Month: May 2024

Israel Diaries 4

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Our security guard put on Tefillen.

We are on our way to the Gaza Envelope. That means we are visiting the sites that were directly attacked by Hamas on October 7th. They are within miles of the Gaza border. We have Rafael (our security guard) with us today; we have helmets with us today; we have had a security briefing on what happens if there is a red alert. (Siren that warns of incoming mortar or missles). Perhaps I am totally naive, but I am not overly anxious.

Why are we going? To learn; to bear witness; to show solidarity; to understand what was and what is; to experience a small piece of the nightmare of 10.7. As we were driving down from Tel Aviv, Rafael put on a Kippah and Tefillin. My guess is that Rafael is in his twenties; when Eileen was introduced to him, she said, “You’re too cute to be a security guard.”  I am going to try and ask him how he identifies religiously.

It is many hours and many experiences and many tears, anger and laughter later. We are back at our hotel in Tel Aviv. I need time to process it all. Our first stop was Kibbitz Nir Oz and then the Nova Festival Site. Both were ground zero for the morning of October 7th and visiting them you mourn, remember, witness the pain and have too many unanswered questions.

At the end of the day, we visited an Army base, home of the engineer corps of the IDF. They asked us not to take pictures of their faces or parts of the base. They are responsible for exploring, discovering and clearing the tunnels in Gaza. We walked through one of their training facilities and provided and shared a barbecue dinner. The picture above is one of the volunteer cooks and me. Quite an experience and a better way to end our day – showing our appreciation and gratitude to these young men and women who are on the front line defending Israel and us.

There are signs all over Israel: We Are Stronger Together.

 






















































































































































 

 

ISRAEL DIARY 3

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Hostage

NOW

We began the day in Jaffa; port; alleys; church; Peter; Jonah; Market – a simple way to start our journey. The skies were blue; the air was dry; welcome to Israel in May. But the day would not end as it began with basic truths and Bible stories and a man with a mission to spread the Jesus story to Rome (Peter) and a man running from God calling him to proclaim the truth of repentance and forgiveness to Nineveh (Jonah).

The stuff of life.

And then we drove to South Tel Aviv and Maayan took us on a Graffiti tour all of which were created since October 7th. Powerful stuff. She asked us to post this one.

The UN’s Refusal to See, Speak or Hear

Of the sexual violence committed by Hamas against the women then and probably still now. There is so much to say about the courage and creativity of these artists. Another day.

We ended our day with a briefing at the Headquarters of the Hostages Families Forum. They advocate for the kidnapped and abducted and care for the families of the hostages financially, emotionally, physically, and in any way that they can. We heard from two members of different hostage families. Daniel Lifschitz whose grandfather is 83 years old and is still sitting in a tunnel or cell somewhere in Gaza or worse and Gilad Korngold, father of Tal Shoham whose son was abducted with his wife, two children and other members of his family. All but Tal were released in a Hostage deal. Tal is still in captivity.

You can’t imagine the power of their stories. You can’t believe the words you are hearing. Your brain processes the narratives; your heart just breaks. It was a profoundly powerful introduction to Israel post 10/7. Each hostage is a hole in Israel’s soul. There is a sense of loss and betrayal. There is anger against their government and the nation player states that do not demand from Hamas a return of the innocent. I could go on but there is still tomorrow and other stories and an Israel that is the home of a people connected to this land, building and rebuilding from the past a future of hope. Look for Israel Diary 4. But for now:

Bring them home – now.

Israel Diaries 2

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Israel Diary 2

 

Under Their Vines

It is early in the morning (like I mean middle of the night), and I thought that by sleeping till 6:30 AM yesterday I had conquered the jet lag. Hubris. I actually played a game with myself when I woke a bit ago; I guessed what time it was without looking at the clock and I agreed to be satisfied if it was past 4:00. I lost.

The rest of our crew arrived yesterday at various times. They spent the morning sleeping and we went to visit an old friend who used to live in Nahariya and is now in a “Mishan” (Assisted Living Residence) in Ramat Aviv, just outside of Tel Aviv. She Is a textile artist and specialized in Judaica. We discovered each other when we were searching for someone to create a wall hanging in memory of Eileen’s mother, Beatrice. When we shared with Adina Bea’s life and her values and told her that Bea’s Hebrew name was Brachah (Blessing), she proposed to create a piece that incorporated the prayer for peace that includes as part of the text her Hebrew name. The prayer’s text is surrounded by vine and fig leaves as in “And everyone shall dwell under their own vine and fig tree, and none shall make them afraid.” (Micah 4:4). It hangs on the north wall of Temple Israel’s sanctuary.

The weather is beautiful in Tel Aviv. So we sat outside on her patio only big enough for two chairs and a table – but there was room for a small garden between the privacy wall and the patio. There was a vine growing. It looked like zucchini to me but Adina who had only lived there for 3 months thought it might be watermelon. We agreed we would just have to wait and see.

And that is somewhat the mood among so many of the Israelis we have met. It is a wait and see but live your life praying for peace and unafraid, at least on the outside. The beaches of Tel Aviv are full of young people playing soccer and soccer volleyball, running, surfing, enjoying life. The restaurants are full even if the hotels are not. This may be an observation that is skewered by my living in Palm Beach County but I have seen more pregnant women in our two days here than I see in a month in WPB. And there seems to me to be pride in their swelling bellies almost a statement about the future.

Tomorrow we meet our tour guide and head start our “tour”. We will be in Jaffa; we will be examining the grafiti wall art that has been created since October 7; we will be in Hostage Square meeting with families; we will welcome Shabbat there and pray again for a better future.

Let’s see if I can go back to sleep.

ISRAEL DIARIES 1

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It is our first morning in Tel Aviv. We flew in yesterday on a long direct flight from Miami. El Al is the only airline flying direct from the US and we had to scramble to get tickets when our United flight was canceled. United cancelled all Tel Aviv flights till June. Might have been a little more helpful if they let us know more than two days in advance. But its ok- we are here.

Landed at Ben Gurion on time; sad to see such an empty airport. Sad to see the pictures of the hostages lining the walkway from arrival to passport control. The plane was totally full; the TV screen in front of you kept scrolling a poignant message: El AL will always bring you home. (Or some variation of that).

We took a walk on the beach last night. It was alive and filled with people. The traffic is still terrible; the food is still delicious; there seems to be more Israeli flags flying and of lots of signs referencing the hostages and a demand to bring them home – now.

Our plans this morning are to take a GET to Ramat Aviv and visit with our friend Adina who is now living in a some version of an Israeli senior living facility. Then we will meet up with the family and see how everyone is faring from their flights. I have made my first cup of coffee in the room – only one minor disaster- couldn’t get the Nespresso machine to work and had to switch over to instant spilling a fair amount of hot water. But I successfully updated my GET App (Israeli alternative to Uber). And I slept through the night. All is good.

My plan is a short blog a day while here. Maybe too ambitious, but at least it’s a plan. Shalom from Tel Aviv.

Ps – I am using my IPAD and can’t seem to control all the features so things like images are problematic. Hence screen shot above having too much info. Hey – you do what you can.

It Has Its Way

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The other day when I was rearranging our storage unit (which Eileen insists is smaller than everyone else’s), I found a pile of old sermons on 4 x 6 white card stock.   Some were handwritten; most were typewritten. They’ve been there long enough that the rubber bands holding them together were disintegrating. I’ve been ignoring them for a long time. But the past has its way you know. It has its way.

The first one I read was from 1982 my first year at Temple Israel. It happened to be on what we then called “Federation Shabbat” and I quoted an article from the Palm Beach Post, from the previous Monday.

“Reports by the Anti-Defamation League that anti-Semitic violence and vandalism more than doubled in the past year are disturbing. The league counted 974 incidents in 1981 as compared with 377 in 1980. That 24 of those incidents occurred in Florida (as compared with only two of the previous year) is simply shameful.”

On April 16th of this year, the ADL reported, 8,873 incidents of assaults, harassment, and vandalism across the country. That is a 140-percent increase from 2022.

In my sermon in 1982, I told the following story. (Is this obnoxious me quoting myself?)

An American Jew with connections was visiting Israel for the first time. Knowing some of the “right people”, he was taken to an Israeli Air Force Base. After seeing the planes, the training courses, and the classrooms, he stopped on the edge of a large field where he saw Israeli soldiers carrying each other piggy-back style from one end to the other. The visitor turned to his guide and asked, “good natured fun? R & R after the tensions of the day?” The guide smiled and said, “absolutely not, this is training. The plane they will fly only carries two people. If the plane goes down and one of them is injured, they are strengthening their muscles so that the healthy one can carry the wounded. They are learning survival. They must know to the core of their being that they are dependent on each other.”

So, what do we do? We read the news; we follow the updates; we support financially and every way we can those organizations that are fighting antisemitism and supporting Jewish students who are currently the most vulnerable; we stay vigilant and strong.

And we know that there are good people of many faiths and traditions who stand by our side.

And we know that to the core of our being we are called upon to carry each other.

And we know that hatred is contagious, and we fight for all when we fight for ourselves.

And we know that there is no such thing as an innocent bystander – we are all called to be upstanders.

Don’t crumble, don’t shy away from the struggle. Don’t give our haters a “win”.

Be proud; be proud; be proud. Being Jewish is a blessing.