בעל החוב

A nice story for עשרת ימי תשובה (The Ten Days of Repentance), taken from אלה הם מועדי:

משל נפלא בעניין התשובה אמר רבי ישראל מאיר הכהן מראדין בעל ה"חפץ חיים"

בכפר קטן חי חנווני שהתפרנס מחנות קטנה שסיפקה את צרכיהם המועטים של בני הכפר

נוהג היה החנווני לנסוע מידי פעם אל העיירה הסמוכה, שם היה סר אל חנותו של סוחר סיטונאי ממנו היה לוקח סחורה כל צרכו. פעמים היה משלם מיד בעד הסחורה ופעם היה הסיטונאי נותן לו בהקפה ורושם בפנקסו את סך החוב

לימים התדלדלו עסקיו של החנווני וקרה שנשאר חייב לסיטואני סכום כסף גדול. בבושתו מפניו חדל החנווני בקר בחנותו של הסיטאוני, ואף אם אירע והיה פוגש אותו ברחוב היה משתמט מפניו וממהר ללכת לכיון אחר

פעם אחת פגש הסיטונאי את החנווני ברחוב, ובטרם הספיק הלה לנוס קרא לו הסיטונאי בקול: מה לך? האם גרמתי לך כל רע שאתה נמלט מפני כמפני אויב? אודה על האמת - אמר החנווני - בוש ונכלם אני מפניך כי חובתו עלו למעלה ראש ואין ביכולתי לשלם לך

אדרבה - אמר הסיטונאי - דווקא משום כך עליך להיפגש עמי. נשוחח על חובך ונתייעץ ביחד באיזה אופן יהיה אפשר להתחיל עוד פעם לסחור עמך לתת לך שוב סחורה בהקפה, וכן תשלם קמעא קמעא גם על חובות העבר כדרך שנהוג בין הסוחרים

לברוח ממני אין זו דרך

כן הוא גם הנמשל - אמר "חפץ חיים" - כך ביכול, פונה הקב"ה לישראל ואומר להם: אמת הדבר ששקעתם החטא ועוון, אולם אין זה הדרך "לברוח" מפני, אדרבה, שובו בתשובה, עשו מצוות ועסקו בתורה ובתוך כך אמחל לכם על כל עוונותיכם

"לברוח"אין זו דרך

Apologies for any spelling errors - I typed it out from the book and am too tired to make sure everything is ok! :)

On that note, I ask for forgiveness for any sins I've committed against my family & friends. May we all have a meaningful Yom Kippur, and may we all be inscribed in the book of life, happiness and good health.
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A New Year, A New Blog

A friend of mine from England has started a blog I think will be worth a-following. Though I disagree with him on many issues, we have many interesting debates as you'd expect to have between a Wondering Jew (me!) and a Pakistani Muslim.

You can follow him at: http://www.kassana.com/
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The Elders

On the bus to work today, I stood near an old man. Three younger people were sitting down next to him. After a few minutes, I told the man, "I'm sorry none of them have offered you their seat." "What can you do?" he responded, "That's how it is." After the next stop, a few people got off the bus and as he went to an open seat, he smiled at me and said, "Maybe He heard you."

***

On the bus ride home, I sat down reading my book about Entebbe. I glanced up and saw an old man by the door. I asked the girl sitting next to me to ask him if he wants to sit down. "I'm getting off at the next stop," he responded. I told the girl, "They always say that and remain standing until their stop." She wasn't so convinced and surely enough, within two stops he was off. She then asked me, "Does this mitzvah (respecting the elderly) only relate to Jews?" I responded, "No, it's important we treat everyone with respect. As Hillel said, the Torah stands on the principle of treating a person as one would want to be treated himself." My stop was next, she thanked me and said, "Shanna Tova."

***

So I wish my readers, friends & family a sweet, healthy, happy, peaceful & prosperous New Year. May we improve our abilities to respect our fellow man - be it a family member, a friend, a neighbor, an elderly person or a complete stranger. May we learn to be appreciative of the many blessings showered upon us daily. May we find peace in our private lives and on our holy land.

שנה טובה ומתוקה לכולם
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Mazal TovA

Happy to share that my lil sis, Tova, has got engaged to her boyfriend Diego!

I'm stoked for the two and look forward to celebrating the simcha with them next year in the good ole US of A.

En buena ora ... בשעה טובה
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What Rav Ovadia said

This week started off with yet another Haaretz story slamming Gadol Ha'Dor Ha'Rav Ovadia Yosef for the following inflammatory comments:

"Abu Mazen and all these evil people should perish from this world, God should strike them with a plague, them and these Palestinians."

Before long, there was a condemnation from the US State Department:

We regret and condemn the inflammatory statements by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. These remarks are not only deeply offensive, but incitement such as this hurts the cause of peace.

And the Palestinians, courtesy of Saeb Erekat, also complained to the world:

Is this how the Israeli government prepares its public for a peace agreement? While the PLO is ready to resume negotiations in seriousness and good faith, a member of the Israeli government is calling for our destruction. It is an insult to all our efforts to advance the negotiations process."

Even Rav Eliashiv made a comment:

There's no sense in aggravating the whole world

From the minute this hit the press, I was hoping something wasn't right. Yes, R' Ovadia has made inflammatory remarks in the past but he's also been deliberately mistranslated so many times (including the famous 'IDF soldiers died in Lebanon because they didn't keep mitzvot' line, which I was in attendance for, and was never uttered) that I was hoping there was an error.

Today, I finally found a clip of the speech. This is what R' Ovadia said:

אבו-מאזן וכל הרשעים האלה, שיאבדו מן העולם. יכה בהם הקדוש ברוך הוא מכת דבר, בהם ובפלסטינים האלה, רשעים צוררי ישראל

When I heard this, I realized straight away how R' Ovadia's words had been twisted. But first, the translation:

Abu-Mazen and all those evil doers, may they be lost from this world. May Hashem strike them down in a plague, them and those Palestinians, evil persecutors of Israel.

Going by what I heard and read, it seems that R' Ovadia has a (legitimate) gripe with Abu Mazen (despite how he portrays himself today, he still openly denies the Holocaust's severity and was a major financier & planner of terrorist attacks against Jews in Israel and abroad) and Palestinians who cause evil to Israel. The last part is key. R' Ovadia isn't calling for genocide towards the Palestinian nation, he's asking Hashem to strike down those in their nation who cause evil to Israel. I doubt R' Ovadia would have used the term 'those' if he had intended to include all the Palestinians in his statement ... He would have just said, "בהם ובפלסטינים" (them and the Palestinians, or like Haaretz twisted his comment originally).

For more into the context of the speech, see Veranen Yaakov, and for another take on the statement, see Yaakov Lozowick
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Three - Zero

So I'm 30 (well, 15 minutes away but still). I was discussing the topic with some friends in miluim this past week, and most of us came to agreement that this is the birthday that essentially ends younghood - it seems that from here on out the responsibilities of adulthood - families, profession, savings, etc. - only grow and grow in importance. Ah yes, one can still act the fool as I often do, but those issues will still be there demanding thought and action. So, why am I bothering to write this? Not sure to be honest. A part of me does actually feel like I'm ending a certain chapter in life, and yet another part has me saying, "Me stop being a kid? Nah, never." When I figure out which 'part' wins in the fight, I'll report back but until then a quick dvar torah:

Pirkei Avot (5:25) comments that the age of thirty is for "entering into full vigor," (בן שלושים לכח). Torah.Org has this to say: "Thirty is for strength. It the age at which a man's strength is at its peak -- both physically and emotionally. At that age, we see our lives ahead of us, and we feel up to its challenges. We can still solve the world's problems -- not to mention our own." Bring on the vigor baby!
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In Honor of the late Nissim Piha

My latest article in Kaminando y Avlando, the Sephardi Hebrew Congregation of Cape Town's monthly publication:

***

Nissim Piha, a devoted member of the Sephardi Hebrew Congregation of Cape Town, passed away ten years ago on September 21, 2000 (כ״א בְּאֱלוּל תש״ס). That Thursday was one of the most difficult experiences of my life. I was relaxing in my college dorm room before a finance class when my mother called me. “Nonnou’s passed away,” she said sadly. I don’t remember what I said in response. For the next few minutes, I spoke to my dad. He wasn’t the pillar of strength he usually was – he was devastated, he was human. I remember the next few hours well – they were spent remembering with friends a man I looked up to, and expressing my emotions in a short poem I wrote while crying quietly in class. Despite my great sadness at his sudden passing, I don’t think I fully appreciated what my Nonnou, my father’s father, meant to me until I moved to Israel and began my own family.

The first line of Pirkei Avot speaks of Moshe receiving the Torah from Sinai, and then passing it on to Joshua, who passed it on to the Elders, who passed it on to the Prophets, who then passed it on to the men of the Great Assembly. Whenever we visited Cape Town when I was a boy, Nonnou always asked me to write out the first few lines of that mishna (as well as the Shema) for him. Back then, I would sit down and copy these words from his books only for the money I would get once finished. Now, whenever I read that line I realize what Nonnou was doing. He was passing on traditions, ensuring the seeds of understanding and appreciation for our faith were continually being planted and watered. I thank him for helping to instill in me the appreciation for and understanding of Judaism I have today.

I always admired Nonnou’s generosity. Whether with respect to family, friends, community or complete strangers, Nonnou was always generous with time and money. In an age where the ‘me first’ approach is so common, Nonnou showed by example that one can find a balance between taking care of one’s own interests and helping others. Another trait I really admired was Nonnou’s ability to be happy with his lot. There is a famous midrash that says that Hashem gives an individual exactly what he/she needs in his/her life. Despite the many difficult times he endured, during which it may have seemed that he needed more, Nonnou always managed to stay positive and be grateful for the good he had in his life. Not only do I admire Nonnou for these traits, they are qualities I try to bring to my own dealings with the world.

Ten years ago, our family and the Cape Town community lost a man I admired and respected deeply. As my wife and I raise the next Nissim Piha, I always find myself wishing the two could have interacted. That the love and warmth Nonnou displayed when I was around him could have just for a second been in the presence of his great grandson. My Dad once told me that Nonnou always used to say, “I’m a very rich man, for my children are my capital.” It’s a sentence I always find myself repeating, another wise lesson from Nonnou that I carry with me. I think in a person’s death, you can tell a lot about how that person lived. Nelson Mandela once said, "When we were born we cried and the people around us smiled. Live life so that when you die you are smiling and the people around you are crying." From the way Nonnou lived his life, I know he's smiling from up above.

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Musings

So 'peace' talks in Washington are fast approaching. That means trouble, as it always does. Not surprising that the last two days have bought two shooting (1 2) attacks from Hamas militants. I am now curious to see how the PA acts (they did go on 'Arrest a Hamas Militant' spree yesterday) and if Hezbollah join in.

***

I spent the last three days up North on miluim. I have to say that the Golan is absolutely stunning, during the day and at night. I just wish the Israeli government would put even more of an emphasis on development there, and the Negev too for that matter, so that it would be more attractive to young couples.

***

Something about putting on the uniform definitely 'warps' you. How else can I explain eating a salami sandwich at 7am? That's not normal! :)

***

I hope to add a post later today that I wrote for Kaminando y Avlando about my late Nonnou, Nissim Piha. The 10th azkara (yahrzeit) of his passing was this past Tuesday (כא אלול).
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Houston, we have a problem

And sadly, I'm not really sure there's a solution:

Indeed, a survey by the American Jewish Committee concluded that just 12 percent of American Jews strongly oppose intermarriage, and 56 percent would not be pained in the slightest by their child's intermarriage.

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Skype

A random post but I just want to say I truly appreciate the wonders of Skype. By using this brilliant technology (and no, I haven't just found out about it - I've been using it for years), I am able to 'share' my son with my family, despite them being thousands of kilometers away.
It's great to see how he interacts with my 'rents, Gramps, Tova (my sis), Sandy or Saba (Talya's dad). Such a privilege considering how it must have been like for my parents to try and share the experiences of Eitan, Tova & I growing up around the world (It probably was a call, or two, every few weeks, and pictures or videos even less frequently).
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חן בן של תמר

Yesterday, on the walk home from shacharit (Morning prayer), a friend of mine got a phone call. He got bad news, it was obvious by his reaction.

This morning, when hashcavot (prayer for the deceased) were being read, the name (חן בן של תמר, Chen the son of Tamar) he had been saying the past few years during the prayer for the sick had suddenly been added to the unfortunate list.

I asked him after shacharit what had happened. Shortly after his Bar Mitzvah, Chen felt tremendous head pain during a footy match. He told his dad and within days, devastating news was revealed. 3 years later, this 16.5 year old kid succumbed to cancer.

I didn't know Chen, nor do I know his family, but this news hit me hard. No warning, nothing. Stories like these really hurt me. We're fragile beings, and one day we're well, the next day we're gone. They're tragic reminders that we must enjoy the 'now' for we don't know what's coming from around the corner. It's sad that it takes this kind of alarm bell to help us realize the importance of appreciating one's family, health and lot. שלא נדע ...
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The pathway to the study of Torah

"The pathway to the study of Torah is this, a morsel of bread with salt to eat, water to drink with measure, sleep on the ground, live a life of toil, but work diligently in the study of Torah. And if you do so, you will be happy and you will have a good life, as the psalmist said, 'Happy shalt thou be (in this world), and it should be well with thee (in the World to Come)."
Pirkei Avot, 6:4

The above is explained by the Ben Ish Chai (Taken from משל ונמשל) with the following parable:

Two donkeys were carrying loads. One donkey was struggling with an extremely heavy load of salt, while the other was carrying a large sponge, that was so light that he didn't feel any discomfort. The donkey carrying the sponge walked around merrily, running up the mountains and jumping over the hills. The donkey carrying the salt struggled as the salt was so heavy.

Due to the trail they had chosen, the donkeys had to cross a river. When the donkey carrying the salt entered the river, the salt started to melt. As the salt melted away, the donkey started to cross the river happily and peacefully with the emptying sack. When the donkey carrying the sponge entered the water, the sponge got heavier and heavier. So heavy was the sponge that the donkey's legs could no longer carry him, and he drowned.

The journey that the donkey carrying the salt took was for his benefit, because it gave him peace and serenity after the heaviness had melted away. The donkey carrying the sponge had an easy time at the beginning, not even feeling the weight, but when he entered the water - it led to too much toil. The donkey couldn't stand the labor, and that was the reason he died.

Instead of writing up the Ben Ish Chai's analysis about the parable, I think I'd like to sum it up as follows: One shouldn't be intimidated, or turned off, by the weight or difficulty of Torah study - it is for our benefit, both now and in the future.
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Update: Making Peace with Change

I did more research after writing yesterday's blog post. I still wasn't really that at peace with my decision. I wanted to ensure I was doing the right thing for myself, and my family.

After a quick review, I found out (I'm not sure how I missed this yesterday) that Rav Yosef Karo (Maran Yosef) actually writes in the Shulchan Aruch about shavoah she'chal bo as the Jews of Rhodes, and Sefardim (not to be confused here with Mizrachim), practiced it.

That led me to the key question here: does Minhag Yerushulayim (Jerusalem custom; That of the Sfradim who lived here, as the Ashkenazi Jews that lived here had their own Minhag Yerushalayim) take precedence here (as it was in practice before Karo wrote the Shulchan Aruch) as I am a resident of the city. As I am not a permanent resident of the city (at least not yet, so this may be revisited in the future) and have a halachic backing for my minhag (custom), I do not feel the need, or obligation, to change it.
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Making Peace with Change

Every morning, one of the members of the shul where I attend shacharit (morning services) read a halacha (Jewish law), or two, from the Yalkut Yosef. This past Thursday morning, the halacha read essentially said a minhag (custom) I held during the first nine days of Av may be wrong. I won't go into depth about the minhag (eating meat until Shavoah she'chal bo) but after the service ended, I discussed with a few members of the community what I do, which was confirmed by a Rabbi who is well versed in the halachot of Rhodes, an island south of Turkey which was a home to a thriving small Sefardi (Judeo-Spanish) community before the Holocaust.

By the time the conversation had ended, I had decided I needed to do some research to ensure what I was doing was in fact ok. I e-mailed my dad to ask him if the Rabbi had a source, and also picked up Rabbi Dobrinsky's excellent A Treasury of Sephardic Laws and Customs. After going back and forth, I realized that I needed to change my minhag. When I told my dad this, he approved but made the following comment:

Unfortunately, the people who say that the tradition is untenable if there is no source are cementing the Holocaust’s work, because these communities’ written halachot were destroyed in the holocaust.

It hurt me to read that. I'm extremely proud of my roots, and do my best to adhere to customs that have been passed along for generations. It left me in a bind.

This morning after shacharit, I had a long discussion with Yossi, who reads the Torah every Shabbat morning. I told him why I was struggling with what to do. He made the point that since the minhag does in fact clash with the halacha, it's best I do change the minhag. However, he then stressed something that I was foolishly overlooking. I can still teach Nissim that this was done in Rhodes (even if we do not practice it in Israel) while actually teaching and observing with him the Rhodesli customs (with regards to food, nusach and music for example) that were passed on to me by my parents.

I hope that, like my father & mother with me, I'm successful in transmitting my enthusiasm, love and appreciation of these customs* to Nissim (and G-d willng, the other children that follow) so that he carriers them, like me, on his journeys.

* I'd just like to add that while these customs are important, they're 2nd fiddle to teaching Nissim to love his faith and be an active & respectful member of Am Yisrael.
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Gilad Shalit

I don't even know where to begin this. Fact is, I really hope this boy sees his parents and home soon. He's been in solitary confinement for over four years, with no contact with the world he left behind on June 25th, 2006. He's probably endured mental hardships none of us will even come close to experiencing. And yet, what I'm seeing on TV with this march demanding his return doesn't sit with me well. Now don't get me wrong, if I was Gilad's father I'd probably be doing the same exact thing. But this still doesn't sit well with me.

Gilad cannot come back at any cost - especially if that price will include jailed terrorists who will continue to be active. If they kill again, are we willing to tell those newly bereaved parents that Gilad's life was worth more than the lives of their loved ones? Pidyun Shovyim is an important issue here, but I feel its importance is lessened in this situation as it increases the desire of our enemies to take hostages. If I was Noam or Aviva Shalit, I wouldn't care about the last paragraph I've written. As a father myself, I respect and understand that is their way is the only way the parents should be thinking. But as an Israeli with no 'family' attachment to Gilad, I cannot allow myself to think that way, or to expect my government to act that way.

As a soldier, I struggle with this 'what if' scenario all the time. I think however that once in uniform, our life becomes 'less important' than that of our civilian population, and hence, we shouldn't endanger it in any way. I'd never want to be in Shalit's position, but I'd rather not be the potential reason civilians die if I was. I'm sure it would be the opposite if I was sitting in the same room as Gilad is now, but this is where I stand without that horrific reality being a part of my decision making process.
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34 years later

My latest article in Kaminando y Avlando, the Sephardi Hebrew Congregation of Cape Town's monthly publication:

***

July 4th marked the 34th anniversary of the Entebbe Raid. Although four years have passed since I wrote this article for my blog, I think the point is still highly relevant in light of recent events in Israel and abroad.

-*-*-*-*-*-*

Another 4th of July is fast approaching here in Israel. A day that should mean something not only in Israel, but also worldwide, will probably only be mentioned because of its significance in US history. Little will be made of the fact that it is the anniversary of one of history's most daring anti-terror rescue operations. Thirty years have passed, but this event can still play a major role in shaping the world's mentality in pursuing its inalienable rights. During such an uncertain stage in Israel's & the world's war on radical Islam's terror tactics, July 4th should be remembered for the actions of Israel's elite forces during Operation Thunderbolt, otherwise known as the Raid on Entebbe.

A brief overview of the event: Late June 1976, an Air France jet left Israel and landed in Athens, where two Germans and two Arabs boarded the plane and hijacked it. The plane arrived in Entebbe, Uganda, where the terrorists were joined by more Arabs and friendly Ugandan troops (by orders of the country's president, Idi Amin). The terrorists demanded the release of their imprisoned comrades throughout Europe and Israel. After a few days, all the non-Jews and non-Israelis are released and flown to Paris – an eerie reminder for Israel of the Holocaust and the selections. As the world remained predictably silent, Israel planned a daring mission while 'attempting to negotiate.' Late July 3rd, Sayeret Matkal (Israel's most elite unit), with other standout soldiers from various units, left Israel on a 4,000 km flight in an attempt to deal a death blow to terrorism.

On July 4th, Israel's forces did the impossible: they rescued all but 4 of the hostages (2 were killed by stray bullets at the terminal, 1 died of his wounds in a Nairobi hospital and Dora Bloch z"l was left behind in a Ugandan hospital, where she was murdered by Ugandan troops) and one soldier, the commander of Sayeret Matkal, Yonatan ‘Yoni’ Netanyahu z"l. Israel had once again stood up to terror, refusing to allow it to dictate her policies.

The significance and importance of such an accomplishment should be stressed in light of worldwide events in the last few years. Islamic terror has killed thousands of innocent civilians since 2000, and while their numbers, supporters and strength continue to grow, the world's reactions become more timid and appeasingly pathetic. When the US pursues actions (offensives against terror supporting Afghani & Iraqi regimes) that it deems necessary to protect its citizens, far too many countries refuse to react. When Spain suffered a devastating attack that killed 191 people, its reaction was to change prime minister (PM) and withdraw all its troops from Iraq. Wonder what the terrorists learned from that?! When Australia lost over 100 citizens in the attacks on Bali in 2002, the reaction was a few harsh words from PM John Howard and since then, very little else. After the first suicide bus bombing in London, England's reaction also left much to be desired. So as radical Muslim activity flourishes in Europe, Northern Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, too little is being done to put obstacles in the terrorists' paths. The inability to preempt, or react, is only further strengthening the belief of the terrorists that one day they will win the war against us.

The rescue at Entebbe stresses the right and duty of any nation to defend its citizens. A day to honor the bravery and dedication of those soldiers would stress a vital point: A country should undertake whatever means it deems necessary to protect its citizens from the threats of terrorism, be it a preemptive strike or by reacting to attacks. A good example of the above are the events surrounding the World Trade Center towers: Bill Clinton should have reacted with force after the first attack in '93, and by that I don't mean bombing a medicine factory in Sudan, and George Bush should have started to act when all the warnings came in before the tragic events of September 11th unfolded.

The free world is in a vital phase in its war to eliminate radical Islam's terror tactics and allow a moderate and peaceful Islam to flourish. Any backtracking or hesitation, like we're seeing today with Israel with regards to Hamas for example, will only strengthen the terrorists' resolve to destroy the values most of us take for granted. By commemorating and highlighting the brave actions of the IDF on July 4th 1976, the world would be sending a clear and necessary message to the terror cells of the world: No action taken against the citizens of the free world will go unpunished.
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United

Lyrics:

Chorus:
When the world's gone lost
We're gonna help you find the way
Too much drama in my eyes that I can't hide
When the world's gone lost
I don't plan to fall with it

Verse 1 (Ruff):
I'm on the wrong side of the map, activists with knifes got me trapped
Surrounded by hostility, trying not to react
Flotillas of hatred, ‫we're‬ caught in the matrix
I'm trying to survive, they're pulling the same tricks
This international hypocrisy won't get us far
One-sided media puts us behind bars
Nations with no minorities, judging ‫with no‬ authority
They're gonna tell me how to deal with what's in front of me
What about Sudan and North Korea? Could they care less?!
They wanna boycott us, they're gonna share less
We're lying on the fence for the rest of the world
Provide a buffer zone ‫while‬ overseas they get us sold
I know my people can be divided at times
Got too many opinions with too much shit on our minds
You can hate us now, we ain't gonna fight it
You're only making us stronger and more united

Chorus:
When the world's gone lost
We're gonna help you find the way
Too much drama in my eyes that I can't hide
When the world's gone lost
I don't plan to fall with it

Verse 2 (SHI 360):
‏But I‪'‬m already home and the media distorts your vision
‏Got blind followers here in full submission
‏Provocateurs,‬ they just wanna instigate
‏And create the image you love to hate
‏You can talk about humanitarian aid
‏Politically affiliated IHH
‏Guess who's more popular? Erodgan
‏Fuck left and right‪,‬ we should all stand as one
‏You really thought we were gonna let ‪'e‬m in?
‏When yesterday they tried to bring Karine A - was that aid or to arm Jihad?
‏Wanna talk about aid‪?‬ What about Gilad‪?‬
‏Because the horse is trojan, doors not open
‏I gotta do whatever to protect my home and
‏I‪'‬m a peace dealer, my flow killa
‏But no peace came at me on the flotilla

Chorus:
When the world's gone lost
We're gonna help you find the way
Too much drama in my eyes that I can't hide
When the world's gone lost
I don't plan to fall with it

עם ישראל חי

Lyrics: Guy "Ruff" Gabriel, Shai "SHI 360" Haddad
Music, production, mix and mastering: Avishay "Evish" Sapir
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Ever Again

A must watch documentary. Please share this ...


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Pilar Rahola

Two great speeches by Pilar Rahola, a Spanish left winger activist & former politician (courtesy of Portal of Ideas):

The first question, then, is why so many intelligent people, when talking about Israel, suddenly become idiots. The problem that those of us, who do not demonize Israel have, is that there exists no debate on the conflict. All that exists is the banner; there’s no exchange of ideas. We throw slogans at each other; we don’t have serious information, we suffer from the “burger journalism” syndrome, full of prejudices, propaganda and simplification. Intellectual thinkers and international journalists have given up on Israel. It doesn't exist exist. That is why, when someone tries to go beyond the “single thought” of criticizing Israel, he becomes suspect and unfaithful, and is immediately segregated. Why?

I’ve been trying to answer this question for years: why?

Why, of all the conflicts in the world only this one interests them?

Why is a tiny country which struggles to survive criminalized?

Why does manipulated information triumph so easily?

Why are all the people of Israel, reduced to a simple mass of murderous imperialists?

Why is there no Palestinian guilt?

Read the entire speech here.

I am not Jewish. Ideologically I am left and by profession a journalist. Why am I not as anti Israeli as my colleagues? Because as a non-Jew I have the historical responsibility to fight against Jewish hatred and currently against the hatred for their historic homeland, Israel. To fight against anti-Semitism is not the duty of the Jews, it is the duty of the non-Jews.

As a journalist it is my duty to search for the truth beyond prejudice, lies and manipulations. The truth about Israel is not told. As a person from the left who loves progress, I am obligated to defend liberty, culture, civic education for children, coexistence and the laws that the Tablets of the Covenant made into universal principles. Principles that Islamic fundamentalism systematically destroys. That is to say that as a non-Jew, journalist and lefty I have a triple moral duty with Israel, because if Israel is destroyed, liberty, modernity and culture will be destroyed too.

The struggle of Israel, even if the world doesn’t want to accept it, is the struggle of the world.

Read the entire speech here.
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A Psalm in Jenin

My latest article in Kaminando y Avlando, the Sephardi Hebrew Congregation of Cape Town's monthly publication:

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When reading stories about the IDF in newspapers from around the world, I am usually left aghast by the image they paint of our soldiers. Gone are the days when our soldiers were looked upon in a positive light. Nowadays, if most newspapers (including some Israeli ones sadly) are to be believed, IDF soldiers are vicious, blood thirsty lunatics who actively seek to eradicate Palestinians. In the past decade, newspapers have inflamed the worldwide anti-Israel sentiment with stories like the Mohammad Al-Dura death (the 12-year-old boy was killed in cold blood on live TV by IDF troops. Months later it was proven that Israeli soldiers were not stationed in a position where they could possibly have shot the boy – he was killed by Palestinian fire); the Jenin ‘Massacre’ (too many newspapers printed the ‘500 Palestinians killed, mostly civilians’ lie, when in fact only 50 were killed, of which over 80% were terrorists); the organ harvesting article last year...the list goes on and on. Too few articles, or books for that matter, paint the truthful image of the IDF – an army, which despite mistakes, strives to ensure the Palestinian population it works around is protected from unnecessary confrontations even at the risk of its very own soldiers’ lives.

One book that does do our soldiers justice is Brett Goldberg’s A Psalm in Jenin, which places the reader side by side with the soldiers who fought in Jenin during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002. What the book does well is it leads the reader from the ‘difficulties’ of the soldiers’ civilian lives straight into the difficulties the same soldiers, be they the 20-year-old kids or the thirty-something reservists, faced as they went from one booby trapped house to another in the heart of Jenin. It’s a must-read book – one that will give anyone who hasn’t served in the army a far better understanding of the human beings who fight to protect the land of Israel, and the many struggles they face while fighting a few miles from their homes. One of the book’s most powerful chapters takes place when the soldiers commemorate Yom Ha’Zikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day. During a break from fighting, a soldier organizes a ceremony during which he reads a letter by Gadi Ezra, who was tragically killed in Jenin:

My beloved Galit,

If this letter reaches you, it means that something has befallen me.

This morning I received word that the operation planned yesterday will take place, G-d willing. I told you that the operation had changed and that it was not what it was originally supposed to be – because I didn’t want you to worry you, my dearest. It was very hard for me not to tell you the truth, but I preferred to do so rather than to drive you crazy with worry. “One can tell a lie for Peace,” it is taught, and that also includes the peace of mind of the person that you love more than anything else on earth.

My beloved, I feel that on the one hand there is nothing that I would like more than to be with you, to love you, and to raise a family with you. But on the other hand, there is nothing that I want more than to go on this operation and deal such a great blow to the terrorists that they will never dare perpetrate another bombing or terror attack. That they will take into account that each time they commit an atrocity we will hit them in the most painful place possible and will be willing to pay the price. I am willing to be that price.

Do not be angry at me, my loved one, but in moments like this one must be guided by the greater good of the people of Israel, and one needs to deal a blow to evil as if one has no private life. As it is written, “In the armies of King David a conditional letter of divorce was granted before going off to war.”

My dearest, do not forget: everything is for the best, and if this is what the Master of the Universe has chosen, so be it. To us remains the task of accepting it all with love.

Everything the Lord does is for the best. Everything is for the best, even this. I promise you that I am in the most wonderful of places, without suffering, without regret. My only sorrow is for those who remain – for you, for my family, and for my friends.

Spread the good news, my dearest one. “Never despair, be only joyous.” That is what I ask of you even, if it is difficult.

I know that I can ask this of you, because I know well the joy and bliss that radiate from you naturally, those qualities with which I fell in love. They are what drew me to you when I first laid eyes upon you.

My dearest, my beloved. I love you and will always love you. Promise that you will continue onwards, and will not allow Sodom to triumph. You be the triumphant one. That is what must be.

I will love you to all eternities, and will always be yours.

The letter is often read during Yom Ha’Zikaron ceremonies nowadays. It’s painful evidence of the dedication and sacrifice our soldiers are willing to make to ensure this country eliminates the dangers facing her. Galit followed Gadi’s advice and ‘continued onwards,’ she got married and had four children.

Though I’ve always been a big fan of this book, it took on a whole new meaning since I joined my miluim (reserve duty) unit in 2006. On another one of those long guard duty stints, the topic of Jenin came up. By the time the conversation was over, I’d found out that a few of the soldiers in my unit were the Golani soldiers who fought in Jenin with Gadi Ezra and quite a few of the people mentioned in the book. During each stint, I discuss more of the book with them. They’re all my age, most of them married with kids and they still talk about those nights as if they happened yesterday - their fears, the long nights and close brushes with death, their friends, the blood and the funerals. The conversations normally end with a similar outcome, “It was hell, but we must continue on. It will be ok, יהיה טוב.” It’s as if Gadi’s words were engrained in all of them…
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