Youth Film Festival in Efrat

After the tremendous acclaim for the recent Efrat/Gush Etzion production DAMES of the DANCE 3 - The 7 DAYS of CREATION, did you think that Efrat is only the capital of dance in Israel? Well...it's actual a capital of creativity of all sorts.

Today, Rosh Chodesh Nissan, more than 600 high school students came to Efrat from all over the country for the Festival Kol Noar (Youth Film Festival), headed by filmmaker Yarone Shane. The festival, hosted in the Efrat Community Center, is now in its third year and the foremost showcase of student films in the country.

A total of 150 graduation films, student films and one-minute personal films were submitted from 130 different schools over the past four months. The films were judged by a very respected panel of judges, headed by renowned filmmaker Menachem Golan (maker of some of the most memorable action and fantasy films of the past three decades -Masters of the Universe, Operation Thunderbolt [about Operation Entebbe], Superman IV, Death Wish, Captain America).

About 40 films were screened at the Festival throughout the day. There were also workshops on music in films, special effects, costumes and fascinating panels with Israeli filmmakers, actors, backstage technicians, and the head of Tel Aviv University's film department.

All film-enthusiasts are invited to participate in the rest of the festival, which ends at 10 PM tonight.

At 6:30 PM, the panel of judges, headed by Menachem Golan, will present awards to the winners of the festival. At 7:30 PM, there'll be a personal meeting with legendary filmmaker Golan, during which he'll recount stories of the film industries in Hollywood and Israel during the past 50 years. And then at 8:30, there'll be an open screening of the classic Golan film "Kazablan."

Tonight, the highlight of the evening will be a Lifetime Achievement Award presented to Mr. Menachem Golan by the Matnas of Efrat and the Efrat Local Council.

You are invited to these closing ceremonies at the Efrat Community Council. Now stop reading this blog and rush over to the Matnas. Roll 'em.

To view the VOICES TV clip about the festival, visit http://voices-magazine.com/voices-videos.php?id=118.

H&M Opens in Jerusalem

My 17 year old daughter had been reminding me every day for a month that the H&M Swedish clothing chain was set to open in Jerusalem on March 16th. That seems to have been a hint to "Save up your money, Ema." This morning as I drove her to school, she reminded me again, "This is it. H&M is opening." I said softly, "How nice," not wanting her to be more disappointed than she already was, that she had to go to school instead of to the big opening.

On the way home, I decided to pop by the Mall to see if there was any H&M excitement brewing on site. I was surprised to find that at 11 AM, a pretty long line of women and teenagers were already waiting to get into the store at Noon. Security was everywhere! After hearing about the massive hysteria at the H&M in Tel Aviv (did they think Elvis was going to make an appearance), I'd have thought folks would stay away from Jerusalem Opening Day. Tel Avivians rampaged into the store as if they were giving clothing away. And leftists demonstrated against opening H&M in our dear "oppressive" country.

But Jerusalemites would not be deterred. There they were, women and teens, sucking their H&M lollipops, pouring through the H&M catalogue and eager to walk down the red carpet into the new store.

I asked them why they'd wait so long to visit a store that they could just easily walk into tomorrow or the next day. The women on line just turned their backs to me. That was kind of wierd.

Passersby were taking pictures on their phones and describing the scene to their friends. "I can't believe how many women are waiting to go into H&M." "It's so crazy." "You should see what's going on here."

A red carpet was laid out in front of the store. Perhaps that meant that everyone who entered H&M would be treated like a celebrity. That would be a refreshing service.

Having browsed through the H&M catalogue, I'm not quite sure what the big deal is. The clothing looked like ...clothing.

No matter. We wish good luck to the new H&M, as well as all of Israel's stores. And may the Jewish people have many happy occasions to shop for.

On Voices TV, you can watch the crowds gathering before the opening bell at H&M: http://voices-magazine.com/voices-videos.php?id=117 .

Try G-d

It seems we have a crisis!! A crisis!!!! The president of the United States is unhappy with us, or more correct - he doesn't like us. The US Secretary of State is displeased with us. The US Envoy to the Middle East is insulted by our conduct. All American muckamucks seem to be disgruntled. Israel is so nervous that our government officials are having emergency meetings and press conferences and appointing special committees and subcommittees about the crissssssssis.
The State of Israel is 62 years old. In that time, we've put our trust in a whole slew of American presidents from Harry Truman to Richard Nixon and then Jimmy Carter to Bill Clinton and George Bush. And what about the French? Like George Pompidou, Francois Mitterand, Jacques Chiraq, etc. etc.
Israel has leaned on all kinds of leaders from different countries, and it seems that the relationship has varied according to the whim of the particular leader. Remember when we were best friends with countries like Turkey?
Well, life turns on a dime, and international life turns on a euro (or whatever the coin is in China) nowadays. Israel has been told by just about every country in the world that it better tow the international line - give a state to the Arabs of Gaza and Judea and Samaria with Jerusalem as its capital, and stop building and developing Jewish life in areas beyond the "Green Line."
Even our good friends don't seem so good any more.
We've tried and failed with world leaders for 62 years, and we have lived from one crisis to another with country after country and with the United Nations too.
So, let me ask you...the world is against us. We feel like lepers. We're afraid of our shadows. We have no one upon whom we can rely. Why not try G-d? For thousands of years, the Jewish people have gone through crises and wars and cataclysmic events. One Being stood behind us and in front of us and above us. And that is the Leader of Leaders, the Master of the World.
Let's stop cowtowing to these so-called leaders of the world. And let's put our trust for once in the Leader of the World and see what happens.
Let's get Bibi to hold a press conference and say, "The State of Israel would like to announce that it is giving up its quest to make the world and its leaders happy with us. And from now on it is going to try to conduct itself in a way that makes the Master of the Universe happy with us."
And then, let's see what happens. I think it will be the beginning of Ultimate Good. How 'bout it?

I Survived Ninth Grade

About 15 years ago, I was asked to substitute teach for first and second graders in a local elementary school in Efrat. (No, I'm not a regular substitute or a teacher of any kind.)

I was asked to teach first grade girls and second grade boys. The girls were adorable, and although they needed help with every single question I asked them, they were sweet and well behaved. The boys were good too, except for three of them. One little boy with a plastic hammer was walking around the class banging other kids on the head. Another little boy was grabbing things away from his classmates, causing protests all around the room. The third, truthfully, I don't remember, but he was plain misbehaving.

So I took these three to the front of the room. I took the hammer away from the first, and bopped him on the head with it. "How do you like that? Do you think that hammer bops are still a good idea now that you've felt them yourself?" I had the second give back everything he had taken, plus stickers from his own famous sticker collection. The third, I potched on the tush. Then I shooed the three back to their seats and they were angels for the rest of the class.

When the teacher for whom I had been substituting checked on the boys, she said, "This class usually challenges me every moment. How do you keep them so quiet?"

I told her, "I potched the the trouble makers and told them they'd better behave."

"What!!!" You can't hit children today!" Boy, that was news to me. B"H, she told me after the class was over, instead of anywhere in the middle.

Fast Forward
This week, 15 years after my first substitute teacher's stint, I found myself in the classroom with about 20 ninth graders.

I walked in and most of the boys knew me. And I knew their mothers. I thought that would hold me in good stead. Um, no.

I set up a lesson on Critical Reading, and while many of the boys participated, thanks to the antics of a few others, I quickly felt myself being dragged down into the quick sand of the substitute teacher torture pit. Suddenly, one of the boys realized that my handouts were funny. He raised his hand and commented on one of the signs I asked them to read.

Then another raised his hand, and one by one I had them reading signs or ads and commenting.
Somehow, the word Dubai came up, and then the Dubai assassination. None of them had ever heard about it. So, I gave them the blow-by-blow I had seen on youtube. I made football-like diagrams of which spy was where and where he went next. I asked them to analyze the assassination and prove who-dunnit!

Suddenly I felt the thrill that teachers the world over must feel when their class enjoys their lesson. It almost made me want to come back again. And I decided I would...in about five years.

This is a tribute to my friend, TTT, Toby the Teacher, and to teachers everywhere.

HOW DO YOU DO IT?? EVERY DAY?? And you actual teach them valuable things!!! Wow!! You are great!

Prisons and PhDs

Murderer/chief Fatah terrorist Marwan Barghouti is getting his PhD in Israeli prison. Mazel tov.
A terrorist since his teens, Barghouti was imprisoned in the 1970s and 1980s for his terrorist activities. While in prison, he finished his bagruyot (high school matriculation exams) in 1980.
Many Arab teenagers in Israeli prisons today take their bagruyot while in jail. The classes are small, and there are many teachers on site to help them. (BTW, I just called one of my friends whose son was arrested for protesting the destruction of Gush Katif. He was not allowed to study for bagruyot.)

We who believe that prisons should rehabilitate their prisoners surely look at prison bagruyot as a terrific opportunity to improve the future of the wayward and underprivileged Arab youth arrested for rioting, stone throwing, and all levels of attacks on Jews. It's a new beginning.
Young Barghouti also improved himself and began again until he achieved the murder of four Israelis and a Greek Orthodox priest, plus the planning of a mega-terrorist attack at the Malcha Mall (that B"H failed). He was tried for 33 other attacks (they were not pinned on him for lack of evidence).
Today an honored guest in Israel's prison system, Barghouti is treated like a superstar - allowed personal family privileges, permission to have meetings with all kinds of political leaders, and has even done television interviews right from jail stating, "I support the Palestinian intifada and the Palestinian resistace." So much for learning about peace in prison.
Now the piece de resistance, when he's not running the activities on the Fatah street from his cell (or cellphone), Marwan Barghouti has completed his doctorate in political science.
Jpost.com said, "Barghouti, 50, is one of several hundred Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons who enroll in studies at universities around the world, including in Israel."Barghouti wrote a 341 page thesis " with the help of hundreds of books and documents that Israeli authorities allow inmates to bring into prison" for the University of Cairo. The topic: “The Legislative and Political Performance of the Palestinian Legislative Council and its Contribution to the Democratic Process in Palestine from 1996 to 2008.” No comment.
So, mazel tov to Marwan. A doctorate is a tremendous accomplishment.

In June, it's almost four years that Gilad Shalit has been in a Gazan prison – just enough time for him to complete his college studies. I wonder what university degree Gilad Shalit has attained. I'd like to wish him mazel tov too.

No Self-Respect

My friend's children live in the Shimon HaTzaddik neighborhood. They are fabulous young people and have terrific faith-filled neighbors. They also have Arabs in the area who are constantly hurling curses, stones and boulders at them. They say they've called the police on many an occasion and the reaction was either nothing or less than speedy. The police say they have a "policy of not tolerating disturbances," and that's a very comforting thought. I hope that will be true when Jews are being disturbed.
The riots this week near the homes of the Jews of the Shimon HaTzaddik neighborhood are very disturbing. Adding insult to injury is the fact that our own Jerusalem Post (not Al Jazeera or the New York Times) calls the neighborhood Sheikh Jarrah. Why don't they call Ramat Aviv by its Arab name of Sheikh Munis or Har Nof by its name Deir Yassin?
By constantly acknowledging the Arab scenario, the media and the government are weakening our Jewish roots and connections to this country, while strengthening our enemies. http://voices-magazine.blogspot.com/2010/01/truth-about-israeli-arab-aspirations.html
Alas.
The Israeli government should demand that Jewish neighborhoods be called by their Jewish names. But it goes back to the same discussion we've had several times already - our own government's lack of belief/confidence that this is our land.
No wonder they take visiting international dignitaries to Yad Vashem instead of living thriving Jewish sites of growth and development. They feel comfortable with Jews and Jewish communities that ONCE EXISTED but have long since been destroyed. They feel uncomfortable with living doing succeeding Jews today.
Shrug.

Internal Week - International Week

There surely have been many important events that took place over the past week, especially with United States President Joe Biden here, PA head Mahmoud Abbas flexing his muscles about Israeli building, Arab rioting over whatever the latest convoluted excuse, Iranian President Ahmadinejad's latest Israel annihilation speech, and the sad and confused eagerness on the part of the government to destroy whatever they can get away with in Judea and Samaria.

I acknowledge all these events as I look back at my own personal week.

On Sunday, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared that America staged the 9/11 massacre of 3000 Americans in order to invade Afghanistan. And I packed my performance bag, filled my car with drinks and nosh, and got on stage in the Gush Etzion Theater for the first performance of DAMES of the DANCE 3 - The 7 DAYS of CREATION. B"H, it was a smash hit. http://voices-magazine.com/voices-videos.php?id=114

On Monday, I woke up very late (I'm embarrassed to tell you what time) and my husband took me out to brunch at the Gush Etzion Winery in order to celebrate the show's success. Meanwhile, Israel said that it's not REALLY going to have negotiations with the Arabs, but periphery talks (which is really the same thing). And we should be happy that we're having those talks, because the Arabs didn't want ANYTHING. In the end they were divided about having these talks or not, but they did us the favor of sitting down at the table with us. However, Abbas' office threatened that we'd better come up with an agreement within four months that will lead to the creation of a new PA State with Eastern Jerusalem as its capital, and Judea and Samaria as its country.

On Tuesday, I had a tap rehearsal (even though we're performing, we never neglect the basics :) ). Meanwhile Joe Biden came to Israel and said the road map had to be followed, with the destination - a PA State within Israel's borders. (Hm, who's the boss here - but we've dicussed that before.) And in Nigeria, a Muslim mob axed and hatcheted to death about 500 Christians. Christians take note: the UN called the pogrom "disturbing". (It would have been a bit less of a yawn had it been the other way around.)

On Wednesday, I interviewed the owners of the Gush Etzion Winery about the growth of Gush Etzion's wine industry and the winery's latest awards and citations of excellence. (Story to come.) And then I made a video with Voices' food columnist Sue Epstein on how to use up your chametz in delicious ways. Here's the video: http://voices-magazine.com/voices-videos.php?id=115

At around the same time, the Israel Home Front Command announced that in case of a war if hundreds of thousands of Jews had to be evacuated from their missile-torn homes, the best place to put them would be the towns of Judea and Samaria. Home Front Command said the people of Yesha are so warm, welcoming and caring, they'd be able to absorb their war torn brethren. (Seems to be a bit of confusion. The government wants to destroy many of those self-same communities that the Home Front Command hopes to use as a safe haven. Do you think sending the Jews of Haifa and Sderot to Bet Tzachur or Umm El Fahm would be a good alternative?)

On Thursday night, I was back in my black tights and tap shoes as I got on stage with more than 100 women in DAMES 3. I wanted to rest up all day, but the Civil Administration had the nerve to burst into Efrat at 5 AM and smash the foundations of a synagogue to be built in Western Dekel. And I had to go out and cover the story. What timing! Instead of relaxing, I was running around to film the site and interview the Mayor. Here's the video: http://voices-magazine.com/voices-videos.php?id=116 .

Then Thursday night, hooooray!! What an incredible evening! Efrat Councilwoman Ruth Golan (who was also the guest voice of the Tanach in our production) said, "What positive energy!!!" Unfortunately in Europe, the energy was not as positive. H&M opened its stores in Israel (almost trampling baby carriages in the frenzy) and anti-Israel organizations in Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, the UK, Austria, Canada and Ireland were planning to demonstrate because this European firm was going to make millions of Israeli shekels from us terrible folks. Let's trick them. Let's not buy from H&M and then everyone will be happy.

It's Friday, the morning after our show. One of our cast members has injured her leg, another her hand, and the rest are basking in the glory, B"H, of positive reviews and loving acclaim. And we magically change from stars to Jewish women preparing for our serene and holy Sabbath. Outside our town, we hear that the "West Bank" has been sealed off, because we're expecting Arab rioting. The reason was last month's designation of Hebron's Me'arat HaMachpelah and the Tomb of Rachel in Bethlehem as national landmarks. That's called a delayed reaction. But if it wasn't that reason, there'd be another. I for one would be thrilled to drive on the roads without Arab cars on it. But I'll tell you a secret. I've already been out shopping today, and there are Arabs allllll over the roads, so I don't know what kind of shut down was imposed. But, you know what? It sounds good.

The kugels are waiting, but I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you that there are still some tickets left for DAMES 3 at its Matinee performance on March 15 at 5 PM in the Matnas Efrat. It's a fabulous show, B"H, and we're performing especially for mothers and children on Monday. Introduce your child to the love of dance. Join us for a 90-minute escape from the outside world. http://voices-magazine.com/dames_survey.html

Shabbat Shalom.