A tribute to my father

There are so many words to say and then again not enough words. My father was born over 96 years ago in another century and world. His small little Jewish village called Saleist in Yiddish was probably typical for Jewish towns in the Ukraine. He would describe the streets with funny names and many shuls that were in the town. The “muddy street” was probably near the river “the sandy street “ was very sandy for no particular reason. The tailors shul or the shoemakers shul or the Rabbis shul they would come up when he described the Shtetl or Alte Heim.
As he was orphaned at a young age this almost mythical place for me at least became a very difficult place to be for him and his siblings. Nonetheless it never lost its beauty and warmness and he never really left it though he last saw it about 70 years ago. This village like so many like it was destroyed by the ultimate evil of our times. But to my father and his contemporaries it was very much alive.
They would talk about who lived where and where they are today. How and if they survived the war and where they lived. Those who survived the war or left the shetetel before the war were scattered around the world and my father seemed to know them all. He was a living remnant of a time and place that is no more. He grew up in the atmosphere of the spread of Zionism among Jewish youth in eastern Europe. At the same time the Hassidic backdrop of the Shetetel and his own fathers fervent Hassidic customs had a profound effect on him. His love and longing to live in Israel were apparent very early in his life as he was jailed in Germany while trying to get to Palestine on a clandestine ship.

His survival instincts were very keen as he knew to leave the Shtetl before it was destroyed by the Nazis later on. He was always haunted by the fact he could not take any brother or sister with him as they may of survived with him. As it turned out one sister survived and one sister and two brothers were murdered. He was especially haunted by his sisters disappearance and her subsequent murder. No one till this day knows exactly what happened to her and how she died. This lack of knowledge always tormented him.
His love for Jews and their land were a pillar stone for me growing up. His worry about Jewish soldiers and Jewish children who were poor were extreme.
He was a great crier who could cry at the drop of a hat for things that were important. For his children and their Simchas and for things that reminded him of the warm parts of the Shtetl.
He suffered greatly in his life but never gave up his belief in the greatness and eternity of the Jewish people. He longed to see his parents that he lost at such a young age and he often spoke about what he would say when he met them.
His passing is the end of an era , the end of the surviving Shtetl Jew that picked himself out of the ashes and continued no matter what.
May his memory be a blessing to all he helped and loved.

His grieving son

דוד מרדכי

What is Bibi doing?

The average Israeli right wing voter must be feeling very dumb around now. He voted for a very right wing party with a very right wing prime minister and has received left wing policy.
Benjamin Netanyahu has gone against campaign promises and announced about two months ago his agreement on a two state solution. He has now upped the ante and announced a temporary freeze of settlement activity for ten months. This ploy which nobody really likes except maybe for Obama and Hillary Clinton is bizarre at best.
The right wing Israelis don’t like this freeze for obvious reasons as it is completely against their political goals and beliefs. The Palestinian authority does not like it as they say continued building in east Jerusalem ( which allegedly Is not included in the freeze ) makes any other freeze meaningless. This freeze will not bring them back to the negotiating table. The minority left wing in Israel says that a temporary freeze of ten months is ridiculous and that the promise of continued settlement expansion after that makes a temporary freeze pointless. The Arab workers who are the laborers of new housing in Judea and Samaria will be left with little work and hungry children.

No one seems to make sense out of this new twist in the land grab fight of the West Bank or Judea and Samaria. I will try nonetheless.

This is what Obama must of said to Netanyau.

“I will not attack Iran if you give me nothing to help start negotiations “
“I will make sure Israel will not receive military aid or an US okay to attack Iran itself “

Netanyahu then went back to his government and said the following .
“the Palestinians will not come back to the negotiating table anyway and I want to put them on the defensive and not Israel. There is mass building going on everywhere in Judea and Samaria ( public building and projects already started ). This freeze is a public relations ploy, it will have minimal real effect. I need to get Obama off my back, this will do the trick.

So his ministers agreed and the Freeze started.

The bottom line remains that negotiations have not started because of this freeze and will not.
The Palestinians do not agree to differentiate the west bank from Jerusalem as Israel does.
The dead end remains freeze or no freeze.

The right wing voter still feels dumb though.

The Peace Process

Mitchell is back again.

It is getting quite boring to read and listen to Mitchell once again trying to talk to all sides and for the millionth time attempt to restart peace negotiations. Someone should tell him its just not working. We are told peace was achieved in northern Ireland and in every other hot spot in the world ( lately turkey and Armenia ) it will be achieved in the middle east as well. It is just time and perseverance.
The stark truth needs to be said. There is no chance for real progress in peace negotiations any time soon for the following reasons.
1. The Palestinian Arab side is completely divided making any agreement not binding on all
2. The core issues of Jerusalem and refugees seems as unsolvable as ever
3. The Palestinain Arab side refuses to recognize Israel
There are other reasons of course but these suffice for making Mitchells visits here pointless. The American taxpayer is paying for pointless fruitless meetings that continue to go nowhere.

Even Mitchell should be bored already.

The uneven distribution of collective Jewish Responsibility

The most harrowing tragedy has struck at the most well known and visible of Israeli families in the world. When the spaceship Columbia exploded and all crew members were killed the world was in shock. The Israeli public was in even greater shock as Ilan Ramon the first Israeli astronaut was on that ill fated flight. His Jewish pride and sensitivity to Jewish customs were a very touching part of his stay in space. He literally mesmerized the Israeli public with his incredible personality. His death left many Jews completely heartbroken including the writer of these lines.

Very few people knew that his son Asaf had embarked on a military career very similar to his father. He had become a fighter pilot like his father and apparently a very good one at that. The IDF demands that anyone who has lost a sibling or father needs special permission to serve in a combat unit. Tragedy striking twice is almost too difficult to bear. Asaf apparently received that permission from his mother; he probably pressured her to give it. When he was killed in a training accident it brought back old memories to very many.

Families like the Ramons will continue to bear the burden of defending Israel. Those who shirk that responsibility should be feeling very small around now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Jewish national day of mourning, 9th of AV

A very sad day for Jews everywhere.

The saddest day in the Jewish calendar is the 9th day of Av. This day has so many tragedies connected with it that there is really no serious hardship for a Jew to fast. Thinking about all the suffering that is connected to this day makes one lose his appetite.
Some of the events that happened around this time. Both the first and second Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed. A massive public burning of Jewish texts happened in Paris circa 1292 and the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492. There are so many more events that did not specifically happen around this time but still are commentated on this all encompassing day of sadness.

What practicing Jews do on such a day is refrain from any food or water for about 25 hours, No washing is allowed and even wearing of leather shoes is not permitted. That is an additional hardship that is to remind someone of the sadness of the day. They sit for hours reading Lamentations on how bad it was from the ancient tragedies to the modern ones and everything in between. This sad dirge like reading recalls specific events that speak volumes on why Jews and Judaism still exist today. One Story that seams to define Jewish Martyrdom is the story of Rabbi Akivah. This fervent Jewish nationalist symbolized for all Jews who came after him what martyrdom meant. His complete faith and piety even in the throngs of excruciating torture inspired all those after him. He was executed proclaiming his faith in Judiasm buy uttering the Shema prayer that is to be on the lips of every Dying Jew.

Many Jews before and after R’Akivah vexed their tormentors with this faith clinging to their Judaism no matter what the cost.

For those who want to understand the resilience of the Jews this day speaks volumes.

The Peace Process

Obama says no and Bibi says yes, now what?

In the latest spat between Presiden Obama and the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu Jerusalem has become the point of contention. Netanyahu says that building and buying houses in Jerusalem will continue as Jerusalem is under the jurisdiction of the Jewish state and will continue to be so. Obama thinks differently and looks at east Jerusalem as he looks at west bank settlements. Obama wants the building to stop and Bibi refuses. Now what?

Even before negotiations have started on a permanent status solution there is a cardinal disagreement on a core issue. That is Jerusalem. Neither side is willing to budge one inch on this issue. How then can there be negotiation on something no one wants to negotiate on? No one is sure but all sides want to continue the peace process. That process is at a dead end and has been for some time. This reality doesn’t seem to bother the parties involved as they continue to talk meet and haggle.

The stark truth is that there is no real solution to this problem and there never really was. The Jews are not wanted in their historical homeland and that’s it. Everything else is meaningless time wasting hogwash.

Well at least there is a peace process.

Amnesty international helping Hamas

Amnesty international accuses Israel and Hamas of War crimes.

In the newest report of Amnesty Israel is accused of deliberately targeting civilians and causing the death of nearly four hundred noncombatants. Hamas is accused of firing rockets into Israel that cause wide spread havoc this was also labeled a war crime.

Hamas strategy has been for a long time to use the very dense population centers of the Gaza strip as human shields for its members. This strategy was designed to hamper or completely eliminate Israel’s ability to target its members. Amnesty has become another weapon in the arsenal of hamass psychological warfare. Israel will still need to target terrorists who are hiding behind civilians as these terrorists put in danger its soldiers and civilians. The concern for the Israeli military establishment is the hesitation that may be over emphasized when seeing civilians near terrorist targets. This hesitation may ultimately cost Israeli lives. It is mostly incorrect to say that these reports have no effect on the Israeli military, Their effect is the slow erosion of the ability of the IDF to properly target its enemies. The Hamas has once again scored points by sacrificing its own women and children in a virtual public opinion battle with Israel. In the next conflict which will surly come sooner or later the Hamas will once again resort to tactics that seem to win it points in the eyes of the world. They will shoot from schools and hospitals from homes and places of worship. The Israeli army will react as any responsible army would and by doing so noncombatants will be killed. Then Amnesty will come out with another mostly anti-Israel report.

In one main area the Hamas has it wrong. The ultimate resolve for Israel may be undermined somewhat but there will be enough left to continue to defend itself.

Israel won’t just go away.