Shortly before heading to her funeral in Kfar Saba, I got news of the flotilla/משט incident. It goes without saying that I regret the deaths of nine passengers of the flotilla. As for the outrageous condemnation that has been showered on Israel since Monday morning...
MY ISRAEL
My Israel is the incredible place where I have, since last Thursday night alone, seen the following:
At the annual Israel Festival, free concerts at the Jerusalem Theater by Kabako (African jazz and dance), Vitaly Podolsky and the Gypsy Drive (always good to hear some accordion on a Saturday night), a celebration of the 200th Argentinian Independence Day featuring Argentinian olah (immigrant to Israel) singer Perla Malkus, and tonight's 40th anniversary of Woodstock celebration of classic rock. Last night's Jerusalem celebration concert (also free) featured the reggae, etc.-influenced Mosh Ben-Ari, as well as pop singers Moshe Peretz and Harel Skat. On the way out, we caught a killer fireworks show at just the right time--with the Knesset spectacularly placed in the background. And in between, I caught a Beer Sheva fundraiser for children with cancer featuring my favorite hip-hop band Hadag Nachash, singers Efrat Gosh and Dudu Tasa, goofy cover band Groove Redemption, and a few others.
My Israel is the country that is providing me with an incredible education: a Master's in Gerontology, studying alongside a passionate, well-seasoned in the field, serious cohort who diligently soak up as much learning as they can for the benefit of Israel's elderly.
My Israel is home to this week's Shavua Ha'Sefer Ha'Ivri/Hebrew Book Week, with all of Israel's major cities celebrating the nerdiness of the bookwormy Jewish people.
My Israel is host to the two rocking weddings of friends I attended over the last two weeks, overflowing with happiness and celebration. There is absolutely nothing to compare to celebrating the beginning of two marriages in Jerusalem, the epicenter of Judaism over the millenia.
My Israel (specifically in my diverse but predominantly national-religious area of Jerusalem) is a place where you can't possibly miss the schedule of the Jewish calendar.
My Israel is home t
o the world's only Stage for the Deaf-Blind, the NaLag'at Center in Yafo. Well then. I just tried to link to their website (nalagaat.org.il), which has been hacked as a virtual protest for Palestine (as was a friend's company's website). You have to be kidding me. Simply pathetic. If they only realized the beauty of this incredible center that they try to silence. About a month and a half ago, we dined at Cafe Kappish, staffed by hearing-impaired waiters (who taught us lots of sign language), then attended the purely magical "Not From Bread Alone" play. This photo is of the posse with our waiter. My Israel empowers its weak. Let's hear whether there's a theater employing and giving a voice to the deaf and blind in Gaza.My Israel was the home to tonight's one-of-a-kind evening of a medley of Nelly rap songs over sushi dinner--hand-rolled by my roommates, some of the coolest cats on earth.
An addition with kudos to friend Sara Hirschhorn for calling me out (everyone, please do make this a conversation): My Israel is where I learn from classmate Mohammed about the fascinating family and cultural structure of the Muslim and Bedouin family with regards to its elderly. (Side note: Mohammed is a Social Work student, not in my Gerontology program. As far as I know, there are no Arab students in my program. The word is that this field does not attract them. On my campus, however, there is a very significant Arab student population, seemingly mostly in the nursing program). Admittedly, that is my only regular significant interaction with an Arab, I have no interaction with Palestinians, and I would like to change that. There's simply not enough time in the day to do everything though.
All of my vibrant Israel and more could have been possible of a neighboring Palestine, starting back in 1948 and even earlier, and time and time again since. But all this won't be part of a neighboring Palestine until those of our neighbors who are rejectionist will stop rejecting me, stop hating me, and stop working to kill me for being here, being Jewish, and living out my dream--the dream of my grandparents who never made it to Israel and countless generations before them. Until you stop rejecting, hating, and working to kill me, there is no real conversation to be conducted here. And if you try to kill one of my brothers in the IDF, so he's going to kill you first.
As for the news, I'll start with the work of dear friends from Ulpan Etzion who made aliyah roughly when I did--Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson reporter Elana Kieffer and photographer Arielle Yahalom. These women are like my sisters. I just saw Elana at an engagement party (the parties truly never end). We were lucky that she jumped out to celebrate another Ulpan friend's engagement, as she stayed in the office for two days straight this week, working her tucchus off to get the truth out to the world. She believes strongly that as more and more footage continues to be released, we continue to look better and better. Here's one of many articles on which Elana has worked (check them all out at idf.il). The Spokesperson's Unit's YouTube channel is also a great resource.
I'd suggest you read the following analysis, and throw the anti-Israel slander into the recycling bin, where it belongs. Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, tells it how it is here. Here's Daniel Gordis, on top of his game as always. Take a look at UN Watch's Hillel Neuer attacking the "humanitarian" credentials of the flotilla. Shmuel Rosner doesn't beat around the bush here. A fellow OTZMA participant's brother Joel lauds the IDF's courageous restraint here. Do you feel that the world has gone mad? So does this guy. Here's some context to Monday's firestorm. David Horovitz frustratingly tears a new one into whoever withheld critical film coverage of the mission for whatever cynical reasons.
Did you know: Well over a million tons of humanitarian supplies entered Gaza from Israel from January 2009 - May 2010, equaling nearly a ton of aid for every man, woman and child in Gaza. A ton. Get more information on humanitarian aid from Israel to Gaza on this Ministry of Foreign Affairs page.
So...if you stand with Israel and believe in her right to defend herself, please take it to the streets! That's all I could ask of those of you who live in the cities on this list of pro-Israel rallies. Thanks so much in advance.
In non-flotilla news, here's a nice video presentation of Israel's critical security needs. Here's a Jerusalem Post editorial on Obama dropping yet another ball, this time with his colossal failure on the NPT. More on Obama's foreign policy cluelessness here from Martin Kramer.
With that, I'll wish farewell to a less-than-perfect week and re-visit the high I left you with last Friday--standing on top of the world Van Halen-style. I'm smiling as I go to bed while dear friends and family celebrate my Dad's birthday back in Dallas. Rare is the party which has nearly everyone invited in attendance. Mom and Dad are truly special people--love you guys and happy bday Dad!
With love for you and for Israel in every fiber of my being,
אריק/Eric
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