from occurring.
We are able to stop the terrorists from entering our cities, our schools, our buses, our cafes, ONLY because we are presently inside THEIR cities, and because the IDF mans the checkpoints.If we withdraw, if we close the checkpoints, the Terrorists will be able to enter our cities with ease.P.A. Chairman Abbas will not stop them. Not only is he a Holocaust denier, he is also the architect of the Maalot massacre of 1973 and the Munich Olympic murders in 1972.
Today, as Arafat's heir, he has not only demonstrated his unwillingness to stop Terrorism, but he has invited Terror groups including PLO leader Farouk Kaddoumi, leaders of Hamas and the Marxist Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine to move their headquarters to the Gaza Strip after Israel evacuates the area. It is obvious that Gaza will become another Terrorist State.
PM Sharon's so called "disengagement" plan, it isn't really a disengagement plan, is a plan to "evacuate the Jews from the entire Gaza Strip.” To cleanse the area of Jews.We are not disengaging from the Arabs, since Israel will continue to welcome the Arabs into pre-67 Israel in mass, to work? Perhaps? To commit acts of terror? Probably. In addition, Israel has agreed to continue to provide the Arabs in Gaza with many of their utilities
This is not disengagement. This is withdrawal under fire, and it will only serve to exacerbate Arab violence.
According to Dr. Kallil Shikaki, Director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Research in Ramallah, the Arabs view "disengagement as a victory for the armed struggle.
The P.A. Minister of Civil Affairs in charge of the Israel Withdrawal Portfolio, Mohammed Dahlan, stated recently that the Palestinian side would deal with any Israeli withdrawal from any piece of land as a victory for the will of the Palestinians.Disengagement is contradicting the U.S. War on Terrorism. Disengagement is perceived, by the Middle East, as cut and run, appeasement and cave-in; in sharp contrast to the U.S. war on terrorism.
Financially, according to Min. of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu, Sharon's plan will cost Israel between 8 and 10 billion shekels; money that could be used for much needed social services. We will be retreating under fire and receive nothing in return. It will turn Gaza into a Terror State of Hamas.Disengagement is a setback to Peace. The only peace attainable in the Middle East is deterrence-driven peace. Disengagement undermines deterrence.General Ya'alon, Israel's previous chief of staff, cautioned that "Disengagement" would be a tailwind to Palestinian terrorism, bringing Kassam missiles and homicide bombing to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Kfar Saba and other major cities.And there is more. Already, missiles from the Gaza Strip have landed near the Ashkelon Electric Power plant putting 35% of Israel's electricity in jeopardy?
Already, the roofs of homes and building in Ashkelon are beingreinforced against missile attacks in preparation for the "disengagement."
Would an American population tolerate this?
The Disengagement Plan is splitting our country apart. Jews are fighting Jews. Our army's mandate is to defend and protect our citizens from our enemies and not to fight Jews, not to remove Jews from their homes, and not to destroy Jewish communities.
Nineteen-year-old Corporal Avi Bieber refused to participate, when he saw his commanders beating Jews. He said that he didn't enlist in the IDF in order to destroy Jewish communities or prepare the ground for the destruction of communities, or to remove Jews from their homes. "I enlisted in the IDF to defend the state, and what the IDF is doing now is not the role of the IDF."
He has been sentenced to 56 days in prison for his decision.I watched on TV the expulsion of 150 young people, mostly families with children, being dragged from their rooms in the Maoz Yam Hotel last week. My cousin Akiva and his family have lived there for several months. I had visited the hotel two weeks ago and met with the residents. They are not extremists. They are against the disengagement, as am I. They are not violent. They are law-abiding citizens. Akiva questioned: Why was it necessary to use such force? Why did the Security Forces have to storm the hotel 1000 strong? I don't know.
But I do know, that the proposed Disengagement Plan is only the first step. Judea and Samara will follow, then parts of Jerusalem, and so on.
We all are aware of what the Arab position is: "From the Jordan River to the Mediterranean, with NO Israel." One has only to look at a map printed by the PA in 2005 to see that Israel does not exist on their map. The word Palestine is imprinted over the area of Israel.This Land belongs to the Jewish People. We have the original deed from the Bible, and we have the legal deed from the League of Nations and the success of defensive wars. Eretz Yisrael belongs to Am Yisrael. We must repeat this every day and in every forum.I know that you do and I thank each and every one of you present today for your support, dedication and commitment to Israel.
If you want to make your voice heard, I urge you to contact your congressmen, senators, and Pres. George Bush. Explain to them why Sharon's plan is immoral and dangerous. Tell them they must not support disengagement, neither financially nor politically.
Thank you.
Tuesday, July 5, 2005
new blogger
Welcome Marcel to the neighborhood, the world of blogging. I've been nudging him to start a blog, especially after he sent me this Bush-Sharon phone conversation.
Monday, July 4, 2005
Best of....#84
BOMS, as it's known, is ready for your reading pleasure. It provides a wide variety of articles and post of all types, including one of ours. Take a gander...
orange
Of course this is written in orange. You can see orange all over Israel.
Decades ago orange was the Jaffa orange, Israel's great export crop. Funny, I don't think that I ate one at all last winter.
Today the color represents Gush Katif.
Now we're all decorated in orange, even if it's just a rubber bracelet, or an orange ribbon tied to a bag. Many stores have them tied to the window displays. Car owners have them tied on antennas and windows, along with orange Gush Katif flags. Orange ribbons fly along bicycle handlebars and baby carriages.
Orange clothes are all the rage. Shirts, skirts, hats and more.
Hats are trimmed with orange bands, ribbons and scarves.
Orange is a strong color combining red and yellow, heat and fire, flames.
May the orange bring us victory, or if we fail...G-d forbid.
Decades ago orange was the Jaffa orange, Israel's great export crop. Funny, I don't think that I ate one at all last winter.
Today the color represents Gush Katif.
Now we're all decorated in orange, even if it's just a rubber bracelet, or an orange ribbon tied to a bag. Many stores have them tied to the window displays. Car owners have them tied on antennas and windows, along with orange Gush Katif flags. Orange ribbons fly along bicycle handlebars and baby carriages.
Orange clothes are all the rage. Shirts, skirts, hats and more.
Hats are trimmed with orange bands, ribbons and scarves.
Orange is a strong color combining red and yellow, heat and fire, flames.
May the orange bring us victory, or if we fail...G-d forbid.
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